Eating with Stephano

The wagashi stop 🍡 I've followed Sweets Oyatsu for a few years and happy they have a permanent spot inside of Daido now on the weekends! Makes it really convenient when I'm going Japanese grocery shopping. It's super Sweets Oyatsu is the only place you can get these traditional Japanese desserts freshly made in Houston!

🍽️ dorayaki, warabi mochi

📍 Sweets Oyatsu
(inside Daido Market grocery store)

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JAPANESE FASHION POP-UP IN HOUSTON 🐈‍⬛ Please welcome ATELIER PIERROT from Harajuku to Houston for one day only!

Long-standing Japanese gothic fashion brand ATELIER PIERROT will be hosting a Houston pop-up shop this Saturday February 21! Houston is the first stop on their first ever American tour. Atelier Pierrot is a Harajuku brand in operation since the 90s known for their corsets, bustle skirts, and elegant and dramatic clothing.

🛍️ SHOPPING
Come see Atelier Pierrot's beautiful clothing and accessories in person! International brand manager Connie will also be present to answer questions and help you try things on. Swipe right for a preview of the items they'll be bringing. There will be a great variety of options including plus sizes!

🍹 COLLABORATION DRINKS
The team at AtCha created two special collaboration drinks for this event! Each one is inspired by Atelier Pierrot's mysterious cats. Each drink will come with a special event exclusive Atelier Pierrot sticker! They're both super refreshing!

🐈‍⬛ Catseye (Alcoholic drink)
A romantic cocktail inspired by Noir Neko's charming yellow eyes
Sloe gin, Aperol, Violet cream, Lemon, Soda, Toschi cherry, luster dust
$15

🐈‍⬛ Nyancha (Non-Alcoholic drink)
A refreshing dreamy drink to give you the energy to keep shopping for your favourite pieces
Cold brew peach oolong tea with rose foam
$6

📍 AtCha
9889 Bellaire Blvd Suite D-234, Houston, TX 77036

⏰ Pop-up hours 11:30-5:00

🗓️ Saturday February 21, 2026

This is a public, all ages event. We welcome all to come see Atelier Pierrot in-person! No dress code required to attend.

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🩷🍵 MOLLY TEA SOFT & GRAND OPENING! 🍵🩷
Houston, the wait is over. Molly Tea is a Chinese tea shop with a specialty in serving floral teas that are meticulously crafted. Ever since I first had Molly Tea in the Bay Area, I've been waiting for months for the Houston location to finally open and now it's here in Dun Huang Plaza!

Their signature is an aromatic jasmine tea and do make sure to add the snowy top which is also jasmine flavored. It's so good that I could drink at least 3 of these cups in one sitting! The manager also recommended the pistachio white champaca coconut tea and I was really impressed! For the adventurous tea fanatics out there (like me), make sure to try the champaca, gardenia, and dan cong since these will be the first of its kind to hit Houston.

✨ Soft opening: February 3-5
Get 12% off all purchases!

✨ Grand opening: February 6-8
Buy one, get one free. Buy one drink and get a free drink from the Floral Fresh Milk Tea series!
First 200 customers will receive a Houston exclusive Spaceman Molly refrigerator magnet! Merch will also be 10% off after purchase.

🧋 snowy jasmine tea, pistachio white champaca coconut tea

📍 Molly Tea Houston
9889 Bellaire Blvd D226, Houston, TX 77036

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Eat it up 🍝 These spaghetti and meatballs are a classic, no frills comfort dish of mine. Comes with garlic bread that you can see the pool of herb butter melting in the crevices 🧈. Every time I finish this big ol' plate, I am happily sent into a food coma.

A family friend introduced me to Mandola's almost 20 years ago. Every time I come I want to try something new, but I am always sucked into ordering spaghetti. I just like it that much.

I was happy to see them make into 's top 100 list for the Chron that came out last November!

🍽️ spaghetti and meatballs

📍 Mandola's Deli

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Coffee, but make it soup 🍲🤔❓ I've been coming to New Heights Coffee Roasters for a bit now, so when I saw this interesting seasonal drink, I just had to try it. It was crazy and rich with flavor! Espresso in a savory context was a push in exploring boundaries in coffee. Definitely looking forward to what the New Heights team will come up with next!

☕ The Forager (from fall menu 2025)
Espresso "soup" with brown butter, mushrooms, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, dried chives, and dried mushrooms developed by .x.

📍 New Heights Coffee Roasters

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Kirby x Kura Sushi collaboration is on until January 31, 2026! I couldn't miss this cute collab seeing the kawaii Kirby dome on the revolving belt. 🥹

There are 2 special rolls: Kirby dreamy crunchy roll and Waddle Dee feisty feast roll. Decorated with pink and orange sauces respectfully for the little guys. The tamago egg on the bottom represents them riding Warp Stars. ⭐

Since I'm a nigiri girlie, they were a little too saucy for me, but I still enjoyed experiencing this collab! There is Kirby themed decor around the restaurant and gachapon prizes to win as well!

📍 Kura Sushi USA

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A new AYCE sushi and robata restaurant has entered the chat 🍣 Seven Sushi & Robata is a new addition to Bellaire's bustling Dun Huang Plaza!

Choose from 2 tiers: standard for $37 or premium for $57.
The menu has a good balance between seafood and meat options, both raw and cooked. It was perfect because my +1 doesn't eat seafood, but still had a lot of non-seafood options to choose from!

In the premium tier you unlock dishes featuring ingredients like scallop, bluefin toro, salmon toro, sweet shrimp, and truffle. I'm a sushi purist, so nigiri and sashimi are my preference. Nigiri was the perfect size to try a bunch of different fish. The fish quality was also really good.

I didn't have the stomach capacity to try, but the crudo and rolls looked really good on the menu.

Service was really impressive! They were incredibly fast and nice.

They also have an extensive bar menu 🍸 We can't drink alcohol, so they whipped up a very delicious and refreshing lychee and cucumber mocktail! Some of the best mocktails I've ever had tbh.

If you're looking for a great all you can eat sushi spot, 7 Sushi is your next destination!

🍽️ assorted sashimi & nigiri (salmon, tuna, pepper tuna, yellowtail, mackerel, shrimp, freshwater eel, tomato, bluefin tuna, sea bass, flying fish egg, chopped spicy scallop)
🍢 robata skewers (chicken skin, okra, oyster shiitake, Japanese sausage)
🍋 yuzu marinated salmon
🧅 tempura veggies, spicy garlic brussel sprouts
🥩 LA galbi short ribs, Hawaiian ribeye steak

📍 Seven Sushi and Robata .tx
9889 Bellaire Blvd Suite E209, Houston, TX 77036

what to eat in Houston

Oyster season is upon us yet again 🦪 Tommy's is a Clear Lake staple restaurant serving up fresh local Gulf seafood for over 25 years! The seafood is of course fantastic. I also have to highlight the delicious bread too. The oyster shells are recycled back into Galveston Bay to keep the healthy oyster ecosystem rejuvenated.

If you're ever near NASA, give them a try~

🍽️ dozen raw oysters, escargot

📍 Tommy's Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar


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It's corn 🌽! The tasting menu at Tatemó highlights the beauty of heirloom corns from several regions across Mexico. Using nixtamalized corn to shape maíz into all sorts of forms such as tortillas, tostadas, sopes.

We've visited for brunch a few times, so figured it was finally time to get a dinner reservation. Then they earned a Michelin star right before our visit ⭐.

My favorite of the night was the sope since I'm a sucker for the texture of it. Definitely enjoyed this 9 course dinner!

Side note: I also really like their utensils. They are very cute especially the spoons.

🍽️ tasting menu (from Dec 2024)
some items:
tuna tostada
Oaxaca cheese quesadilla
fish taco
enmolada

📍 Tatemo


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It's my birthday 👻🎂

Throwback to last year's Q-Pot. Cafe Halloween dessert set. I finally got my hands on one of these mochi ghost cakes after admiring them online for years! His insides were red, so he bled when cutting in 🩸. The little guy was accompanied by a spooky macaron and a cursed sorbet. So cute!

📍 Q-Pot. Cafe
(Tokyo, Japan)

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Jūn by Kin tasting menu |
Jun is a restaurant that inspirits the diverse multicultural population of Houston.

This menu featured some intricate takes on gulf shrimp aguachiles, Salvadorian tamal, lap cheong sausage, peanut brisket curry, and fresh vegetables and fruit. Swipe to the end to see the details of each dish.

Finally visited for a birthday dinner! I have eaten at chef Evelyn's pop-ups a few times and was eager to see what a restaurant would entail. The restaurant is beautiful and so are the dishes. We left a little too full (not a complaint), so next time will be a la carte I think.

🍽️ tasting menu (from December 2024), oye morro

📍 Jun

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🧄 Vampire's Delight Halloween special at Sweet Cup Gelato 🧛🏻

Garlic gelato is back for the spooky season, baby! Great for repelling vampires with its deep caramel, umami flavor. The balance of creamy, savory, and sweet is a real treat. It is such a unique delight, be sure to get a scoop or two. Very limited batch for the rest of October!

📍 Sweet Cup Gelato
3939 Montrose Blvd, Houston, TX 77006


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