Featured Image: Tan Tan Restaurant

Houston’s Chinatown is one of the city’s most ethnically diverse neighborhoods, primarily home to Asians from different countries in the continent who live and work here. It is a vibrant community in Southwest Houston, which started being developed in the 1980s. Also known as ‘Asiatown,’ this place is famous for shops offering great bargains and a rich tapestry of food, from Cantonese dim sum to Vietnamese pho. This destination, which boasts of some of Houston’s best but most affordable food options, symbolizes diversity in the city. Unfortunately, the business has suffered a lot since the first wave of the Coronavirus pandemic. But things have started to look up again as life has come back to normal. So, here is a guide to explore Houston’s Chinatown through your taste-buds –

LA Crawfish Shack

If crawfish is what you crave, you must head to the LA Crawfish Shack, which serves Cajun-style seafood throughout the year. They opened their first location on the corner of Gessner and Harwin in 2010. Despite a slow start, they ended up opening a second outlet at 2020 Highway 6 in 2019. Apart from selling fresh boiled crawfish during the season, LA Crawfish Shack is famous for selling juicy and flavorful crawfish, even during the off-season. Besides, they also serve salads, fried foods, gumbos, grilled fillets, red beans, and rice, etc.

Tan Tan Restaurant

This restaurant has been offering mouthwatering cuisines of China and Vietnam to patrons for the past 35 years. The menu includes traditional comfort food like noodles and congee (type of rice porridge) as well as star dishes like Peking duck, bo luc lac, and Vietnamese hot pot. One of the restaurant’s famous dishes is the Vietnamese fried rice cake! The highlight of eating at Tan Tan is that the guests cannot help but ask for more than one helping!

• Website: http://www.tantanrestaurant.com/
• Address: 6816 Ranchester Dr, Houston, TX 77036
• Hours: 11 am – 10 pm on weekdays and 11 am – 12 am on Weekends
• Price: $$

Crawfish & Noodles

Chef Trong, the Executive Chef & Owner of the restaurant, grew up in a poor family in Vietnam before migrating. So, his early influences (watching his grandmother cook back home) and self-learning contribute to the marked difference between Crawfish & Noodles and similar restaurants. The result is visible in the marvelous spread that includes the unique Viet-Cajun Crawfish, Salt & Pepper blue crabs, and Shaking beef and rice. No wonder that Chef Trong’s dishes have been featured on Food Network, Travel Channel, and Netflix.

• Website: http://www.crawfishandnoodles.com/
• Address: 11360 Bellaire Blvd #990, Houston, TX 77072
• Hours: 5 pm – 10 pm on weekdays, Extended hours on Weekends
• Price: $$

Mala Sichuan Bistro

If you love spicy food with a twist, this is the place to be. The food here is inspired by the “Sichuan province” of China and is high on spices. “Mala” in the name comes from ‘Ma’ and ‘La.’ ‘Ma’ refers to a slight numbing sensation caused in your tongue and mouth by the Sichuan peppercorn. And, ‘La’ refers to the hot, tongue-lashing effect coming from the capsaicin in chili peppers. Sichuan peppercorn and bamboo shoots are the two primary underlying flavors in several dishes served at this restaurant. These include water-boiled fish, tea-smoked duck, pot-roasted tilapia, and cumin beef. The restaurant also has gluten-free options.

• Website: https://malasichuan.com/
• Address: 9348 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77036
• Hours: 11 am – 10 pm, Closed on Tuesdays
• Price: $$

Tiger Den

This Japanese Izakaya eatery is located right in the heart of Chinatown’s Dun Huang Plaza, which is the center of nightlife in Chinatown. This place is famous for its house-made noodles and broth, which is simmered for almost a day to achieve its savory flavor. This ramen outpost often invites long queues of patrons who are ‘addicted’ to its signature soups. Soups like garlic black-bean, spicy miso, and original tonkatsu are the most sought after. Tiger Den has its own authentic charcoal grill used to create dishes with unbelievable taste. Guests just can’t seem to have enough of their yakitori meat skewers, made with beef tongue, pork jowl, beef ribeye, chicken skins, squid, and lamb. Their ‘Mushroom Medley’ is also a menu favorite.

• Website: http://www.tigerdentx.com/
• Address: 9889 Bellaire Blvd STE 230, Houston, TX 77036
• Hours: 5 pm – 11 pm, 5 pm – 12 am Friday/Saturday. Closed on Mondays
• Price: $

One Dragon Restaurant

One Dragon is as local as you can get inside a neighborhood like Chinatown. It is a friendly mom ‘n pop eatery jostling for its place along with popular joints like Mala Sichuan on the same strip mall. Let’s begin with their customized soup dumplings, which would get destroyed within seconds because of their delicate skin and delicious stuffing of fragrant broth inside. This is one delectable mess you won’t be sad to find yourself in. The wonders just don’t cease to come in from the homely kitchen, and every dish is priced around 10 bucks. Though their soup dumplings are the stars on the menu, foodies also love to order salt ‘n pepper pork ribs, braised pork belly, and onion pancakes. Usually ending the meal with a red-bean dessert. The place can get jam-packed around weekends and holidays, so be ready to wait in a queue.

• Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/One%20Dragon%20Restaurant/120632951285361/
• Address: 9310 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77036
• Hours: 5 pm – 11 pm, 5 pm – 12 am Friday/Saturday. Closed on Mondays
• Price: $

Mian

In 2018, this gourmet Szechuan noodle house opened its doors to Houstonians in their Asiatown location of Bellaire. Since then, Mian, which means ‘noodles’ in Chinese, has been true to its name – serving Chongqing-style noodles to the Houstonians with discerning taste buds. Noodles are served in a broth, with seafood, pork, or gizzards, as per your individual taste. Marinated pork, mapo tofu, spicy radish, chili oil wontons, and steamed vegetables are other fan favorites. Here, you will be sure to find a casual dining experience. Watch out for the spice, though!

• Website: http://miantogo.com/
• Address: 9600 Bellaire Blvd #102B, Houston, TX 77036
• Hours: 10:30 am to 8 pm
• Price: $

Sinh Sinh Restaurant

This family-style restaurant offers a wide variety of Chinese dishes cooked in the regional style. Their specialty is Chinese barbecue, fresh seafood, and noodles. The place is cozy, with a live seafood display, including lobster, shrimp, fish, and crab. Go for the roast pig or duck at the BBQ counter before trying their authentic wontons, hot pot, or fried rice. The place has a little bit of everything, making it a suitable venue for family gatherings, birthday parties, or friends.

• Website: https://sinhsinhtx.com/
• Address: 9788 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77036
• Hours: 10 am to 2 am, 10 am to 3 am on Friday, Saturday.
• Price: $$

Mein Restaurant

At Mein Restaurant, you will find ‘everyday food’ with a strong Cantonese influence on it. With its origin in the historic Chinese province of Guangdong, the food at Mein represents the ethnic immigrant experience, which is unlike any other Asian flavor. The extensive menu has standout dishes like crispy duck leg, char siu pork, cold hand-pulled chicken, and, of course, fresh, house-made noodles. Their dessert menu boasts of sugar egg puffs, quite like the donut but Chinese in identity.

• Website: http://www.eatmein.com/
• Address: 9630 Clarewood Dr Ste A13, Houston, TX 77036
• Hours: 11 am to 3 pm, 5 pm to 10 pm on Weekdays. Open till 11 PM on Friday, Saturday. Closed Monday
• Price: $$

House of Bowls

As the name suggests, you get bowl-full of delicious meals here to satisfy your taste buds craving for some good Asian flavors. This is another casual Hong Kong eatery, which serves food in family-style portions. Visitors flock to this place for crispy chicken wings, dry beef chow fun, and the typical Hong-Kong French Toast, smeared with peanut butter and served with sweetened condensed milk. Then there are other Chinese staples like soup, rice, and noodles, house-made! The food is made to order so that you can control the spice quotient as per your palate.

• Website: https://www.facebook.com/House-of-Bowls-120988504582233
• Address: 6650 Corporate Dr, Houston, TX 77036
• Hours: 11 am to 9:30 pm Closed Tuesday.
• Price: $

People visiting Chinatown come here for the experience of a wholesome outing. There are several interesting activities to indulge in, like amusement parks, gaming parlors, shopping malls, and more! However, the mainstay of each visit, for hungry Houstonians, remains the Asian food! Visitors often describe the restaurant experience in Chinatown as “exploring the globe via stomach!” This is because there is no shortage of authentic eating spots. Be it dim sums, seafood soup, Korean soju, or water-boiled fish, – you will find everything and more to treat your taste buds to the Asian delights.

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