Sunday, July 5, 2009

Xiong's Cafe (X-Cafe) Chinatown

Resturant Info:
Xiong's Cafe
9888 Bellaire Blvd. #150

Houston, Texas 77036

Must Tries: Green onion pie, Beef Soup w/thin noodles, Lamb Soup, Cilantro-Pork Dumplings.
Health Options: Beef soup is a solid choice.
Price: ($) Dishes Under 10 bucks.
What to Expect: Really good simple food. Not much English spoken.

My Experience: I love the simplisity of this place. Wooden tables, plastic forks, water and hot sauce. There is a wall window from which you can order Bubble Tea from the place next door.













A friend of mine said this place reminded her of her travels through China. While I have never been to China, I know this place has some of the best dumplings in town.
The apperance and taste of the Green Onion pie reminded me of a freshly made Flour torilla. The green onion flavor was definitley present but not over powering.
The lamb (Carnero) soup was really good. The broth had all the flavor of the lamb and spices. The girl behind the counter didn't speak much English but when she said Thin Noodles when I asked for her suggestion, I went with it. I soon saw a older man struggling to manuver the thick noodles with his chop sticks. She had definitley done me a favor and saved me the embarrrassment.

The Cilantro-Pork Dumplings are some of the best I have had.
You can get them steamed (as below) or pan fried.
Every time I REPEAT at a resturant I try something new. This was X CAfe's version of Lo Mein. I found the combination of ground pork and cucumbers to be unique but the boiled flavorless thin noodles did little for me.

Since I can’t correctly pronounce the name to this place I like to call it the X-CafĂ©. This place has great dumplings and soup! If you’re looking to experience Chinatown this is the place to eat. The dumplings are also sold frozen to take home.
 

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