Yellow River — Restaurant in Houston

The man at the counter seemed to treat me differently. He said I could only get one meat because I asked if I could get noodles instead of rice. I’m not sure if this is standard or racial profiling. He also tried to stop me from getting what I wanted and claimed he could only “give me two pieces of beef” because it’s expensive. But I noticed another lady that was his same ethnicity got a regular spoonful of the beef without question. Also he was pressing me to get my order to go. I ended up getting two different types of chicken because I had things to do and wasn’t trying to argue with this man and he ended up upcharging $2 me so I could get two meats, two veggies and noodles. It gave “making this up as I go along” type of vibe. You definitely get what you pay for with this place but the plate did what it needed to do. Definitely have some extra sauce on hand. I would have never eaten here if I wasn’t on a budget. So black...

第一次去的时候真的是不敢走进去，感觉就是那种开了几十年的在一个快荒废的商场里的只有本地人才知道的地方。餐馆连英文招牌和菜单都没有，后来是被人带着进去的。价格便宜量又足的“食堂式“餐馆。 去的时候素菜是番茄炒蛋，苦瓜炒蛋，炸豆腐（唯一一个没觉得怎么好吃的），炒卷心菜，炒四季豆，炒土豆丝，炒青菜等等。荤菜是葱油鸡，红烧鸡，肉圆（意大利肉圆大小的，不是狮子头大小的），炸鸡等等。 价格大概是 1荤2素+米饭7刀，2荤2素+米饭8刀，1荤2素➕米粉7刀，2荤2素+米粉8.5刀，米饭换成紫米+0.5刀。 还有白木耳红枣茶，绿豆薏仁茶2.5刀一杯。味道真的不错，就是那种好吃的学校食堂的味道，很怀旧，比H Mart和99那种美式的中餐要好吃很多很多。咸淡适中，也不是很油腻。基本12点会比较忙。只收现金！

Bento box style, huge volume for reasonable price, food is very fresh, very traditional taste, not Americanized. No English sign or menu, food presented in buffet style, just point at the dish you want they will pack it in box for you. Order instruction “2 vegetable +1 meat dish combo OR 2 vegetable + 2 meat dish combo”, combo comes with white rice OR healthy rice (guess something like brown and black rice +$0.5) OR noodle (vermicelli). Price is between $7-$8. Tell them 1) to go/in house , 2) whether you want rice (which type of rice) or noodle 3) 2 meat dish or 1 meat dish (volume is big, 1 meat dish is enough for an adult man), 4) point at the dish you want, 5) pay （CASH ONLY）. Meat dish includes Green Onion Chicken, Soy sauce Chicken, Meat Ball, Fried Chicken and etc. Vegetable dish includes fried tofu, egg with tomato/bitter melon, stir fry cabbage/potato/broccoli/bean sprouts/green beans and etc. BTW, ppl is nice there but they have to handle heavy traffic during lunch hour, so do not expect them have the time and sophisticated English to explain to you what each dish is. All of their dishes taste good, no hit and miss. If you have allergy or is a picky eater or has religious reason cannot eat certain things, do not go, highly possible you will not be happy. Oh and if you like P F Chang, Panda Express, you won’t like...

Yellow River Restaurant (何處觅小食) is a hidden gem for anyone craving authentic, home-style Chinese food. The flavors are rich, comforting, and remind you of a cozy eatery back in China. The best part? It’s incredibly affordable—four entrees for under $10, and every dish is genuinely tasty. No flashy presentation, just honest, hearty food made with care. It’s the kind of spot that keeps you coming back when you want something real and satisfying without spending a lot. A must-visit for Chinese comfort...