Chinatown is awash in restaurants, but there are those you go to sometimes and those you can go to just about anytime, any day. House of Bowls fits into the second category. The unassuming restaurant, located in a strip mall off the main Bellaire drag in Chinatown, serves delicious, no-nonsense Hong Kong-style food that's great for takeout, dine-in, a quick stop, a family outing and everything in between. The menu is simple and clear-cut, composed primarily of rice plates or noodle dishes in the sub-$10 range. Their dry-style beef chow fun, with its smoky wok flavor and fresh, flat noodles, is a must-order every time. Simple rice plates, topped with everything from spicy mapo tofu to beef with broccoli or salted spicy pork chops, come steaming hot right off the wok and to your table. Soup bowls filled with noodles are also excellent, and the peanut butter-stuffed Hong Kong French toast is a dessert that adults and kids will fight over.