The 5 Best Chinese Restaurants in Galleria Houston

Cafe Panda Garden has authentic Chinese cuisine with fresh ingredients and an overall pleasant atmosphere. At least, that’s what we were told.

True to the claims of others, we found the café panda garden to be not only well kept but pleasantly relaxing. Perhaps this was due to the soft jazz music playing in the background. 

One thing we liked was how the owner walked around checking on customers and whether they were happy with their orders, showing personal interest in his customers. 

As we looked at the menu, we did note that pricing at Cafe Panda Garden could be considered slightly expensive. From what we could see from others at surrounding tables, the portion sizes of their meals were enormous. 

We ordered their crab puff pastries and their General Tso meal. But when we received the crab pastries, there was hardly any crab. 

The crab puff pastries were instead filled with just cream cheese, which was a bit of a disappointment. 

On the other hand, we enjoyed the General Tso meal, so that made up for it. 

The meal came with fried rice and wonton soup. We liked how the chicken in the General Tso meal were big flavorful pieces – it was large enough to share or to take home extra leftovers. 

Everyone we spoke to who’s eaten at Dumpling King informed us that it takes a while to get the food you order. This is only because Dumpling King claims to be dedicated to using the freshest produce while making your meal. 

When we went to Dumpling King, we had a pleasant dining experience in terms of the overall quality of the restaurant and food. Don’t be fooled by the cheap pricing on their menu, for their entrées are not of cheap quality.

We started with their crab and cheese wontons, which were served with a mug of hot tea. We liked how, when we were near finishing our tea, someone would swing by and pour a new cup, keeping true to the Chinese tradition of always having a cup of tea with your meal. 

While their crab and cheese wontons were tasty, we preferred their steamed vegetarian dumplings. We liked how their dumplings were not under seasoned and were not soggy to the point they fell apart when using your chopsticks. 

Moreover, we could taste the fresh chopped vegetable pieces, soft and tender with every bite. We also tried their beef and broccoli dish, which we thought was undercooked and the broccoli was salty.

Many people have told us that Pepper Twins bring China to you through the interior alone. After our experience at Pepper Twins, this claim proved to be true. 

Red walls and black silhouette stencils show life in northern China, complete with pagoda-style roofs and communities that climb the slopes of mountains. 

Hanging lantern lights hang just right to produce a work of beauty over the dining tables throughout the restaurant. 

It wasn’t the employees that made us feel hurried to sit at a table; instead, it was the long queue of hungry customers standing, sitting, and pacing the aisles in anticipation of their to-go orders. 

Upon sitting down, a bowl of wonton strips was placed at our table along with menus. Pepper Twins’ entrees on the menu were descriptive, which we found to be one of the restaurant’s endearing quirks. 

The Pepper Twins Chicken was first on the list of specialties, so that’s what we had. 

The Szechuan peppercorn heat in the Pepper Twins Chicken is unlike the ghost pepper’s try-to-burn-a-hole-through-your-insides hot. Still, it does something to your taste that may throw you a loop, so intrepid eaters who enjoy the thrill of the spice should be warned. 

The first three servings of chicken had enough taste, and the spice level was perfect. The platter also had white pepper, fresh green and red Thai peppers, and bunches of peppercorns clinging to the little stems.

With that third mouthful, we were reaching for our waters. We then tried one of their beef dishes. 

Although the beef dish we tried had doubanjiang (spicy bean paste) and Szechuan peppercorns, it was not nearly as spicy. We didn’t like how most of the sliced beef was fatty pieces and how greasy it was. 

Furthermore, we also tried their fried rice. The fried rice was poorly made, as we found big clumps of steamed rice. 

The rice was also mushy, so that was a bit of a let-down. 

Tiger Noodle House has a relaxed, laid-back atmosphere perfect for late-night dinners or spending time with family. At least, that’s what we’ve heard. 

One thing we liked about Tiger Noodle House was their quick service. We arrived late at night and were shown to our seats promptly. 

All the staff we talked to were kind and answered any questions about their menu. Although a few of the items on their menu were authentic, others were not.

We first tried the chicken feet, which were crispy and well-seasoned. Our waiter gave us a sweet-and-sour sauce to dip it in, which only added to the flavor.

Moreover, both the sliced pork and the intestines were deliciously peppery. Also, one of the vegetarian options we tried was a stir-fried meal of cabbage segments and vermicelli; it was tasty and filling. 

As for their Szechuan beef noodle soup, we savored the deep flavor of the beef broth, but everything else about the soup was bland and unremarkable. 

We also didn’t like their steamed dumplings, for they quickly fell apart, and the pork filling was still raw. As for our drinks, we tried their boba which was too sweet for our tastes, and the tapioca balls were hard to chew.

7 Star Asian Café has established a reputation in the community for its high-quality and delicious cuisine. At least, that’s what we’ve been told.

When we visited 7 Star Asian Café, we first noticed the host’s lightning-fast service. Perhaps this could’ve been due to their limited dining space, and we didn’t see many people inside when we went.

Although, once we were seated, it took a while for the waiter to return to take our orders. As we browsed through the menu, we noticed quite a few vegetarian options, fusion meals, and authentic Chinese dishes mixed into the menu together. 

When our meals were served, we didn’t like how they were served on trays instead of regular plates—even the sauces were in containers. Regardless, the food was steaming, and the aroma was pleasant. 

We ended up ordering their pepper steak dinner for our first entree. We liked how juicy the steak was and how it was not too peppery.

The fried rice that came along with the pepper steak was tasty, but it had a garlic aftertaste. In addition to pepper steak, we ordered shrimp rolls and lo mein. 

While the shrimp rolls are crispy and paired well with the sweet-and-sour sauce they provided, the lo mein noodles had no flavor.

In fact, they didn’t even have any sweet-and-sour pork in it. All we could find in the lo mein was a few loose pieces of red chili.