The food here has to be the best Thai food I've ever had. Really. They are consistent and each dish is bursting with flavor. My wife thinks it's because they grow their own vegetables and pick them fresh and ripe. We saw their garden in the back so I think she's right. I recommend the Tom Kha, it's like a creamy sweet and sour soup. Very good and tasty. I also recommend the red curry, it comes with your choice of meat. I got the shrimp today and it was really good. The flavors are very well balanced. I love the sticky rice here too. I'm not supposed to have it, but I indulge when I'm here. The server was a sweet ole lady who was attentive and nice. read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - Tom Kha - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

A gem in a hole!?? R u serious? This place has one of the worst food I ever had. And the customer service is horrible. Never coming back and definitely not recommending. read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - Just tasted like a pound of sugar. Disgusting! - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

If you ever want to eat food that was just made especially for you nice and fresh all vegetables taste like they just cut it off the garden go there their food is delicious. Their customer service is amazing and his family owned. The cooks are amazing cooks. read more

I'm so glad that the cook from Hua Kong 2 ended up going to this one because they make the best pad Thai as well as the curry.

When I think of Merced comfort food, I think of this place! Commonly known as the Blue House (even though the restaurant is NOT the Blue House), I've been going to this restaurant for decades and it's been consistently comforting and of quality. The servers feel like family and are very welcoming and attentive. I usually get the combination noodles or the kaopoon. My brother LOVES the raw laab here. Apparently, it REALLY hits different. Prices are fair and the restaurant feels like you're eating in someone's dining room. read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - Combination noodles - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

Been going here since I was a kid. Amazing dishes and prices. I think this is one of the only places in Merced that still offers med or large bowl of pho. Other places in Merced only offers large. On top of that, the server is kind. She remembers me so she always brings me a fork with my bowl of pho. HAHAHA. read more

I have ordered their Beef noodle soup, chicken Larb and thai iced tea. I enjoyed the chicken larb with the romaine lettuce. the beef soup was too sweet for me. thai iced tea helped balanced the spicy level. overall the food was very authentic and will most likely return for something more. read more

The food here used to be good. Food is no longer the same. Customer service was never there, but food was good before, which is why we would come back. Food was either salty or not flavorful. The lady charged us gratuity because we had 5 people in our group. She said she went to the 4 season and they charged her 18%. We'll, this isn't the 4 season. If she wanted to charge gratuity, at least add it to the tip section instead of with the food and then has another tip section. Smh. read more

Food is okay. Had the pho combination and spicy chicken wings. What made me won't be returning is the "server" who is an elderly lady, which I believe she is family to the owners that begs for tips. If you do not tip her she will not let you leave! read more

Came down to have lunch with a friend. I ordered the combination noodles, Thai tea and garlic beef to go. My friend also shared her spring rolls with me. Thai tea was just how I expected. Nice and creamy and cold. One of my favorite drinks to get when eating eating Thai. The spring rolls were light and fresh. I really enjoyed enjoyed dipping sauce. It wasn't as strong as a peanut flavor as I am used to, but I loved it! The combination noodles included shrimp, imitation crab, calamari, rare steak and meatballs. It was served with a side of bean sprouts, lemons and lettuce leaves. I was really missing my fresh basil here. The flavor of the broth was more bland than I was used to, so that was a bummer. Hoisin sauce is served in a red squirt bottle that reminded me of a hot dog stand. Added hoisin and Sriracha to my pho and it still wasn't where I wanted it to be in flavor. I offered to bring my husband something to eat and he wanted garlic pork, but they were out of pork so we did garlic beef. I brought it home and he took one look and was like, what is that? It didn't really fit the description on the menu, which said it was deep fried. He didn't want it, so my girls ate it. The waitress was friendly, but she was on her own. Flagged her down for my to go order and when she said no pork, I had to check back with my husband. She disappeared and had to try to flag her down again. My friend asked for no shrimp in her spring roll, but it still arrived wirh shrimp. It was worth a try, but I'll be sticking to my local spot for pho. read more

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You would never expected such delicious food from a place in the middle of a neighborhood but I would go back! Noodles and rice were so good and the lady that helped me was very nice. read more

Laotian/Hmong version of Thai (soup, larb, noodles), Vietnamese (pho, spring rolls), Chinese (beef broccoli) food. Rating for Merced/local area standards vs rest of CA. Mom and pop house in between other residential houses. Parking in the front. Apparently Pho is a good choice here, and other soup items. Also can recommend larb or pad ka pow type dishes. And LARGE portions. It's like someone's home kitchen = they can only handle so many orders, they want to close early on some nights, they can be crabby if they want since it's like the only place of its kind in the area. Overall it was okay. Some dishes are not the usually expected taste since it's Laotian/Hmong flair of it. Service: Don't expect great or much service = don't customize much, they may not care to remember even when you order beef and they give you it with pork lol Or maybe they didn't have enough beef ingredients once started cooking, or they just started cooking pork and there you go. Large group of 8+? They recommend calling ahead of time. Also order as you go vs waiting for your group to order 1 lump sum. Think of it as your friend's kitchen. read more

Great gem of a pan-Asian restaurant in Merced open til 8:30pm. They were gracious to let us sit down at 8pm on a Sunday after we came from a long drive and found most other restaurants were closed. The Pad Thai was very flavorful and the duck soup reminded me of pho. The service is wonderful, and the place reminds me of an old homey church potluck canteen. Would return :) read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - Thai Iced Tea with Lemon - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

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No need to write a review. All you need to know is that it's literally a hole in the wall in the middle of nowhere (we were coming back from Yosemite) with home style food. Service is 10/10! read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - Khapoon, Green Curry, Eggroll. - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

Cooks "Hairnets"! Got burned fried shrimp with long pieces of hair in it. Customer service is bad. Got my drink wrong too. The noodles and raw larb were not good either. read more

Doesn't really look like a restaurant passing by but I'm so glad I did. The green curry was really delicious. Packed with veggies and choice of meat. The combination pho was jam packed with noodles and different meats which were all amazing. Will definitely come back when I'm around the area. The wait time was a little high but it was all worth it at the end. Highly recommend if in the area! read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - Green curry (nothing left) Combination pho - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

Absolutely superb. I walked in here on a whim after hiking, and I'm really glad I did despite the relatively strange exterior. The food was absolutely jaw-droppingly good, it came out fast, and the service was speedy and super friendly. This place really does seem to be a hidden gem, so don't let the exterior fool you - it's worth every penny. read more

Service is ass !! She was talking about tip , to many people mind this is was just me and my sister and my infant child . Like girl you can't force no tip so we decided to pick up after ourselves. And this girl followed us and was like next time don't dine in like what?? She got me fucked up she lucky I didn't make a mess after she said that dumb shit . read more

This place is a hidden gem and the perfect place to satisfy your Thai craving. There is nothing fancy in their decor, but the foods are delicious. They serve authentic raw larb, MY FAVORITE. read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - Beef larb - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

I've never been to Merced, so finding this little hole in the wall after a long commute was refreshing. Their portions with food such as the Phat Thai I ordered as well as the rice my partner ordered that went along with the curry; we were extremely happy with the size of our meal. At first glance, I will admit that I was hesitant to eat there, but as we pulled into the parking lot, and contemplated our hunger, I'm glad we didn't go elsewhere. Upon walking in, we were immediately greeted by a nice older woman who I assume is the owner, and seated in the back of the building with the whole place to ourselves. This is a "home business," get it? It's a home converted into a restaurant. Anyway, it was really clean inside; however, my biggest complaint is probably how awkwardly quiet it was. There was no ambiance like music playing to make us feel comforted while eating since we can hear the people in the front talking loudly amongst themselves while preparing orders. The woman who had seated us took our orders right away and the food was brought out soon after. Finally, the food. Well, drinks. The Thai tea is as sweet as any Thai tea you order at most Asian eateries, so you can dilute it with water to lessen the sweetness if you need to. The yellow curry had an adequate spice level with soft potatoes and an interestingly textured, chewy chicken. It wasn't bad, just... interesting. The curry broth with its veggies were very good though and the huge bowl of rice was freshly made for us. The Phat Thai, with additional charges, was served on a large platter with added seafood (shrimp & calamari), but I overall ordered chicken as the main protein for the dish. We couldn't finish the food, and the lady from earlier asked if we needed boxes for everything, even the drinks. I'm satisfied with the service and quality of the food. Would you pay $46+tip for all of this? Um, I'll let you guys decide yourselves. read more

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Pad Thai The pad Thai is sooo good!! It's my first time going I will most def be returning! read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - Pad Thai comb w/ beef - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

Don't let the funky old house exterior with the mobile phone radio tower in the background scare you away from this Laotian/Thai eatery. Stopped by here as it was conveniently located in the Central Valley area. I'm often out here for work and imagine my surprise to find something authentic and tasty! They did have Kaw Poon on the menu, similar to laksa with its coconut milk curry broth but I thought I'd try the Phat Kimao (pad kee mao) or Drunken Noodles. Don't recall the exact price but with tax it came to $9.65. Very reasonable. Flavoring was solid and medium heat was just right. The noodles were more shorter and thinner than the traditional wide and thick rice noodles that I'm used to. There is a larger seating area in the back which you wouldn't expect. Decor is very simple. When asked what the "Delicious Sauce" was our waiter said he didn't know since he eats hamburgers. Yeah it's that type of place. If you're driving down the 99 and need to satisfy your green papaya salad craving then check this spot out. read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - Pad KeeMao - they use ground pork! - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

This is one of the best Thai/Lao restaurants in Merced! Their food is amazing and served in a home style setting. When you pull into the parking lot you may think you're at the wrong place but believe me you're in for a treat! The family owned and operated restaurant is warm and welcoming as if you were a guest in their home! Try the creamy and slightly spicy Kaw Poon or one of their of the curries with sticky rice! read more

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I'm not sure what happened to this place but it used to be good. Before, I went here to eat with my family and the pho was delicious. Now, the pho broth was sour and the broth was murky.I also ordered shrimps that turned out to be over cooked. read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - Fried shrimp - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

Cold day and cold inside. Boo. One cup side rice 3.50. Too much. Hubs ordered lunch special Penang and I went for spicy drunken noodles. Service friendly and efficient. Then the glory of authentic Thai food was served. Hubs can eat a lot but couldn't finish what he said might be the best Penang ever. My drunken noodles were just the right texture with minced beef and seafood. Delicious. Only negative is the fake crab. Okay, zero ambience and I mean zero. But the food- very good. Will come again and try something else. EG Eats read more

The place was alright, I did not find it any special. This is a hole in the wall place. I ordered the pad Thai and it was good but it was not anything special. I had better pad Thai at other restaurants. Also, the lady at the restaurant was a little rude to me and my mother. However, they did serve a good portion of pad Thai at the restaurant. read more

My Husband wanted to stop here for lunch on our way home to LA. I was not expecting this place to be as good as it is. Don't judge a restaurant by the outside appearance. This is really good food. the Pad Thai, tea drinks are delicious with the freshest sprouts I have ever eaten. It's like they grow them out back or something. read more

Food was good, but my 1/2 duck order had two necks cut into pieces to make like I had 1/2 duck :(. Please don't do this again to another customer read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - 1/2 duck - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

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Best spicy wings I've had. Must try! Service was pretty quick not a lot of people while I've had lunch there

I honestly thought it was gonna be a super small little restaurant because of how the outside looks like and the parking space. But when the worker took us to the back, I was like oh wow! it was pretty spacious. Anyways, I've arrived to Merced and was super hungry so my friends and I decided to stop by. I ordered the Khao Poon, 8/10. The bowl was huge, the portions were even. I cannot handle heat that well so it was a little too spicy & too much coconut for me. I wish they added quail eggs though! I also ordered the spring rolls, 10/10. They were pretty big & fulfilling. I'm not a fan of the sauce they came with so I had to put hoisin sauce to make it a little better. The older waitress was super nice and very friendly. Checked up on us here n there. Overall, the food & the service were good. read more

Amazing service and delicious authentic food! A must have in Merced. Portions were ample too. read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - Spring rolls, beef larb, panang, calamari, and sticky rice. - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

Their foods is usually on point. But the little lady waitress asking for tip every time we go is just not appealing. I don't mind the tip even when the service is just OK but when you are asking for tip and slamming dishes when I am trying to eat; it is just rude. read more

When I use to live in Merced I came here very often because it's one of the best place in town if you're craving pho. This restaurant isn't located in the most glamorous places in Merced and the building itself doesn't look too attractive, but don't let that fool you. The restaurant name is Houa Khong, but everyone I know calls it "Blue House" since the building use to be blue. It has a small parking lot in the front with very limited spaces, but there's plenty of street parking available. The inside of the building is not the most updated. It still looks the same even after all these years. They have 4 tables in the front of the restaurant and plenty of tables in the back room. The only time I remember having any bad memories coming here is when the son was working there. Every time he took our order, he seemed to always be in a bad mood with a terrible attitude which made it uncomfortable for us. Since then, there's a different gentleman that waits tables now and he's much more friendlier and has made our experience much better coming here. We usually just order pho, but we were extra hungry and ordered Beef Noodle, raw larb(medium spicy), spicy wings along with some sticky rice. Once my bowl of pho was placed in front of me I was rushing to take a sip of the broth and it was good!!! The soup was on point like always! The raw larb was also amazing! You can't find delicious tasting larb like this anywhere else in Merced. The hot wings were drenched in a chili sauce that made the dish amazingly yummy! Portion sizes are good with a decent price. I have tried their papaya salad a few times and I'm just not a big fan of it here, but I've also ordered their pad kee mow and it's delicious! Yum yum yum. Overall, I come here for the beef noodle. It's a must have! Don't let the location and building scare you away :) read more

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I came here last week ordered a Thai tea I found a roach on the cup told the waiter and she killed the roach and flicked it off then tried giving me back the drink!!! read more

I love the Pho!! I had Chicken Pho and left happy and full. Great customer service and big portions. read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - Chicken Pho - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

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Called and picked up food. Everything was ready on time. Fresh and tasted delicious. Lady who rung me up as super nice. Highly recommend their kasoy!!!! read more

I love their pho. The servers are always so sweet. Great pad Thai. My favorite is their spring rolls.

Authentic Laos food. I really like their noodle soup but my kid loves their yellow curry. Their sides are also delicious. Small parking area but besides that, nice place to have lunch or dinner. Can not wait to be able to dine in again! read more

This is probably one of the original thai spots in Merced. It's old school in a very secluded area and your gonna miss it if your new. Very limited parking could use updates and be prepared to wait long. There is only one server/cashier-same person. Got there at 11:40 am and we were the only ones another family was there but they already had there food. We order two large combination pho, spicy hot wings and for TO GO order chow fun and raw beef Laab. Pho: 5/5 typical pho in merced don't expect Vietnamese style pho. One thing I do have to note is that their pho broth was super super super hot!!!!! I mean it really cooked the meat throughly. Usually other Thai places that serve pho the beef is half cooked with raw meat in the middle until you mix the meat into the broth then it cooks the meat. RegArdless it was $9 medium was $8 so give or take which one you want. Enough meat and noodles to fill you you up. Spicy wings: 2.5/5 the colors were beautiful it just lack taste. No flavors to the wings; and I repeat they were not spicy just one bit. I've eaten these wings at different restaurants and the flavors were better. Chow fun: 2/5 I was a bit disappointed In this dish I think back then they use to Cook these with broccoli but I didn't see any in my dish today and the noodles were lightly brown not dark brown how they use to make it back then. Kind of tasteless and flavorless. Raw Laab Beef: 5/5 hands down the best raw Laab in the area!!!!!! Can you believe that if u ask me to eat raw beef Laab one year ago I would say I hated it??!? This open up my palette to the wonders and deliciousness of raw Laab! You cannot smell the raw beef that is what's good about this dish!!! It's just soooooooo darn GOOD!!! Please get a side of sticky rice with this dish it's a must! Thai coffee: 5/5 very good I was skeptical about the drink when the server brought it out but after mixing the drink it was perfect! read more

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The place is a hole in the wall and it doesn't have the best ambiance but I only come here for the Pho. I always order #8 combination pho with extra meatballs and thick noodles. They always make it just how I like it. The broth is usually consistent and on some days it is absolutely amazing. I have tried the egg rolls, chow mien and Thai tea and they are pretty good. My sister and I are regulars here and have come to know some of the staff who are usually friendly -- BUT sometimes the service has been horrible but like I said I love the pho. Pro: Try their pho dishes with some Thai tea. read more

Houa Khong Restaurant - #8 combination pho with thick noodles and extra meatballs - Thai Near Me - Merced, California

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