Homey Midtown Houston Vietnamese restaurant delivers some inexpensive, uncommon, and delicious specialties in an atmosphere free of pretension.

2602 Fannin St, Houston, TX 77002
(713) 652-0644
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10:30am–8pm Mon–Fri; 11am–8pm Sat–Sun

Visited on September 26, 2018

Kim Tai isn’t a conventionally pretty restaurant. It occupies a fairly dilapidated white house on an unattractive block of Fannin Street in Midtown Houston. The interior resembles a 1970s greasy spoon with furnishings from a strip mall Chinese restaurant and a few modern updates. Imitation wood paneling, prefab white latticework, “vintage” hanging carriage lanterns, old light-up beer signs, and pastel lime-green walls set the scene. But as you walk in and take a seat, you might feel a sense of release from a relentless 21st-century culture of branding and marketing. Kim Tai feels very much like a place for regulars. Arriving early for lunch on a Wednesday, we found a mostly empty restaurant but watched the tables fill with a diverse crowd as people arrived from work for their midday meal.

Bánh bột chiên (fried rice cake with egg, $4.95): This appetizer consists of fried slices of glutinous rice cake cooked into a loosely-scrambled omelette topped with green onions and preserved cabbage, and comes with a sweetened, soy-based dipping sauce. A textural wonderland, the rice cakes manage to be crispy, chewy, and pillowy all at once. With its gentle textures and flavors, this egg blanket makes an ideal comfort food. After a few bites, we knew we would be returning to Kim Tai for this special dish.

Mì vịt tiểm (stewed duck egg noodle soup, $7.95): A tender, roasted, “frenched” duck leg quarter garnished with scallions and cilantro sits in a dark, dank, slightly sweet, soy-based broth. Beneath the surface lurk needle thin egg noodles, a bit al dente, which trap the savory broth as you slurp them. Cooked leafy greens and stems add the final soulful touch. This dish is a celebration of “brown” flavors, and it is a rare restauranteur who will generously offer something like this for under eight dollars.

Cơm đậu hủ lúc lắc chay (rock and roll tofu with steamed rice, $6.95): This is a vegetarian version of bò lúc lắc (commonly known as “shaking beef”). In Kim Tai’s version crispy-fried tofu cubes are tossed in a garlicky, somewhat sweet brown sauce and served on a bed of lettuce with tomato slices next to a mound of steamed white rice. While the tofu was well-cooked and the sauce had a nice caramel flavor, we prefer the version of this same dish at Cali Sandwich in the same neighborhood for its inclusion of a variety of vegetables and whole garlic cloves in the stir-fry.

Beverages: We each ordered hot and iced Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk (both $2.50), and both were nicely strong, bitter, and sweet. The hot coffee was served in a homey brown mug.

Overall, we were charmed by Kim Tai. The restaurant offers a variety of uncommon specialties at bargain prices in an atmosphere utterly devoid of pretension. We plan to return and sample more items from the extensive menu, but will definitely order the bánh bột chiên every time.