Simon's Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Houston

This new restaurant is a must-go for several reasons.

They got authentic Chinese dishes.

The portions are big, definitely value for money.

The overall taste of the food is good.

Located close to Chinatown but not inside Chinatown so that you can avoid the crazy traffic.

The boss is so friendly and talkative that you feel genuinely welcome.

Okay, now back to the food part. I ordered a few dishes this time on the recommendation of my friend.

First, the pork knuckle dish came with two knuckles and a noodle. The knuckles were so thoroughly braised that they melted in your mouth. The noodle was not an ordinary kind, chewy and tender, went well with the oyster sauce.

Second, the steamed scallops tasted a little bland, but I was warned at the time of ordering, so I had no complaint. I could tell that the bland taste was intentional because the scallops were supposed to be dipped in the special soy sauce on the side. The boss also provided me a house spicy sauce Teochew style, which was my favorite.

The West Lake Beef Soup was highly recommended. The beef was tender and the hot soup came with the aura of cilantro. I drank 3 bowls.

The Singaporean fried rice noodles were quite good. But I think it can be more spicy. The curry taste was also somewhat weak. More importantly, the char siu was too thick to chew and somewhat tasteless.

I ordered a black sugar milk tea with a special promotion of a complimentary popcorn chicken. The real test of boba milk tea was the tapioca balls. Many shops used cheap bobas that are too tough to chew. This restaurant is definitely not using that kind of boba. The sugar level of the milk tea was perfect for me because black sugar already tasted sweet and the boss reduced the additional sugar to achieve a balanced taste.

With so many dishes, guess how much I paid?

It’s $45 only!!! This was dirt cheap. The price alone makes this...

This is local fast food with a twist. I came here looking for the next great Chinese restaurant and came out with mixed feelings.

First of all, this is like a fast food chain feel or even like strip mall light up sign feel within a sit down section, not a typical sit down restaurant. Like it would be inappropriate to have a celebratory meal or impress strangers, unless everyone knew what to expect. However despite that appearance it Def has authentic Cantonese/Chinese food on top of fast/express Chinese food options.

Everyone was super nice and attentive.

The food... The stir fried green beans were flavored great but the beans were stale... Like clearly not fresh, chewy, looked terrible. The mapotofu has that very thin and abundant sauce with complexity of flavor. The salt stir fried squid was inedible, hard and chewy, easily the worst version of this dish I've ever tried. I'm literally looking at it in my to go box at home trying to decide if I can salvage it.

The clay pit beef and tendon was fantastic. The chicken lettuce wrap was perfect.

I did come super early on a Saturday morning, so perhaps I was getting the B team or leftover ingredients but I was pretty disappointed.

The only saving grace is that the prices are super affordable comparing to standard fare in Chinatown.

If I lived locally, I could see giving this place another shot due to convenience and price. But otherwise, don't make the trip for this. I was very disappointed.

There is a reason this is not in Chinatown proper. It would...

They just opened recently I have been going to Houston and always stay at the Chinatown area its not on the center location but I am so glad to find this hidden gem. It was packed when we arrived but we were able to find a table right away. The owner was so hands on and very accurate and honest with his recommendation they really knows their food. I truly understand the high rating the food was amazing it was cooked to perfection almost gourmet, everything came out perfect. Remember when I said the owner was honest about the flaws of some of the dishes that we ordered but it was minor and if he did not mention it I would have not notice because everything was good and did I mention the price its so budget friendly with their lunch and dinner specials you would be satisfied. They also have variety of drinks and dessert that you should try. The owner did warm us that if it gets busy and it does because I think they are becoming popular that the experience might be different but I would still highly...