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Alpha Bakery & Deli
Categories: Food Bakeries Restaurants Vietnamese Restaurants Sandwiches Bakeries, Vietnamese, Sandwiches [Edit]
11209 Bellaire BlvdHouston, TX 77072
Neighborhood: Alief
(281) 988-5222
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
23 reviews for Alpha Bakery & Deli
Review Highlights
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"I always get the banh mi xiu mai every time." In 17 reviews -
"One of the busiest bakeries in the Hong Kong City Mall." In 2 reviews -
"The slices of pork belly, the pate, the mayo." In 7 reviews
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23 reviews in English
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Review from Jeannette S.
Sugar Land, TX
Updated - 7/14/2011 6 Check-ins Here
Went back yesterday and got 6 more banh mis. 3 bbq pork and 3 combination. The bbq pork was full of flavors and so were the combination meats. Ingredients were so fresh, can't get any fresher than that!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this place! I will never go to another place for banh mi.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/5/2011
This place's got the BEST BANH MI! Yes indeed! I always get the combination for myself and grilled… Read more »
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Review from Kayla D.
Plano, TX
2/8/2012
I like their variety of snacks and their sandwich pack with a lot meats and veggies. I had tried the ginseng leave jello, it wasn't that great. I had better elsewhere.
If you're on the road traveling, this is the best place to get snacks and finger food. Something quick before you hit the road. -
Review from jazzy l.
San Francisco, CA
2/28/2012
Got a combo banh mi for my flight home. It was $2.50. Tasty but still not as good as Saigon Sandwiches in San Francisco! Cane juice was $4.00.
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Review from Tim J.
Houston, TX
2/7/2012
Good sandwich and I've been coming here for years. The place is rather small so you need to pickup rather than dine in.
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Review from Camille P.
Houston, TX
4/6/2011
This place makes the best banh mi dac biet. It comes with xa xiu pork belly, pate, delicious mayo, vietnamese bologna and the standard veggie fixins. Not every place serves both pate and bo in the same sandwich, but they do it hardcore at Alpha Bakery. All of the meat is fresh and for your dac biet,you have a choice of getting the pork belly or the headcheese (gio thu). I mix it up and get 2 with the headcheese and 2
with the pork belly.
I debated over 4 or 5 stars because the women who work here are RUDE, yes, all caps, RUDE. But the sandwiches are so damn, good, I don't care, the hassle is worth it.
They also have a bunch of pastries like Pate So, a vietnamese empanada, pocket pie..whatever you wanna call it, and they bake their own bread. If you're in a hurry and not craving a sammy, you can grab one of the prepared rotisserie chicken dishes or spring and eggroll dishes.
CASH only.
Yea...pretty inconvenient really, but that's how good their food is. 5 stars for the food.... -
Review from Tina R.
Houston, TX
I'm Amerasian. Specifically, Vietnamese and Danish. I remember when I was in elementary school, you had to bubble-in your ethnicity for standardized tests. It took me longer to answer this question than it took taking the test. Kidding. But I hated that question. Caucasian or Asian/Pacific Islander? I was both! And then there was that "other" category. I'm not an "other". So should I choose mom or dad? So I always flipped a coin.
But if I had to choose between Vietnamese and Americano type food, there's no question. I'd pick Vietnamese. My two favorite dishes? Banh cuon (rice crepe with ground pork) and banh mi, the Vietnamese sandwich. And in my opinion, Alpha Bakery & Deli in Hong Kong market makes the best sandwich. WAY better than ANY sandwich place in California on any given day.
The french bread used for the sandwich is fresh and extremely soft on the inside. They do not short change you on meat or vegetables. And they definitely don't skimp on the butter/mayo? NO clue what that is but I'm sure it's extremely fattening. Yum. The sandwich is definitely packed and worth every penny.
They do have other kinds of Vietnamese deli food and desserts but I have no clue what it is. And if you've never seen that type of food before, it might scare you a bit. But the sandwiches I totally recommend.Listed in: Vietnamese
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Review from Wei W.
8/18/2010
In my opinion, Alpha Bakery is not the best banh mi shop in Houston, but it is one of the good ones if you're craving for banh mi and need it right away.
They have an open kitchen in the back where they make mass amount of the baguette bread in the back. They also sell other sorts of Vietnamese small dishes for you to take home. They toast the baguette a little bit so it would be nice and warm prior cutting it open to stuff it with whatever you ordered.
If you're in a rush for dinner and don't feel like getting Western fast food, stop by Alpha Bakery and they will make 8 sandwiches to feed your whole family in no time. You can always pick up other Vietnamese delicacy and sweet desserts there while you're at it.
Overall, it is another A-OK banh mi shop in the Bayou City, but I wouldn't considered this place the best of all Houston banh mi shops. -
Review from Marisa F.
3/4/2009
I'd have to say that this is my favorite restaurant to eat banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches). The French bread is always very crispy and fresh, the deli meats are always prepared well and the vegetables are always fresh. Their pate is good and so is their mayonnaise.
I ordered 2 combos (it is a combination of 3 different cuts of pork). One sandwich was for today and one for work tomorrow. The sandwich was so delicious that I ate both sandwiches in one sitting, I couldn't stop with just one.
Ever seeking a great banh mi sandwich, make the trek to Alpha Bakery & Deli.
My friend ordered the chicken banh mi, it came with the standard ingredients just chicken instead pork, she was on her 2nd sandwich too.
The sandwiches are $2 a pop. -
Review from Ro N.
New York, NY
1/7/2010
Not sure if this place is popular still but this was my go to place to get my beloved Banh Mi!
Yums - place is small...only has a few table but nevertheless I love their Banh Mi Ga. -
Review from Jenny W.
Houston, TX
12/27/2009
Hands down best banh mi in Houston. Located inside Hong Kong City Mall, Alpha Bakery bakes their bread on-site which makes all the difference. Their baguettes are crispy and crusty on the outside and soft in the inside. The sandwiches are so good here I've almost shed tears.
I always order banh mi thit or roast pork cold cuts. I like the fattier cut of meat. The fixin's are pretty standard. I always order extra mayo and veggies. You can also buy bread to go.
Banh mi thit = $2.50.Listed in: Top Houston Restaurants
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Review from Wahed K.
7/7/2011
I can only wish that we had banh mi sandwiches like these in NY. The slices of pork belly, the pate, the mayo.. it's exquisite. I would even say that dollar for dollar, it's probably the best sandwich I have ever had. I mean its $2.50! That's 2 freakin dollars and 50 cents. And the bread.. oh the bread. Its soft and crunchilicious! Every bite is a bite of appreciation. I wanted to pack some in my luggage and bring them back with me.
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Review from Mista n.
Oakland, CA
8/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
In my opinion, the best Banh Mi in houston! dont even waste your money across the street at Lee's sandwhich!
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Review from Kaycie L.
Sacramento, CA
One of the busiest bakeries in the Hong Kong City Mall. They offer a lot of prepared foods, drinks, sweets, che (desserts) and banh mi (sandwiches). I saw a lot of people ordering the banh mi, but I had already ate Pho. I tried a few of their sweets and didn't like it too much, but I'll surely come back to try their banh mi.
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Review from Jordan N.
1/1/2010
Great sandwiches (banh mi) can be had here for a great price. The rest of the stuff, though, is a hit or a miss. Because of this, there's enough of a reason for me to speculate that it has become more of a Deli than a Bakery. After all, most of the people coming into here are asking for sandwiches and not much else.
PROS:
+ The stuff in the cups are tasty (had two here: one with rice, coconut milk, beans - yum; and one with balls in some kind of ginger liquid - mix this with coconut milk (ask for it) and this is also very good!)
CONS:
- The white rice cake tasted a bit sour (meaning it's spoiled) :( -
Review from Shanice L.
Houston, TX
10/12/2010
First off, I always get my banh mi from Alpha Bakery every time I go to hk4. It's always packed whenever I go, but the line moves really fast. I always get the banh mi xiu mai every time. That's how much I love it.
The vegetables are always fresh, bread is fresh,..everything is freshfreshfresh. I love how the xiu mai is always juicy and tender and I finish the sandwich in less than 15 minutes.
I'm giving it three stars because they gave me the wrong kind. I asked for xiu mai and they gave me the combination meat so of course I'm unhappy about that but by that time I was already home and hungry.
I went again most recently and ordered the xiu mai. Came home and guess what? I got chicken which tasted dry and and stringy. Very, very unhappy cause I don't go to chi town that often and when I do I'd like to leave with a happy ending.
2 strikes so far. Let's not make it 3. -
Review from Christine H.
Houston, TX
8/12/2011
This place has some of the best banh mi in Houston IMO. I initially judge a banh mi on account of the bread: is it crunchy on the outside but still soft on the inside? Is it tasty? Then I judge by the meats that go inside. My favorite sandwich is always the classic combination cold cut sandwich. Do they put enough meat? Enough pate and butter mayo and just enough Maggi sauce or fish sauce to bring all the flavors together? Alpha Bakery & Deli does all these things. Their bread is good enough that people often come in to purchase just loaves by the dozen (including my own family). The grilled pork for the sandwich is also marinated well if that's more your thing. Unfortunately, Alpha uses dried shredded chicken for their chicken sandwiches, not grilled chicken, so don't make the mistake of ordering a chicken banh mit hinking you're going to get a hoagie full of tasty meat. Instead you'll get dry, bland chicken shreds. The deli offers other traditional Vietnamese deli eats: banh bao (steamed sweet buns with ground pork, vegetables and egg inside); banh giay (pork roll wedged inside sticky rice cakes); banh gio (ground pork and cat-ear mushroom steamed inside rice flour); goi cuon (spring rolls), pate chaud (same filling as the banh bao but baked inside a flaky buttery pastry shell); and many more. The workers here may not be the friendliest, but that's to be expected--they are just trying to move customers in and out as quickly as possible--and that, they indeed do well. For very little money, you can get all sorts of great snack foods or a very delicious banh mi thit. Everyone I've taken here raves about it. Remember that they're cash only.
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Review from Audrey W.
10/3/2010
This is where i ALWAYS get my banh mi's. I always get the combos with the different mystery meats. I have been eating here since I can remember and I have never been disappointed. I often buy a few and then eat them throughout the week. If you just put it in toaster oven, the bread comes out crispy still. My aunts that aren't from here usually buy 10 and bring them back home with them.
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Review from David N.
Houston, TX
3/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
I remember goin to this place since I was 15 eating a sandwich from here and watching the Bboys battle lol good times not the best sandwich but decent it use to be $1.50 for a sandwich combo still visit this place tho
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Review from John F.
12/16/2009 3 Check-ins Here
Everytime I'm in the area, I make sure to stop by this place to pick up a couple of banh mi for myself and family if they are visiting. At peak times, there can be a long line of pepole ordering several sandwiches at a time. And I don't blame them since they make a quality product that is inexpensive. There are usually two people making fresh sandwiches for people. I usually get the pork bbq or combination but they also have chicken and meatball varieties. They pack a good amount of meat, cilantro, cucumber, pickled radish/carrots into the crispy soft baguettes that are slathered in mayo and pate. They also have various other vietnamese desserts at the entrance, some of which have an english translation on the label. This place only accepts cash so you can forget about using your credit card here.
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Review from Sandra L.
Houston, TX
7/20/2010
I just want to start off by saying, I do not write this review with malace and I take no pleasure in hurting other people's business'--- in which case I don't believe Alpha's business will be affected because their main clientele are loyal customers who probably don't pay much attention to yelp. With that said, wow, this was the worst banh mi i've ever had in my entire life. I was supposed to meet a friend at HK so i yelped to see what I should try. Nine reviewers gave Alpha Bakery the highest praise and even coined the term Best Banh Mi in town.
With such glowing compliments, I knew I had to try it. I like to think I've tried all the best banh mi places in houston, so my standards were set accordingly high. My friend and I ordered, 1 Combination, 1 Chicken, and 1 Bbq pork. First of all, the bread was not good. For a bakery, and all the high marks about how the bread is so good and homemade, blah blah wow, it tasted bland, chalky and all around horrible. Second, the mayo/lard/butter they used was equally tasteless and awful. Yes, they do give you a lot more meat for the price of 2.50 than most banh mi places, but more of bad tasting filling is not really a bargain. Infact, i would pay that extra quarter and get less meat at a different location for cuisine that is edible. The combination meats were the best out of the three sandwiches. Can't really go wrong with it because it doesn't rely on the skill of the cook. They were fresh and tasty--- and would be a fine sandiwich had the bread and sauce not detracted from it.
The chicken banh mi was so sick I only took a bite. Just plain awful. The chicken tastes so so so bad. I dont' know how else to explain it. I feel like they just opened a can of chicken breast that you can buy at the grocery, and stuck it on a sandwich. Thanh Noi has the most delicious chicken banh mi. Thats what i was expecting, delicious flavor that is delicate but at the same time soooo delicious. WOW. I almost got angry after taking that bite. I threw the rest away. I didn't get a chance to try the bbq pork. i really didnt want to at that point. My friend said it was average at best. -
Review from Robert G.
Houston, TX
2/27/2010
banh mi
banh mi
banh mi
wowowowow
the ingredients are extremely tasty, fresh, and the bread is baked right there meaning it is always warm and soft
since i am not of viet descent it can be difficult to communicate with the ladies but they already know by memory what I always get when I go there :)
"chicken sandwich please"
and best of all it's 2.50 -
Review from Jeff W.
Katy, TX
12/30/2009
best combo in town!!!! toasted bread, pate', butter (btw not really butter, just learned how to make it!!!), viet cold cuts!!!! huge amounts for 2.50. cant be beat!
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Review from Ryan K.
Houston, TX
7/20/2010
you people who rated this place 4 or 5 stars, you are all retarded. their banh mi's are the worst ever i've tatsed in my life. even lee's sandwich banh mi's are way better than this place and believe me, lee's sandwich banh mi's are awful.
