San Dong Noodle & Dumpling House — Restaurant in Houston

It was many years ago now that I first discovered the dumplings from San Dong, which in those days was at another location and I could swear it was called Santong Snacks. At any rate, a friend brought big bags of frozen dumplings to a Christmas party and showed me how to bring water to a boil, drop them in, and how they were ready when they floated to the top. Needless to say food explorer Jay went to the location for lunch within the week. When Robb Walsh moved to Houston to write for the Houston Press, this was the first place that I thought of to take him to. In their new location, you can find several types of most excellent dumplings, noodle soups and other appetizers that will have you coming back. Over in the corner are the bottles of rice wine vinegar and soy sauce so that you can blend the dumpling dipping sauce to your preference. One of the go to places when I have friends visiting from outside of Houston.

Update 2024.

San Dong Noodle is a Houston institution. I learned about it perhaps 30 years ago when an Asian friend brought a big bag of frozen dumplings to out party and showed us how to drop them into a pot of boiling water, wait, and when they floated to the top, they would be cooked and ready to enjoy with a sauce made of ginger, vinegar, and soy sauce. My first trip to buy frozen dumplings and also dine in house was kind of interesting in that the staff manning the register, well, English was definitely their second language. But, the staff in the kitchen were Hispanic, and so I could communicate in Spanish with them. This almost became a default for several years, dining along Bellaire Boulevard where I could communicate in Spanish; and it also benefited me when I went to the grocery stores out that way, because in the butcher section, most of the people working were also Spanish-speaking. I have been getting my dumplings here for many many years. In addition, they have two soups which are just fantastic. And today my choice was the dumpling with beef soup. But the beef with noodles soup is equally good. —...

--- NK Score = 8.0/10 ---

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

Small Restaurant Pretty Good Food Variety: Dumplings, Noodles Prices: Good ( $6.00 - $7.00 ) = Atmosphere =

Casual restaurant with a couple of tables stuffed rather close to each other, but luckily, there's still enough space to maneuver around. The interior is brightly lit, and there's a fair amount of noise from other customers. = Food Quality =

--- Bean Sauce Noodle ($6.00): 4/5 --- A nice, somewhat healthy alternative to regular ol' noodles. There's a good combination of texture between the crunchy cucumber, and the soft bean sauce covered noodles. Good flavors overall, definitely a recommended dish for anyone to try!

--- Chive Dumplings ($7.00): 4/5 --- San Dong makes some of the best dumplings, and yes, they make them from scratch, so you won't be getting no silly frozen dumbos. These dumplings are filled with juicy flavor, each bite will get you some delicious squirtation. Not to mention, the chive and pork combination is just splendid, it's got such a simple, yet enticing texture. Portion size is coolio as well! = Price / Service =

Prices are pretty good, a little more than some of the similar places nearby, but nonetheless cheap!

Service is decent, very responsive staff, but the place is mostly self-serve. Miscellaneous (Other): Cheap Chinese Dishes Cash Only

Signed NK (August 2017) Images below by...

Sometimes it's hard to get out of your comfort zone, especially when your comfort zone is across the street. When we make the trek to Chinatown for food, it's 62 miles each way. So it should be no surprise we just keep going back to the same favorite spots. Well, yesterday we finally tried San Dong because it's been on the list of places to try for like 3 years.

The skinny is simple. It's a small, quaint little noodle house. My wife NEEDED some beef noodle soup and it's been way too long since I've had some pan fried dumplings. (We buy big bags and boil them at home) - She said her beef noodle soup was authentic and really good, on par with our favorite spot. It was a toss up in her eyes, she couldn't put one over the other. My pan fried dumplings took a little long to come out of the kitchen which my wife worried about more than I did, but they did make it to the table, I had my sauce mix all ready & at first glance there was a small issue with the wrap. My wife was convinced there was some kind of issue in the kitchen, maybe a new guy having trouble? Basically, some of the wraps didn't hold and the shape was a bit off? Well, not to worry, they were delicious, authentic and they hit the spot! It's been a while since I've had the real deal, and these are the real deal!

They've got a variety of to go items which we'll try next time, including a return visit for the spicy wantons. (Din Tai Fung are my favorites for this category) - So, over all, a great flavor experience, just a slight ding for the dumplings slipping outta the wrap. They probably could have fried a touch longer too. But maybe I'm just getting a little picky? Great...