Let's play Pyramid. TAN TAN Restaurant. Things that taste better when you're drunk. *ding ding ding*. Don't get me wrong, there are some pretty good foods. The House-Fried-Pancake-Special-reallylongname appetizer is a staple and is ordered every time. The fried rices and beef flat noodles are steadfast and trustworthy. However, all these foods taste like 5-star chef prepared food when you are inebriated. The classic case of the munchies. Sweet delicious grease. Tan Tan's is open late til 3am to satisfy those late night hunger strikes. However, Tan Tan's doesn't strike me as clean and those neon lights make it feel like a shoddy environment. Safety around this area at night has known to be a problem. Prices are fair but a little bit more steeper compared to the rest of Chinatown. read more

One of if not the most solid fixture of best eats in Chinatown for Vietnamese/Chinese food. There's not much I can say that's any different or unique than anyone else's experience of what's good...but I'll say them anyway (ha). There's a reason Tan Tan has been around for as long as it has been. I started going here in high school and it's undergone 3 expansions since that time. It's always busy, the dishes are always piping hot, the menu is extensive and the food comes out pretty fast. My go-to's? House Special Rice Cake, Eggrolls, House Special Friend Rice, Flat Rice Noodles with Beef and Chinese Broccoli, Seafood Pan-friend noodles, Walnut Shrimp...ok there's way too many to name. I've only had it a handful of times, but yes, the Banh Bot Chien is deeeeelicious. Good, cheap eats. But like most any Asian establishment, don't expect much in service. On the weekends, they're open until 2am. It's a very different crowd and environment from lunch to dinner to late night, so be aware. I will keep going here until the day I die. Love it! read more

Been coming here since high school for comfort food. What we always order at Tan Tan: 1. Hot Pot (beef and shrimp combo): You can't beat their broth. Mmm... 2. Rice Cake: Everybody already mentioned how good this is here. 3. Wonton Noodle Soup: Reminds me of the real ones in HK. 4. Thai tea. Mmm, hot pot in this cold weather.... read more

Service is definitely on the crappy side, but its kind of expected. I ordered the Beef Yu choy Soup. It was pretty good, seemed like it was lacking something though, just can't nail what it was. They have a really extensive menu, most of it which I have not tried. But everything I've had is decent enough, especially if you factor that they are open late. However... I always seem to have a problem with establishments that make you feel like you are bothering them to even be dining there. But then again, this place does lean more towards the authentic side rather than the Americanized versions, so perhaps its all part of the experience. I'm not a huge fan, but when in the area I'd probably stop by again. read more

get the Banh bot chien. Get it, get it, get it. It is one of their staples here and known dishes. All their dishes are pretty decent in size and flavor is good. read more

Food was good before, but the quality has gone down. What has kept me away from this place was the service. Came back today and regret it. Had a really bad server. I've attached a picture. Beware! read more

Tan Tan - Really bad waitress. Basically threw the napkin, straws and chopsticks at us like dogs. Slammed the bowls and spoons on our table. - Chinese Near Me - Houston, Texas

I'm giving this restaurant 2 star because the foods are decent ! But the food take forever to come about , around 15-25 mins or even longer when its pack . The customer service is great but have know very little english , its was a process to even oder . Everything come out great until this one dish , i'm not sure if they forgot about our oder or they were every busy , even we finish all the other meal and wait for a long time the dish still not ready . We have to keep asking about our oder , and ofc we lost out patient and decide to cancel the oder , guess what ? They not even making it yet after like 45-50 mins !!!!!!!!!! horrible Will still come back because the foods is really good but not coming on any day like Saturday and Sunday because its get so pack and it can be frustrating sometime. read more

This is my favorite place to eat in Chinatown. I've been coming to this place since I was a little girl, thanks to my parents. Tan Tan serves up delicious Cantonese-style fare. The House Special Rice Cake is divine. It is perfectly crisped and I don't even know how to describe it to someone who hasn't had it before except to say that it's ridiculously good. I've had the congee here, which is pretty good, but I do think that the accompanying fried bread sticks should come with it for free instead of being a separate $2. I mean, who eats congee without fried bread sticks?! I typically go for the soups, though. The Phuc Kien soup is amazing, and every time I order it, my boyfriend always comments on how good it looks despite the fact that he's not one for eating liver or kidney. Hey, his loss! He usually gets the chicken and chinese broccoli dish, which is your average combo covered with brown sauce. It's simple, but it's still very tasty. The only thing I'd advise you to stay away from is the fried rice. Let me just say that I've NEVER had good fried rice at a restaurant (aside from Thai places), but Tan Tan's fried rice is bland even by my experience. Avoid. At. All. Costs. Everything else is incredible, though! I'd also recommend the salt toasted tofu. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and perfectly seasoned, I could eat those all day long! read more

Casino-like atmosphere (the neon lights), open late night, plenty of seating...I like this place. First time I went, I was craving some sort of fried noodle so I got the beef flat noodles. It was good but I think the waiter forgot to bring it out. My boyfriend gets one of his two usuals: the seafood noodle soup or the wonton noodle soup. I tried both and they were really good. During a fever induced frenzy, I downed his leftover wonton noodle soup & then passed out. I really like the House Special Rice cake and their pork & preserved egg congee was exactly what I wanted. Why can't I get pork & preserved egg congee in Austin? Seems like I have to wait until weekends to be able to get it at dim sum. Grumble grumble. read more

Generally this place is pretty good. The food comes out fast and the portions are very big for the price! They have a very wide selection of whatever asian nom-noms you feel like eating. Personally my favorite is their house special rice cakes. I DEVOUR THOSE NOMS.They are crispy and eggy and derricious. I love the pickled radishes they serve them with. It's the perfect blend of salty, sweet, tangy, and CRUNCHAY. yum. The service is....allright. They are pretty aloof and some times down right rude. Maybe its a language barrier thing but they always seem very detached from the customers they are serving. read more

If you'll allow me an old-school video game analogy, I'd say if other restaurants in Chinatown are Frogger, Tan Tan is Marble Madness. Whereas its counterparts are easy to navigate and simple in conception, Tan Tan is a veritable maze of distractions ignored at one's own peril - especially late-night, when even this cavernous establishment gets packed. Upon entering, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer size of the place coupled with the sensory onslaught of neon lights, flatscreens displaying featured dishes, and the gaggle of waitresses donning headsets scurrying about. Once seated, a daunting menu, fully 25 pages, is set before you to choose from amongst their dizzying array of dishes. My first time, the only way I could make any comparison with other Asian restaurants (and an excuse to simplify the process of selecting something from the supernumerary choices), was to go with an old standard they all have in common: General Tso's chicken. I got the dish, which, be forewarned, is a whole plate plus your own rice steamer on the side (order from the rice dishes section of the menu for normal portions). It was a savory meal with a unique touch, perhaps of ginger, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and I sampled the pan fried noodles with seafood a companion had ordered, which was delicious. All in all though, despite the atmosphere, the food didn't blow my hair back. But it was good, and I've only scratched the surface of the pan-Asian cuisine offered here, so should I revisit this review, Tan Tan has nowhere to go but up. read more

I'm so glad I'm in Houston where there's an abundance of good Asian food! I came here with a group of non-Asian friends, and everyone thought the food was phenomenal especially for $15 per person. I highly recommend the Peking Duck! This dish came last and was quite a wait, but definitely worth it. The buns were steamed perfectly, and the duck was of great quality - not too fatty. I'm removing a star because one of the waiters told us rather rudely that we can only split checks 3 ways using a credit card. We walked in with a lot of people, and this would have been nice to know beforehand, but at least they accept cc unlike a lot of places in Chinatown! read more

Yooo tan tan is the bomb! My family and I have been going here for years. I am pretty sure it used to be 24 hrs (a late night favorite) but it looks like it's only open till midnight these days. Tan tan isn't the best Chinese food you'll find in Chinatown, but what I love is the fast service, good prices, and familiarity with the menu. Last night we had the house pancake thing appetizer, 3 different meat plates, Cantonese noodle soup and a seafood noodle soup, leaving with ample wallets and content stomachs. I think every table has a hot pot boiler, so that is never a bad option! Tan tan - keep the good food and good times rolling! read more

I don't think I have to do much of a review as this place seems pretty dang popular on Yelp. Nonetheless.... I grew up in Alief and this place has always been a staple of the area. I remember going here when it was just one restaurant space and now they have expanded all the way to the end where the Washateria use to be. Not to mention the location on Westheimer. Anyways, I have always avoided going here because the crowd was always huge and their quality went down for the past few years. Anyway, my wife closed really late at her business and we decided to go find something. As anyone knows, Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants are always opened-- think "A Christmas Story". I get my favorite dish- muoc rang moi-- and the wife gets the salted tofu. They are the same exact meal but one being squid and the other being tofu. I don't have much else to say besides it being delicious. Nicely golden battered, tossed with green onions and the salt and pepper/lime dip... just a party in the mouth. I haven't had a chance to try anything else but it looks like they have stepped their game back up. read more

Always great food ! Fast and hot! Family always loves this place and the kids love to see the live fish and crab in the tanks

This is an excellent restaurant. We live in Denver and visit family in Houston about 8x a year. We make it a point to visit one of the best asian restaurant if not the best one in Houston. Service is excellent and food is made fresh and delicious. During our last visit. I noticed a few improvements... the menu has been updated. It's new and beautiful and organized. It's hard to say that service "improved" because it's always has been great! While having our dinner we noticed that staff has been on top of assisting diners. At one time all i had to do was make an eye contact to one of the staff and they were ready and willing to assist with anything. The attitude and friendliness during our visit is a breath of fresh air. We also had the pleasant opportunity to talk w/ the manager Thomas. He stopped by our table to make sure we had everything we needed. We find him to be very engaging with and other customers, but also toward his staff. Tan-Tan will always be our #1 restaurant in Chinatown, Houston. 1)Food is Delicious 2)Customer Service Excellent 3) Price is reasonable Kat and Brian read more

Can I just say that the food comes out amazing fast. And the food was good so claps for Tan Tan! The favorite was the roasted chicken over fried rice. Very well seasoned and tasty read more

Eh. We only came here because Fu Fu Cafe ran out of soup dumplings. One of the missions we had during our visit to Houston was to have soup dumplings and we came here mistakenly thinking that they had some. Totally wrong, but that's okay. I thought the food here was just all right. I've definitely had better versions of all of the dishes. We came here on a late Sunday afternoon, right before our drive back to Austin. We ordered pork and preserved egg congee (which I had been craving, despite the 102 degree weather), diced beef with scallions and the salted toasted seafood medley. The congee was too thick and did not have enough goodies in it. For those of you who don't know, congee is a savory rice porridge. This bowl was as thick as steel cut oatmeal. I prefer it to be thinner. The diced beef with scallions dish was pretty tasty. However, I would have preferred for the cubes of beef to be a little more tender and not cooked all the way through. The fried rice that came with it was a bit odd. It was too eggy and tasted like it had tomato sauce in it. The salted toasted seafood mix was pretty good. The breading was a little too bready and it could have used more of that fried garlic stuff or whatever that is. That stuff is GOLD. I wanted more. I don't think I would want to come back here the next time we're in Houston. There are waaay too many other things I want us to try before we give this place another chance. read more

food is great, well priced and typically always busy. Always got the wonton soup to go, and has never changed in flavor. Although i do feel they are going a little cheap on the dish now. Instead of being topped by cai chua ngot (unsure of the green veggie name in english) it is now replaced by small inner green lettuce leaves. No, biggie to me but my first sign of cutting back on production of the bowl. Secondly, there use to be 5 wontons, now they are only 4 served to each portion. I don't mind it but i hope the price didn't rise with the dishes cheaper to make for the company. no biggie, i still like this place! read more

Having lived in Houston for a few years, I miss this place the most and that's for their banh bot chien!! The 5 stars is mainly for that dish. I can't get anywhere close to Tan Tan in Dallas. Every trip to Houston, Tan Tan is a definite must stop for me. There are other good entrees here that I can't get anywhere else. Their macaroni is tasty. You might think it's weird that a Chinese restaurant serves stir fried macaroni as an accompaniment to their dishes but it works for them. I always get the macaroni with cornish hen. The hen is always fried to where the skin is crispy but the meat is still juicy and it's not dry at all. Out of all the places where I eat hot pot in Dallas and Houston, I like Tan Tan's the best. The broth is always well seasoned and I like the dipping sauce that they give you. Plus the veggies and meats always seem fresh. I have even tried to talk to management to see if they would open a restaurant in Dallas but they just chuckled and said "maybe." A girl can only hope!! read more

I don't see how people ever come here. They give you the worst food and the worse service. They over charge and they argue with customers. In what mind does a restaurant argue with customers?! Worst place. Mediocre food. Horrible service. I know good food when I see it and taste it. This doesn't meet standards at all, not to mention my group got seated in a corner by the storage and restroom. GROSS. read more

It's been a few years since I had hot pot, and it was at neighboring Sinh Sinh, so my 4 stars probably come from a place of inexperience and not expertise, but even with a 30 minute wait, I loved my food and had a great evening. I appreciated that our waitress was up front about how long it would take for our food to come out before we ordered (it was PACKED), instead of us needing to flag her down for updates. My friend and I shared seafood hot pot, and had copious amounts left over by the end of our meal (mental note - better for group of 4, not table of 2!). I'm a pescetarian, so I was thankful that our waitress let us know that one side of the hot pot had sausage, and the other just fish. Can't speak for the pork side, but my side was YUMMY. A perfect amount of salt, and I loved adding chili sauce to spice it up. Can't wait to go back for more! read more

Tan Tan is great for serving up comfort vietnamese and chinese food. They are great for lunch, dinner or even late night munchies. They are super fast about bringing out food and I have actually had pretty decent service there. If you have never been before, get the A1 house special rice cake. It is like an omelet with fried square rice cakes in it. The dipping sauce goes super well with it and i even add the pickled jalapenos they have on the table. I go fairly often for lunch and order 1 of 2 things, which IMHO are their best entrees on the menu. The Tan Tan 3 Flavor rice is my go to for a massive dish for under $10. It comes with grilled chicken, grilled pork and a rice cake, on top of a bed of rice with a side of pickled veggies/lettuce. My other go-to is the grilled pork vermicelli bowl. You can actually get this more like a "salad" and replace all the noodles with more veggies (lettuce and herbs). Overall, i think Tan Tan is definitely a Houston staple for vietnamese and asian cuisine. read more

And so begin my reviews of Houston's Chinatown and there is no place more fitting to start at than Tan Tan. Over the years, I've probably been here over 25 times. Don't expect great service here-- I don't even know if the servers can speak English... but when I come here, I always get either some sort of flat noodles, wonton soup, pork and preserved egg congee (probably shouldn't try this if you've never had it but it is pretty good), the fried egg and rice cake thing, or the cubed steak w/ french fried rice. If you order any of those, or the combination fried rice, you are probably in pretty good shape. I should probably expand my horizons as their food is generally pretty good. Prices are moderate but definitely aren't dirt cheap. You should still expect to spend around $10 without drinks, tip, or tax. Now, I've heard that the place is dangerous late at night, so I generally don't consider it a late night option. There are tons of armed "security" on duty but they are just for show. I heard that there was a gun fight or some sort of armed robbery a few months back and the security were the first to run. Steer clear from here (or anywhere else in Chinatown) after 1:00 AM. I just went here the other day and had some awful, awful service. AWFUL SERVICE. This was at 7:00 PM on a Saturday night. The entire restaurant was packed but two of the biggest tables were taken by probably 75% of the waitstaff. Just eating dinner. Crazy. We didn't have a waiter/waitress and the person who took our order went to eat. Every 10 minutes we'd call a waiter/waitress over and tell them what we ordered and they would disappear and get a soda for the table next to us. Our food came, one order at a time, in 15 minute intervals. This had to be one of the worst service experiences I've ever had-- so bad that it was comical. read more

Tan Tan is a Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant and it's been around for ages or so it seems. I love this restauratn and it's the best place to satisfy late night hunger (they open until 2 o3 on Sat and midnight the rest of the week, I believe). Here are a few of my faves: 1) Wonton Soup - Just wonton without the noodle. I only get the wontons because I think they make the best in town. Plump shrimp wrapped in a thin wonton wrapping in a yummy soup. But do note that there is MSG involved. 2) House Rice Cake - This is their best dish; I have never gone to Tan Tan without ordering this. It's basically rice cake with egg, dried turnip and fried scallions. I think the dried turnip and the sauce make this dish delectable. 3) French Styled Diced Beed with Macaroni - I know, Macaroni in a Vietnamese restaurant! How horrible but this is delicious and my son's favorite dish. The diced beef is juicy and tender and the macaroni is covered with a tomato sauce (my husband likes to call it ketchup sauce). It doesn't matter, it is delicious and if my son eats it, I am not complaining. I think this restaurant has always maintain its food quality and I am never disappointed in its flavor. read more

My boyfriend and I are in Dallas visiting for the week and decided to drive to Houston for the day. We were craving some Chinese food and decided to stop at Tan Tan's. The restaurant is huge! We ordered: salt and pepper shrimp, stir fried rice noodles with beef in sate sauce, and the special seafood fried rice. It was all amazing. Honestly, we loved it a lot. We both concluded that this was one of the best Chinese meals we had in a while. Everything that came out was hot and delicious. The portions were great as well. Service was great as well! Drinks were refilled almost immediately and the servers were always a few steps away in case you needed something. If I were to come back to Houston, I'd definitely come back to Tan Tan's. read more

Tan Tan - From L to R: Stir Fried Rice Noodles w/ Beef in Safe Sauce, Special Seafood Fried Rice & Salt and Pepper Shrimp (asked for no shell). - Chinese Near Me - Houston, Texas

Oh man, C2 ... Combo plate #2. Bao luc lac w/ fried rice. So good. The best place for bao luc lac. reminds me of my college days... we'd come at 1am and stuff ourselves. I also love the crispy noodles w/ beef and broccoli. I personally don't like Congee or hotpot, but I often see most people getting that. I will always love this place :D read more

Tan tan...Houston's favorite asian comfort food. The place that's just good enough for you to bring friends from out of town, but not quite there if you want to make an impression. In fact, bring someone here AFTER you consummate ;) With certainty: The food comes fresh and tasty at all hours of the day - lunch, dinner, or after-hours! A great standby for me and my friends if we're undecided on where to go. May I suggest: Egg pancake appetizer, walnut shrimp, special fried rice, sizzling beef, salt toasted squid, brazed steak tips, grilled pork with rice & egg, and/or cafe su da. read more

This Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant is super iconic. We walked in, and I instantly felt de ja vu because I know I've seen it on a food show before. To start, my friends and I ordered dessert first - the Thai dessert and the Che 3 Mau. The Thai dessert was a bright pink liquid-y concoction that was waaaay too sweet for my tastes. With a coconut base and gummy candies inside, it was very bubble gum-esque and not really my cup of tea (errr desert?). But the Che 3 Mau WAS my cup of tea! The layered dessert is made up of different colored beans and tastes like a chilled, sweet bean soup. It was very unique, and affirmed my new discovery that I enjoy beans in my dessert! For our main course of food, it was a two-parter, starting with the tossed flat fried rice noodle with Chinese broccoli. This dish was very similar to Thai drunken noodles, which I love. Tan Tan's version was saltier and slightly bitter. Filling and tasty, I enjoyed it, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if there was a hint of sweetness. The last dish we ordered was the whole reason we came to Tan Tan and was far and away my absolute FAVORITE bite of the evening! It was the house special rice cake. Sounds pretty unexciting right? WRONG. This eggy omelette(ish) dish is made of eggs, rice cake (not like the Americanized rice cakes we are used to), pickled daikon, and green onions. My one friend is a pro at ordering this dish, and she asked for it to be fried on both sides to be crispier. Y'all, I cannot even tell you how INCREDIBLE this was. It was crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, creamy, textured, playful and ridiculously good. The cake was already incredible enough on its own, but it was served with a side of zippy, salty sauce for good measure. One of my friends described this heavenly dish best when she said "If an omelette and a latke had a baby, this would be it." BINGO. I definitely recommend Tan Tan, and if you go, GET THE RICE CAKE. read more

Loved this place! Not sure if it was because I was really hungry or I just really enjoyed it. The hot pot is definitely a must have! I got the combination one and we had seafood and meat and the soup was good! Not the best but I liked it! We also had the banh bot chien l -- which was the rice cakes and it was delicious!!! Didn't get to take a picture of that because we devoured it! Spring rolls are also a must for me! Also loved those, can't really go wrong with them! For the salted toasted lobster, it was so yummy! I'm not sure if they did this on accident but they gave us 2 lobsters on one plate! Maybe because they were small but we just thought it was cool and a good deal! Loved it here and would come back!! read more

Tan Tan - Combination hot pot! - Chinese Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Rice cakes are the essential appetizer here. They sell like crazy and we always get them. We like the noodle soups, but we see many hot pots around as well. Another great thing is the very late hours. Nice when eating late. read more

Food takes forever to come out and I have no idea why. Seemed like everyone around us was eating and enjoying their food. But we were just sitting there staring at each other. Once we got our food, it was delicious. But the wait made it not so exciting. I don't see myself returning. read more

I used to come here all the time with friends for late-night food. Think Asian version of Denny's. I'm not a huge fan of the food here. Yes, I've tried the fried egg pancake, but I just never liked it as much as everyone else. I always preferred Sinh Sinh to this place. read more

After reading the reviews here I had to give it a try while visiting Houston... I ordered the house special rice cake and three flavors flat rice noodles (shrimp, squid, scallops). The flat rice noodles came out first and it wasn't till i was more then half way done before I received the house special rice cake. The food was great, unfortunately I only had a few pieces of the rice cake because I was just stuffed. The sauce with the rice cake was a bit too vinegary for me and over powering. -1 star for the sub-par service, other then that, I would recommend and come again. read more

Dirt cheap, fast food that will satisfy hunger on a budget Back in my poor college days, I would love when my girl says she wants tan tan to which I would reply, "it's on me" without breaking a sweat. Go to dishes: 1) fried rice - has shrimp and chinese sausage - who could resist? 2) wonton egg noodle soup - ask for another bowl and share! 3) seafood fried pancake - crispy and delightful This place is open late which great for late night talks when someone comes into town too late for normal dinner hours. read more

Been here since I was in elementary school and they've grown quite fast. Must gets: banh bot chien and their mi wonton Those are the things I/we normally get when me and my family come here especially for dinner. Sometimes we would get some family style meal but those are the best in the restaurant. Their com chien bo luc lac isn't so bad either read more

This is the WORST example of Chinese/vietnamese food ever. MSG MSG MSG. I'm not even that sensitive to MSG and I came out of here with my lips sticking to eat other and feeling thirsty as a camel. I had the viet style rice plate with the egg loaf and grilled meats, and a wonton soup. Both were extremely, and I mean extremely filled with MSG. They must have dumped a whole box of MSG in... read more

Definitely the best banh bot chien (fried rice flour cake) in town! It's perfectly crispy with mounds of delicious fried and green onions....soo yummy! Other faves here include their hot pot and wonton noodle soup. The broth is flavorful and hits the spot on a cold day. Their other Vietnamese dishes are really good too. I've had the com thit nuong (chargrilled pork) and the banh cuon, and I'd recommend both, though the one banh cuon portion is on the small side and might not be sufficient for those with bigger appetites. The bo luc lac with macaroni is a must try as well. As far as their Chinese dishes, I've tried them but they're just okay. Nothing amazing. Tan tan is open late nights so it's good for grubbing after dancing or drinking. All in all, this is one of my favorite restaurants to go for Vietnamese food. read more

Been here so many times but today was very disappointed. .. Came here for lunch with a co worker and I recommended her to order my favorite Mi Quang Dong Dac Biet Kho, special Dry noodle soup. The noodles were very salty. The service were terrible too. They were not busy and we waited almost 15 minutes before someone came to take order. Another negative was the food came out before the drinks.... read more

We have been come in to this restaurant at least 2 to 3 times a month for the last 30 years. Lots of time we had group and family party here. The food served here changed a lot. Quality goes down while the price going up. They basically forced everyone to pay for the large size serving. No more small size available. read more