Sunday, December 28, 2014

Dona Mary- A Halal Authentic Mexican Place In the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

Restaurant: Dona Mary
Address: 2200 Los Rios Boulevard, Plano, Texas 75074
Buffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte
Date of VisitL 12/26/14



Photo Credit: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/04/14/dd/07/dona-mary-not-the-greatest.jpg


Background:
Salam/hey guys! I am right now in Dallas writing this up. What does that mean? It means for the first time, I will be reviewing at more than three restaurants per trip. Ever since I started this blog, I have been going to a maximum of three restaurants in each specific city (only exception = trip to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Detroit in 2013). Even on my last trip to Dallas in December 2013, I only went to 3 restaurants. So this 4th restaurant I am going is Dona Mary (pronounced "Donya Mary"). I found out about this on zabihah.com while I was actually looking for a place to try out. I figured that I would try this place because I had been longing to eat some Mexican food ever since the whole M&M grill fiasco. M&M did have some great Mexican food. I was a big fan of their chimichanga and their enchiladas. Dona Mary is regarded to have excellent Mexican food in all of Plano. Initially I was going to Noodle Wave in McKinney, but my uncle said no to Thai food since he doesn't like it at all (Believe it or not I am the only person in my entire family who actually enjoys Thai food). We also had a time constraint because we had to go for Friday prayers and a Nikah (declaration of marriage). So after doing some quick shopping in Costco off US 75, we went to the restaurant.



Let The Experience Begin!
Dona Mary is located at the intersection of Park Boulevard and Los Rios Boulevard in East Plano. From the outside, it looks like a hole-in-the-wall place. When we went, the strip mall looked deserted. But inside, it was lively. There was a TV playing along with Mexican music. We confirmed the halal status. They told us that the fajita style beef and chicken was halal, and that they cooked the food separately. After this was told, we sat down and looked through the menu.



Let's Eat!
We first confirmed once again that the only halal things are the beef and chicken cut in fajita style. I then decided to order the Huarache Mexicano, while my uncle ordered the chicken skillet. A huarache is basically a masa oval shaped tortilla topped with many ingredients. In this one, the huarache is topped with steak, bell peppers, grilled onions, ranchero salsa, and cheese). For the chicken skillet, it came with refried beans, pico de gallo, spanish rice, avocado, and tortillas. He ordered the corn tortillas. To drink, I got one of my favorite sodas: the Mexican Coke (Only Coke product I drink), while my uncle just got water after passing up the same drink as me (he has an addiction to it, since it is so good). We paid roughly $25 (tax included). the waiting time was 12 minutes and 13 seconds. To wait for the food, we got some free chips and salsa



Menu (click to view): Menu Page 1Menu Page 2
Unlike the other Mexican places I have been to, you have the option of getting other Mexican items along with the popular burritos, tacos, tostadas, and quesadillas. Now here are some terms and its definitions. Gorditas = cakes made with masa (dough) stuffed with mainly meats, cheese, and vegetables) Sopes = circle of masa of ground maze topped with refried beans, meats and vegetables. They even have breakfast items! Finally, THEY HAVE TAMALES!! The best part about this is that they have a separate halal cooking area for their entire menu, even though their barbacoa is not halal and they sell pork. I would suggest you ask whether the halal meat can be used on any of the breakfast items, since the other parts of the menus allow you to choose the halal beef/chicken. If they say yes, then ONLY order the beef and/or chicken after requesting halal. If not, just order vegetarian. Now, if you do order anything vegetarian, YOU MUST STILL REQUEST HALAL TO AVOID CROSS-CONTAMINATION. Mexico, like most of Latin America, has an insane infatuation for anything related to pork, so most places would likely cook everything in lard. If you are still unsure of the halal status, the people will be more than happy to help you out. 



Chips and Salsa


The Chicken Skillet


Spanish rice, refried beans, pico de gallo, and avocado


Huarache Mexicano. The tortillas are in the very cute sombrero




The Verdict:
One word: fantastic. Even my uncle, who barely eats anything that's not Indian/Pakistani, even enjoyed the place. The masa was stuffed with refried beans. The management said that the refried beans were made separately and without any pork or lard. The huarache was also very fantastic. Everything on the plate tasted very well. The cheese had a lot of goo in it, and the meat was cooked perfectly. After eating this, I was stuffed. The food was washed down with a bottle of Mexican Coke. Overall, two thumbs up.
The service was phenomenal. The restaurant people were very friendly, and they took their time to help us through the entire menu, telling us what the Mexican dishes meant and what items were halal or not.



Conclusion:
If I had lived in Dallas, then I would most definitely be a regular here! I would also recommend this place for someone who is looking for something that is halal, but not Indian/Pakistani. I will definitely make another visit here the next time I visit Dallas, if time permits.



Grading:
Service: 10/10
Food: 9/10
Waiting Time: 10/10
Total: 29/30 = 96.7% (A)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Dona Mary
2200 Los Rios Boulevard, Plano, Texas 75074
Phone: (972) 422-6402
Website: None
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DonaMary.Antojitos
Timings: Mon-Thu: 8 AM - 9 PM; Fri-Sat: 8 AM - 10 PM; Sun: 8 AM - 7 PM
Caters: Yes

Feel free to leave a comment below, send me a message on Facebook, or email me.

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

Saturday, December 20, 2014

King's Chicken- A Desi Restaurant with a Nice Ambiance

Restaurant: King's Chicken
Address: 2209 Highway 6 South, Houston, Texas 77077
Buffet or a-la-carte: Buffet
Date of visit: 12/18/14


Photo Credit: http://s3-media4.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/Ze_0RKqGvI5e7UuIWIwWEg/ls.jpg


Background:
Salam/hey guys! After a long time, I am reviewing another restaurant in the same week! Last Tuesday, I reviewed Thai Choice. Today, I am reviewing King's Chicken. I first heard of King's Chicken when I was in high school. The original owners had sold their biryani and fried chicken after the Friday Prayers at the mosque my dad and I used to go to. Then all of a sudden, they disappeared. Their food was really good though. Many years later, I found out that there were new owners, and that they have completely changed the restaurant. The biggest change was that they no longer sold fried chicken. Makes me wonder why they still kept the name. The time came for me to try when I got a call from my father saying that we should meet up for lunch here while I was at UH collecting my belongings from my locker at the campus recreation and wellness center (a.k.a. the gym). He told me that he was on limited time, and that he is a frequent customer at the restaurant. Thankfully, it took me less than 3 minutes to get my stuff. After taking detours, since 45 was shut down at Allen Parkway due to a major accident, I arrived at the restaurant.



Let The Experience Begin!
King's Chicken is located right across Highway 6 from Great Khan Mongolian Grill. Like from the entrance, you can see the big letters indicating that Great Khan is located there. From the outside, the restaurant looked very small, and very average looking. However, once you get inside, you feel as if you are at some fine dining place. The only other Indian/Pakistani places that had such great ambiance were Mayuri on Westheimer, and Marhaba Restaurant back in Al Khobar. Everything was shining, and soothing restaurant music was playing. The tables were laid, similar to how many fine dining places do so. After meeting with my dad and my friend, who is my dad's colleague, it was time to eat.



Let's Eat!
We went for the lunch buffet. The buffet spread was separated into vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections. I opted for the non-vegetarian selections. The selections available were: chicken biryani, chicken karahi, tandoori chicken, butter chicken, seekh kabab, and lamb rogan josh. We all got naan and water. When I went up to get the food, the food was piping hot, and I could hear the chefs cooking the buffet food. My dad also got takeout biryani for my family, since my mom was not feeling well.



Menu (click to view): I am surprised that a restaurant of this caliber doesn't have a website. Anyways, this restaurants features dishes that are popular in both India and Pakistan. The pricing is very reasonable

Appetizers

Rice Dishes

Tandoori

Chicken Curries (I)

Chicken curries (II), goat and lamb curries

Seafood and Vegetables (I); (sorry if it is crooked. It just wouldn't stay still!)

Vegetables, naan, and desserts

Desserts and Beverages

The Buffet spread

The Verdict: 
This buffet, like most I have been to in Houston, had hits and misses. The hits were the seekh kabab and the butter chicken. The seekh kabab was cooked perfectly and was full of flavor. The butter chicken was very creamy. The downs were the chicken karahi, and the Tandoori chicken. The tandoori chicken could have been much better, and the karahi had very little taste. The rest of the items tasted decently. My father liked the food, while his colleague agreed that the Tandoori chicken could have been much better. My mom and sister liked the biryani, but said that it was not as good as Khan BBQ's (Idk why). The naan kept coming in, and each time the naan was very fluffy and tasty. One thing that I will point out is that unlike many other Indian/Pakistani places, the karahi was not oily at all! This makes it easier to eat all the food and minimize the waste. The food was washed down with refilled glasses of water.
The service was ok. Nothing to praise or criticize. We just ate, paid, and left.



Conclusion: 
The new management of King's Chicken is doing a decent job. I have two tips for them: change the name of the restaurant. King's Chicken was originally named because it would sell fried chicken along with Indian/Pakistani food. Also, the phrase "King's Chicken" is analogous to "Church's Chicken" or "Hartz's Chicken). Had I been asked to suggest the name, I would name it "Baadshah" (King in Urdu). But in the end, the decision whether to change the restaurant name or not is entirely up to the management, and I will respect their decision. Their biryani gets a pass, along with the rogan josh. But in all honesty, if I were to choose between here and Maharajah, then I would pick Maharajah because of the latter's consistency in the taste of their food. However, if at all I come back here with my dad, then I would order something off the menu.



Grading: 
Service: 8/10
Food: 7.5/10
Waiting Time: N/A
Total: 15.5/20 = 77.5% (C)
Pricing: $ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
King's Chicken
2209 Highway 6 South, Houston, Texas 77077
Phone: (281) 498-2900
Website: None
Timings: Mon-Sun: 11 AM - 10:30 PM
Caters: Yes


Feel free to comment below, message me on Facebook, or email me!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

Thursday, December 18, 2014

CLOSED: Thai Choice- Another Halal Thai Option in Town

Restaurant: Thai Choice
Address: 11161 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas 77042
Buffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte
Date of Visit: 12/16/14

Photo Credit:http://places2.assets.gotime.com/cc639b9cbe982fc9c7e2de2decd5538c64e71933_l.jpg


UPDATE 8/31/16: This place has closed down

Background:
Salam/hey guys! After nearly a whole month of preparing for finals I am back! Now let me tell you something. There was something that I had never seen before. The last restaurant I visited was El Greco near UH. The food was good, but there was a major problem. Shortly after going there, I decided to check up on them and ask whether they cook it separately or not by surprise. Why is it a surprise? Because cooking halal meat separately is a fundamental of properly preparing halal meat. The prime examples of this are Stanton's and Elevation Burger. They make sure that the haram meat is separate from the halal meat. It turned out that they DON'T cook it separately. I tried to contact them via Facebook, but they just ignored me. Thus, I have decided to not put their review. Another thing that has happened is that my parents are desperately trying to limit me from eating out. They feel that eating out is not good for me, and that I should only stick to home food. Nonetheless, a friend had said that we would hang out, but at the last minute, he had something come up, so he couldn't make it. So it was just me. After battling through rush hour traffic, and nearly ending up at a wrong place. I arrived at the restaurant



Let The Experience Begin!
Thai Choice is located at the intersection of Westheimer and Wilcrest. The place looked deserted at night; even the inside was empty except for one table. I confirmed that the food was halal, and they even had the halal certificate hanging. After getting some water, I looked through the menu.



Let's Eat!
I ordered something that I have longed to try: Roast duck. I confirmed with the waiter about the halal status of the duck. He said that the duck is also halal. This concludes the end of my quest to eat duck.
Many of the halal duck places are located in Sugar Land, which is far from both my house and UH. I was really excited as I wanted to try it ever since I started this food blog.  There were four spice levels available: mild, spicy, very spicy, and Thai spicy. I took Thai spicy. Normally when I go to non Indian/Pakistani places, I like to eat the things that are popular in a specific country. For example, if I go to a Greek restaurant, I would get a souvlaki as they are a really popular in Greece, or if I go to a Turkish restaurant, I would either get Iskender or a mixed grill, since kebaps and doner meats are popular in Turkey. In Thai cuisine, many of the meats can be rotated. For example, Pad Thai and many other curries can be enjoyed with either chicken, beef, or even tofu. I paid $20.51 (Tax included). The waiting time was 9 minutes and 33 seconds



Menu: http://thaichoicehouston.com/Menu_2.php
This restaurant's menu is very similar to Anothai's on FM 1960. You have your usual curries, noodle and rice dishes, soups, and appetizers. One thing that makes Thai Choice stand out is that you don't have popular Chinese dishes such as kung pao chicken and teriyaki. Another way this stands out over Anothai is that their duck is actually halal. Last time I went, I was told that the duck is not halal. Thankfully however they cook it separately. With the exception of the duck and seafood dishes, the pricing is very good. They even have a lunch menu, where your entree comes with Jasmine rice, egg roll, and soup



The Halal Certificate. Waiter assured me the duck is also from here

Fork and Jasmine rice on the roasted duck and vegetables. Notice the brown texture of the duck.




The Roasted Duck itself


The Verdict:
So how would I describe the long wait to eat duck? Well, it was absolutely worth it! The duck was very crisp, but it had a lot of taste! The duck tasted a lot like chicken, but with crisp!  The vegetables were tasty, but the sauce could do better in terms of taste. The Jasmine rice was nice and fresh. I was actually able to withstand the heat from the spices. Overall, one thumb up.
The service was good. The waiter was very nice. I saw him communicate with other customers, and he was smiling all the time. And unlike El Greco, he did not back away when I confirmed the halal status of this restaurant.



Conclusion:
Thai Choice is a decent place to dine if you want some halal Thai in town. Their food is nearly identical to Anothai's. I would definitely be back and try other things like Pad Thai and their red curry.



Grading:
Service: 8/10
Food: 8.5/10
Waiting Time: 10/10
Overall: 26.5/30 = 88.3% (B)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Thai Choice
11161 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas 77042
Phone: (713) 780-8323
Website: http://thaichoicehouston.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Thai-Choice-Restaurant/691439794202883
Timings: Mon-Fri: 11 AM - 3 PM and 5 PM - 10 PM; Sat-Sun: 12 PM - 10 PM
Caters: Yes


Feel free to leave a comment below, send me an email, or message me on Facebook.

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed