Tay Do Restaurant

Every time I found myself in Bellaire, it was only a question of when I’d be encountering Tay Do. It was a mainstay in Houston’s Chinatown for so many years, specializing in Southern Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine. Now, it seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur but fear not fans, it is still survived by its sister location on HW 6 (
).
The restaurant itself was like many places in Texas — spacious. Not a lot of places can just afford a water yard of koi and gold fish, let alone a large banquet space on the inside. It seems the last few times I was here, the place was completely empty. I guess I’m not surprised they’ve boarded up for good.
After a few visits, I learned the staff didn’t really speak much Vietnamese or even Cantonese/​Mandarin. They were all conversing in Chaujinese (Chaozhouhua /​Tieng Trieu Chau) or commonly known as Teochew. A little trippy for those of us who don’t hear it often, even more trippy that they were unable to communicate in virtually anything else. Still very fascinating stuff nonetheless.
I’ll miss the tasty bo luc lac (Viet beef cubes) and their endless selection of seafood dibs. I know folks were very high on their muc rang muoi (salt and pepper squid), but I much preferred the ca kho to (braised claypot fish). The ech xao cari (curried frog legs) were solid and I think any of the bowls of hu tieu constituted for a good solo meal. The rest of everything else (especially the more «Chinese» dishes) was a little on the bland /​overly salty side, but it wasn’t enough to keep us from coming back and trying something new.
But it appears I won’t get that chance. I’ll be heading to the other side of town for their other location and am hoping this spot turns into something that will revitalize the block.

I was visiting a friend in Houston and this is one of the places she took me. The fried calamari w/​salt & pepper was excellent. It was lightly crunchy and the squid was nice and soft. I can’t remember all the dishes we ate since it had been a few weeks since then. I would definitely go back whenever I am in town.

CLOSED!
so sad cuz this was my go-​to spot for muc rang muoi! rumor has it the owner gambled away the money and the restaurant had to close. but the hwy 6 location is still around!

Very good vietnamese foods and the price are just right. They serves fresh vegetables. More importantly, I can really taste the authentic seasoning of each individual foods and that’s make a huge different.
If I have to choose Tay Do or Kim Son? A no brainer for me… Tay Do all the way!

Food is good here but it hasn’t been consistant for me. There are times when it is good and there are times it is ok. It does hold large parties with no reservations.

Salt and pepper shrimp was just tossed in flour and salt and fried, disgusting. The catfish was nasty and didn’t taste fresh at all. It’s probably been dead for a few days and last night they just decided to cook it for us. The beef salad was not too bad, but the best thing there were the shrimp chips that came with it. Oh and I can’t forget about our unenthusiastic waitress, she needs to eat rainbows and poop butterflies before coming to work because I just wanted to slap her dead face and wake her zombie azz up.

It’s OKAY…
I’ve never been one to return to an «okay» place so I won’t be coming back. Here’s what to and what not to order and why:
Salt and Pepper Shrimp (Tom Rang Muoi): no batter, very chewy and tough, EXTREMELY SALTY. I’ve had this ten times better elsewhere. Hell, as a novice cook, I could make this better. Way overcooked.
Simmering Catfish (Ca Kho To): It wasn’t served hot enough, so the fish fat was a thick gel layer. Took away from the appeal and the flavor. Chunks of fish fat (which I know is healthy, but jelly fat just doesn’t look good or taste good in bulk). There was very little liquid sauce to pour over the fish. The fish itself was cooked well and flaked nicely.
Lemon/​lime Beef appetizer: YES! It’s good! Squeeze the lemon juice on it, and you’re good to go. The beef was chewy but the flavor was there. Heavy on the nuoc mam (fish sauce) side but still one of the better ones I’ve had.
Rice: good.

An amazing shrimp walnut… yum.
So this place seems to be on the rotation for my family. They like the food but it is a little pricey for Chinatown. I personally think the food is ample affordable but you know us Asians can be on the critical side sometimes.
I love the shrimp egg rolls. The sweet and sour sauce that comes with it is really great too.
This is a family run business. Looks like dad and daughters dedicate their time here. Al thought you get great service the place never seems to be packed. Not sure other then the price being the reason.
Check it out. Its pretty good!

The food was good. We got butter-​fried soft shell crab, fried duck with taro, bánh hi with grilled pork, and satay beef. More on the food and service here:
The only minor complaint is we paid with credit card and the tips were slightly raised without our knowledge, but everything got resolved. It might just have been a careless mistake, of course.

Tay Do is pretty well known in this area because of the quick food delivery time and ability to hold numerous large families. I can’t count how many times my family and I have come here on a Sunday afternoon.
All the food and veggies are extremely fresh… well except for the frog legs I ordered a couple of months ago. A little gamy for me but nothing a little bit of Tsing Tao can’t wash down. Numerous Vietnamese dishes available and also loaded with items like Sweet & Sour Pork for the non-​adventurous types.
Personally I’ve never had anything here I didn’t like but nothing that really forced me to give it that last star. If you have a large family then I would suggest stopping by on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. You’ll have fun and won’t go over-​budget.

This is my family’s favorite place for Vietnamese food. The most popular dish is their Vietnamese duck (in sweet soy sauce) which occasionally runs out on weeknights if you don’t «reserve» one ahead of time. We go often enough and order enough of the same dishes that the owner remembers what we want. Just don’t forget to order the duck.

When I lived in Houston Taydo was just down the street from my apartment. It was my lunch destination of choice at least twice a week. They offer an excellent affordable lunch menu with many Chinese and Vietnamese choices. It has the normal Chinese dishes like Sesame Chicken and Sweet and Sour chicken, but there are also some more unique dishes containing lemongrass and ginger. The Phở dishes and vermicelli dishes are all excellent and they have excellent spring rolls. The list of Phở and soups is extensive, more extensive than most noodle houses actually. It is an affordable destination for both lunch and dinner, but I would recommend going for lunch. It has a very large dining room so seating is not a problem and the service is always exceptional.

Hmm not sure why this place got such bad reviews — I’ve been going to this place for years — I always drool thinking about great Vietnamese Chinese restaurants (one day I’ll make it down to San Jose for some…). My favorite dishes here are easily the Summer Delight (seafood salad with shrimp chips — I’m a shrimp chip addict — Shrimp Chips Anonymous), fried shrimp eggrolls, fried soft shell crab, claypots, and duck stuffed with taro. The only negative thing I can think about the restaurant besides it’s not 5-​star clean is that my poor niece walked into the restaurant and couldn’t stop crying — as soon as she left she was fine — one step back in and BAM goes the crying. Quite weird — I think she was only 4 months old at the time.

I used to eat here everytime I visited Houston as a kid. I just recently ate there with some friends and it was great. We ordered pan fried noodles, bo luc lac (diced steak in salad and onions that’s marinated in some way i don’t know how to describe except DELICIOUS), and ca kho to (fish simmered in caramel sauce). Everything was great and in plentiful amount to share except the bo luc lac. The restaurant is commonly used for weddings so it’s huge and decorated very nicely.
On the bad side, the restaurant does not give free refills, or «freefills» as i like to call it lol. The restaurant was completely empty besides us. The wait staff was decent. I was expecting to order my food in Vietnamese but a hispanic man came out to take or order and it made it quite confusing when we tried to order. We had to whip out the menus again, find the dish, and give him the number rather than the name of the order.
Overall awesome food, decent service, stingy on the «freefills». But that’s ok because we ran across the street to Lee’s Sandwiches which has the BEST café sua da, and would be the first fast food vietnamese franchise that i know of in america.

My family used to come here more often, but it’s definitely been at least four months since the last visit. This place serves average Vietnamese dishes. We weren’t wowed by any of the dishes we ordered, but there weren’t many complaints either. I think mostly, they were all on the salty side, and the Vietnamese-​style calamari was a bit tough: I think they overcooked it or something. (Super sad for me since I was really looking forward to this dish in particular.) The prices weren’t super great; I think each dish ended up around the $ 10 – 11 mark, though the specialty dishes were definitely more than that. Must admit though — their Vietnamese hot and sour fish soup was pretty darn good. It definitely hit the spot for me.
I don’t think that I’d go out of my way to come here, but I wouldn’t protest too much if someone suggested it. (Esp. since it’s so close to Teahouse for me to get my boba fix.)

Met up with a couple of friends last night at Tay Do. The restaurant has been around for awhile and I had eaten there years ago so it sounded alright. Showed up around 7:45 and the restaurant was pretty empty. Ladies and gentlemen … not a great sign.
We ordered a few things to split between the three of us, but none of them were all that tasty. The lemongrass beef was flavored nicely, but the meat itself was very chewy. Like spit it into your napkin or choke to death chewy. I did have fun making my own «springrolls» though. The salty crispy squid was salty and crispy on the outside, but the squid itself was tough. Definitely not the best I’ve ever had. And the last dish was the real loser of the night. Pan-​fried noodles with chicken, shrimp and squid. This dish was just lacking in flavor.
Our waitress was very nice, but that just doesn’t make up for mediocre food. If you do decide to go I would recommend trying the phở or a vermicelli dish. Those are the two things I had tried years ago and I remember them being okay.
All in all … you can get better, cheaper food right up the road.
(And I have no idea why this is in the doctor’s category — it was like that before I posted the review. The address is correct for the restaurant)