Chinatown

Fat Bao: Bao Wow

Upper Kirby's Fat Bao offers delicious Chinese dough wrapped around savory and sweet fillings and now with lowered prices.

Crazy for Crawfish

Houston's 10 best mudbug joints.

Bigger Crawfish Are Here: A Roundup of Houston's 10 Best Mudbug Spots

We're at the part of the crawfish season when peeling becomes less laborious, where miniature-lobster-sized crustaceans replace the teensy mudbugs that filled your bucket just weeks ago. This is the perfect time to strap on a bib and stock up on moist towelettes for high-yield shell peeling. Since ... More >>

Upcoming Events: The Year of the Snake and Mardi Gras in Galveston

Chinese New Year is fast approaching, and Houston has no shortage of places to celebrate. Straits Asian Bistro in CityCentre is offering special menu items this weekend (February 8 through 10), including Singapore Yu Sheng Hamachi with avocado spun radish and spicy yuzu dressing; Braised Pork Belly ... More >>

First Look at Fat Bao: Fusion Dumplings and Fried Avocado Sticks

I am an admitted, established sucker for fried avocado, roasted cauliflower and gua bao. So one would think that I'd be a sucker for Fat Bao, too, the new fusion restaurant specializing in bao -- steamed buns folded like half-moons into what are essentially the Chinese version of finger sandwiches - ... More >>

Pho to Ramen, Bulgogi to Bo 7 Mon

The top 10 restaurants in Chinatown.

Top 10 Restaurants in Chinatown

"You're going to do a top 10 Chinatown list, aren't you?" a reader implored last week on Twitter. Of course -- Chinatown is my favorite neighborhood for dining and exploration in the entire city. For every old favorite you visit, you're guaranteed to find at least two new restaurants to fall in love ... More >>

Say No To Dry Turkey: Top 5 Thanksgiving Alternatives

Thanksgiving: a day full of love, laughter, and some truly great food. It's one of the best days of the year...as long as you're not the one making the turkey. Because let's face it: cooking the turkey is a bitch (okay, so I never had to make it myself but even watching other people make it is a bit ... More >>

The Rest of the Best

Houston's top 10 sushi restaurants.

The Rest of the Best: Houston's Top 10 Sushi

For the next 20 weeks, we'll be rounding up the runners-up to our 2012 Best of Houston® winners. In many categories, picking each year's winner is no easy task. We'll be spotlighting 20 of those categories, in which the winner had hefty competition from other Houston bars and restaurants. It wasn' ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes 2012: The Map

View 100 Favorite Dishes 2012 in a larger map Being the map nerd that I am, I look forward to mapping out our list of 100 Favorite Dishes every year to see the geographical distribution of our picks throughout the city. If you look back through our 100 Favorites lists from 2011 (mine) and 2010 (Ro ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 6, Ma Po Tofu at Mala Sichuan

This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston® issue, we're counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston's cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least o ... More >>

This Week in Food Blogs: Everything's Coming Up Houston

New York Times: Houston is getting all the national love this week. After being called "Texas's best and most diverse food city" by Andrew Knowlton in Bon Appétit, it's getting a spotlight from none other than The Gray Lady herself. The New York Times noted our sprawling Chinatown over the weekend ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 3, John Sikhattana of Straits Shows Off Singaporean Food

John Sikhattana Executive Chef Straits Asian Bistro 800 West Sam Houston Parkway North 713-365-9922 www.straitsrestaurants.com This is the third and final part of a three-part chef chat series. Part 1 and Part 2 ran in this space over the last couple of days. Our chat with John Sikhattana this wee ... More >>

Double Happiness at Banana Leaf

A new location, right across from the old one, serves up new and old favorites. And yes, you might still have to wait.

Where Are We Drinking? Clue: This Isn't English Tea Service

When you think of "tea service," you probably think of high English or afternoon tea. But at this newly opened place in the heart of Chinatown, you'll find something other than crumpets or cucumber sandwiches to take with your tea service. This spot is open until 2 a.m. serving everything from cockt ... More >>

Where Are We Eating?

"The original chef of this restaurant is back and the food is amazing!" wrote the photographer who took this photo of chili fried fish at a popular Sichuan restaurant right in the busy heart of Chinatown. Don't let all those bright red peppers scare you off, though. The photographer claims: "It's re ... More >>

Chinese-Style Barbecue at Willie's

Years ago, when I was consulting in the Bay Area, I would drive to this street called Castro in Mountain View whenever I got the craving for traditional Hong Kong-style barbecue. I'm talking small diners with char-siu barbecue pork and roast duck hanging in the window. If you've ever been to a China ... More >>

Chinatown Walking Tour & Dim Sum Lunch

The Hits of 2011

Our favorite new Houston restaurants.

A Whole New Vibe: Vibe Lounge Houston

Fresh Oysters on the Half-Shell with Three Caviars​Karaoke and sports bars are not uncommon down the long stretch of Bellaire in Chinatown. What is uncommon is one that serves delicious, well-presented, high-quality dishes in an ambiance you wouldn't expect from the area. After a rather disapp ... More >>

The 10 Best New Restaurants of 2011

The challenge in choosing 10 of the best restaurants to open in Houston each year is a daunting one: Many of the restaurants I think are "the best" have little to nothing to do with each other, making for a list that falls all over the map when it comes to price, cuisine and location. Then again, t ... More >>

The Film Issue: 10+

Prosper at 5 AM: The Stories Behind the Dishes at Mala Sichuan Bistro

Photos by Troy Fields​Prosper at 5 AM. Top Notch Pot of the Outlaws. Four Joy Lion Head. Couple's Lung Slices. Ants on the Tree. Mala Sichuan Bistro -- the subject of this week's cafe review -- has some of the most creatively named dishes in Chinatown on its menu, most of them under the H ... More >>

A Mini Food Tour Through Korea Town

Photos by Mai PhamThe English translation was "cow's feet," but it was just a beef shank soup with tendon at Korean Diner.​Just because I'm Asian doesn't mean I can read Korean. So if you take me out of my comfort zone and into the Korea Town (K-Town)/Spring Branch area of Houston, I'm just as ... More >>

Where Are We Eating?

This plate of pork meatballs has the unusual name of Four Joy Lion Head at this new Chinatown restaurant. And while there's no lion head to be found in the giant meatballs, there is a lot of joy. Look familiar? Think you know where we're eating this week? ​Leave your best guess in the comment ... More >>

Why I Don't Expect Good Service in Asian Restaurants

Photo by Mai PhamI got my order at Pho Ga Dakao in record time. I focus on the food there, not the service. ​Last week, as I was reading Katharine Shilcutt's review of Mai's downtown, one of the things that struck me as odd was the fact that she seemed to make a big to-do about the poor servic ... More >>

Spicy Korean Tofu Soup (Soondubu Jigae) with a Side of Mackerel

Photos by Mai PhamSpicy Mushroom Korean Tofu Soup "Soondubu jigae"​You'd think that a restaurant with the name "Tofu House" would be vegetarian, but this only applies outside of Chinatown. Inside Chinatown, where the Asians are, people can tell that a name like Jang Guem Tofu House means that ... More >>

Best of Houston® 2011: Now In Handy Map Form!

View Best of Houston® 2011 Food & Drink Winners in a larger map By now, you've hopefully had time to peruse this year's Best of Houston® winners in the food and drink category. If not, then we've put together a handy map (above) with all of the winners listed, for those who prefer spatial int ... More >>

First Look at E Tao

Star of the show: sticky rice-and-pork-stuffed chicken wings.​"You should try the stuffed chicken wings," said our young waitress at E Tao as my friend Dr. Ricky and I considered which items to order from the restaurant's broad menu for dinner on Sunday night. "All the Chinese people" -- she ... More >>

Yummy Stinky

The fermented tofu at this Taiwanese spot is not for the faint of heart.

Health Department Roundup

Somebody's snitching? Don't let it get to you, Dem Damn Doggs. ​Rick Perry prays for America. We pray for lots of interesting inspection reports to make writing this roundup easier. Enjoy this divine bounty of dirty kitchens. If you are of a certain age and demographic, you probably remember ... More >>

Keeping it Simple at Spanky Crawfish and Bar

Two pounds of yum.​There is no shortage of places to get crawfish in Chinatown. During crawfish season familiar names like Boiling Crab and Crawfish and Noodles are packed with eager patrons ready for their crawfish fix. Now there is a new kid in town that could very well hold it's own. Spa ... More >>

Top 5 Cool Summer Snacks

Photo by John SuhStar Snow Ice shaved ice​Houston is notorious for its summers: unbearable heat making the mercury climb to the upper nineties and even hundreds, humidity that leaves you drenched in sweat in the two minutes it takes you to go from door to car. And don't forget all the third de ... More >>

Where Are We Eating?

Below is an updated version of the Peking duck bun seen in so many Chinatown restaurants. But this mantou is filled with pork belly instead, its fatty edge trimmed out by a thick piece of cracklin' and topped with fresh scallions and tangy plum sauce, and it isn't found in Chinatown. Can you guess w ... More >>

Tan Tan No. 2

The second location offers none of the soul of the original and little consistency.

Light and Fruity at Tutti Frutti

​For a while, I was driving completely out of my way to The Yogurt Spot every time I wanted good frozen yogurt. Yes, it's in Chinatown. But the yogurt is reliably good and it always seems to have Family Guy reruns on the TV. Surrounded by high school kids studying and laughing, I always feel ... More >>

Top 5: Foods Best Found in Houston

kshilcuttFung's Kitchen.​Travel & Leisure recently named Houston as America's Best Burger City. But as many Houstonians would tell the nation, Houston is known for much more than just burgers. It's a melting pot of culture and cuisine, and thus offers awesome dishes beyond the typical burger ... More >>

Health Department Roundup

Operating a restaurant without the proper permits? Forget it, it's Chinatown.​The inspections of the past few days have resulted in just a few more closures/citations than we've seen in recent weeks. Not sure what led to the benevolence, but it might be at an end. This is potentially bad news ... More >>

Food Fight: Spicy Peanuts

​The peanut occupies a strange and remarkable place in our national consciousness. It's not a true nut (it's a legume, like lentils and peas), but might as well be for purposes of food allergies and supermarket inventory. It's not American, but might as well be for purposes of popular culture, ... More >>

Breakfast of Champorado-ions

​On my last visit to Filipino restaurant/grocery store Wok n Roll (which is, itself, inside another grocery store -- the H-E-B at Bellaire and Highway 6), I picked up a few items to take home. One of those, a bright red pouch of champorado, has been languishing in my pantry ever since. Champo ... More >>

Bo 7 Mon (Beef Seven Ways) at Saigon Pagolac

Photos by Groovehouse​When my friend Judy Le discovered that I'd never been to Saigon Pagolac (9600 Bellaire, Suite 119, 713-988-6106) for its [apparently] famous bo 7 mon -- beef seven ways -- she set about rectifying that immediately. We took a trip over to Chinatown last weekend and spent a ... More >>

The Top Ten New Restaurants of 2010

Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs

Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Great Food Houston: Former EOW blogger Ruthie Johnson posts on her personal foo ... More >>

Bistro Banh Mi

Cafe TH harkens back to East End Chinatown with a French vibe.

A Different Chicken Soup at Pho Ga Dakao

​Chances are that if you've eaten pho, the popular Vietnamese soup, you've only eaten pho bo. That is, you've only eaten beef pho. There are many reasons why beef pho is more popular than its counterpart, chicken pho, but the long and short of it is that chicken pho is finally starting to mak ... More >>

Enchiladas Huasteca at Taqueria El Campesino

​One of my favorite taquerias, Taqueria El Campesino (7710 Bellaire Blvd. #L, 713-777-8889), has an ostensibly good location, in a mini-mall at the northwest corner of Bellaire and Fondren, right on the way to Chinatown. But that's the thing: it's on the way to Chinatown, which means that ever ... More >>

Planet Houston

The world's great cuisines converge here.