Day 2 in Houston! For brunch, we decided on Sweet Paris Creperie and Cafe located in Rice Village. The Rice Village is considered a trendy district with a hodge podge of different shops, boutiques, and restaurants.
Sweet Paris was started by a young entrepreneurial couple who wanted to "revive" the art of eating crepes. As such, they serve mostly crepes, which comes in both savoury and sweet options. They also serve breakfast options, paninis, soups, and salads. The decor was very cute, with chandeliers, tiffany blue accents, and a plush white booth running along one of the walls. They intended to build a tranquil French industrial chic space and I would say that they definitely succeeded. WHY CAN'T WE HAVE THIS RESTAURANT IN EDMONTON? I will franchise one if I have to.
When you enter the restaurant, you're directed to order at the counter where you can also watch the crepes being made. There's also a service station where you can pick up utensils, napkins, and drinks. They provide you with an order number, which comes on a cute Eiffel tower figurine and you're free to choose your seat anywhere. They later bring your food out to you.
Since it was around brunch time, we both ordered breakfast crepe options along with a sweet crepe to share for "dessert." Dessert is best enjoyed at any time.
KN was making fun of me a little bit, but I'm a proud Canadian so what else would I order besides the La Canadienne ($8.50)? The crepe was massive, and had poutine cheese, scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, and maple syrup drizzled inside. The eggs were soft, the potatoes tender, while the bacon and poutine cheese provided some salty texture between bites. The crepe had the whole sweet and salty vibe going on, but in the end, it was way too much for me to finish.
KN decided to go for a more authentic Parisian experience and chose the Croque Madame ($8.00) which came with two scrambled eggs, gruyere cheese, smoked ham, and bechamel sauce.
We were probably way too full at this point but we still had the nutella crepe with bananas and strawberries ($6.75) to share. You literally can't go wrong with warm nutella and any fresh fruit.
Next time, it'd be probably smart just to share one savoury and sweet crepe between us. We're just not familiar with American portions.
After our delicious brunch, we had to wait around for KN's brother-in-law to pick us up so we walked around the area to kill time. While there were a bunch of interesting boutiques and stores, the most memorable was Rocket Fizz soda and candy shop.
Very kitschy and cute. I picked up a couple of American candies and chocolates that I've never heard of or tasted before.
Kit Kat White is revolutionary.
Once we were able to track down KN's brother-in-law, he helped us decide what we were going to do for the rest of our day. What else but SHOPPING?! Since it was relatively close, we decided to go to the Galleria. The Galleria is the largest mall in all of Texas, and the 8th largest mall in the United States. Even though West Edmonton Mall is considered the largest mall in all of North America, I was more exhausted walking around the Galleria, maybe because we were lost and confused half the time, and we also walked into a bunch more shops.
The Galleria has a section of really high-end stores that just makes your wallet cry as you walk past. Seriously, they were even too intimidating to even step foot into the store.
My biggest purchase was the Jo Malone Osmanthus Blossom Cologne from Neiman Marcus.
I coveted this perfume since the first time I sprayed it in Holt Refrew, but I planned to purchase it while I was in the States since it would be relatively cheaper. My nose is not sophisticated enough to pick out the fragrance notes; all I know is that it smells really fresh and light. The lady at the counter also threw in a ton of Jo Malone samples, as well as a free tote bag and other perfume samples. So even after currency conversions, it was still a better value for money.
While at the Galleria, I also bought some Godiva truffles, a plaid shirt from Cotton On, and a keychain from Henri Bendel.
Afterwards, KN's entire family brought us out to FuFu Restaurant where we had a large Chinese dinner to celebrate her brother-in-law's birthday. The name still makes me laugh.
- CT
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