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Spicy Hunan

4.0 (160 reviews)
ModerateChinese
Open 11:00 am - 10:30 pm
Updated over 3 months ago

Spicy Hunan Photos

Business Info

SPICY HUNAN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Good for kids

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Ginny M.

Small, family owned restaurant and if you like Mala this is a great place. The cumin lamb is our absolute favorite. The cauliflower is also delicious. Everything we've ever had has been seasoned well and fairly priced. This is one of our family's favorite restaurants and is often in rotation.

Short rib
Brittany M.

Spicy Hunan is located in a strip mall in Asia Town. Parking was a bit chaotic but we eventually found space in the parking garage. Now Spicy Hunan isn't a place you go to if you want to be wined and dined. The service is what I would expect from an authentic Chinese restaurant. It's a good sign that the food is going to be banging. For instance, our table was dirty so the waitress gave me a napkin wipe it down. That being said, we were given menus right away and no one was ever rude. You just have to ask for things like water, or the bill. They did pack up my food, were very cute with my baby, and there was plenty of room for my stroller. I also left my phone and they kept it for me until the next day. The inside reminded me of the 1990's (another sign that the food is going to be good. I'm not looking for instagram chic). The food itself was very flavorful. The chicken dish was very peppery and the spices came through. My favorite dish was the short ribs (they were actually very very short). It was both sweet and salty. The only draw back was that some pieces were more bone than meat. This was a dish that tasted even better the second day. Somehow way better and it was already fire to begin with. I legit could not stop eating and left Spicy Hunan feeling filthy full with the plus side of also having a ton of left overs. Nice place to get some food for meal prepping. Food - 5 Service- 3 Baby friendly - 4.5 ( they have high chairs, not sure about changing room) Spicy Hunan might become one of my staple spots.

Lamb Cumin
Kylena P.

This is the spot!! This restaurant is me and my husband's must go whenever we're in town by Bellaire. I haven't had authentic tasting Hunan food since I lived in New York City maybe? I am Chinese, and my mom is from Hunan, so I'm going to put y'all on some game :) Have to try: Lamb Cumin 孜然羊肉 This is a traditional dish consisting of deliciously savory lamb, in bite size slices, cooked with bold cumin, cilantro, chilis, garlic and onion. The meat is fragrant, buttery with a bit of crispness and perfect amount of heat. Popular amongst Muslim community in China. This is a staple in our order. Twice cooked pork with leeks 蒜苗回锅肉 I like to call this dish, "Chinese bacon." It's seared pork belly in chili oil with leeks. This is the milder version. The spicy version of this dish, which I prefer is twice cooked pork (Hunan style) 箱辣回锅肉。Which is the same dish but with more heat from chili peppers. The pork is decadently flavorful and the fat melts in your mouth. The leeks are pleasantly crisp and add an interesting texture profile. Salt and Pepper Shrimp 椒盐虾 Nearly anyone can like this dish. These are fried whole shrimps. (And yes, you can eat the entire shrimp!) They're a bit starchy and salty with some spice from peppers and chilis, some crisp onions and scallion decor. I love shrimps so this is a favourite! We also had some shrimp fried rice and egg rolls. There are more traditional dishes on this menu I have tried before. The inside is like an average Chinese restaurant; utilitarian but clean and casual. The service is good, I may be biased because I speak Chinese. I understand the aunties here don't speak very good English but the food is worth the challenge for foreigners! Really, don't overlook this place next time you're in Dun Huang Plaza!

On our recent family trip we stumbled on this little hidden gem .Food was amazing every item we ordered was so tasty. The staff is really attentive and nice. We were greeted immediately and seated shortly even tho they where extremely busy. We will be definitely be coming back next time we in the bellaire Chinatown area.

Prawns in garlic sauce
Sam W.

Excellent hidden gem very interesting menu we really enjoyed the lamb with cumin with cilantro

Stir fried spicy beef
Jennifer N.

Three of us came in on a whim based on the good Yelp reviews and ordered the eggplant, fish + Napa cabbage, and then the diced spicy fried chicken dish that we saw someone posted on Yelp and the waitress said "just 3?" So we allowed her to pick one more dish for us as long as picked the main ingredient. We selected beef, so she offered the stir fry beef. The beef came out first. I ate a small piece of jalapeno, no seeds and holy moly it was spicy. The place is called SPICY Hunan, so I was in fear for the rest of the meal. The rest of the meal was actually pretty tame. Interestingly between the three of us, we all had our different picks on which dish was our favorite and we all picked the 4 dishes (one of us picked two). My personal fave was the fried chicken... Usually I don't like Szechaun dishes because the spice makes my mouth go numb but this one was very tolerable. My cousin prefers the mouth-numbing effect, however. Nonetheless, we were happy with all of our entrees and don't mind coming back to try others, or even have the same ones again. (I actually am craving the fried chicken dish again right now.) By the way, I think 3 dishes would've been plenty (1 dish per person). We killed two and the other two remaining dishes were plenty for probably to pack for two lunches.

That was how I eat my food.
Lou C.

I walked by Spicy Hunan 湘菜小厨 lots of times. I didn't know the word "spicy" was just a name and there are many delicious dishes are not spicy. The flavors are very close to my mom's cooking. I was here on a Saturday evening. My goal was to get something 麻辣 spicy and numbing to clear my sinus headache. Looking through few restaurants on this corner of Dun Huang Plaza, Spicy Hunan Restaurant has an updated menu from 2020. As we know, many restaurants don't update on Yelp or their websites during Covid-19 pandemic. So, I want to applaud Spicy Hunan for keeping us informed. Upon opening the solid wood door I was greeted by a friendly voice in Chinese. There wasn't as busy compared to nearby restaurants. That's a plus because I don't have to wait long for my food. I adore the interior decors. Majority of furniture was made of traditional Chinese redwood tables and chairs. A big round table in the corner sets the tone of family style dining. The rest tables were not as fancy, but still functional. Tea pot was nostalgic if you order their special tea. It's really relaxed to eat here. My original order was mala dry pot and I asked for saucier pot. So, waitress recommended number 64 braised beef 湘味水煮牛 and it was the most delicious mala dish I have ever had. It opened my eyes to experience the variety of mala cuisine. Hunan is famous for their spicy dishes, similar to Sichuan but not as sweet. Besides the usual peppercorn and dry peppers, it had young ginger pieces, which adds savory to the max. The cabbage was melted with the tender beef slices. From the "new menu", I saw 酒酿汤圆 mochi balls sweet soup. I wanted to try but it came out as a huge bowl. It reminded me of my mom's cooking. The fermented rice and egg flower made it soup very smooth. The rice balls were small like tapioca balls in boba tea. It was not as sweet and contained no alcohol. Goji berries was just a cute garnish. There are many more dishes I want to explore from their menu. I noticed they got 木桶羊肉 (meats in wood barrel) handwritten on a white board. Mmm.., I'm gonna bring my Chinatown Crawl folks here to experience a different level of Chinese cuisine. Oh, hubby liked beef chow mein I ordered takeout. It was really northern Chinese style that he loved. Definitely looking forward to get more acquainted.

Jason Z.

A classic old time Chinatown restaurant feel. No millennial or gen x ambiance; you come here for the food. Located in the plaza, parking is available in the surface lots and parking garages. Ordered a bunch of dishes and most were solid. Sweet and sour eggplant, lamb and scallion were cooked well. The fish was a bit mediocre but overall, their menu offers a ton of options and it's a feel of what dining in Chinatown was like 20 years ago.

Mimi X.

This is such a bummer for me because I used to LOVE this place. I would go for their boiled filet in hot chili sauce. It reminded me of China when I would visit so it was my go-to comfort food. Not sure if I went on a bad day or chefs changed since the last time I was here (which is about 2 years) but the food was not as great as it used to. The boiled filet in hot chili sauce was bland and too oily (yes I know this is already an oily dish) but usually there are some depth with the taste and the oil. It just taste like oil and no heat. I also got the eggplant in garlic sauce and again, it was too oily. And for some reason I think they used the residual oil from the fish dish to cook the eggplant, it had the same smells and less of its own dish. My husband ordered bone-in duck with 4 seasons chili pepper and that was the only one that was edible in my opinion. Flavor was perfectly balanced and the duck wasn't dry. That was the only dish I have not order before so I can't really compare it to how it was. I was a bit disappointed but I'll come back and update again if it changes. Now I need to find a different restaurant for Chinese comfort food :(

剁椒蒸鱼片
Houston B.

The dishes taste fine. Pretty busy for weekend lunch. The environment is good and service is fair. Will recommend to other people.

Sunny A.

3 star only for good food n. Not enough cleanliness but who cares if food is good but terrible service have to ask for soya sauce hot sauce inside was good worse thing was how these women behaved first she gave me the bill for 32.38 then I said I'm paying apple she gave me the next bill for 29.90+ tax $32.38. That's what said you have to pay tip and I said I will pay cash. I asked her for two box to take out. The other lady came with the box and started asking me to give her the tip and she said it so many time, and in front of every other people next to us it was really embarrassing that this two women were asking for the tip.crazy

Left: twice cooked pork hunan style Right: house special diced chicken with peppers
Tommy P.

Tried the house special diced chicken with dried peppers and it was bomb.com. Definitely going back for that. It's like the fried chicken version of the other one. Also tried the twice cooked pork and it's soooooo gooooood!!!! (Definitely better than the diced chicken with fresh and dried peppers) The hot tea is always on point too. Love this spot!

Water boiled fish
William C.

My husband and I have been to Spicy Hunan two or three times and they're consistently solid. We went this Friday evening at around 4:30pm for an early dinner--naturally, the restaurant wasn't very busy, but there were many takeout bags on a nearby table ready to be picked up by to-goers. Food is solid here. We ordered the "water boiled" fish, a tripe dish with celery and onions (I think it's beef tripe), and a string bean plus eggplant in garlic sauce. The fish and tripe came out pretty quickly, and they are strong on flavor. The fish is tender and mildly spicy (the spices numb your tongue); they give you plenty of fish for two adults. The tripe is crispy and flavorful; the celery and onions pair nicely with the tripe. Lastly, the green beans and eggplant dish came out. We had ordered it to give us more veggies. I was surprised by how delicious this was. The eggplant is hot (be careful) and filling, and the green beans are nicely seasoned. Will definitely order this one again next time. Spicy Hunan is a solid choice for Chinese food in Chinatown. The food has never disappointed us, really. Sometimes, the servers are attentive; today, not so much. Look, this is not a super fancy or trendy restaurant. People don't come here to be seen; they come here to eat. It's mostly a Chinese clientele--older couples and families. We would come back again.

剁椒鱼 (fish topped with fermented chilis)

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The food was not too oily yet umami and flavorsome. They had good stinky tofu and spicy eggs that were actually spicy.

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Spicy chicken, clear noodles with red pepper sauce, and stir fried green beans

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