Jando S.
Yelp
As one of the most popular places in Chinatown, it's not hard to see why San Dong has become a beloved institution. Their take on Chinese comfort food in the form of rice bowls, noodle soups, and fluffy buns have made it a wonderful option in the neighborhood. There have been numerous changes over the years, yet it has somehow kept up with the growing demand as their plaza has become more crowded with neighboring businesses.
Many folks over the years have incorrectly dubbed this place as a Taiwanese establishment, when it's more Taiwan-ish. There are some Taiwanese items, such as their "bento" style rice with meat fillets, braised pork rice (滷肉飯) and beef noodle soup (牛肉麵 - dubbed "roast beef noodle"). The rest of the menu is a mishmosh of Wenzhou, central, and northern Chinese dishes.
If the name (San Dong) is indicative of the region, then it should really be "Shan" Dong (山東). Given how all over the place the menu is, I'm going to just readily assume the semi-new Fujianese ownership is banking on the reputation above everything else.
There are some definite gems here, but it all starts with the pork. Their pork buns fluffy, juicy, and make for an excellent option on the go. There are a number of steamed items that are brought out to the baker's rack, which include boxes of vegetable buns, siu mai, rice balls, chive buns etc. Their pork dumplings (especially the grilled 鍋貼 with cabbage) are addicting. I order them by the bundles and bring them to wherever I'm going.
While the "roast beef noodle" is decent, I think the zhajiang noodles ("bean sause noodle") are super mediocre. The minced bits are not as flavorful as I liked and it doesn't particularly mesh well with the noodle or shredded veg. Mustard green pork noodle is marginally better but the soup base is a bit too salty.
Overall, I think the service is very adequate and the staff speaks a number of Chinese dialects, including Cantonese, Mandarin, and Fujianese. The prices are still affordable in today's foodflation era and parking is still achievable despite the growing presence of other bizes in their plaza. I'll still be ordering heaps of their buns and dumplings for potluck gatherings or here just looking for my next food coma.
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My photos: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/san-dong-noodle-house-%E5%B1%B1%E6%9D%B1%E9%BA%B5%E9%A4%A8-houston?userid=ysCBsXWPB-LAiewVS3jZfQ