The 11 Best Places To Eat In Houston’s Asiatown

Within the past two decades, Houston has been recognized increasingly for its ethnic diversity. By some measures, it ranks first in the nation. But when I was growing up in this car-dependent city, it wasn’t always so apparent. As a young Vietnamese Texan who sometimes felt alienated in school, I cherished my family’s weekend trips to Houston’s Chinatown, now known more accurately as Asiatown. Every Asian kid who grew up in this city has core memories here. For me, it was scouring the aisles of Viet Hoa International Foods supermarket for fish sauce, shrimp paste, and vegetables like gai lan (Chinese broccoli) and water spinach that we couldn’t find at mainstream grocers. It was discovering Taiwanese boba tea for the first time, when it had just landed in the United States. It was celebrating birthdays, weddings, and parties at family-style restaurants where the service was outwardly curt yet also familiar. 

Welcome To Asiatown

Taking up 6 square miles around Bellaire Boulevard, Asiatown sprung up in the late 1980s as property developers began pressuring Asian business owners out of Houston’s original Chinatown, which was located in East Downtown. No strangers to displacement, these immigrant entrepreneurs began moving to Southwest Houston, where there were already a handful of Asian establishments at Diho Square, which was built in 1983. The neighborhood boomed in earnest in the 2000s. Beyond supermarkets and restaurants, there were also auto shops, hair salons, travel agencies, herbal medicine specialists, and even Chinese and Vietnamese newspapers and radio stations. Buddhist and Taoist temples welcomed local worshippers. Street signs were rewritten in Vietnamese (on the western side of State 8) and Chinese (on the eastern side). 

Today, Bellaire Boulevard is seen not only as a “Chinatown” but an Asiatown noted for its great plurality. While the area’s earliest inhabitants were Chinese immigrants, they were followed by waves of Southeast Asian refugees, particularly from Vietnam, through the eighties and nineties. As the neighborhood has grown, new Thai, Taiwanese, Korean, Japanese, Malaysian, and Laotian eateries—along with dozens of international teahouses and dessert chains—have joined the older institutions to round out its modern offerings. 

Taste The World

It’s worth noting that, although pedestrian-friendly Chinatowns in San Francisco and New York City are perhaps easier to navigate and explore, the one in Houston has just as much, if not more, variety in cuisine and culture. And in more recent years, as younger, second-generation restaurateurs have transformed key businesses into trendier, service-driven spots, the neighborhood has also opened up more to non-Asian clientele—including Houstonians and other Texans discovering it for the first time. “[Asiatown] is completely different from other Chinatowns in America in terms of the geography and how it’s laid out—you can’t just get off a bus and walk around,” notes Cathy Podell, who founded Houston Asiatown Tours in 2021 with grant money from the Houston mayor’s office. “We get people who come from the very far reaches of Harris County and have very little cultural knowledge of Asian food. People regularly tell us they had no idea Asiatown even existed, so it’s a great experience to get them out of their comfort zones.” 

Admittedly, with several hundred options—some of which don’t even have English menus—visiting this destination as an outsider can be daunting. But if you look closer, you’ll find a sense of real community and see businesses both operated and frequented by several generations of the same families. Whether you’re a native Houstonian or new to Space City, here are 11 essential restaurants in Asiatown—and what to order at each.

Best For Dim Sum

Ocean Palace

Asiatown’s identity was perhaps most firmly cemented in 1999 when Chinese Vietnamese immigrant Hai Du Duong opened the sprawling Hong Kong City Mall. The building’s grand Paifang archway and sloping Xie-Shan roof still stand out amid the sea of flat-topped strip malls. The complex houses dozens of small businesses, from a Vietnamese record store to a beef-jerky vendor. But the crown jewel is the Duong family’s Ocean Palace, a 38,000-square-foot restaurant with Houston’s largest selection of Hong Kong-style dim sum. On a normal Sunday, it serves 1,000 or more diners. According to longtime manager Jackie Yang, some of the most popular items are pan-fried turnip cakes, taro puffs, crab claws, steamed dumplings, and the centuries-old Chinese delicacy chicken feet. But the bestseller is notably more modern: a piping hot “lava bun” dessert filled with sweet, salted egg yolk. “We were the first big Cantonese banquet-hall restaurant on Bellaire,” Yang says. “We have customers whose parents brought them here when they were kids. Now the parents are in their sixties or seventies, so the kids bring them here every week and keep that culture going. I think that’s what makes it iconic. It’s about passing on tradition in a way.” 

oceanpalacehouston.com 11215 Bellaire Boulevard, 281-988-8898

Best For Pho

Pho Dien

Pho is often referred to as Vietnam’s national dish, so naturally, there are dozens of purveyors in Asiatown hawking this singular long-simmered beef noodle soup. A favorite among these is Pho Dien, named after its owner, Tony “Dien” Pham, who ran a family restaurant in Colorado before relocating to Houston and opening the noodle shop in 2011. Born in Saigon to a northern Vietnamese family, Pham turns out the lighter and more minimally garnished northern variety called pho bac. To order, simply choose from various cuts of beef, ranging from rare steak and fatty brisket to meatballs and tripe. According to Pham, not much has changed in the last decade, though he now also offers a modern accoutrement: a side bowl of decadent bone marrow and egg in broth. As Asiatown continues to grow both in size and reputation, Pham, who still works at the restaurant seven days a week, says one of the biggest changes has been the diversity of clientele. “Now, I have a lot of American customers—White, Mexican, and Black. They all try [pho], and they love it,” he notes. “As long as my customers are happy, that’s what keeps me working hard.” 

phodien.info, 11830 Bellaire Boulevard, Suite C, 281-495-9600

Best For Banh Mi

Don Café & Sandwich

Located in a nondescript building in the middle of a parking lot, Don Café focuses on classic, straightforward banh mi. The sandwich originated during the French colonial period in Vietnam and is typically constructed by stuffing an array of cold cuts or chargrilled meats into a baguette with pâté, fresh herbs, pickled vegetables, and a butter-like mayonnaise. Don Nguyen, one of the founders’ sons, says the go-to order for most customers is the barbecue-pork sandwich, made with sliced and grilled pork marinated in a house sauce. “It just hits the spot, especially if you add a fried egg,” he says. “This is what made us famous.” The menu also has other Vietnamese dishes including pho, egg rolls, and vermicelli bowls (many of which are made from his mother’s original recipes). While Don has been busy pursuing medical school, his brother, Nathan, has joined the family business. “My mom is well-known and loved by many, and her smiling face is as iconic to Don Café as our sandwiches and neon sign,” Don says proudly. “My parents’ business put me through undergrad and medical schools.” 

facebook.com/DonCafeBellaire, 9300 Bellaire Boulevard, (713) 777-9500

Best For Viet-Cajun Crawfish

Crawfish & Noodles 

Of all the foods in Asiatown, Viet-Cajun crawfish is the only one that can claim the neighborhood as its birthplace. The hybrid cuisine took form in the late 2000s as Vietnamese immigrants in Louisiana began adapting Gulf Coast fish to the ethos of Southeast Asian seafood boils. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, many moved to Houston and began to tinker with the format, boiling the mudbugs in Cajun spices and then tossing them in a garlic-butter sauce. Thus, a new dish was born. The standard-bearer for Viet-Cajun in Houston is the James Beard Award nominee Crawfish & Noodles, which was opened in 2008 by Vietnamese immigrant chef Trong Nguyen. As the name suggests, the fare here strikes a balance between Viet-Cajun crawfish—from the classic garlic-butter kind to a ginger-lemongrass version—and more traditional Vietnamese meals, like pho, wok-fried noodles, and fried pork intestines. According to Trong’s son, Cory, who is the restaurant’s manager, it took some time for Houstonians to embrace Viet-Cajun. “When I was younger, I remember people saying that our crawfish wasn’t real because it wasn’t Louisiana style,” Cory says. “The biggest change since those days is that people are excited to try it. They go out of their way to visit.” 

crawfishandnoodles.com, 11360 Bellaire Boulevard, Suite 990, 281-988-8098

Cajun Kitchen

Among the earliest crawfish restaurants in Asiatown, this place first opened in 2005 as a Cajun spot, later introducing Viet-Cajun flavors and newfangled hybrids. Coming to the United States from Europe, John Nguyen became familiar with crawfish, thanks to relatives in Louisiana, before he moved to Houston and took over the restaurant from its original owners in 2013. “There’s just nothing that is more satisfying than crawfish and crabs that were caught just hours ago; transported here on a truck; and then boiled, wok-fried, and put on your table—all within 24 hours,” he explains. “Our hope is that more people get to enjoy Viet-Cajun for what it is: a wonderful mix of cuisines by immigrants who took something local and iconic from their new home and made it more familiar.” Since 2013, Nguyen has pushed the boundaries of Vietnamese fusion through dishes like scallops with scallion oil and wasabi caviar or Maine razor clams with a chili-butter sauce. There are also Cajun standards (including po’boys and fried-catfish baskets) as well as Vietnamese bar snacks (such as sea snails in coconut milk and salt-and-pepper calamari). 

cajunkitchenhouston.com, 6938 Wilcrest Drive, Suite E, 281-495-8881

Best For Cantonese 

Mein

A Chinese-Cambodian immigrant who fled Vietnam as a refugee in the late seventies, Mike Tran has come a long way. He might be described as the reigning king of Asiatown, operating seven distinct restaurant concepts in the neighborhood. The eclectic empire, much of which occupies the Yun-Lu Center strip mall on Clarewood Drive, ranges from Tiger Den (the city’s first ramen joint) to modern Cantonese mainstay Mein to Seoul-inspired Ohn Korean Eatery. “I pretty much grew up in Asiatown, and I knew there was an opportunity for restaurants with more interior design and good service,” says Tran, who worked as a graphic designer prior to getting into the food industry in the late 2000s. “If you look at all of Houston, you don’t see many small guys like me with six or seven different restaurants that are all still open.” Tran’s eclectic but personal portfolio reflects his career’s roundabout journey as well as his own cross-cultural upbringing. At Mein, he serves upmarket takes on “everyday foods” from the Chinese culinary lexicon, running the gamut from small plates like Shanghainese soup dumplings and Szechuan wontons in chili oil to shareable proteins like a Cantonese soy-braised half duck and Vietnamese wok-seared beef cubes. Tran’s Cambodian heritage, meanwhile, appears in an excellent rendition of char kway teow, stir-fried rice noodles with seafood and Chinese sausage. eatmein.com, 9630 Clarewood Drive, Suite A-13, 713-923-7488

For Korean Barbecue

Hongdae 33

Though Korean restaurants were initially few and far between in Asiatown, the Korean barbecue here now rivals that of anywhere in America. For an all-you-can-eat option, look no further than Hongdae 33, which also has an array of soju and cocktails to wash it all down. It opened in early 2023 in Dun Huang Plaza—a sprawling bi-level complex that now houses many of the area’s newer and more modern concepts. With a pool hall and several bars, it’s also the heart of activity later in the evening. “Dun Huang Plaza is the hot spot in Asiatown,” says co-owner Grace Xia, who runs the restaurant with her husband, Leo. She notes it stays open until 2 a.m. on the weekends to cater to folks out on the town. “Our late-night operation is key: People have a place to hang out, eat, drink, and enjoy the ambience—and the trendy music makes them bounce their shoulders.” The menu features premium versions of crowd pleasing cuts of meat, from Black Angus galbi (beef short ribs) to Wagyu beef belly and New York steak as well as tamari pork jowl and garlic-butter jumbo shrimp. The price per diner is $33, but note that there’s a 90-minute window to eat. 

hongdae33kbbq.com, 9889 Bellaire Boulevard, Suite D-229, 346-980-8106

For A Vietnamese Buffet

Kim Son

If you want Vietnamese family-style dining, head to the cavernous Kim Son, which is set in the vaguely Tuscan-inspired Saigon Houston Plaza alongside other community institutions like Radio Saigon Houston and Chez Beignets Quan Ong Tre. For Vietnamese Houstonians, attending a reception at the Kim Son ballroom, which hosts two or three weddings a week, might be considered a rite of passage. The original Kim Son was launched downtown in 1982 by the La family’s matriarch, Kim Su Tran La. The Bellaire location opened in 2005 and pairs standard Chinese dim sum with an extensive Vietnamese buffet— arguably the largest of its kind in Texas. Here, a dedicated noodle-and-soup station offers takes on regional staples like Central Vietnamese bun bo Hue (with beef and lemongrass) and mi Quang (shrimp, pork, and turmeric with pea - nuts and herbs). Her son Trí La now helms the family business with three of his six siblings. He says he’s proud to see the brand continuing to flourish after 40-plus years, noting that his mom, now 82, still keeps a keen eye on things for quality control purposes. “She comes to the restaurant every Saturday for lunch,” he adds. “If she sees anything wrong, she’ll let us know. But she’s very happy.” 

kimson.com, 10603 Bellaire Boulevard, 281-598-1777

For A Mix Of Everything

Tan Tan

With its retro faux foliage, golden Buddha statue, and red and blue neon lights, Tan Tan (opened in 1986) is among the oldest and most visually emblematic eateries in the area. “People like the eclectic Asian vibe,” says general manager Janet Chiu, who took the reins from her parents, the original founders, about 20 years ago. “There’s a sense of familiarity. We have customers who walk in and know exactly where they want to sit, because it’s their table.” What started with fewer than 20 tables in the eighties has grown steadily over the decades to nearly 60 as the family has taken over the neighboring spaces to expand the dining room. According to Chiu, who remembers busing and washing dishes here as a teenager, the restaurant’s staying power can be attributed to its consistent quality as well as its unifying range of tastes. “We’re ethnically Chinese, but we’re from Vietnam, so I think that gives us a bit of an edge,” she explains. “We have a lot of mix where everybody can come in and find something if they’re not sure what they want.” The menu ranges from Vietnamese mainstays like chargrilled meat with broken rice, an everyman dish invented out of hardship, to classic Chinese stir-fried flat noodles and mapo tofu. But the most popular order is the banh bot chien, a Chinese-Vietnamese savory “pancake” made from griddled rice cakes fried in egg. Topped with crunchy fresh scallions and served with a sweet soy sauce for dipping, it’s widely recognized as one of the most iconic bites in Asiatown—and the recipe has never changed. 

tantanrestaurant.com, 6816 Ranchester Drive, (713) 771-1268

For Dessert

Linda’s Tropical Fruits

Opened in 2017 by California transplant Linda Nguyen, this store specializes in a wide variety of Vietnamese “dessert soups” called che, which typically start with fruits and jellies served in a cup with ice and coconut milk. Nguyen says that among the most popular orders are the Thai-influenced version of this treat and fresh sugarcane juice, which is available year-round. Part cafe and part grocer, it also has a seasonal selection of Southeast Asian fruit, thanks to Nguyen’s previous experience working in the exoticproduce business. In the winter, you can find guava, pink pomelo, star apple, eggfruit canistel, and soursop. In the summer, they have a greater variety: rambutan, lychee, jujube, atemoya, Java plum, durian, and mangosteen—the so-called “queen of fruits,” seen in the restaurant’s logo. “I understand that American shops have to consistently carry things for a set amount of time to meet demand, but for us, it’s like, ‘If this farmer has two trees of this fruit, that’s what we’ll have,’ ” Nguyen says with a laugh. “It’s a surprise!” 

facebook.com/lindastropicalfruits, 10600 Bellaire Boulevard, Suite 114, 832-509-9848

Nu Cafe

When Nu Cafe opened in Dun Huang Plaza in 2010, it ushered in an Asian dessert craze in Houston. Long before lauded Taiwan-based chains like 85°C and Gong Cha catered to locals who had a sweet tooth, this family-owned establishment was turning out shaved ice, a take on Taiwanese snow ice. The dish is made by freezing blended mixtures into large blocks, which are then shaved from the bottom to create fluffy mountains, each with hundreds of paper-thin layers. The final product is topped with your choice of fruit, jellies, condensed milk, and more. “The way we make shaved ice is extremely labor-intensive. Instead of using a block of plain ice and adding powdered flavors after, we blend all natural ingredients to make a different block for each individual flavor,” explains Ming Chou, whose mother-in-law, Christina Chi, opened the restaurant and developed the first rendition of its signature recipe. “Our family has tried shaved ice all over the world, from China to the West Coast, and this is the closest to the artisanal kind in Taiwan.” Perhaps as a testament to Houston’s ever-growing familiarity with Asiatown, Chou reveals, “When we first opened, no one knew what shaved ice was! They thought our matcha flavor was lettuce. And now we have people who come from all around the city—and even those who are here from overseas for business—to visit us.” 

nuiceusa.com, 9889 Bellaire Boulevard, Suite 112-A, (713) 771-7771