Specialty stores inside o Hong Kong Mall are nothing new, but among the most niche is Kho Bo Houston, which specializes in all things jerky. Their variety is impressive, spanning from dried land meats to sea creatures. While it's true that their product is expensive and the customer service could use some work, it is a fascinating store to explore the possibilities. Unlike most of the nearby stores, Kho Bo seems semi-modern, bright, and clean. The products are nicely laid out and the selection is clearly labeled. There is usually a woman behind the counter who will awkwardly stare as one peruses, but even after a few visits, it still persists. Ultimately, it's no big deal. (#1) Their kho bo dac biet (special beef jerky) is a nice treat of sugar, salt, crushed chilis, pepper, 5 spice, and is semi-addicting. At $15 a bag, it's hardly a deal since I could easily finish it in several bites if I wasn't paying attention. The dried fruits, such as xi muoi are as much as $25 a pound, so keep this in mind for gifts. The mini (whole) crab are my favorite snack of the bunch. It's around $20 a Ib and would be devoured quickly if I'm anywhere nearby. ___________ (#1) Previous theft trauma? read more

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Vietnamese beef jerky and dried fruits hit different. It's just a flavor bomb. Unless you've grown up eating it or are actually open to trying different types of jerky and dried fruit, then Kho Bo Houston, is the place! There's tubs and tubs of different flavors to choose from, and yes you get to try a small sample before committing. A lady will help you with the samples and if you like it, you get a half pound. They'll pack it for you, weight it, and seal it. It is slightly pricey, however you won't see this stuff in a grocery store. They are located inside the Hong Kong Mall and share a space with the pharmacy space on the other side. It's a real treat getting jerky from here and a few other unique snacks that you rarely see. Highly recommend this place if you're looking to be adventurous or you're just a jerky fan. read more

Been coming here for years. If you come in to buy they will treat you well. Nice ladies. Clean & organize

Tbh, was very hesitant to come to this store due to so many bad reviews. We are from Boston. We first heard of this place from my mom. She had a friend who gave her some Xi muoi and kho bo to try and she loved it. As a good daughter that I am, I am here to fulfill my duty and came here to get her some. The place just opened when me and my fiancé came by. The lady helped us was very kind and helpful. I told her my mom wanted the sweet and sour Xi muoi. She let us sampled some and we instantly felt like it was the one my mom would like. Excitedly, got 2 lbs. I asked her what were the most popular kho Bo items. She said it depends on the customer and the customers usually sample before they buy. She encouraged us to sample and offer generously amount for me and my fiancé to try. The employee was very helpful and kind. She was never pushy. Everything was packaged very nicely. Don't hesitate to come! read more

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Clean store, good service and delicious treats. Would recommend to fans of dried fruit.

If I could give them a zero for customer service and products I would. I'm normally a regular there and their customer service has always been ehhhh...but today Was the worse I've ever had to deal with them. I bought Something there and it has a mold taste..So I called and the lady was like bring it out and she would exchange for me. I drove 30mjn out and she said her policy is no return or exchange. I was so pisst. And gave me an attitude..and denied saying it. Lam an ma kg co uy tinh. Never again! read more

Bad experience. We (My friend and I) asked for a certain amount of dried fruit. The lady who worked there said just take the rest and she would provide a discount since there isn't much remaining. After realizing there was no discount, I asked for her to please sell us the original amount we asked for. She said no and rang us up for the only other item (Beef jerky) we wanted. She tried to charge $2 more over the standardized and advertised price. We were so ready to go that we just paid the requested amount and left. I will not return and do not recommend this store. Date of visit: 01/02/2022 ~4:30 p.m. CST. read more

Don't know where to start. The people here are the worst people I ever met in ANY RESTAURANT/SHOP. They follow you around with attitudes as if you gonna eat all their sample. The sample is not even open to public. We have to ask if we want so there's no point following us like that. Completely disrespectful. Strongly avoid. go somewhere else. They have better beef jerky over there! read more

Extremely poor customer service. The women there were both rude when we asked to try some samples even though we did buy $20 worth of candies. They intentionally embarrassed us in front of other people in the store. Worst experience ever! read more

Be ware if you using credit card, they take too much of customer personal information, they write down your driver license number and everything . BE WARE! I told them to cancel my credit card transaction so I can pay with cash, because I don't want she store my info. They refused to do that, they kept saying NO, what a business. Stay away! read more

You must visit this little shop that is located in the Hong Kong market. It offers a wide variety of candies and snacks, but the real treat is their wide variety of Asian jerkies. You can sample, but to avoid being reprimanded in Vietnamese (or broken English), let the workers get the samples for you. I tried the beef jerkies that range in flavors from sweet to salty to spicy. Everything I tried was good. I was surprised by how much you get in a 1/2 pound order, but I'm sure it will go too fast. Your order is sealed in air tight packaging to keep jerky from drying out, and that is perfect for travel. read more

Kho Bo Houston - Located in the back right section in the HK complex - Specialty Food Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Your typical rude ass service inside a Vietnamese/Chinese mall strip. My sister and I came in for a look around when we noticed that inside the jars, they provide a small cup inside that we can sample from! The sample pieces were nicely cut up to help alleviate the mess and cross contamination from people pulling apart the items. At one point, we wanted to try the pickled mangos, but a lady stopped up and told us we needed to wait. Rudely, we walked away and waited for her to come help us. She never came back to help us, so we walked back to the mango container and tried to open it. Another lady approached us and stated what is it that we need, we should tell her. We both said we just wanted to sample the mangos... she said sample or not, we need to wear gloves. Sorry, had there been a sign we would have abided by the rules. We saw everyone else taking samples from the same cups... after sampling about 4 items we really felt unwelcome. No one bothered to help us, rather there were two ladies helping one customer... there were kids walking around opening the containers and sampling as well, and no one bothered to say anything to those kids. I was even considering on buying the mangos and coca-cola gummies... however after the rude service and looking at the prices, we ended up stepping out of the store. As we stepped out, one of the ladies said in Vietnamese, "Those girls just wanted to sample, they didn't want to buy anything..." rude. Don't ever assume I'm not fluent, I will tell your ass off. read more

Very rude service! I'd been here twice. The first time was just to look around while waiting for my hubby. The second time was to buy some. No smiling both time. From the experience, they made us feel like we're begging for their food and money, instead of giving them business. The lady behind the counter was a little bit better than the other lady, at least, she's willing to talk (still no smiling). However, she couldn't do multi-tasks. She won't answer your questions while she's ringing you up. She asked us to wait until she finish ringing us up. Rude! Now the other lady. I called her the "sample lady" because she was giving out samples if we asked (they won't let the customers touch their samples). I asked to try 2 different types of preserved plums from 2 different jars with different names on both (i don't remember the names), but she rudely said "it's the same" and just gave me 1 piece to sample (not to my hubby). Hello! you put 2 names on 2 preserved plum jars, not side-by-side and they don't look the same, how on earth you dare saying that they're the same. SUPER RUDE! I don't care how good your jerky are. I won't be back. JERKY. read more

i buy the kho bo here and the shop was nice and clean. the service is ok. good place to buy kho bo and more.

1. Location: This place is located inside a large Vietnamese mall called Hong Kong Market, which is populated with restaurants and shops. If you are entering the mall from the front entrance of Hong Kong Market, take a right as soon as you enter and keep walking straight until you see the store located to your left. 2. Cleanliness: The place is tidy and neat with containers of dried squid, beef jerky, dry fruit and candies that fill up the entire store. Those containers are against each wall and also in the middle section as well. 3. Service: They were nice but not too nice that you can keep trying their foods. After awhile, they run out of patience with you, but that's because they have a lot of customers that they need to assist. They speak English so don't be intimidated. Their dried foods are amazing. 4. Costs: I bought a bag of Thai Chili Tamarind Candy (1 lb) so I can bring it back to my workplace for my coworkers to try and it was around $16. These dried foods are not cheap but they are really good so it was worth it. 5. Overall experience: It was great. I had a good time trying many products and settled on the tamarind candy since I didn't want to scare my coworkers off with the smell of dried fish and beef. I look forward to purchasing more items in the future. Side Notes: Get the beef jerky. It is really good. read more

The beef jerky is good but the service is just horrible. I took my friend's mother here because she wanted to buy beef jerky for her friends in Boston. The first 5 minutes there, we felt rushed to make a purchase. My friend's mother asked politely if they can package it nicely and not break the pieces because it was a gift. The older lady said that she would charge an extra $5 per pound for the non-broken pieces. That already boiled my blood. The whole time the lady had a grumpy attitude like she wanted to go home and couldn't be bothered with us. Won't be coming back here. I'll go to the other location next time. read more

I was just about to write the same bad review as I saw that others had beat me to it and wrote the same EXACT thing that I had experienced . It's a shame I was going to make a large purchase here as I am from out of town and wanted to gift kho bo to family/friends. #jerks read more

Rude customer service! Minimum purchase of .5lb per item. Tiny shop in the quiet part of the HK mall. I walked in to roam around and look at all the buckets of preserved fruits and meats while waiting for my mom to join me. I didn't want to sample anything until my mom got there. There was another customer and her husband sampling the preserved plums, etc. When my mom came by, I directed her to the beef jerkies to figure out which one's to buy for my bf's parents for Christmas presents. I picked out a small sample of beef jerky from a separate container in the bucket. The old lady scolded me for not waiting for her to give me the samples. Apparently, I can't sample unless she's handing them to me. I saw the minimum 0.5lb purchase, but I thought it was total, not per item. I wanted to buy 0.25lbs of two types of jerky, but was scolded that I couldn't read the sign. The old lady had a bad attitude throughout the rest of our time here. My mom asked her nicely to try to get the air out of the bags, but the old lady frowned and said she didn't have the machine to vaccuum the air out. If paying by credit card, give ID as well. Definitely won't be coming back. read more

First time here and I wanted to taste kho bo from my heritage and holy heaven!! There, in the lonely corner of the mall, is the gorgeous land of kho bo!!!! For those who don't know, its vietnamese/chinese beef jerky of all types! The variety! The gorgeousness of the homeland! Ok, on to the importance of service first. I adored the sweet lady that helped me pick out one of the flavors, as I was going to gift one for a native of Houston yet he has never even had a taste. So I asked for recommendations for sweet and a bit spicy but not so much. She even knew that I didn't want to order in pounds so she gave me half pounds at a discount. I love kho bo so I'm very glad that she was helpful an friendly. She deserves an ultimate 5 star. It's just a shame the store is on the lonely side of the mall. Do stop by here if you're looking for kho bo and traditional snacks! (lol) Bon apetite!! read more

Kho Bo Houston - Kho bo!!!!!!! Half pound honey flavor and the other is half pound houston special! - Specialty Food Near Me - Houston, Texas

The store is located inside the shopping center on the far right side. When you come in you see multiple selection of jerky. The lady provides us with samples which is good. While we were trying to check out I wanted to split the bill. However, since she already put it in the register she doesn't want to redo it and gave us an attitude. Customer service is not that great but the jerky is top notch. read more

It was my first time here 2 days ago. First, the store has a strong smell. I love the kho bo they have. It's pricey but it's worth every penny. Best Kho Bo I ever had. read more

Shut down your store. No point in having a business if you push your customers away from buying.

Love this little place! Lots of variety of Asian treats and the best part is the packaging; so if you're traveling, this would make great gifts to bring back to friends and families. The lady helping was very nice and let hubby and I taste anything we wanted. She even offered our little girl some. Definitely check out the jerkies. We got all our goodies in half a pound each and surprisingly, you get a lot for half a pound. read more

I strongly agree with the negative reviews here. RUDE! That's what they should make the logo for their store. They don't want to give sample. i just got to try 2 items and purchased both of them. If they were smart enough to invite customers to try different items they probably have more sales. Their kho bo taste is mediocre but the meat is super chewy. I don't know if I will ever come back. read more

This little shop tucked away in the corner of the Hong Kong market contains some of the most authentic and exotic snacks in Houston. There is a large variety of meat jerkies (beef, deer, squid), dried fruits, and candies clearly labeled in Vietnamese and English with pricing in bins like those seen at a candy store. Your items are packed into individual zip-top bags with the store information printed on it, and sealed at the bottom. If you are polite and sincerely intend to buy, the lady will let you sample some of the items. Since it is a very small space, and there are not many customers at one given time, the experience can be a little awkward, as it is very quiet, and after a while, they sort of follow you around the store to either help push you into making a purchase or easing you out the door. Also, the minimum for each bag is 1/2 lb; this is easy to do with the jerkies, but not so much with the candies and fruits, so I wish the fruits and candies could be sold in smaller increments. Since they also own the beauty/skin care shop next door, the lady also gave us some free samples of the skin care products :) read more

The worst customer service I've ever experienced. The reason I'm only giving them a star is because yelp doesn't allow a negative star review. I simply called to see if there was a mistake made on the order because I received in which I felt is the wrong order but before I could even say another word, the lady on the other line was coming at me with a horrible attitude. I also asked why I didn't get an email confirmation or a tracking number so I could wait for the package since it is food that I ordered and she kept trying to explain to me that they can not reprint out the order n I said I'm not asking u to reprint out an order but send a copy via email or in the package. Needless to say I wasn't even aware of when my package was coming nor was I able to track it like normal online orders. The orange peels I order ended up being super soggy because it was basically sitting in the abnormally hot Chicago weather at the post office. First and absolutely the LAST time doing online business with these type of companies again. read more