Despite being one of the country's largest Chinatowns, Houston constantly surprises me with how…read morelimited the regional Chinese variety is throughout the city and especially along Bellaire Blvd. Among those cuisines, the Fuzhou scene has been scarce and with the recent closure (and subsequent mourning) of Yi Zhang (#1), I've been on a quest to find any place that offers Fuzhounese / Fujianese / Fukinese food of any kind.
Enter the China Gourmet, which I thought was the old Taiwanese / Minnan cuisine spot (#2) aka, 喜富來台菜餐廳 but transferred ownership nearly 2 years ago. The English name remains the same, but the Chinese name has changed to 福州风味小吃 (#3) which roughly translates to Fuzhou's Local Flavor Snacks. It is located on the outside corner of Dynasty Plaza Mall, adjacent to the way more popular Le Lai Restaurant (#4).
This isn't a place for everyone. It's a bit divey, cash only, probably not even date friendly, no restrooms or utensils beyond chopsticks, slow and steady service, and is not the most approachable establishment for folks not savvy with these foods. There is no pretension here and hardly anything fancy. Basically ... my kind of place.
This is the kind of eatery I would have expected to see in a place like NYC, where the largest community of Fuzhou folks live in the world outside of China. The old school divey ambiance is still in play, except in a much larger space that sits empty almost every time I've ever been here.
It's currently being run by a Fuzhounese couple, who left NYC in search of more simple pastures and somehow ended up here in Houston. (#5) Most of the patrons are Chinese, with a handful that can actually converse in their mother tongue. Mandarin should be enough to get by, even if English is somewhat limited. Don't let any of this deter you, because this place is as real as it gets.
There are no QR codes or menus on the table, just point at the menu on the wall, which is also a picture menu. There are an array of Fuzhou style dishes that range from small plates to noodle soups. All of it is super legit.
I enjoyed their classic peanut noodle (拌面), which was excellent. It's a small portion and practically double price wise in NY, but still worth it for my tastebuds at $4. Their fried taro (芋頭糕) was greasy, but definitely had the right flavors. The staple of Fuzhou food, their meat stuffed fish ball (魚丸) was so juicy that I think I could have easily eaten 10 of them. The accompanying soup had a nice aromatic flavor to it, which would be perfect for colder weather or broth-lovers.
They are the only place in Houston that serves Fujianese style XLB (小籠包), which is more akin to the baozi where the term originates from, rather than the soup dumpling that most people are accustomed to. The meat is a different kind of pork-based meat chives and more of a gravy than a soup. The gravy gets soaked in by the bao and the splash effect isn't going to be there. This is the same filling for their crispy bun version of shengjian bao (生煎包), but is okay as a first time dish.
Folks looking for more savory choices might enjoy their stir fried mix seafood / pork noodles (海鮮炒肉面) or their rice vermicelli version (海鮮炒粉干). Soup / stew enthusiasts will likely enjoy their dedicated section of the menu (炖罐系列), which is a variety of mushrooms, ginger, and seafood / meat protein. folks with an adventurous palate can shoot for their beef offal or their tripe (which they've dubbed hilariously as "cattle slippery") (牛滑捞化). Their sea oyster cake (海蛎饼) and peanut gnocchi (花生汤圆) are both unique Fujian dishes / desserts that I've not seen anywhere in the neighborhood.
China Gourmet 2.0 is now going to be part of regular rotation of frequented eateries in Chinatown. It is hardly a destination for most folks, but anyone looking for a little taste of Fuzhou in Houston should come here ASAP.
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(#1) https://www.yelp.com/biz/YCxVafMZNtdc1H2AYEzPnw
(#2) https://www.yelp.com/biz/xbN_R--xSa5wKZKfHkgzIQ
(#3) 簡體字, 繁體字, 大家都接受
(#4) https://www.yelp.com/biz/le-lai-houston
(#5) This story sounds so oddly familiar ... oh I know, it's me too!