Mo Mong

I miss mo Mongs famous mango rolls! Sad that they are closed. The food was amazing there!

Still can’t believe they closed, they were my favorite restaurant and in the city of Houston with so many great restaurants that is saying a lot.
Went to Dua’s that replaced it and it was ok too. But now a new place has replaced that too. The newest place is much much busier but I didn’t feel the food was quite as good and it’s lost the ambiance that it had in my opinion.
Looking for a new place to replace the original MoMong’s.

Excellent soups and other food. I love the staff and the patio. I love coming during the day.

The best vietnamese curry, hands down in houston. The curry is flavorful with a little punch. The bo luc luc is on another level. Its a great twist on a vietnamese classic. Love this place, no doubt price is steep for vietnamese but a good find.

I love this place. When I lived on Driscoll, it was within walking/​biking distance, and I was a regular. Since moving, I still make the effort to go back. I honestly have a hard time reconciling some of the poor reviews with my own experiences.
Big portions. Tasty food. Great drinks from the bar. Generous spaces between tables — one of my major pet peeves when high rent restaurants succumb to sardining. They also serve a tasty chili sauce rather than just dropping a bottle of sriracha.
During peak hours, parking can get dodgy and waitstaff can get a little uppity… but no worse than anywhere else in the area. This is a solid, solid place to eat or even have a couple of drinks at the bar.
Pretty sure I’ve been coming here for over ten years now. Let’s do another ten.

BUGS IN MY FOOD.
Had to open with that, for those of you skimming. The food is asian-​american with influences ranging from Thai to Vietnamese to Chinese. They have a great martini selection, if they could get their act together it would really be a nice place. But, so far they can’t. I’ve been here three or four times now. Twice with big groups and twice just meeting a friend. Every time it wasn’t busy and the service was very slow.
After being seated I almost always have to flag someone down to get a waiter. The last two times I went I wasn’t charged because (the first time) they completely forgot about my friend’s entrée… for the entire meal. The second time there were TWO cooked BUGS in our food. I feel like that’s completely inexcusable. It really is a shame, because I want to like this place and know it could do much better,

Mo Mong could be a decent restaurant if it wasn’t for a few very serious idiosyncrasies. First, the owner’s family is always at the bar or on the patio incessantly drinking and chain smoking. They act super pissed if you ask them for anything. It is my understanding that they are supposed to be hosting and running the bar, but this doesn’t seem to be on the agenda. Instead, they’re chatting and essentially having a little salon while customers end up having to seat themselves. I can’t imagine that this is good for business.
The place is always totally dead; after eating there a few times, you get the notion that Mo Mong was once a popular spot, but that those days are over. Every time I have eaten there, the restaurant was out of sometimes as many as three or four items my party ordered. How can an Asian restaurant be out of brown rice? I’ve gathered that the waiters don’t know that an item is out of stock until they have placed the order. Either the kitchen is terrible at communicating to the waitstaff, or the waiters don’t care enough to know what is out-​of-​stock. I suspect that the former is the case. You can’t help but feel bad for the waitstaff, always very apologetic and seemingly put in awkward situations (believe me, one such situation has arisen at least once every time I have eaten there).
The food is rather hit-​or-​miss. Their tofu is unusually good and the noodle dishes are very delicious, but the restaurant is unashamedly stingy. One of the most expensive dishes, the Bo Luc Lac, has a terribly pathetic amount of meat on it. If you go to Mo Mong, expect things like being charged two bucks for extra sauce and have about three back-​up meals because chances are, they’ll be out of half of your order.
Due to the aforementioned, I stopped going there. If the bar was not held hostage by the owner’s family and the Luc Lac had more than like three pieces of meat on it, this place would be, like I said, a decent restaurant. But alas, I doubt that this will change, and if a lack of customers doesn’t run this place into the ground, the family drinking all the alcohol and eating all of the food surely will!

Mo Mong is good for accommodating large party sizes. That’s the main pro to this restaurant.
It’s tucked into a dark corner next to a Hollywood Video. The parking lot offers limited spots, so most of our party parked our cars with the complimentary valet.
I did my research before coming, and knew that I should not expect authentic Vietnamese food. So, my strategy was to stay away from ANY dish that attempted to be authentic. 2 of my friends and I decided to go family style, and ended up splitting:
*Mango rolls: You would think that mango would be the main event of the roll, but it wasn’t. There was only a very thin slice of mango. So, it was pretty much a bland battered chicken with lettuce roll. It was served with a bland «mango» sauce. I don’t think Mo Mong understands mango.
*Shrimp avocado rolls: These rolls actually had flavor thanks to the shrimp. None of the ingredients really complemented each other though. It was served with an orange chili sauce, and quite honestly, nothing can wrong with orange chili sauce.
*Nha Trang oysters: BLAND BLAND BLAND BLAND. Imagine biting into a sloppy mess covered in oil. Gross. It was served with a wasabi sauce, but you could barely taste the wasabi. I was pretty much dipping blandness into blandness.
*Cambodian beef: The beef and sticky rice actually had flavor, but I feel like I was only impressed because the other three dishes were so blaaaaaah.
It could be just the dishes we chose, but I’m not even compelled to give Mo Mong another shot. I reeeally tried to be open-​minded. I will stick to real Vietnamese restaurants to make my tastebuds happy instead of paying $$ for blandness.

Mo Mong, mo problems. My kamikaze chicken crashed and burned in the kitchen because it came out cold. The kitchen nuked it but it just made my cashews goopy. The mango rolls were pretty legit and the service was surprisingly top notch.

I enjoy coming here. The service is always good, and I always get my food fast. The tofu spring rolls are delicious too! Overall no complaints here!

This restaurant is terrible. I went based on a friend’s recommendation, but I will never go back. On Saturday, they are supposedly open until 11 pm, but my group got there at 10 pm and they already appeared closed. We had to seat ourselves and we only got menus after I went to search them out. First, I tried to order the Duck Spring Rolls, but they were out of duck. Then, my girlfriend tried to order the Asian Lettuce Wraps, but they were out of jicama and mushrooms. Seriously?! What do you have?
I ended up ordering the Tofu Spring Rolls, which were good and the Wonton Noodle Soup, which had no dimension of flavor and lacked mushrooms. The Canh Chua Tom had canned pineapple in it, and the Tofu and Eggplant was definitely the most tolerable of the dishes ordered at the table.
In other news, the floor and chairs were uncharacteristically sticky, which was disgusting and uninviting to say the least. The server was appropriately apologetic about the lack of ingredients in the kitchen but overall the service was sub-​par (possibly because we came near closing time?). However, I find this unacceptable, because we had paid and left by 11 pm, which is when they supposedly close.

Recently visited this place because I’ve always heard a lot of buzz, but there are so many other wonderful choices in Houston for Vietnamese cuisine.
My boyfriend and I ordered the Grilled lemongrass beef and shrimp Vietnamese Fajitas — We are DO-​IT-​YOURSELF-​SPRING ROLL JUNKIES!!! LIke seriously, the next restaurant I open will be ROLLin with da homies! :P
Getting back to Mo Mong, we also ordered the egg rolls and a cup of the canh chua tom soup. A+ on the egg rolls, I often make my own egg rolls, and these were fantastic and homemade! The meat was perfectly seasoned as well as perfectly fried (but where were my mints?)
The canh chua tom was very tasty. Great blend of sour and sweet, lots of shrimp, pineapples, okra, celery and sprouts!
The lemongrass beef was a bit on the tough side but the shrimp was delicious and we really love rolling our own!
I did not read other reviews for this palce before visiting, I was surprised to see so many complaints about noise, atmosphere, cleanliness??? We had no problems conversing and i thought the place was very nicely decorated, I love to see local artists featured at local restaurants! Way to support Houston culture!
I only gave Mo Mong a 3 STAR because like I said. .. so many other ahhhmazing Vietnamese restaurants in Houston!!!

Love Mo Mong for lunch!
Haven’t had the too loud, too noisy, too many rats… issues.
For lunch it is usually empty and perfect!
The pork and chicken dishes are lovely and the soups and appetizers are awesome.
The prices are reasonable and you get a plate, soup and springroll. Probably won’t venture here for dinner because things change to the darkside after 5pm.

I cam here with a bunch of people (21). First the menu says no split checks on large groups. I personally can handle dividing and throwing in money with people, but these were mostly acquaintences and I let them argue it out with the waiter at the start of the night. The checks were split, but the 20% gratuity was thrown on everyone’s checks.
I got there slightly after 6:30pm, and it took nearly 20 minutes for my drink. They charged $ 2 for martinis until 7p. Service was inconsistent on drinks. Sometimes they would be there in 2−3minutes other times nearly 10. They have no coctail onions, so no Gibsons. I decided fruity and flavor was not for me, so i asked for a moist gin martini with a twist, good. Mostly the ladies were ordering frozen cosmos.
We ordered food. Me and another in our party ordered the Nha Trang Oysters. They tasted good and i liked, but mine seems to be more good (read: burned) than hers. but still tasty.
THe dinners were not bad, nobody seemed to send back. I got a shrimp and calimari stir fry with eggplant and broccoli. It was cooked well, but I advise anybody who reads calamari in Vietnamese restaurant is not Italian fried calamari.
When I got the bill i noticed my gin martini and 3 gin & tonics were $ 8 total. Service got better after the food was delivered and more so around 10pm when our party was breaking up.
They have a DJ at the front door and it really is annoying if you want to have a conversation with people.

I want to apologize to the Mo Mong lovers out there for what you’re about to read… I used to love this place but can never return.
My party and I were eating upstairs and the table next to us started making noise and looking down… well a huge live rat was running across the room and ran all the way down the stairs. Owners/​waiters did nothing about it. I will never go back to this place and it’s too bad because I liked coming here but there are plenty of restaurants that are clean and you don’t have to worry about. bleahhh… gross!
then it occurred to me to see if they were ever on the restaurant report card on ch2, yep… here’s the link:

Service was very good.
Tea tasted a little off, like it was made with city water.
I ordered steamed vegetable dumplings and Kamikaze chicken for lunch. The dumplings were very good and the chicken dish was not. It was soaked in some kind of thick syrupy sauce that was sweet and probably out of a jar. My coworker tried a beef dish with the same problem. Difference sauce, but it was sweet and not very good.
Nice, modern atmosphere, but the food just didn’t cut it.

Just left this place mortified. I saw a mouse and decided to leave without making a big scene. Only to find out as I was paying that the waiter knew of the mouse because a table had just left before us. Even before the mouse incident happened I wasn’t enjoying the meal. Everything. was bland and tasted like nothing.
The waitress was barely in attendance and was a bit rude. I will be calling the city on the morning.

Mo Mong: it almost sounds like a silly incantation accompanied with foolish wand-​waving. And I know you just read that line in Alan Rickman’s voice. Or if not, now you are reading the rest of this paragraph in his voice. Titty sprinkles.
I like Mo Mong. It is a sophisticated, urban, sleek setting with lots of cool lighting. And when you climb the stairs to the summit and you eat at the throat of the world, you feel fancy. Fancy because you are eating in a loft thing. Peasants not welcome here. I like the atmosphere. It was a lot different than standing in line behind a clearly down on his luck/​working poor/​or homeless maybe guy at Randalls Midtown afterwards who was barely able to afford one orange, that made me realize I am an awful person and I never do anything to help anyone less fortunate than my spoiled self, an issue that was clearly brought to the surface by the Sorting Hat sorting me into Ravenclaw in Pottermore this afternoon, a move which still clearly baffles me and has now confused my wardrobe since it would not seem proper to wear my Slytherin tie any longer.
The hostess girl is nice. The waiter was super nice and casual, not the bug-​the-​crap-​out-​of-​you kind. He constantly was refilling water. Brought out the Sriracha and chili paste at a moment’s notice. Waited until we were done eating before asking if we were done eating and clearing the plates. Good service.
The food: I found it better overall than Mai’s. Mai’s is open much later and has that «bizarre shit can happen here late at night» quality going for it like eating at a Waffle House at 3am either sobering up, or as a stomach intervenor between bouts of getting epic drunk like a champion early in the evening and late in the night.
Chicken satay: this was my first time ever eating this. It’s chicken speared through with one of those sharp Mr. Stabby toothpick things. And there is some kind of paste in a bowl you can dip it in. And sticky yellow rice that is flavorful. Overall: me gusta. The chicken was better quality than I have found at Mai’s. The weird tastes and textures and such also make it exciting and foreign, unlike a taco. So it has that going for it too. Quite a good and tasty appetizer.
Polynesian Red Pepper Eggplant: yummy with a capital Y. Eggplant anything is amazeballs. This was no different. The bottom of the bowl has about a fistful of onion just thrown in there, so I like it. Onion makes everything happy. There were only three peppers. I was expecting more given the prominence that word has in the title of the dish. But I digress. This is a huge portion of eggplant. I could not finish it. And my pants seem to indicate I eat everything that is edible in my zip code. So that is saying that this was a HUGE portion. The only thing I take issue with from the menu is that it is not so «lightly» battered. How battered was it? Time for a Chris Brown reference. It was about as heavily battered as Chris Brown could batter a helpless woman, if Chris Brown were a notorious woman batterer who decided he wanted to batter a helpless woman. That battered.
Food: tasty.
Place: upscale
Service: good.
If you are looking at PF Chang’s, Mai’s, and this … maybe give this a shot if you have tried the other two before.

I love Mo Mong, but mostly I love take-​out Mo Mong, because when I feel like eating super unhealthy Thai/​Chinese/​greasy-​noodle-​whatever-​it-​is, I want to do it in the privacy of my own home where people can’t see me turn into a food gobbling MSG junkie. So, I’ve only actually eaten in at Mo Mong’s once. But in our house, when someone says, «Hey… what about Mo Mong’s for dinner tonight?» our eyes get wide as saucers and we all breathe in unison, «Yeahhh… MO MONG’S!» In case that isn’t enough of a reason to try it, here are my over-​detailed thoughts:
Food: Excellent. The Volcano Chicken is a personal favorite. It is my biggest addiction, and my primary reason for returning to Mo Mong’s for takeout again and again and again. Also try the Basil Curry Beef, I have gotten into near death matches because one of my roommates ate my leftovers of this dish. (don’t worry, she bought me Volcano Chicken the next night and all was well) The food isn’t cheap but I do feel it’s priced fairly for the taste and portion quality/​quantity.
Drinks: Meh. Again, only dined in once so I’ve only had one opportunity. I believe it was a Tuesday and I had this blue/​green margarita that I didn’t even want to finish. And that’s saying something, because I am a food and drink disposal unit. It was disgustingly sweet and I couldn’t taste the alcohol, nor did I get a buzz. It was on special so it was cheap, so at least there’s that. I hear they have $ 3 cosmos on Wednesdays, I have been meaning to check that out. To those complaining about the gay scene on Wednesdays: you are in the Montrose area, there is a great drink special, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT. Use those noggins, people!
Location: It can be tricky to find. It’s tucked back in the corner of a little strip mall. No, it’s not the cleanest or most upscale area; yes, that is a smoke shop right next door. If you can’t slum a little, to get a lot in return, I just can’t help you.

I came here for my friend’s birthday. and he took me straight to the bar for a martini! From what I remember, it was strong as hell. The décor downstairs was trendy and the customers that evening were gay young men! They made it so much fun! Then, we were told our table was ready and we had to travel up those stairs to be seated. I thought I was going to fall on those steps for some reason. Anyways, the food in general wasn’t that great. A little bland but you can always splash some soy sauce or fish sauce on it. I probably won’t come back anytime soon but man. do get my recommendation.
Recommend:
Mango Rolls (2)…7.95
Lightly battered fried white meat chicken rolled in iceberg
lettuce, fresh mango; served with mango sauce.
That spring roll was off the chaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!