North China Restaurant Reviews
Submitted by Jennifer Ponce on 07/22/2022
Jennifer Ponce 5 stars rating.
This is a hidden gem for me! I’ve never seen this place since it’s in the corner of a shopping center and there’s a lot of trees next to it. BUT I’m glad I found this place. Everything was so DELICIOUS. Especially the pork dumplings!! The employees were outstanding. They were always super attentive. We will definitely come back.
Andre Bosch 5 stars rating.
This place is special. The staff are super friendly and helpful. The food is next level delicious. It makes sense that this place is a mom and pop restaurant for over 40 years. The General Tso is the best I've had. The chili shrimp was also really, really good. Eat here!
Submitted by Andre Bosch on 08/14/2022
Ryan Hendrick 5 stars rating.
This place is so good! I regularly order take-out from here. The staff always greets me and they have excellent customer service. The food is incredible. The Beijing Fish and Pong Lai Beef are my favorite things on their menu, but you can’t go wrong with anything, including the appetizers. I highly recommend!
Submitted by Ryan Hendrick on 07/30/2022
Landra L. 5 stars rating.
The service was beyond amazing! The food was filled with flavor. The staff was knowledgeable of the ingredients of the food. They offer family style or individual plates. Treat yourself to a culinary experience.
Submitted by Landra L. on 07/10/2022
John Nechman 5 stars rating.
If you know your geography, you know that Korea sticks out like a rabbit-shaped appendage from China. The cultural and culinary ties between the countries are profound though Koreans have grown almost as wary of their powerful northern neighbor as they've been towards the other nation across the East Sea (a.k.a. "Sea of Japan") that has tried to conquer Korea. Korean cuisine pulls from both countries but remains unique. If you've ever had Korean sushi, you know what I mean. But other than a place in Spring Branch called Mandarin (now closed), we haven't had many spots here that have specialized in Chinese-Korean food. Or so I thought.
A friend posted on his visit to a Korean-Chinese place at the corner of I-10 and Highway 6 called North China Restaurant (14525 Katy Freeway), and it took us less than 24 hours to make our visit. This turned out to be one of our favorite meals of the year, and I'm kicking myself that I did not know before this nearly 50 year old restaurant.
The delights start once you walk in the front door, where tall, handsome Fred, grandson of the restaurant's founder, will greet you like you're a long-time regular, which most of the diners are. Fred's family, who is ethnically Chinese, ran a restaurant in my birthplace of Seoul for many years and picked up on those dishes, particularly the ones with Chinese roots, that are favorites of Koreans. Most of the dishes on the menu are original recipes of his grandmother. He was happy to bring me a Korean menu that featured many of the dishes on the regular menu but also several unique ones. The menu definitely skews Chinese, but everything we tasted had us noticing unique touches of Korea.
We started with very unique homemade egg rolls though we noticed that nearly every table was ordering a plate that resembled a mini-temple featuring stacked Mandarin spring rolls. We're definitely getting that next time! We also had excellent steamed mandu (pork dumplings) with homemade cabbage kimchi.
Next arrived a plate called "Beijing Fish," featuring chunks of filet in a light batter, topped with a fine relish of scallions, garlic, yellow onion, sesame seeds, red papper, chile de arbol, and a slightly sweet soy-like sauce. A simple looking dish but super tasty--much like fish my Mom cooks at home.
This was already a lot of food, but we couldn't pass up our favorite of all Korean pasta dishes, japchae and jiajiangmyeon. Japchae is a traditional Korean plate of glass noodles sauteed with vegetables, beef, and any number of other toppings. There is no other noodle dish in Asia quite like it, and every Korean kitchen on the planet has its own recipe. I love the version here--far more veggies than usual but so finely chopped that they practically blend with the glass noodles.
Oh, and that jiajiang!! My Mom likes to cook for family birthdays, and we get to choose our favorite dish. For Richi, it's always jiajiang. Once again, the recipe depends on the chef, and the menu here features about 7 different varieties! We went with the traditional, featuring onions and small slices of beef cooked in a slightly sweet fermented black bean paste and served on rice noodles a little thicker than spaghetti topped with slivers of sliced cucumber. This dish, which has roots in Beijing (I've eaten at the restaurant there that claims to serve the original recipe), is so popular in Korea that in Incheon, the city where Seoul's new airport is located, there is a street called Jiajiang Alley, full of restaurants that only serve it. The only version of this dish in Houston that is better than the one at North China is, you guessed it, my Mom's!
I can't wait to come back and try more from this menu--omurice (like an omelette filled with rice sauteed with beef and sauces--including in some recipes ketchup!), jjampong (the best seafood soup on earth), and tangsuyuk (a true Korean-Chinese fusion of sweet/sour pork or beef). It may have taken me 50 years to visit this place, but it's not likely to take more than a few days for me to return to it!
Submitted by John Nechman on 06/20/2022
Martha Anderson 5 stars rating.
We ate here for the first time today. The reviews were impressive. The food was fresh, hot and so very good. In addition, the service was the best we’ve ever had. The staff are watching everyone to make sure their glasses are full and you have everything you need to enjoy your meal. The atmosphere is very inviting and clean. I highly recommend eating here.
Submitted by Martha Anderson on 05/29/2022
Debra Hall 5 stars rating.
The food is excellent. I love their different flavors in each item I've ordered. I truly believe the crab puffs are the best I've eaten anywhere. Service is great and the staff is very friendly. Took my cousin to eat here for the first time today and he definitely wants to return soon.
Submitted by Debra Hall on 05/28/2022
Jeannie K 5 stars rating.
My favorite Chinese restaurant, not only because it’s good but also because they don’t put MSG.
Decent but I wouldn’t get again:
- Shredded pork
Nothing special but still good:
- Yuxiang eggplant
- Walnut shrimp: not the fried and sweet mayo-based one I wanted - but still yum (and love that they use Argentinian shrimp)
- String beans: wish it were roasted more, but crunchy, and love the zacai (pickled turnip) that comes with it
The best stuff on repeat:
- Best Hot & Sour soup I’ve had
- Good sizzling rice soup
- Sweet & Sour Pork
- Get the shredded beef and pepper (only on the Korean menu but available upon request over the phone - not online). Definitely ask for the green pepper oil to go with this.
- Surprisingly spicy and yum Sichuan chicken
- Orange chicken - wish it were chunkier and not so thin, but great orange flavor
4.5 stars for food, extra star for service, cleanliness, and roominess :)
Submitted by Jeannie K on 01/17/2022
Don Nguyen 5 stars rating.
Not your average Chinese restaurant! I can't say enough about the quality of ingredients and depth of flavor from each of the dishes I've had here. This place is really next level. Simple authentic Chinese food yet beautifully presented with layers of depth in every bite.
I try to order something different everytime i visit, and after 2 years, i have yet to be disappointed. If you haven't been here yet, do not delay, it's some of the best Chinese food I've had outside of China and Taiwan!
Submitted by Don Nguyen on 09/24/2021
Chelsea Martinez 3 stars rating.
Came here for lunch, we were attracted to the delicious smells from the food of people eating outside so we decided to try it. Service was good but kinda slow. They did appear to be training which made for some awkward exchanges but the food was very good. Shining star item was the chicken lettuce wraps. Not sure what they put in that chicken but it is addictive!!!
Submitted by Chelsea Martinez on 08/03/2021
