Miki "AustinTatious" M.'s Profile

We continue to love this restaurant. Unfortunately we experienced some unexpected attitude from the lady who is responsible to seat us, so we are forced to change our rating to 3 stars... This lady might actually be the manager, I think. Which is a pity- all other employees at this establishment have been REALLY NICE to us, they always remember us and give us kindness and respect. Since we're regulars here (we come to eat at your restaurant every week, and spend at least 50-60 dollars each time) we feel that we're entitled to require some respect. We are not asking for much- you just need to be careful and a little nicer to us. We haven't done anything to you, to deserve any fuss & attitude when we come on Sunday to enjoy peaceful Dim Sum with the family...

So to re-cap: if you show that you're making effort next time, and do not use double standards towards my wife (who is also Chinese), we'll gladly up your rating back to the previous 5 stars. If you feel that we've critiqued you unfairly, or if you have any questions, please send us a note- we are open to discussing today's impressions. Best of luck!

OKay, this is my second choice of Premium Outlets- but it is a LOT closer to where I live (compared to the San Marcos one). What can I say? It's good- but it is a bit small...

I recommend you should visit this place, check it out- and then if you feel the same way like I do (that it's kind of smaller than what you were expecting) then you should check out the San Marcos one- bigger, more choice, often better prices... but far away.

Anyway, it is good to have you, RR Premium Outlets... Hopefully I can get to do some shopping soon again. Right now I am in a savings mode, due to the uncertainty with the US economy.

I don't know- to some, Austin is probably a very big city. To me, Austin is a nice small town. I like the small town lifestyle- don't need to worry about traffic, smog, pollution... And no need to be the most fashionable person in town, in order to be happy.

But although I feel tame most of the time, I do get bitten by certain bugs. Powerful ones... Which inflame my mind and soul...

I do feel the need to do some quality shopping. I cannot wear shorts and t-shirts all the time- I need to feel the tight fit of a premium dressy shirt gently squeezing my upper body, and I really miss the uncomfortable sensation of putting brand new leather shoes that haven't been broken-in yet. Shoes that are likely to give me blisters after 10 minutes of walking down 6th street- but will also ensure that I won't remain unnoticed...

When I feel rich, handsome and famous (and hands itchy to spend some money) I do have options in Austin. Thank God I do.

I can go to the Domain which as you know well has some really good premium shopping...

But what if I want to buy cool stuff AND still save some money? Well, then. An easy 45 minutes drive South to San Marcos- and wow, look at all the cool Premium Outlets. I feel so lucky. One could call premium shopping "divine". But is it really? Or is it the most decadent thing, that will ensure that you have a hot cauldron of boiling water reserved for your soul at a certain retreat deep underground... A sort of extreme (and eternal) Jacuzzi, enhanced by sulfur fumes (aroma-therapy)...

For example, how do you explain that Prime Outlets of San Marcos is in zip-code 78-666? Contains three sixes... Out of all possible numbers. Hmm, what a coincidence... Also 7+8=15, 1+5=6. So it's actually... four sixes, not three. And if you add all the numbers of this lovely zip code: 7+8+6+6+6 = 33... which is also a SIX! :) OK never mind, let us forget about this Kabbalah thingie- let's just enjoy. And oh yes, I do enjoy it. Quite a bit! Too much.

Only one thing bothers me about the Prime Outlets in San Marcos: how can there be so many cool premium (but discounted) stores around, and not even one GOURMET RESTAURANT to crash at, after scratching the premium shopping itch? What if I have $50 remaining in my pocket and want to satisfy also my craving for Crap'es & S-Car-Go??? Who do I have to (expletive) to get them to open a healthier, higher-end, premium outlet-worthy food place...

Guess I have to satisfy with the Outback Steakhouse for the time being.

This is a good Korean-owned sushi here in Austin- I enjoyed the quality of their fish and they were priced relatively moderate. Kind service too. Apparently they are popular for their Spicy Scallop cut-roll, which we tried and it was quite tasty (although it wasn't that unusual visually). All in all, a decent place and we plan to visit again.

Gees, it's happening again. I really hate it when I have to be the first one to break the 5-star thread here. But I am upset at my experience with the Seton Northwest Hospital's ER, and I feel it is beneficial for others to read my observations.

My wife got sick very suddenly, the whole day she was feeling well but around 5 PM she felt a strong fever & chills (her entire body was shaking) and a terrible headache. We measured her temperature- oops, 102 degrees. She felt so miserable that we had no choice but to bring her to the Seton ER room (after reading so many recommendations on Yelp... plus it is like 7-8 minutes away from our house, so convenient).

We got there around 7:00 PM tonight- Sunday the 11th of October. We got cold reception, filled the usual paperwork, then we were directed to a "special" medium size waiting room that was so full of people, my wife took the last seat. She felt really sick, shivering, barely able to stand up. Doesn't matter, took them 4 1/2 hours to see her. She just sent me an SMS a few minutes ago, the doctor finally was able to examine her, and yes she got the flu... A heavy form of it. My wife told me that after the doctor saw her, she was left to "wait for the prescription" and she was really sick, shaking with terrible fever. Another 30 minutes later, finally somebody showed up, and when they saw her, they got "very worried" and gave her a Motrin to lower the 102.5 F fever... Very cool...

Well what can I say? At least she saw the doctor... At least she got the prescription drug- and thank God she is young and strong. I imagine if it was another person, with more health problems... Would that person survive the wait here?

To the other Yelpers who wrote reviews: you guys were very lucky to get such a short wait here- in our case, it was a record (long & tedious) wait. Even in larger US cities where I've lived before, I never had to wait as long as that...

If you are searching for a place in North-Central Austin that sells European, Asian and Middle-Eastern ingredients, well, you found it. This hole in the wall grocery store carries Bulgarian Feta (yummy), Persian Yoghurt Drinks, German Milka chocolate, Italian Kinder chocolate, Bounty Coconut bars, Sodjuk dry salame, and a whole series of the famous with true foodies "Zergut" brand (baked peper spreads, marinated eggplant, Avjar spreads, Grape & Sauerkraut leaves for "sarmi", etc. etc.). All this is in addition to the Indian / Pakistani ingredients, and some grocery items like fruits & veggies...

This shop needs quite some work in order to bring it up to the expected standards of a normal US grocery store. Especially as far as getting some stench out (I recommend mopping the floors every once in a while, with strong chlorox bleach hopefully... cus now it feels like they have never been washed before). But hey, other than that, it is good to have you in the neighborhood, Shahi Foods. All the best- and please expand + grow your selection.

This company was so bad- it went out of business.

The great thing about Randall's is that they have so much better, higher quality items compared to HEB, while their prices are still pretty low. Especially if you take the time (1 minute) to sign up for a Randall's Club discount card. I regularly save more than 10% from the cost of my groceries. A very decent organic section, as well as wine collection again far superior to HEB. In addition, this store is pretty new, very clean, it even has a Starbucks. Love their Artisan style breads, some of which are hands down better than Whole Foods. For example, we love Randall's Olive bread, which usually sux badly at Hole Foods (very dry, tasteless, no aroma- feels like old bread made 3-4 days ago). Even their flower section is better than Whole Foods and much, much cheaper. Thank you Randall's and we'll definitely shop here more often!

This doctor was highly recommended by a colleague at Dell- and indeed it seems he is a very good specialist and a great easy-going person. I was a new patient, yet they treated me with dignity, gave me the first available appointment. I arrived promptly, and waited unusually short time in their very clean and bright comfortable waiting room. The doctor interviewed me patiently and showed sincere interest in my health issues- not just the usual superficial small talk. I've been to many doctors who can't wait to "get rid" of the patient- in and (pop) out. Here I did get some personal attention which, I must say, made a big difference. After making sure he understood well what my condition was, Dr. Klocek prescribed a medicine that improved dramatically the way I felt. I think it is a high-tech antibiotic. Made so much sense, after a  5-6 days long struggle to get better with over-the-counter pills & syrups (NyQuil, DayQuil, Robitussin etc.) I was already at the end of my hope and patience. I thought I would miss my upcoming trans-atlantic flight. Thanks to Dr. Klocek I am up and running again... well, walking I'd say. I hope I won't be getting sick any soon. But if I really have to see a doctor, I would gladly visit Dr. Klocek again.

I know this is probably a very good doctor, provided you get to actually talk to her. I didn't, so regretfully I am the one who has the unpleasant duty of writing a lowering review. I hate it when this happens. But the people who picked up the phone deserve it, they were not compassionate and accommodating at all to a new patient seeking help after being sick for the entire Labor Day weekend... If you are a new patient that does not feel well and are hoping to be "squeezed in"- look elsewhere. Be advised that at this office you will get a pretty quick and dry answer: "we don't have any new patient same-day appointments- and if you feel sick & symptoms are flu-like, go to your nearest Emergency Room". Hmm? Really? No kidding. If I wanted to go to an emergency room, I was going to do so and wasn't gonna bother to call your office.

Look, I am aware that most doctor's offices in Austin have a policy and attitude towards new patients- and I know it's difficult, if not impossible, to get a same day appointment. But that's not the point. I'm sick, not feeling well at all- and you are snippy-snappy with me over the phone? Clearly you had no compassion, no concern, really didn't care. Dealing with this type of attitude is one of my biggest pet peeves, especially when we're talking of a Doctor's office.