My first in person encounter with Narak's Kitchen was a few years ago during Cambodian Day in San…read moreFrancisco Ca . She had samples for us to try at the event , I was overjoyed by the crunchy texture , perfectly flavored . Slap Yo Ex beef jerky had me feeling some kind of way lol!! I kept reminiscing of the time I first sank my teeth into that crispy beef jerky . ( it's not overly salty , not tough and not stringy at all ) Since then I been following Narak's Kitchen on her social media account, of course I had to try some of her other signature recipes . Ready to eat tamarind dipping sauce goes so well with fried fish and grilled chicken. Prohok krasang is another great choice fermented fish paste, pairs well with any fresh raw / steamed vegetables . Chinese sausage is lean, right balance of sweetness. Somehow it doesn't agree with my youngest children's taste buds , for me it was just okay . Let's just say I am a fan of her beef jerky. Ordered through website easily to navigate . products were exactly as advertised.

This extremely cozy two-table establishment is owned and operated by Chef Narak. She's essentially…read morea one-woman show. I had the pleasure of meeting her and chatting with her when I visited to try her sandwiches. She was incredibly personable, friendly, and truly an inspiration. Her specialty lies in her house-made flavored beef jerky, packaged sausages, and sauces. Upon entering, you can immediately sense that her primacy business is online purchases as evidenced by all the USPS boxes scattered around. There are also bags of rice and veggie noodles available for purchase. It's more of a pick-up/grab-and-go kind of establishment. My mom really enjoyed the beef jerky. The sandwiches were tasty but they became super soggy on the way the home so I highly recommend eating the sandwiches as soon as possible. Ideally at the store at one of the two tables that they have or in your car. The sauce is very liquid-y and all make the bread soggggggy. I ordered the fish sandwich and enjoyed it despite the sogginess and sweet sauce. Chef Narak definitely does not skimp on ingredients as she packs a lot of protein in the sandwiches. The sandwiches are kind of similar to Vietnamese Banh Mis. The sauce is more on the sweeter side so if you enjoy sweet flavors, you'll love the sandwiches. The Pandan drink was also good. You can truly sense the care she puts into every product she makes. I highly recommend visiting this place and exploring all her different offerings. Note: For a more efficient service, it's better to order your sandwiches over the phone prior to going there.

This place is the best Thai inside the loop. Super friendly staff and the freshest of the…read moreingredients. C4 with pork belly! Fresh.

Good spot for Thai when you need some sort of substitute when Street Food Thai Market down the road…read moreis just too packed. Their menu is pretty good, lots to choose from, and prices are pretty fair. I ordered the kaow soi, and my fiancee ordered the tom kha and another noodle dish (forgot the name). I thought the kaow soi was good, maybe a tad bit salty and needed more pickled mustard. She liked her noodles, but she thought the tom kha was a bit different from other Thai restaurants; personally I thought it was fine, perhaps their own house recipe? Our waiter Emma was so friendly. Inside is fairly spacious. Restrooms are clean. Parking is easy, though when it's late, you'll have to exit from the side entrance.

Pad Thai YES LOVE one of the best…read more I came back to try the drunken noodles and the chicken to Thai and I was sadly disappointed. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't great. The chicken Sai was dry and lacked a lot of flavor so I would never order that again. Just stick this ordering pad Thai at this location.

This is a small market and restaurants! No thrills just basic chairs and tables and the shelves…read morewith Asian cooking essentials. The lady at the counter was nice. She explained some of the dishes. I got the shrimp drunken noodles but it was called something else. It was spicy than I thought but was very tasty. I forgot to take pictures.

Positives: Big dining room area with karaoke or dance floor, good Thai flavors with generous…read moreserving portions! This is my 2nd time at this location, both with a large party celebration. I got to try out alot of the appetizers the first time and a few Thai dishes/curries. This time around got to try the Phat phrik khing, it was seasoned well with a good amount of spice which I liked. The service overall was good, the young lady worked hard to fulfill everyone's orders and food came at an efficient pace which I appreciated. The vibe was very lively with Youtube Music videos and eventually dance floor started buzzing after dinner. The one thing that made me a bit uneasy it seemed like they were getting tap water at a faucet that doubled as a hand washing station. I know tap water is normal and some restaurants' water are filtered, but it just looked slightly unhygienic. Other than that, a fan of the the food and a decent place to host events/parties if you're in this area.

This isn't midtown with the paid parking and the trendy bars and clubs next door. It's a mom and…read morepop restaurant in an unassuming shopping center with nice people, good food, and good prices. I don't come to that side of town often so I'm not sure how things work during the week or a regular weekend. The space is pretty large and seems like a good place to hold events like a small wedding, engagement party, quinceanera, etc. and they have a stage that we used for Karaoke. Again, I'm not sure if that's a normal event there or it was just us. I was there for an event with a lot of people in our group and even though they don't have a lot of staff, they took my order and brought the food in a timely manner and it was fresh and delicious. I ordered the mixed vegetables with beef and not spicy so it came out perfect. I know a few others who thought they were used to spicy foods learned a lesson that day about not ordering stuff too spicy so you probably want to offset the desired spice level minus 20% when ordering because apparently they are not messing around with the heat!

This places feels authentic. The Beef vermicelli bowl with egg roll was appetizing and a little…read moresweet. The Beef noodle soup with meatballs had a very flavorful broth, but the meatballs did have a rubbery texture. However this did not interfere heavily with the meal. The grilled beef spring rolls were solid and tasted good dipped in the beef noodle soup broth. However please do not order the salty plum drink. Little plum, LOTS of salt. Sadly tasted like salt water. However that's the only complaint of my experience. I love the lemon Iced tea here tho! UPDATED: The Bahn Mi is the best I've had anywhere. The charbroiled pork is to perfection, and the bread is so soft. Some Bahn Mi's have the hardest crunchiest bread but not here. And the service is so attentive. I was checked on numerous times and was provided with the WiFi ps for online work.

This was a great Houston find! We were looking for a place that had favorable broth since hubby was…read morehaving surgery. We found it here along with a delicious Bahn Mi- tender juicy chicken and just the right amount of soft and crunch in the roll. They also have real authentic Vietnamese Coffee you make right at your table.

Hu Tieu Nam Vang (sm) had a good portion of meats and noodles. I did think I needed more broth…read morethough. I liked how they have a thicker rice noodle that was springy and chewy. The fried garlic was a fun addition to the noodles. I liked how the pickled jalapeños were sweet and crispy. Other places make them with a more vinegary base. A few people came by for their takeout while others dined in. The meats tasted like they were freshly thinly sliced and the shrimp was tender.

I am leaving 2 stars instead of one because the service was great! the waiter was really nice and…read moresweet. the food? this is one of the worst ones i had. i did not like the taste i really wanted too. the portion was great! the pho just had an off flavor. i kept trying to add chili oil to make it better. the chili oil also tasted burnt. I also got some spring rolls & the pb sauce was disgusting, it tasted bland and soapy with a bitter taste. the worse part about this restaurant is that it stinked a lot. the restaurant smell was really nasty. it was a strong odor and my sense of smell is very bad. the restaurant itself did not look sanitary at all. I wouldn't come back. I wouldnt recommend anyone to come here either. I really wanted to like it especially because i was really hungry. Pho:$14 Spring Rolls:$4.50

Our latest visit to Mein was per usual. Service was good and the food was delicious. If you…read morehaven't been here before, the decor is very much a nod to 1950s/1960s Hong Kong era. While the food includes dishes from different parts of Asia, I tend to order HK Wonton Noodle Soup, the Red Oil Chili Dumplings, and I even tried the Garlic Black Bean Chicken this time around, which was tasty. Will be back sooner than later I'm sure.

Seems like a more trendy Asian fusion type of restaurant…read more The only 5 star dish here is the red oil dumplings - pan fried to perfection! Squid ink fried rice is a cool concept but just tastes like normal fried rice. Dijon mustard x charsiu pork does not work at all. Lava toast is forgettable. Overall, this place has above average prices for Chinatown combined with below average portion sizes, and the dishes do not stand out much.

The Rice Box on 20th is a solid option if you're looking for quick, very Americanized Chinese food…read morein the Heights. It is very much a chain restaurant, and it has that polished, standardized feel to it. I've eaten here a number of times, and while I wouldn't say the food stands out above some of the other Chinese restaurants in the area, everything I've had has always been good. I've never gotten anything that tasted bad or had an order come out wrong. It's just consistently solid. One sleeper hit on their menu, though, is the lava buns. They're warm egg custard buns like you'll sometimes find at dim sum places, and they are really good. Honestly, they're probably one of my favorite things here. I've even stopped by after already having dinner just to get an order to take home for dessert. They're definitely best hot, so I'd recommend eating them pretty quickly. The design of the restaurant is probably more memorable than the main food. They really committed to a specific industrial, techno-chic look with neon signs, animated menu boards, exposed metal, acrylic panels, textured wall details, and movies playing by the bar. The theme is carried throughout the whole place really well. At the same time, all of the metal and harder surfaces can make the inside feel a little cold and unwelcoming. There isn't much traditional indoor seating. Most of the seating inside is at the bar, with additional tables outside under some shade. Because of that, it's probably not my first choice for sitting down for lunch during a hot Houston day, but it works really well as a pickup or takeout spot. The staff has always been friendly, and they have a good system for getting people in and out. The parking lot is a little small, but since a lot of people seem to be picking up food, spots turn over pretty quickly. Overall, The Rice Box is convenient, dependable, and does what it does well. It definitely feels like a chain, but the design has a strong personality and the food is consistently good. It's not my favorite Chinese food in the Heights, but I've never had a bad experience here. And the lava buns are absolutely worth getting.

I got the grilled eggplant and chicken egg roll and nitro Thai tea. The eggplant was super…read moreflavorful and had a nice crisp to it! I would not get the Thai tea again as it was more liquidy than creamy due to it being a nitro. I didn't love the rice as well because it wasn't fluffy or soft. Overall good flavor and good for a quick lunch

Quite possibly the absolute worst bowl of noodle soup I have ever had:…read more 1) Portion size: bowl of Bun Bo Hue had less than 40% content. Two small quarter pieces of sliced pork roll, knuckle sized pork foot, half of one pork blood cube and noodles not enough for a kid to eat. 2) Taste: Flavorless broth. Condiment tray of premixed veggies were mostly wilted and missing any hint of fresh herbs or banana blossoms. 3) Service: When pointing out that there was lack of food items like meat, The server scoffed and said, that is how it is served and walked off. I was so hungry so I just ate it and ran off to eat at Tay Do after (a guaranteed good meal). Blacklisted for life.

Solid place for bun bo hue. It does come pretty neutral tasting that allows you to add in the…read moreshrimp paste/satay/lime to your liking (I added about 3-4 scoops of each). But this makes it more friendly for the less "funky" palette Comes out quickly! Clean place

Food, price, ambiance, service were all outstanding! Huge portions! Tasty food every dish was…read morereally yummy!

The noodles are great but the prices seem steep. Although I kind of think it's due more to location…read morebecause the food is good but nothing out of the ordinary. I stopped in for a weekday late lunch so it wasn't very busy. The staff quickly sat us and served us. The noise level was mild so we were able to enjoy our meal and carry on a conversation with no issue. With the quick service I will grab some lunch but don't think I will go in with the whole family because I can only imagine what that bill would be like haha