Negative: -It took 30mins to prepare 3 dishes when we were the ONLY customer. - Extra charge for rice: $1/small bowl. - Food is overpriced: small portion of a stir fry dish priced for ~$14 - UN-FLUSHED toilet ***DISGUSTING*** Positive: -None: Spare yourself this is not a gem
Josh F.
The service is amazing. The uncle and aunty that run this place really know how to treat customers. We asked for something we really wanted and they told us it will take a few extra minutes because they needed to go to Welfresh and get more lotus root. This was less than an hour before they closed. The ribs and vegetables (干锅排骨) we ordered was fantastic. The ribs were tender and the vegetables were very fresh and cooked well. The serving was enough for a whole family. My wife and I could only eat before we were stuffed. We hadn't been to Yuan Kitchen in a while, but we will be going back soon.
wjwjshhs Xmsn
The worst restaurant in Houston, bad taste, bad service, long time waiting.
Eric Lan
Don’t let the good reviews fool you. Very dishonest owners with cheaply made food. We ordered a “Big Plate Chicken”. The dish has tons of potatoes and very very very (yes, three times) less chicken! The chicken was mostly part of necks or the parts that don’t have much meat. Almost like we spent $21 for some leftover!!!The worst thing is that they don’t care about our feedbacks, with total denial and terrible attitude.We were fooled by the reviews. Don’t make the same mistake we did. Live and learn!
Peter B.
I have been wanting to review this place forever. The people are so nice here. The food is so good it is such a nice environment and any one that likes Chinese would love this place. I like to get the Leaks and Red Oils Wong Tongs. I haven't gone there in a little because of COVID but I think they deserve this 5 star review.
James Vernon
This is hands-down the best (and my favorite) Chinese/Szechuan food restaurant in the Houston area. Authentic and uncompromising, it’s better than a lot of Szechuan food that I had in China. Yes there are some good Szechuan restaurants around Houston, but if you want the best - this is it. I just hope the secret doesn’t get out. :)
Linda H.
Small family owned business. Fresh spicy foods ... big plate hand cut noodles with fresh walking chicken. Love the Mung bean spicy cold noodles!
Jag ruti
Only best for seafood lovers
k kyaw
The Mala flavor spices are very strong here. A little too strong.
Kallol Mahata
One of the best Chinese food places ever! The pork belly, green beans, spicy shrimp and dumplings was just outstanding.
Based on reviews, I went with the jalapeno pork belly and Dan Dan Noodles. The waitress asked if I wanted the noodles spicy and I answered, "yes but not numbing." She responded, "so a little bit?" Based on reviews I thought "numbing" was a specification used here but apparently not. Just let them know how spicy you want your food. The Verdict: OMG this was the best Chinese food I have ever eaten! Honestly I know this is the ONLY Chinese food I've ever eaten. I'm well aware that all the Black Pepper Shrimp and Hunan Chicken type places are serving Americanized Chinese food so...now I can truthfully say I had Chinese for dinner! The park belly was nicely spicy from the jalapenos, and bursting with flavors from all the garlic and such. The DanDan noodles were well flavored as well, but I didn't know rice would be included. Otherwise I would have skipped the noodles. Oh well...pork belly and noodles being taken home for tokoorow's lunch. You should know: (1) The DanDan noodles contain ground or minced beef. I don't think this is mentioned on the menu, and although I don't eat beef, I ate around them to get to the noodles. But strict non-meat eaters will want to know about this. (2) Each table is provided a wooden bucket of rice. After your meal the bucket is stacked with other buckets and will be given to another table. No, it's not thrown away or washed in a bleach-acid bath before reusing. So if you're an antibacterial hand sanitizer carrying, grocery basket handle wiping germophobe...well you probably wouldn't eat here anyway. But if you do, be sure to ask for fresh rice or no rice. I don't know if they cater to those who want such Americanized treatment but give it a whirl. I can't see myself ever wanting Spicy Tangy Chicken or crab puffs again but I don't live around here! I'll be back!!
Tianhao Sun
The owner is great, the food is the best
Edward D.
We have been in most of the restaurants in this shopping center. However, we just read the reviews and decided to give it a try. As the reviews had mentioned, there is only one young lady doing everything, so patience helps. Everything we ordered was excellent! The only English name I can remember ordering was the Dan Dan Noodles. I really need to learn to speak Chinese a little bit, so maybe I can venture out on my own. In my defense, I did take pictures, but could not match the pictures on the menu. I'll do better next time, maybe, perhaps, probably not! I like being surprised most of the time. Knowing what to expect really helped out a lot, so thank you Yelpers! This is going to be one our go to restaurants. I would have given it five stars, but they really need another person to help out the young lady, so it's still a solid 4.
E H.
Food is not bad, but it's very short of staff. Came on Wednesday night, there's only one waitress running as a bus girl, waitress, cashier, and to go delivery. We felt back for that poor waitress who got complained by a lot of customers because she is too busy to do everything herself. We waited nearly one hour before our food came, the stir cabbage is good, whereas the water boiled beef and sour and spicy noodles were very mediocre. Sorry, won't be back :(
Negative: -It took 30mins to prepare 3 dishes when we were the ONLY customer. - Extra charge for rice: $1/small bowl. - Food is overpriced: small portion of a stir fry dish priced for ~$14 - UN-FLUSHED toilet ***DISGUSTING*** Positive: -None: Spare yourself this is not a gem
The service is amazing. The uncle and aunty that run this place really know how to treat customers. We asked for something we really wanted and they told us it will take a few extra minutes because they needed to go to Welfresh and get more lotus root. This was less than an hour before they closed. The ribs and vegetables (干锅排骨) we ordered was fantastic. The ribs were tender and the vegetables were very fresh and cooked well. The serving was enough for a whole family. My wife and I could only eat before we were stuffed. We hadn't been to Yuan Kitchen in a while, but we will be going back soon.
The worst restaurant in Houston, bad taste, bad service, long time waiting.
Don’t let the good reviews fool you. Very dishonest owners with cheaply made food. We ordered a “Big Plate Chicken”. The dish has tons of potatoes and very very very (yes, three times) less chicken! The chicken was mostly part of necks or the parts that don’t have much meat. Almost like we spent $21 for some leftover!!!The worst thing is that they don’t care about our feedbacks, with total denial and terrible attitude.We were fooled by the reviews. Don’t make the same mistake we did. Live and learn!
I have been wanting to review this place forever. The people are so nice here. The food is so good it is such a nice environment and any one that likes Chinese would love this place. I like to get the Leaks and Red Oils Wong Tongs. I haven't gone there in a little because of COVID but I think they deserve this 5 star review.
This is hands-down the best (and my favorite) Chinese/Szechuan food restaurant in the Houston area. Authentic and uncompromising, it’s better than a lot of Szechuan food that I had in China. Yes there are some good Szechuan restaurants around Houston, but if you want the best - this is it. I just hope the secret doesn’t get out. :)
Small family owned business. Fresh spicy foods ... big plate hand cut noodles with fresh walking chicken. Love the Mung bean spicy cold noodles!
Only best for seafood lovers
The Mala flavor spices are very strong here. A little too strong.
One of the best Chinese food places ever! The pork belly, green beans, spicy shrimp and dumplings was just outstanding.
Restaurantji Recommends
Great food, service and prices
Based on reviews, I went with the jalapeno pork belly and Dan Dan Noodles. The waitress asked if I wanted the noodles spicy and I answered, "yes but not numbing." She responded, "so a little bit?" Based on reviews I thought "numbing" was a specification used here but apparently not. Just let them know how spicy you want your food. The Verdict: OMG this was the best Chinese food I have ever eaten! Honestly I know this is the ONLY Chinese food I've ever eaten. I'm well aware that all the Black Pepper Shrimp and Hunan Chicken type places are serving Americanized Chinese food so...now I can truthfully say I had Chinese for dinner! The park belly was nicely spicy from the jalapenos, and bursting with flavors from all the garlic and such. The DanDan noodles were well flavored as well, but I didn't know rice would be included. Otherwise I would have skipped the noodles. Oh well...pork belly and noodles being taken home for tokoorow's lunch. You should know: (1) The DanDan noodles contain ground or minced beef. I don't think this is mentioned on the menu, and although I don't eat beef, I ate around them to get to the noodles. But strict non-meat eaters will want to know about this. (2) Each table is provided a wooden bucket of rice. After your meal the bucket is stacked with other buckets and will be given to another table. No, it's not thrown away or washed in a bleach-acid bath before reusing. So if you're an antibacterial hand sanitizer carrying, grocery basket handle wiping germophobe...well you probably wouldn't eat here anyway. But if you do, be sure to ask for fresh rice or no rice. I don't know if they cater to those who want such Americanized treatment but give it a whirl. I can't see myself ever wanting Spicy Tangy Chicken or crab puffs again but I don't live around here! I'll be back!!
The owner is great, the food is the best
We have been in most of the restaurants in this shopping center. However, we just read the reviews and decided to give it a try. As the reviews had mentioned, there is only one young lady doing everything, so patience helps. Everything we ordered was excellent! The only English name I can remember ordering was the Dan Dan Noodles. I really need to learn to speak Chinese a little bit, so maybe I can venture out on my own. In my defense, I did take pictures, but could not match the pictures on the menu. I'll do better next time, maybe, perhaps, probably not! I like being surprised most of the time. Knowing what to expect really helped out a lot, so thank you Yelpers! This is going to be one our go to restaurants. I would have given it five stars, but they really need another person to help out the young lady, so it's still a solid 4.
Food is not bad, but it's very short of staff. Came on Wednesday night, there's only one waitress running as a bus girl, waitress, cashier, and to go delivery. We felt back for that poor waitress who got complained by a lot of customers because she is too busy to do everything herself. We waited nearly one hour before our food came, the stir cabbage is good, whereas the water boiled beef and sour and spicy noodles were very mediocre. Sorry, won't be back :(