Chinese - The Ambassador Chinese Restaurant - A Time Warp on Richmond Avenue

Let me tell you about my own personal favorite hangout. 

The Ambassador Chinese Restaurant is located on Richmond just next to the Rajun Cajun. 

There is no question that there are better Chinese restaurants in town. No argument here. But sometimes, it isn’t just about the food. And I promise you, for an all around fun experience you can't beat Ambassador. Giant shrimp eggrolls photo with dollar bill for comparison.

(Because sometimes, one just craves a simple but perfectly executed chicken chow mein with lots of vegetables!)

It is like taking a time machine back to the 50's. You walk in, and you'll hear Frank Sinatra playing through the stereo system. The waitresses are adorable. They have been serving customers there for years, and if you say something that gets them to give a nervous laugh, they will cover their mouth with their hands. It’s kind of like trying to get the guards at Buckingham Palace to crack a smile. But in a good way. They are real sweet-hearts. On some nights you might see a group of WWII veterans hanging out at their own table. Or ladies from the River Oaks crowd. Or hipsters. And old white guys like me.

The food is Cantonese and it is the Cantonese that used to be all that you could find in Houston when I was growing up in the 50's. 

The egg foo yung is crazy. When it comes out you will swear they brought you a giant chicken fried steak. 

The egg rolls are super sized, probably the biggest ones in town. 

The hot and sour soup is just perfect with the right amount of rice wine vinegar to white pepper. 

And yes, there's even a great typo on the menu (Human beef instead of Hunan beef). 

If you have an opportunity to talk to the owner, she is an absolute delight and will share wonderful stories about the Ambassador over the years. 

Yep, for me, it's the Ambassador. I recommend staying with the tried and true Cantonese dishes: sweet and sour pork, egg rolls, egg foo yung, a chicken with vegetables stir fry and on the side a big bowl of egg drop soup or (not Cantonese) hot and sour.


Ambassador Chinese Website


Some photos for you:

The giant, shrimp eggrolls.

Vietwich Banh Mi - A John Nechman Discovery

 

John Writes: "I was in the Missouri City area tracking down a new place to eat (go figure), when I saw a FB message from one of my favorite people in the world, raving about a bánh mì spot in Stafford called Vietwich. She described it as the best she has ever had and so good that they regularly run out. Pretty much all I needed to read to make the detour to Stafford.

Vietwich (https://vietwich.co/menu) is on the corner of a small strip shopping center at 203 Dulles near 90, and the menu features several sandwich versions that can be customized to your liking. I ordered a couple of "Mom's egg rolls," a cà phê xưa da, and a meatball (xiu mai) bánh mì with added homemade kimchi and pâté and a soft-fried egg.

In the case of my lunch today, this comes as much from the tastebuds as from the heart:

"This is among the very best bánh mì in Houston, made with obvious care that you taste in every bite--the sweet little chunks of onion and jicama that permate the xiu mai. The delicate, still-crisp slivers of carrot, cukes, and daikon that adorn the meats. The bread that is perfectly crispy on the outside and pillowy soft within. The homemade, almost buttery mayo. The added zest of lemongrass. Everything comes together perfectly in this sandwich, and I can't wait to return to try more."

The owner, Viet, started hawking sandwiches out of a gas station (there are pictures on the wall of the original Vietwich), and the place became so popular that he opened this stand-alone store. Try one of these beauts, and you're going to be like me, praying that he can duplicate these sandwiches all around this mighty metropolis of ours.

They really are that good."

Cheap Eats Houston - The Giant Shrimp Egg Rolls at Ambassador Chinese Restaurant on Richmond

I've posted elsewhere on the Ambassador. But I wanted to also do a shout out under my Cheap Eats category as two of these enormous egg rolls are a meal. About five dollars plus tax and tip. There's sweet sauce and Chinese mustard on the table for them.