As you’re driving down any random street in Houston, chances are you will pass several different Chinese food establishments, but if it’s really good Chinese food you’re looking for, try one of these 8 Chinese restaurants in Houston:
Fung’s Kitchen: Considered by many to be hands-down the best Chinese restaurant in Houston, Fung’s Kitchen serves authentic Hong Kong cuisine at its Southwest Freeway location. Fung’s Kitchen has banquet rooms and private rooms for special functions, and the quiet atmosphere, highlighted by a blend of both ancient and modern Chinese style, is very appealing. This restaurant serves over 400 dishes (and they are all good!), but menu standouts include half-shell oysters steamed in black bean sauce, eggplant fritters, and sautéed snow pea shoots. Seafood and wild game dishes are the real specialties at Fung’s Kitchen and since the place has a lot of faithful customers, reservations are recommended.
Sinh Sinh: In a strip mall on Bellaire Blvd., Sinh Sinh is a big, bustling Chinese restaurant replete with live-seafood tanks and barbecued ducks and pork hanging from the ceiling. The staff at Sinh Sinh are very friendly and helpful at helping you choose delicious menu items like the hot pot soups, walnut shrimp, and beef and lobster in a ginger-scallion sauce. Entrée prices range from $8-$30. Sinh Sinh is a family-friendly restaurant open for lunch and dinner seven days a week and open extra late on the weekends.
Ocean Palace: Also on Bellaire Blvd. in New Chinatown, Ocean Palace is actually like two restaurants in one…and both vie for being the best Chinese restaurant in Houston! The upstairs dim sum is a great value and features items like marinated duck, fried spot prawns, and shrimp bonnets off the rolling carts. The downstairs part of Ocean Palace offers a pricier live seafood menu, with standouts including steamed live fish, snow pea shoots, and squid with a spicy salt. Prices for entrees range from about $10 up to $30, with the more expensive items found downstairs. The décor at Ocean Palace is nice, but since the restaurant can hold up to 2000 diners…the place is huge and has that banquet hall feel. Servers are friendly and helpful. Weekend dim sum has more options than weekday, but Ocean Palace is open 7 days a week for both lunch and dinner.
Hot Wok: On the Gulf Freeway in Webster, Hot Wok is a little out of the way, but is still one of the best Chinese restaurants in Houston, especially when it comes to value. The contemporary Asian décor is inviting and the waitstaff are very friendly. Menu favorites include General Tso’s Chicken and a variety of dumplings. Hot wok also offers a stir-fry buffet with very fresh items…something that can be hard to find in a buffet! Prices are fabulous with most items under $10.
China View: Located on the Katy Freeway between Kirkwood and Wilcrest, China View is the best Chinese restaurant in Houston when it comes to offering the greatest selection and variety of dishes from all regions of China. On weekends China View offers an excellent dim sum menu that includes a variety of steamed or pan-fried dishes made fresh as you order. Menu standouts include grilled eel, Asian fish tacos, Peking duck, and many Gulf Coast seafood dishes. Prices are very reasonable for the excellent quality of food, and the atmosphere, replete with Chinese antiques and artwork, is both refined and inviting. The staff is friendly and eager to help make your meal enjoyable. China View is open seven days a week for lunch/brunch and dinner.
Rattan Pan-Asian Bistro: On Eldridge Parkway in west Houston, this restaurant offers a contemporary take on Chinese cuisine. This bistro is most noted for their extensive wine list and their Italian Enomatic wine-dispensing system, but they also offer fabulous Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Japanese food, including their garlic beef and raw rolls. Entrees are priced from $10-$20 and the wine list has some bargain prices for great wines. The décor is beautiful and the atmosphere is romantic with very friendly service.
Yum Yum Cha Café: Inside 610 on Times Blvd., Yum Yum Cha Café is an expertly run made-to-order dim sum restaurant. They are open for lunch and dinner daily and offer over 60 varied dim sum items, with customer favorites including turnip cakes, stuffed eggplant, chong fun noodle crepes, and dumplings in vegetable, pork-and-peanut, or chive-and-shrimp guise. Prices are unbeatable here, with all items under $10. The service and atmosphere are both inviting and the restaurant is very well managed by the father-daughter owners/managers.
China Sichuan Cuisine: The biggest problem most diners encounter at China Sichuan Cuisine on Gessner in west Houston is what to order off the menu that rarely (if ever) fails to please. All of their dishes have their own very unique flavors, with menu standouts including lamb spiced with red chile, pork filled dumplings, pork potstickers, and dried chicken with red chile. But really, everything at this stripped-down, glamour-less little place is great. So the atmosphere may not be the most inviting, but the food makes up for it and the waitstaff are very helpful. China Sichuan Cuisine is possibly the best Chinese restaurant in Houston when it comes to price – all the great food at this restaurant is under $10. And even better, you can enjoy the cheap, delicious food for lunch and dinner seven days a week!
Now that you know about the best Chinese restaurants in Houston, pick one, have a night out and enjoy some of the best Chinese food in town!
