All posts by Peter Tsai

Austin, Food

The Best Korean Restaurants Austin – Discover Asian Food in ATX

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Korean Food in Austin TX

Looking for some delicious Korean food in Austin? Maybe a place to get Korean BBQ? Rest easy, you’re in the right place.

While Austin isn’t known as a destination for outstanding Korean restaurants, we have some hidden gems serving delicious food that you need to know about. And if you aren’t that familiar with Korean cuisine, don’t worry. I realize that Korean food isn’t always accessible as other Asian cuisines like Chinese, Japanese and Thai… so in this guide I’m going to introduce 5 great Korean dishes at 5 Korean restaurants in Austin.

Click here to read about the Best Korean Dishes in Austin

Food

Discovering New Restaurants via Instagram and #Austin360eats & #AustinFood

If you’re like me, you’re always on the lookout for new restaurants and food experiences in Austin Texas… and one of the best tools to keep tabs on what all your  foodie friends are eating is Instagram.

Everyone knows that Instagram is great for sharing pictures, but for me the best way to find new people and restaurants is by taking advantage of hashtags.

So, What are some of the best Austin Food hashtags to use and follow?

Two that I like a lot are:

Besides the benefits of finding new food, there’s an added bonus of getting more exposure for your social media accounts… especially when using #Austin360Eats.

taqueria_escondida

 

Addie Broyles of the Austin American Statesman created this hashtag a while back…  and every week she likes to feature the Austin food and the people behind the hashtag.

Recently myself (@supertsai) and @mjsoko were featured in the Relish Austin blog for our photos from Taqueria La Escondida and the brand new Patika coffee bar on South Lamar (one of our new favorite spots).  If you want to be featured too, just tag all of your food photos on Instagram with #Austin360Eats.

 

mjsoko_austin_360

So, if you’re looking get more eyeballs on your Instagram account, or make new friends, make sure to check out both #AustinFood and #Austin360Eats.  There’s thousands of pictures under each hashtag, so there’s lots of new things to discover.

 

Got any other cool hashtags to share? Let us know in the comments…

 

More reading:

 

Austin, Food

What is Butter Coffee? Where do I get Butter Coffee in Austin?

Butter Coffee in Austin, Texas

I live next door to Austin’s only Paleo trailer, Picnik, and they sell a novel new drink called butter coffee. After walking the dogs by the sign for butter coffee at least a dozen times, we decided to take the plunge to see what this new trendy drink is all about.

Butter coffee is pretty much what it sounds like – it’s coffee and butter blended together with some additional MCT coconut oil extract that is supposed to be very nutritious for you and good for your brain.

So what’s the big deal about butter coffee?
Click here to read about Butter Coffee in Austin

Food

TastingBuds in the Austin American Statesman

Peter Tsai chilaquiles

Before the Internet came along, it wasn’t very easy to find other folks with the same interests. Luckily, we now live in a 24/7 connected world and the smartphone app age, so we don’t have that problem any longer.

Two of Austin’s most prominent food writers, Matthew Odam and Addie Broyles have been connecting foodies in the city for years now via their blogs on the Austin American Statesman.

Recently, I was fortunate to be featured by both of them… I was interviewed on Addie’s Relish Austin blog about how Instagram helps foodies find each other, and I hung out with Matthew Odam to talk about Chinese food in Austin, just in time for Chinese New Year.

With Matthew, we chatted about Austin’s Asian food scene over lunch at Rice Bowl Cafe, one of my favorite Chinese / Taiwanese spots in the city to give advice on his
roundup of Chinese restaurants in Austin.

To find more foodies in Austin that are on Instagram, follow the #Austin360Eats hashtag, check out Addie’s blog link above, or check out my list of Austin foodies on Instagram.

Happy Tasting!
Peter

Austin 360 Eats Screenshot

Food, How To

How to find Authentic Ethnic food – the First Rule of Ethnic Cuisine

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Crowded Restaurant in Madrid, Spain

My first rule of ethnic cuisine is simple.

An ethnic restaurant is much more likely to serve delicious, authentic food when people of that culture are enthusiastically cooking, serving, and eating the food. Bonus points if they are primarily speaking the language of that culture. Super bonus points if they have either a secret ethnic menu or non translated menu items.

If an ethnic restaurant meets none of these criteria, it’s likely to suck.  You wouldn’t want to eat at a Mexican restaurant in China where the waiter doesn’t even know what a taco is…. would you? (I think they called it a meat onion wrap)

I actually ate at exactly a place like this in 2000 and it was the worst Mexican culinary experience of my life. I don’t think the restaurant owners had ever eaten good Mexican food before, but then again none of their (very few) clients had either.

Ordering Mexican food in Chinese (no English or Spanish on the menu), eating cheese made by people who don’t eat cheese, and the ensuing stomach problems were all NO BUENO.

chinese_taco

Read more about the First rule of ethnic cuisine by clicking here!

Food

New Austin Restaurant Alert: Umami Mia Pizzeria on Barton Springs


Since it’s closing in 2012, Austinites have been curious about what restaurant would replace the long standing Romeo’s (which opened in 1993) on Barton Springs at Jessie Street (near Zilker Park). As of this weekend, the long wait is over!

The new restaurant at 1500 Barton Springs Rd, Umami Mia Pizzaria (also Italian), offers a much more modern and casual take on Italian food than Romeo’s did. Gone is the dark cave-like decor, piano, and mediocre food of the old restaurant. Instead Umami Mia offers a bright, hip, colorful decor inspired by the Rome subway line. The food has also improved remarkably and the extensive drink list offers creative cocktails that you wouldn’t expect to find in an Italian joint.

We were invited to preview the new menu this week, and we’re happy to share our favorites with you!

Click through to preview the dishes from Umami Mia in Austin, Texas

Austin

The State of Ramen Shops in Austin, Texas

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What is Ramen anyways? It doesn’t always come in cheap packs from the grocery store?
Japanese Ramen has it’s origins in the Chinese noodles 拉面 “La-Mian” which literally means pulled noodles (see this picture of this guy the Chinese version). In fact, in Japan Ramen is still sometimes called Chinese style noodles. Somewhere along the way, The Japanese took the Chinese import and morphed it into something all their own.

How is authentic ramen different from instant ramen?
Real ramen broth has a depth of flavor not present in the instant form, which relies on salt and MSG to enhance taste. Good ramen derives it’s flavor from boiling a combination of animal bones and vegetables for a long time to give the broth a richness that that can’t be replicated otherwise. Much in the same way that Texas BBQ meat tastes magical when exposed to slow and low heat, the same is true of soup broth. Good ramen when done right, is a time intensive labor of love (just like great TX BBQ). Good ramen also comes garnished with all sorts of fresh, delicious things as well that complement the broth.

Simply put, great ramen can blow your mind.

For an in depth explanation about Japanese Ramen culture and the different styles of Ramen, David Chang and Anthony Bourdain dedicate 20 minutes to the subject in the awesome series “The Mind of A Chef” (bonus @ 8:45 for learning how the noodles are made in a factory from a man in a bright red wrestling style mask)

There’s also this great how to make ramen article on Serious Eats.

Read more about the state of Ramen Noodles in Austin after the jump

Austin, Food

Photos from the Austin Food Wine Festival 2013 @ Butler Park

The 2013 Austin Food and Wine Festival just wrapped up, and it was full of memorable experiences and excellent tastings & cooking demonstrations from celebrity chefs.

For Austinites who are fans of the Food Network, the festival was the perfect opportunity to get up close and personal with some of their favorite stars, such as Andrew Zimmern, Marcus Samuelsson, Christina Tosi, Tim Love, and Paul Qui.

Click through to view the photos from the 2013 Austin Food and Wine Fest!

Food, News

Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt Coming to Austin in Spring 2013

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Update: April 2013 – Pinkberry is now open in Austin

Pinkberry, the yogurt shop that pretty much started the froyo craze in America 6-7 years ago, is finally coming to Austin. The first location will open at the Westbank Market (3300 Bee Caves Road, Suite 640) in spring 2013.

Why should we care?

We’ve seen many different generic froyo shops come and go in the ATX and even though it feels like the craze has died down, I think there’s still a pent up demand for Pinkberry. Many people say that Pinkberry’s yogurt is the best (myself included), and that the current batch of Austin yogurt shops aren’t up to par.

In fact, in our 2009 Austin Froyo comparison test, we crowned Mambo Berry the best Froyo in Austin because it tasted the most like Pinkberry.

Learn More about Pinkberry coming to Austin after the jump

Austin, Food

Best Asian Noodles in Austin

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Where do you go for delicious Asian food in Austin? While the capitol of Texas hasn’t been known for top notch Asian food in the past, that reputation is changing. There are restaurants all over the city with one or two noodles dishes that can hang with the best of them.

So, where do you go for delicious, flavorful Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese noodle carby goodness?

Click through to learn where the best noodles in Austin are