Son M.
Yelp
This eatery is a small hole-in-the-wall establishment located in a rather dinghy strip mall across the street from the ARVN memorial monument in Houston's Little Saigon. The eatery itself is rather modest, with a few old tables and a refrigerated cooler with cans of drinks.
The menu here is written only in Vietnamese, but is very simple, as it contains only two menu items: Chao Long (Offal Porridge) and Banh Canh (Udon). There are options for extra plates of offal (Them Dia Long) or fried flour sticks (Dau Cheo Quay) with your main meal, and the bottom portion of the menu allows for patrons to order large family-sized portions of porridge or udon (bring your own pot!) There was a banner outside touting crawfish but I assume it is a seasonal offering.
I ordered a large bowl of Chao Long with a side of Dau Cheo Quay and a glass of water. The food was already prepared and came out steaming hot, along with a plate of bean sprouts and lime for texture and flavor. For the uninitiated, Chao Long is a rice porridge that contains pork offal--organ meats. That said, the Chao Long at Thang Mo contains a generous amount of liver, tongue, heart, blood sausage, intestine, blood cubes, and uterus. The Chao Long was very flavorful, although some pepper made a difference. The Dau Cheo Quay was cut up into 1" cubes and added a crunchy texture to the thin soup-like porridge.
The service was simple--it appears to be a mom-and-pop operation with a simple menu. The older lady took my order and she was overall courteous and friendly. They appear to be a cash-only operation but I have noticed other reviews mentioned this eatery accepts credit.
While I was there, I noticed many people come in with big pots to fill up on porridge, so it appears to be a popular option to purchase for the whole family--this could also be a result of flu season, in which porridge has the same therapeutic effects as chicken soup!
Overall, Chao Long Thang Mo is a good, out-of-the-way establishment that concentrates on only a couple of menu items--which they do well with. Likely I will return if I ever have another opportunity to be in the Houston area in the early mornings, which is the best time to have a bowl of Offal Porridge!