Mein — Restaurant in Houston

I was told this was told by a Asian coworker of my friend that this the best Chinese food in Houston. Intrigued by this statement I endeavoured my way to find out. . .

I arrived at the premises at 1pm on a Sunday. Went inside and was told there is a 30 min wait.  There are some benches and chairs outside; very nice of them to provide them. My party of four went inside after being called.

After making my selections the food came about twenty minutes after my order. I had the char siu with was on a diner plate with maybe about a pound of meat on it cut into nice lengths, not to chunky or too thin. The meat was from the shoulder, moist and full of the juices and the light glaze of the meat. Price was 9.50. A bit pricy, but allright.

Then we had the saltfish fried rice. I just wanted the saltfish menu item, but was told by the waiter to get the chicken. I asked what chicken was on it he said breast. Knowing that most of the the time the chicken used in chicken fried rice is boiled to make stock, I was hesitant. When saw it, it proved my suspicion; it was boiled.  However the fried rice turned out to be the highlight of the meal. Every bite was full of that salt fish savouryness. Excellent wok hei complemented the rice.  I could eat this everyday, but it would wreck my blood pressure.

After a respite of 10 minutes, the rest of the meal came rapidly. The kitchen is very fast and the waitstaff was able as well.

The small fish maw/crabmeat soup (12.50) came first. It came in a ramen sized seeving bowl and can provide 4 small bowl servings.  It tasted like any other fish maw soup but with the exception of fresh crab inside. Very nice.

Next was the char kway teow, the famous Southeast Asian hawker dish. Item was well fried. Squid rings were firm not chewy. Shrimp wastenderized but ok. Noodles were large cut and fresh with integrity. Lop cheng (chinese sausage) or fun cheng depending on your dialect was plentiful and in every bite. It better be for this humble hawker dish comes at a princely restaurant price (14.00) The whole was garnished with deep fried pork lard. Two issues with though, I wish it had cockles (blood clams) for that would give a nice seafood base. Finally I wish the sambal would stand more out, maybe more should be added.

Water spinach (10.00) was well done plenty of wok hei, and was crisp. Kind of skimpy on the fermented bean curd though.

Salt and pepper shrimp (14.50) was good. On the level most good restaurants do it.

Ma pa tofu (10.95) was done well, tofu was fresh and had ample amounts of pork.

The oil chicken half(16.50) had the very firm flesh of a free range chicken. Chicken was moist with a hink of pink, really liked that. For the ginger scallion sauce it was a little too well done, see the photos. It was still fine though.

Our party to the owner for about 25 min. He happened to own all six resturants in the shopping center. He lamented the rise of commodites such as cooking oil doubling in price and the saltfish is even getting more expensive. He insisted for use to try the wonton mee next time. "Best in Houston for 9.50" he says. Yes sir will do.

Now is it the best place in Houston to eat Chinese food? Could be. The execution of the dishes were really well done. My enthusiasm for the place was tempered by the pricing on the dishes. While I understand our currency is depreciating more and more, I still think the price is a little high for the portions you get.

Recommend the salt fish fried rice and the char siu. Will try the wonton mee and the lava toast too.

Follow up from a later visit. Went here as soon as it opened. Had the Wonton Mee. Nothing special. Broth was ok and kind of thin on flavor. Noodles were firm and we of the egg white only variety. There were plenty of won tons filled with pork and shrimp.

Chow mein was good but nothing notable about it.

Sorry for the bad pics, my phone's (lg g7)...

This is my first time writing a negative review.

On the evening of December 31st, I planned to dine here to celebrate New Year's Eve. Unexpectedly, I was frustrated by the waiter's attitude. When I arrived the receptionist said it would take 30 minutes waiting. While contemplating whether to wait or not, feeling quite hungry, I noticed a50% coupon for the hot pot next door stick on a delivery bag. Realizing that the hot pot next door is surely under the same ownership, I asked the receptionist for one of those coupons. I decided not to wait and went to the neighboring restaurant for a meal. The young man was about to open the drawer when suddenly another male waiter rushed out, asking what I was doing rudely made me feel like I was doing something bad.I explained that I was heading to the restaurant next door and Sk for a discount coupon. He insisted that I needed to order something to get the coupon. I asked if they shared the same owner, and he confirmed. I told him I initially intended to dine here, but the wait was too long and I was starving , so I decided to go to the adjacent restaurant since they are essentially the same owner.

He insisted, "If you want to dine here, I'll put you on the waitlist, just wait." (Ignoring my hunger and desire not to wait) "To get the discount coupon, you must order something," he said. I said I want to order a Coke, but he replied, "No, you must order a meal!" (previously, he only mentioned ordering something).

I find this waiter extremely rude, uncooperative, and intimidating, almost like a mobster. If he had initially explained, "I'm sorry, but our policy is to provide coupons only after dining here," I would have understood. Affording half a hot pot isn't an issue for me, and I'd have been fine with ordering dessert to get the coupon if he used a proper attitude.However, his attitude was unnecessarily harsh and unreasonable, as if he saw himself as a savior. His every word made me feel uncomfortable while I am a customer to dine here.I assume the restaurant is running a promotion to attract attention to the other establishment owned by the same person. Instead, a customer from the successful business noticed the less popular one, only to be treated rudely by the waiter. This is truly the rudest service I've ever encountered.

As I left, I mentioned I wouldn't be visiting either of their two restaurants. He simply responded with, "Alright, then don't go." It ruined all my happiness to welcome 2024.

The rudest waiter is about 5.5 feet high, Asian male, not wearing glasses and looks quite fierce .I have shared my experiences on the social medial just ask everyone to avoid dine in this restaurant to get frustrating...

--- NK Score = 8.2/10 ---

9/10 = Furniture/Ambience 8/10 = Food Quality 8/10 = Service 7/10 = Price (Other Ratings N/A) =( BASIC INFO )=

Medium Restaurant Above Average Food Variety: Chinese (Cantonese Style) Prices: Decent ( $6.00 - $12.00 ) = Atmosphere =

Casual, but very fancy interior. I suppose you can be intimate here, but the noise level is quite loud when it's super busy (Lunch + Dinner). The wallpaper and decor inside is gorgeous though, perfect place to bring an artistic personality. Overall a very unique and casualenvironment for dining = Food Quality =

--- Garlic Eggplant ($8.00): 5/5 --- Incredibly delicious eggplants, pungent sweet and sourish flavor that tenderizes your tastebuds with it's savoriness. The eggplants are super soft, and your rice will dominate once you drizzle some of the brown sauce and meat onto it. Overall a very satisfying dish that most people will enjoy, good portions too!

--- Char Siu Pork ($6.50): 4/5 --- Used to be amazing, but it's quality has gone downhill for quite some time. The roast pork is usually nice and chewy with a touch of some light soy sauce. The wasabi mustard is ok, but it's not necessary since the pork is already flavorful. Portion is a hit or miss, sometimes looks smaller than it should be. Overall it's a pretty good dish when they assemble it correctly.

--- Lava Toast ($4.00): 4/5 --- Amazing toast with a vicious, tongue tangling sauce filling. The flavor is very sweet and creamy, and it's just a really good dessert to end the meal with. Overall it's generally pretty good.

Recommended (Often Good): Garlic Eggplant Char Siu Pad Thai String Beans Walnut Prawns Sansai Egg Tofu Lava Toast Crispy Tilapia

Not Recommended (Generic): Twin Wok Hor Fun Dry Beef Hor Fun Mapo Tofu Garlic Butter Prawns Spicy Seafood Jjamppong Squid Ink Fried Rice Crispy Egg Noodle Dace Mustard Greens = Price / Service =

Prices were good, but it's gone up a few times within the past year, with some dishes gaining $1-3. Though, I suppose the price is still pretty fair for most of their dishes, decent portion too.

Service is pretty good generally, most of them are young adults so some of them could be inexperienced. Miscellaneous (Other): Hit/Miss On Most Dishes Prices Change Frequently

Signed NK (September 2017) Images Below By...