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Hong Kong Chef
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- None
10 reviews for Hong Kong Chef
Like Edgar V. has pointed out, Hong Kong Chef is blessedly old school. Nestled in a strip center in the heart of Bellaire, the Chef has been cooking up delicious standards of Chinese food for god-knows-how-long...at least twenty-five years at this location, based solely on my parents' visits here, if not much, much longer. And I'm leaning towards "much, much longer" based on the dingy, vintage 1960's decor. If you imagine the scene from A Christmas Story when the family goes out to eat for Chinese after the Bumpus hounds ruin their Christmas dinner, that's basically what Hong Kong Chef is, sans the duck with severed neck.
Don't let the less than up-to-date decor fool you--the kitchen is up front behind the counter so you'd be able to tell for yourself if anything was less than sanitary. (I'm recalling the very distinctive sound of clattering iron skillets and sizzling food on the stove that fill the space whenever you're inside.) The wife, as the face of the business, runs the cash register while her husband is in the back cooking up goodness. She has an amazing mind for math--you won't see a calculator anywhere nearby because she formulates the totals with tax in her head and it's always eerily accurate. Every time my dad comes in to pick up, she greets him right away as "Mr. Den" (yeah, his name is Dan, and his name is spelled "D-E-N" right on the order, but with the food so great, why fuss over one vowel?)
I have to admit I've never eaten inside. My family always did takeout from here because we could feed a family of four for under $20. I just accepted it as the Way Things Were when I was smaller, but now that I'm autonomous I'm intensely curious about the dining room and may just stop in someday soon. Lunch specials, at least for takeout, are available all day, and my family pretty much has ordering down pat based on our preferences. Standouts include their egg rolls, which are stuffed with delicious cabbage and meats, their young chow fried rice, and my favorite, their delicious lo mein.
Unless they've changed their policies, they don't take credit cards--cash or check with proper ID only. But jumping through those hoops is worth it because the food is very, very tasty and very, very cheap!
This still isn't my favorite Chinese place in town, but I have found the perfect thing here on a cold day: a bowl of Special Won Ton Noodle Soup. A gigantic bowl large enough to serve at least two is $5.95. The surly waitress will snarl at you that it's too much for one (and no, I didn't eat the entire bowl in one sitting) but if you're dining alone just get the soup and skip the entree - or just get it to go and get two meals out of it. The rest of the entrees are too greasy and just not that appealing to me, but this soup rocks my socks off.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/22/2009
I really want to like Hong Kong Chef. It's family owned, it's been here forever, it's just down the… Read more »
A mom-and-pop, hole in the wall restaurant for cheap, delicious eats. We're biased because HK Chef is run by our best man's parents, but seriously - large portions of tasty food at low prices. What's not to like? My favorite is the sesame chicken. The sweet & sour sauce is made in-house and is super awesome.
Outstanding hole-in-the-wall.
The food is inexpensive made with fresh ingredients, I've been going here since childhood so the lady who works the register still remembers me after all theses years. Overall the food is delicious, the won ton soup is incredible, and the barbq ribs are to die for.
The reviews are pretty accurate this place is a hole-in-the-wall place but majority of my co-workers like it. It is the epitome of cheap, chinese food. The portions are insanely huge for the price starting at $3 and not really exceeding $8. The lady owner is very efficient and keeps her staff very occupied. :D
I gotta back up Dustin B's review. The Chef is not your frou-frou Chinese place - this is good ol' fashioned neighborhood hole-in-the-wall Americanized Chinese food. If you dine in, you'll find yourself passing the kitchen where you can see the fresh vegetables piled up waiting to be made into your dish. The staff is headed by a Chinese husband and wife team - come a couple of times and the wife will know you by sight and welcome you as if you'd been coming for a decade. The husband is quiet but focuses on cooking and keeping all things humming.
When I worked in the neighborhood, I dragged my coworker often. After some time, we were easily recognized as the Asian guy and African-American girl work couple. I've changed jobs and so stop in less frequently but the wife still recognizes me and asks about my former co-worker. Still amazed at how she remembers everything!
The dining room is dark and hearkens back to the 1960s but I've warned you about that, right? As long as you're not planning on moving in, then I think you'll be fine. Another benefit of the dining room is that, once in, no one is going to find you from the outside. Perfect for those pink mafia meetings.
The lunch menu is simple and blessedly devoid of pretense. Your fried rice (or steamed on request) is freshly made. The sweet and sour pork or chicken was fried and served up within minutes of ordering. The eggroll is your standard fat fried kind but the crunchy vegetables are satisfying and delicious. All of the specials are less than $7 for a freshly made serving of retro Chinese. What a bargain! Yum!
Better than most but not the best. Wer're talking very good cheap chinese food with very fresh ingredients. (except for the eggrolls...but I like a cheap eggroll every now and then. At least it doesn't taste like the fried slime eggrolls from panda express!)
I use General Tso's chicken or some form it as my litmus test for any chinese restaurant (the best in town is Return of the Pheonix at the Gigis(gallaria)/Hunan(downtown) chain) This place does a great job. The rice is good, the mu shu pork is phenomenal. All around great.
It's like eating chinese food at it's peak in the 80's, before it turned into mass produced buffet chow. That being said, the portions are still HUGE! I fed my family of 6 for 30 bucks (FYI, we went to the next night Whataburger and spent 40. You do the math!)
I have memories of the Hong Kong Chef dating back to when I was a small child. My mother lived in Houston before I was born and she had become quite a regular at this little restaurant and would bring me by every time we were in Houston for a visit.
There was nothing more special to me than going in and grabbing a cozy table and waiting for the employees to come and invite me back to the kitchen to watch them freshly prepare egg rolls with such precision and grace. It was like art.
Now that I'm living in Houston, I get over there every chance I get. Even though I don't get to go back and watch them work in the kitchen anymore, I know they're still making food with the same kind of care and attention to detail that was there all those years ago.
Simply one of the best places to go in Houston for a reasonably priced and delicious meal.
If you haven't been - you must go. Try their daily special if all of the options seem too good to be true. You just can't go wrong.
Oh My Goodness!!! Best eggroles ever!!!! EVER!!!! And I like it because they know me by name. Been coming here for 14 years, and still the best Chinese food in town. Thank you Hong Kong Chef, your the best.
For the WonTon soup only... not a very clean place.
