James A.
Yelp
Located very close to the Rice campus near the Medical Center Area in Houston Texas, Hu's Cooking serves the classic American Chinese dishes very well, but also has some very specific dishes I've not seen elsewhere (though didn't order them). It's a good indication that this is THE spot for locals who trust the chef here, and want him/her to recreate dishes that they crave from back home.
We came here on a Monday night, after a long day of traveling. Our nephew who we were visiting, knows that we like trying different Chinese restaurants, so he suggested we take a bus from our hotel to Hu's. A bit surprising since I knew he is not a fan of Chinese cuisine, but was appreciative of his generosity in thinking of what we would like. He had been here once with his friends, and stated that all of them seemed to really like it.
The outside doesn't look like much, located in a aging strip mall with a little parking. But the inside is nicely remodeled, and we were shown to a corner table. The menu is two sided and laminated.with both english and chinese markings. Water was brought, and a pail of cooked white rice was given, making the assumption that we would eat rice with whatever dish we ordered. I've become accustomed to rice always being charged separately, so this was a pleasant learning. We ordered three things, all excellent"
-- Pork fried rice with kimchi ($14.50) - this is the one dish that my nephew would eat here. He couldn't finish it, so I helped him, and it was very, very good. The old kimchi was the perfect amount of sourness, there were nice slices of pork loin (pork just goes so well with kimchi), and the old rice was fried just right. It's a really well executed dish that probably didn't take the chef very long, but really tasted like it did.
-- Twice cooked pork ($17) - boiled pork belly, sliced and wok cooked with black bean, leeks, white onions, and chili bean oil/sauce. A dish well executed, with plenty of protein. It did give the two of us a bit of a stomach problem later because of the oiliness of the sauce and meat itself, but that's on us.
-- Mongolian beef ($17.50) - this was the safety dish, in case the pork wasn't liked. I really liked this dish too, where the beef wasn't so gummy, but instead was closer to crispy, the way it is supposed to be. The wok fired taste was there. Could have even been more crispy for my taste.
The dining room got pretty full by the time we were about to leave, and it was a lively crowd. The service was good, keeping our water full (we had plenty of white rice). And it's clear that the chef is an expert at wok cooking...so many more dishes on the menu where that skill would elevate the dish so much. Definitely a place where I would come again when in the area.