If it were in Virginia, it'd be VA-Chinatown. And I'd come here even more. So to speak.
Chinatown in Houston is one of the most amazing Chinatown areas in the whole country. The western half of it is more "Vietnamesetown" and then there's also "Koreatown" a few miles north in Spring Branch, although there are some Korean gems here in Chinatown too!
The heart of this area is the very lively Dun Huang plaza, although I Dun Huang out there as much as I used to. Ha. Ha.
The amount of incredible food and spectacular Desserts and Drinks that are in this area are second to none. It's like being in Queens. It does remind me of a more humid and more spaced out Flushing. The nightlife here in Chinatown is some of the best in all of Texas.
The other highlight of the area is the Saigon Plaza, about a mile East of Dun Huang. I hope it's never demolished otherwise it'll be (sigh) gone.
The best of the best in this area for food, the first 2 are unmissable:
Bite Of Spice - the greatest Chinese food ever, get Lamb Cumin or Spicy Chicken
Lim's Chicken - the best Korean chicken you'll find anywhere, get the spicy original
Xin Jiang - amazing western Chinese bbq, get lamb skewers and enoki mushroom
Nguyen Ngo - incredible Banh Mi on croissants
Thien Thanh - perfect banh cuon thit nuong - great Viet food
Lee's - wonderful Banh Mi, spring rolls, and viet iced coffee
Cocina Latina - best pupusas and tamales in town, on Club Creek
King Flavor - amazing shrimp w/leek and everything is good
Hong Kong Food Street - good Congee and late night goodies
Fufu - not as stellar as the others, but Chicken Jalapeno is good, open very late
And for drinks and desserts:
The BEP - fancy drinks, the Okinawa and the Pea Flower drinks and Mojitos are awesome
Teaholic - Strawberry Aloe Vera and Strawberry Black Tea are delish
Teahouse - good location of this local chain, try Strawberry Black Tea w Strawberry Hearts
Nu Ice - probably the best ribbon ice cream you'll ever have
Red Circle - surprisingly excellent Churros
Bambu - the best location, berry smoothies, honeydew and mocha smoothies, all amazing
85 Degrees - amazing baked goods, and one of the busiest and freshest locations we've been to
Sharetea & Gong Cha - excellent franchise locations in Dun Huang, v busy, w lovely employees - get the Okinawa or Whole Lemon Black at Sharetea, Brown Sugar Milk Tea at Gong Cha.
T4U - quiet little franchise location across the street from Dun Huang
Now once you've tried all of that (and have gained 20 lbs), get back to me and I'll have more for you.
It TX a long time to appreciate how great Chinatown in Houston is, but my question is, for all the cities that have done their own version of Chinatown, who'sdone it better than Houston?
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