How to spend a day in Houston’s Chinatown How to spend a day in Houston’s Chinatown

There are pockets of culture everywhere you look in Houston. None may be stronger, or larger, than an area of west Houston, a.k.a. Houston’s Chinatown.

Houston’s Chinatown, primarily located on Bellaire Boulevard bounded by the Westpark Tollway to the north and Beechnut to the south, is an extremely diverse community filled with a variety of interesting shops, restaurants and things to do. Though this neighborhood is best known as “Chinatown”, it is not only limited to Chinese influence. This place has a rich history and cultural impacts from across Asia, including but not limited to Vietnam, India, Pakistan, China, Korea, Malaysia, Japan and more. Here’s a look at some of the great ways you can spend a free day, or night, in this wonderful area.

Restaurants

Just within Dun Huang Plaza, there’s the popular

BY: YIDAN REN

restaurant Tiger Den as well as Banana Leaf that serves authentic Japanese and Malaysian cuisine in a small, family-friendly eatery. A go-to place my friends and I love is Hokkaido, a sushi restaurant you can enjoy at an affordable price. We also recently discovered Okome Don, a poké place that I never knew existed!

If you’re looking for more of a snack than a full meal, Chung Chun Rice Hotdog and Two Hands Seoul Fresh Corndogs provide some of the best Korean hotdogs out there — wonderful, Instagram-worthy corndogs that are way more than your typical hot dog stuck between a piece of sliced bread.

For desserts, if you’re craving something icy on a hot summer day, there’s Aqua S (originally from Australia) and Snowy Village that serve soft-serve ice cream or shaved ice that should satisfy your sweet tooth. If you’re more of a pastry shop person, 85 Degrees or Six Ping sell great bread and cakes, and they are perfectly paired with a drink from the nearby Tom N Toms Coffee. Cafe 101 is also in the same plaza if you’re looking for a place with more of a trendy, party vibe instead of a