Hunan Chef

Food is Bland, nothing really stands out, It’s old establishment. Nothing is any good probably one of the worst Chinese restaurants in Houston.

Consistent and delicious. I’ve been coming here for over a decade. The service is on the hypervigilant side, but who’s going to complain about your water glass never being less than ¾ full?

I hate this company I will never in life use them again and don’t recommend them to anyone

Puhblah… No GOOD.
I had a huge vein throbbing headache. The food is mass frozen, defrost, and microwave… Nothing memorable. Nothing eventful. Just another cheap chinese buffet.

Small selection but very well executed.
A+ staff
Has everything I want in a Chinese buffet.
Crab wonton
Egg Foo Young
Pork egg rolls
Fried corn
And especially sesame balls with red bean paste! They ran out by the time I was ready for them and they made me a fresh batch. It’s heaven, I tell you.
Plus, I normally visit during off-​peak hours and still get fresh, hot food. Totally abnormal for a buffet place.

Unappreciated guilty pleasure inside the loop
First, let’s get a few things out of the way. This is by no means authentic Chinese food, nor is it a paragon of fine dining. However, for American-​style greasy goodness in a fast and friendly environment inside the loop, this place definitely hits the spot.
I always drive by this place (easily spotted off 59 and Wesleyan/​Edloe) and have never stopped in but a sudden urge for some classic general tso’s brought us to pull in this Friday evening. We were immediately greeted by a friendly waitress and seated. There was a fairly diverse group of customers, ranging from families to single dudes to young couples. Everyone seemed to be having the buffet (about $ 10 for dinner), rather than ordering off the menu, so we opted to do the same.
I avoided the obligatory «sushi bar» (thus saving my loved ones from horror the next morning) and headed straight to the good stuff.
The LO MEIN and FRIED RICE were average, but the SINGAPORE NOODLES were actually quite tasty, which a nice curry aroma.
Ok, now the star of the show — GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN. Probably the best I’ve had anywhere, hands down. There is a great ratio of chicken to flour, and the sauce has a perfectly sweet-​salty-​spicy-​sour kick that makes you crave more. The huge chunks pair perfectly with the white rice, which is usually the best carb complement for something so saucy.
The STIR-​FRIED GREEN BEANS were also surprisingly on point. Now this is a more traditional dish, something you might actually find in any of the best Chinatown restaurants, and this buffet version would not be out of place if I were eating it on Bellaire Blvd. The beans were crisp and soaked up all the flavor of the little fried bits of pork, with a nice spicy twist.
JALAPENO BEEF is something I had never seen before on a Chinese buffet, but it’s a great combo of dry stir-​fried beef, bell peppers, and jalapenos. Fairly spicy though — not for the faint of heart.
Finally, the DUMPLINGS — both steamed and pan-​fried — were packed with meat and had suprisingly satisfying flavor. The owner overheard me telling my SO about them and he mentioned that they make them from scratch here.
Honorable mention: POTATO CHICKEN, CHICKEN SKEWERS, PEPPER BEEF, BBQ PORK RIBS, CRAB PUFFS, SALT-​TOASTED SHRIMP
Skip: Crawfish, Salmon, Wonton soup. Looked dull in color and not very appetizing.
Although other reviews mention a lack of freshness, we seemed to have come at a good time (around 7:00 pm) because most of the meat entrees were fairly recently stocked and still piping hot. Of course, the sushi options and cookie tray were probably sitting there for a while but that’s to be expected.
Overall, this place really hit the spot if you’re looking for American-​style Chinese inside the loop. Stick to the entrees, avoid the sushi and desserts, and you have a quick, tasty, satisfying meal for $ 10 (before tax/​tip/​drink). If you need something sweet, go for the fresh oranges and melons. Your body will thank you.

I will NEVER again order from this restaurant. I order at least twice a month but today was my LAST day ordering from this restaurant. I ordered the same thing I order EVERY SINGLE TIME I call, house special fried rice with no peas/​carrots and no beef. I pick up my order and get to work only to discover that it is wrong. I called and the lady that answered told me to just come back and they would make it correct. I get there and she asks me where the wrong order is and I tell her it is in the trash where it belongs. She proceeds to tell me that I need to bring the food back in order to get my right order and that I shouldn’t throw all that food away. My question to her was «Well what were YOU going to do with it»? Surely you were not going to take this food that I brought back and just shuffle it back into the pile and serve it to customers! That is severe health code violation! And the exact reason that I did NOT bring it back! Apparently that is EXACLTY what was going to be done. I WILL NEVER EAT THERE AGAIN AND I SUGGEST NO ONE ELSE EAT THERE EITHER! YOU NEVER KNOW, YOU MAY BE GETTING FOOD THAT SOMEONE RETURNED AND DID GOD KNOWS WHAT WITH IT!

How can I say Bad bad bad. Most of the food tasted freezer burn. Especially the chicken
thing was the water.

This WAS my fav Chinese buffet (we’d eat there about 1x per month) to eat at until tonight, 01÷23÷16, when a roach fell from the ceiling directly onto the table we were seated at! The workers nor manager seemed to be alarmed. All they said and kept on saying was sorry, and thank you (clearly trying to shoo us away as fast as possible) as they collected the tab and tip without offering a refund or ANY sort of discount. OBVIOUSLY, WE (party of 6) WILL NEVER EAT THERE AGAIN, AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU IF YOU’RE READING THIS!!!

Only a couple of things were hot. Most of the food ranged from room temperature to barely warm. I don’t know if this is typical or if they just are having temporary issue with their warming tables but I won’t go back for fear of food safety. When I told them they just said «Oh really? Ok.» I think she was going to check on it, but I don’t know.

If zero was a rating it would get 0 stars. This place was horrible. The food was cold and tasted old. I believe the food had been sitting out all day. There is not much on their buffet. Save yourself $ 10 a person.

Worst chimes buffet ever. Every single plate was more of the same (bland, weird flavored,…). I haven’t been to a Chinese buffet this bad in 5 years. Second time here and seems like my experience keeps getting worst. Never again.
Even the water sucked.

Worst dried out Chinese food ever! Would not comp or go half way with me, even called the Police (but I think that was just for show). I paid, but will never go near that place again, give me Whataburger next door!
Went at 5:30pm after the gym and was starving. After about 5 minutes I realized what dry, listless food I was eating so I complained. She would have none of that! Since I took ONE bite I now owed for the whole thing. She offered to make me fresh (they knew it was dried out! Even the waitress said as much), so I said sure but I’m taking it to go. Oh no way! She was going to charge me again! That’s when I said I’d give her five bucks for the dried out crap and the other one called the police. Now that I think about it, every time I’ve been it’s dried out. And the wanton soup is ALWAYS mush! $ 10.77 nothing but a waste.

I’ve been eating here for decades, and this is my go-​to restaurant of choice when I’m in the neighborhood. I love their pork dumplings, vegetables, and General Tsao’s chicken. My favorite part is the fortune cookie! I always get the best fortunes here :-)

It feels odd giving a Chinese buffet five stars, but I feel I have to. This five stars is relative, of course; this place is the best expression of a Chinese buffet I have found (though maybe not the best expression of a restaurant). Therefore, delivering on all possible promises, I have to peg the scale.
The selection here has all of the classic dishes you expect. What makes it special is the quality. Okay, if you went to a pricey Chinese place and ordered off a menu and this food showed up, you may be a little disappointed, but it’s certainly far better than the dreck you usually find at buffets and better than what you get at most non-​buffet Chinese joints around town. There’s no super-​cheap mass-​microwaved depression food here, this is the good stuff.
And for all of this, the price is still lower than most of the mega-​buffets around town.

It is by far not the best buffet I have ever had, and it was nothing special. The egg drop soup was weak: It was like a few ribbons of egg in clear water with some corn starch and a couple of peas. It was basically tasteless.
The bathroom was not all that nice, but it was clean. And I did get a nice server. The atmosphere was decent and everything like the tables and dishes seemed clean. The meat in all the dishes is very chewy, and a lot gets spit out instead of swollowed. Only a small selection of food, and one person with a drink is $ 12.

Absolute worst Chinese buffet I have ever eaten at. All of the food except the soups, pepper steak, green beans, and pepper chicken was cold. Almost nothing was freshly prepared. Many dishes tasted like they had strong chemicals in them and a lot were too sugary. To top it off there isn’t really a lot of selection.
On a positive note the staff was professional so one star for that. Literally zero stars for the food. I will never come back.
Update: I’ve barely gotten home from eating and I’m already having severe gastro-​intestinal distress. Do not eat here if you value your wellbeing…

I consider myself to be an avid fan of both Chinese food and buffets. I can say without a doubt that this was one of the most disappointing experiences I have had at a Chinese buffet in my entire life.
We thoroughly enjoyed the Hunan Chef on Katy freeway, so it only made sense to try the one on the Southwest Freeway that was closer to our home. From the moment we entered this place, it just felt bad. Dirty, cracked windows, paint failing off wooden columns… it just had a bad vibe. I’m certainly no prude, and and not against hole in the walls, but there is a difference between a hole in the wall, and unsettlingly dirty, which this was.
The food was arguably the coldest food I have ever had at a Chinese buffet. We went at prime lunchtime on a Saturday afternoon, with the specific intention of having peak freshness, but this was far from it. I sampled probably around 10 items from the small buffet, and the egg drop soup was the only one that was warm or hot. Some dishes even seemed near the brink of being undercooked.
The staff was nice and friendly enough, so I feel bad writing such a negative review, but I just cannot recommend this Hunan chef. I wanted to like this place, but it was just bad in every regard. It certainly was no bargain price wise either. $ 9.95 Saturday buffets.

I was craving a good olé Chinese buffet all week & this Hunan Chef is close so I waited for the weekend to give this place a try.
I went around 11:20am since they open at 11am so I could get the best of the best fresh food. First of all the parking lot is kind of awful but I was on a mission! I walk in & right off the bat am kind of scared but optimistic. The staff is really friendly but the atmosphere: tinting coming off the windows, chairs are sticky, wood peeling, overall kind of dirty… Still optimistic though!
The food selection is smaller than most but it had all the goods & frankly the food looked good so I piled my plate high, sit down, take a bite &…COLD! The food is cold. It’s not even slightly warm. I’m kind of confused because it just opened! Did they just pull this out of the fridge from yesterday & expect the heat lamps to work magic? Apparently. Oh, but despite the cold I liked the pepper steak & egg/​spring rolls. The fried rice was dirty tasting & frankly had some weird texture. I think most of the food was just gross. My diet coke was pure syrup, no fizz. I walked away pretty disappointed. I don’t think I will ever go back.

For the price of $ 8.99 and being in the loop, Hunan Chef gets a 4. Rating is relative considering it’s a low-​end buffet.
Expect the standard Chinese buffet menu and service. Servers here Chinese and the food is as authentic as you’ll get from a buffet.
Curry chicken and egg drop soup were pretty good. Overall great value for the price/​location.