Thiên Thanh — Restaurant in Houston

I love coming here! Please don't come here on a date LOL you will reak of fish sauce on your clothes and in your mouth. I warned you already! I've already eaten here before, but realize I did not review. I've gotten many things on this menu. I've gotten banh beo with shrimp, with shrimp and pork, I've gotten banh cuon with the minced pork and Ham, barbecue pork, I've also gotten the bun rieu, fish with dill, and finally, the Thai tea.

The restaurant is pretty stinky. You kind of have to walk your way to a table because a lot of the times when they are busy, they tend to forget about customers walking in. This is a cash-only establishment. So be sure to bring cash!I would recommend anyone to wipe down your bowls, spoons, any other utensils you will use because most of the time they are wet still or appear to be dirty. That's Chinatown for you.

The banh Beo is good. I prefer just the shrimp. The minced pork is a little dry, but does add good flavor if you dunk it with fish sauce. I like these because the little cakes are soft and easy to eat. 3/5

PS the fish sauce is yummy, add Chile sauce.

The banh cuon is #1. I like the thit nuong, which is the BBQ pork because it is made with so much flavor and rolled nicely. The noodles are thin, so you really get to try what's inside. I had the minced pork with ham tonight because they ran out of the thit nuong. So sad, but it was still pretty good. I didn't like it as much, but still flavorful. The minced pork also had mushrooms in it. On the side is steamed bean sprouts. Perfect for texture. 4/5

The bun rieu was not good. Why? It tasted very watered down and there was no homey taste. It's basically like a pork/shrimp paste flavored broth with a side of lettuce, bean sprouts, lime. I didn't like it here at all. 2/5

The fish with dill tastes a bit too fishy for me. Great presentation, but the dill was a little overpowering. It came with noodles on the side, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. The noodles portion were huge and the fish was served in a sizzling plate. It was cooked well but flavors reminded me of a charred smokey fish with little salt. 3/5

Thai tea was extremely sweet. Honestly, it was very good with my dish. With the banh beo and banh cuon, it was already salty and spicy and eat it sweetened it up. a lot of my friends do not enjoy it as much but it was actually not too bad. 4/5

Service was quick, when you come in here for lunch you will be out within 20 minutes. Same for dinner! Reasonable prices for the amount of food you get. service is probably not the best, but where else in Chinatown will you get that? Overall, banh cuon thit nuong is the best thing...

I went to Thiên Thanh Bánh Cuon Thanh Trì with my girlfriend and her family. They are Vietnamese and in town visiting, so they wanted to see what Bánh Cuon tasted like in Houston's Chinatown. Bánh Cuon is made from a thin, wide sheet of steamed fermented rice batter filled with a mixture of cooked seasoned ground pork, minced wood ear mushroom, and minced shallots. This restaurant is located in the green plaza that hosts Lee's Sandwiches.

The restaurant was busy when we walked in, but there were still tables available. I noticed there was a big bottle of fish sauce on the table. Guys, DON'T MISTAKE THIS FOR TEA because it totally looks like tea! HAHA I was told to try one of the Bánh Cuon plates, although they had a lot more dishes available. There were a few of them with either pork or shrimp. I opted for 11) Bánh Cun Thit Nuon (steam rice paper with BBQ pork) for $7.50.

The food came out pretty fast. My girlfriend's dad told me that my Bánh Cuon was cut up North Vietnamese-style and was handmade. This place apparently serves styles from both North and South Vietnam. My plate meal was also served with steamed bean sprouts. I dipped the Bánh Cuon in the fish sauce (which I also put in some chili sauce) and tried it. It was pretty good. I don't typically eat this type of dish, so I'm not a good judge of how authentic/good it is, but my guests all said that this place had great Bánh Cuon.

Overall, this place was good. I liked my BBQ pork dish, and I would see myself coming back to order it again. The restaurant has a lot of seating in a comfortable setting. It's not too packed like other restaurants you'll find in Chinatown, and there's plenty of parking available...

--- NK Score = 7.5/10 ---

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

Medium Restaurant Size Good Vietnamese Food Variety: Mostly Rice Paper/Vermicelli Prices: Cheap ( $5.00 - $8.00 ) = Atmosphere =

Casual restaurant with a rather interesting interior, which consists mainly of green bamboo shoot wallpaper. The ambience inside is rather quiet and relaxing, usually not many customers, or they get to-go. Overall a pretty clean and ambient dining location. = Food Quality =

--- Rice Paper BBQ Pork ($7.50): 4/5 --- Number 11 on the Menu. Very chewy and flavorful rice paper and bbq pork combination. The bbq pork had a nice smokey-sweet flavor that enhanced the rice papers tasty texture. Probably the best item to order here as it's cheap, tasty, and has a good portion.

--- Rice Paper Pork Roll ($7.29): 3/5 --- Number 9 on the Menu. Not bad, pretty good portion and pricing, but the flavors are lacking a little. Also, it's just wood ear and ground pork so there's not much fun going on. Decent dish to try, but not the best. = Price / Service =

Pretty fair prices, both appetizers and main dishes have great portions and are cheap for the price.

Service is generally pretty good, they're there when you need them, and do provide some assistance. Miscellaneous (Other): Cheap Bites, Like Viet Sushi Fun to Eat! Much Chewy!

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