Coming To Houston To Visit Chinatowns, Little India

[HarryMoto]

In a couple of weeks, I'm coming down to Houston from Dallas (don't hate on me yet!) for my first visit to the city since moving to Texas nearly two years ago. Being a lover of Asian food, I'm especially interested in exploring the two Chinatowns and the Little India areas since Houston has the largest Asian population in the state. So, if anyone has suggestions for any particular restaurants or attractions in these areas, I'm all ears or, since this is an Internet bulletin board, eyes. It's hard to find a good guide book to Houston and those that exist seem to deal with Chinatown in a sentence or paragraph and that's it.

Of course, I'm also open to any non-Asian suggestions as well, especially anything new that might have popped up (like light rail and weekend downtown nightlife) since I was last there about four years ago for a brief visit where I didn't even get a chance to check out the Chinatowns.

[citykid09]

I thought Houston had more than 2 china towns.

Little Sigon

Old China town

New China Town

Or are little Sigon and Old China town the same place?

[HarryMoto]

I thought Houston had more than 2 china towns.

Little Sigon

Old China town

New China Town

Or are little Sigon and Old China town the same place?

Are there more than two? Great. The more, the merrier.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

"Little India" - Generally Hillcroft Ave. between US 59 and Richmond. I like Bombay Sweets ($5.00 vegetarian buffet), Raja Sweets, Sri Bhalaji Bhavan (all three at the intersection of Hillcroft and Harwin). A friend highly recommends the lunch buffet at Ashoka, on Hillcroft just north of Westpark. Others have their favorites, plenty to choose from. I also recommend Abdallah's (Lebanese) and Droubi's (Lebanese) on Hillcroft.

I'll have to defer to others for the Chinatown recommendations. You could probably spend a year on Bellaire Blvd and eat at a different Asian place every day (Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, etc)

[midtown 4.2]

Try as they may, the "china town" behind the George R. Brown convention center is more like a "ghost town." I'd say that you should focus your attention on the new china town on Bellaire Blvd. Just take US 59 south, exit Bellaire, turn right or West, and keep on driving. The epicenter of china town is probably at the intersection of Bellaire blvd and the Sam Houston tollway (or beltway 8). You might want to venture into the Hong Kong City Mall, there's a fast-food court there and tons of those Boba tea drink vendors.

One exit north of Bellaire blvd. is Hillcroft . . . the intersection of Hillcroft and Harwin is probably the center of little India.

Enjoy . . . and welcome to Houston.

[Gary]

Although not in any of Houston's Chinatown's, Fu's has fantastic Chinese food. It's also in the Rice Village which for me is always fun. It's on the corner of University and Kirby, right next to Half Priced Books.

You could make a night of it by stopping by the Ginger Man for an imported beer on tap and then maybe head over to Main street (Downtown) for a night of partying.

[DJ V Lawrence]

"Little India" - Generally Hillcroft Ave. between US 59 and Richmond. I like Bombay Sweets ($5.00 vegetarian buffet), Raja Sweets, Sri Bhalaji Bhavan (all three at the intersection of Hillcroft and Harwin). A friend highly recommends the lunch buffet at Ashoka, on Hillcroft just north of Westpark. Others have their favorites, plenty to choose from. I also recommend Abdallah's (Lebanese) and Droubi's (Lebanese) on Hillcroft.

I'll have to defer to others for the Chinatown recommendations. You could probably spend a year on Bellaire Blvd and eat at a different Asian place every day (Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, etc)

Bellaire Blvd's one of my favorite Asian-based streets ever. Every few months, there's always a developer trying to build or open something bigger and better than before. Go there and check out everything between Dynasty Mall and the Hong Kong Mall, yo. They all have my mad respect.

I've never actually been to the Chinatown beside downtown? If anyone here has, how is it compared to Bellaire?

Oh, and Harry Moto, remember BELLAIRE BLVD (between Elsik/Hastings High School and Sharpstown mall), not Bellaire the city.

[BayouCityGirl]

Don't forget to visit Harwin St. (in the area) while your there. GREAT shopping at a discount (in warehouses but its near the area so why not)

[Houstonian in Iraq]

Bellaire Blvd's one of my favorite Asian-based streets ever. Every few months, there's always a developer trying to build or open something bigger and better than before. Go there and check out everything between Dynasty Mall and the Hong Kong Mall, yo. They all have my mad respect.

I've never actually been to the Chinatown beside downtown? If anyone here has, how is it compared to Bellaire?

Oh, and Harry Moto, remember BELLAIRE BLVD (between Elsik/Hastings High School and Sharpstown mall), not Bellaire the city.

The Chinatown near downtown is almost non-existant compared to the one off of Bellaire. I think the one in Bellaire is the newer bigger one and what's in downtown is just what stayed behind.

[sevfiv]

hong kong market! (but stay away from the tanks in the back...)

[TJones]

Any "Cafe East" in the city should satisfy your chinese food craving, that's if you don't mind some hispanics cooking your "authentic" chinese dishes.

[Houston19514]

I thought Houston had more than 2 china towns.

Little Sigon

Old China town

New China Town

Or are little Sigon and Old China town the same place?

Little Saigon is Vietnamese, not Chinese (note the connection between the Vietnamese city of Saigon and the name Little Saigon).

[The Great Hizzy!]

^^ I was waiting to see if any one would point this small yet significant fact out.

[HarryMoto]

Thanks for the all the suggestions. I'll be down there this weekend, staying at the Magnolia Hotel, and eating myself into a stupor.

[Jeebus]

Little Saigon is Vietnamese, not Chinese (note the connection between the Vietnamese city of Saigon and the name Little Saigon).

Also, Little Seoul (Korean food) is on Longpoint between Bingle & Gessner. As for Japanese, they're spread equally around the city. There's no "Little Tokyo" that I know of.

I've never seen any Korean or Japanese eateries around the Bellaire Chinatown area, which coincidently, is made up of mostly Vietnamese resturants.

[MidtownCoog]

What about Kwanoman?

[TJones]

Thanks for the all the suggestions. I'll be down there this weekend, staying at the Magnolia Hotel, and eating myself into a stupor.

OY....bigboy, you here 4 hour, you go now ! Why you eat meat ? You need vegtable! You scare my wife, you so beeg ! No more food for you roundeye ! You go NOW !

[Jeebus]

OY....bigboy, you here 4 hour, you go now ! Why you eat meat ? You need vegtable! You scare my wife, you so beeg ! No more food for you roundeye ! You go NOW !

My my, TJones.. Your "Engrish" is impeccable.

[Metro Matt]

If you're going to be here on a Saturday between 10 Am - 2 PM & you want Asian food, be sure to get some delicious Dim Sum at any of these places...

http://www.chinatownconnection.com/dimsumres.htm

[westguy]

Fung's Kitchen on US59 is my favorite restaurant in "Chinatown". (It's really in Sharpstown, but the population of Sharpstown is becoming more Asian.)

[Jeebus]

If you're going to be here on a Saturday between 10 Am - 2 PM & you want Asian food, be sure to get some delicious Dim Sum at any of these places...

http://www.chinatownconnection.com/dimsumres.htm

Try Ocean Palace for dim sum on Sundays. Ocean Palace is on Bellaire blvd, and is an anchor for the large Vietnamese shopping mall: Hong-Kong. You can also try Pho Danh for good noodle soup there at the mall. Again, mid-day hours are the best for the dim sum & noodle soup.

Another place for good Chinese/Vietnamese is Sinh-Sinh on Bellaire blvd, just inside the beltway.

[skwatra]

india's is one of the better indian restaurants right now. on richmond near chimney rock.

check out b4-u-eat.com for reviews, lots of restaurants on there.

and bombay brasserie was the best in town, not sure if they reopened yet (they had a fire). also located on richmond just west of the galleria.

all the places mentioned before that are actually in "Little India" are good too, Raja's Sweets being my favorite. Just walk around Hillcroft and you'll find plenty.

out of the Dim Sum i've tried here (Ocean Palace and Kim Son) Ocean Palace has more variety, and better food in my opinion. For dinner Kim Son is better.

[worldlyman]

The closest thing to a "Little Tokyo" in Houston is a shopping strip on the corner of Westheimer

and Wilcrest. It's got the Nippan Daido grocery store (I much preferred the older next door spot!),

Yorimichi fast food, Japan Budget Travel and Nara Japanese restaurant. And hey, for a little variety,

there's a French bistro catty corner!

In addition to the aforementioned "old" Chinatown and Bellaire Chinatown, there is the vast open highway style of mixed Filipino, Indian, Chinese and Vietnamese businesses on Veterans Memorial around its cross off FM 1960. It's a very impressive volume up there though the open highway vibe makes Bellaire Chinatown look absolutely urban.

Yeah, Bellaire Chinatown is suburban compared to the classic layout of the other older cities...but it surely cannot be denied that the pedestrian traffic along those storefronts is busy and entertaining!

The old downtown Chinatown is history. But when I worked in downtown, I thought of it more as an oasis when I didn't feel like people watching during my lunch breaks in the tunnels or The Park Shops. It is still a pleasure to go to the Kim Hung Mall for a meal and an iced tea.

Surely the old downtown Chinatown still has potential. The layout of the back streets with its gem of old warehouses and mid-rises has potential. Sort of like a Deep Ellum attachment.