Popular Hunanese restaurant in Houston’s Dun Huang Plaza offers intriguing specialties such as steamed fish head.

9889 Bellaire Blvd c307, Houston, TX 77036
(713) 271-6666
Website

11AM–10:00PM Mon–Thurs;  11AM–10:30PM Fri–Sun

Spicy Hunan sits directly across from Lunch in Houston favorite Hunan Bistro in Dun Huang Plaza, the M.C. Escheresque dining complex by the intersection of Bellaire Boulevard and Sam Houston Tollway. Although locked in direct competition due to their proximity and overlapping menus, the two Hunanese restaurants both appear to be veterans of Chinatown’s intensely competitive restaurant scene.

Based on a rave review by some friends and kindred chowhounds, we recently headed to Spicy Hunan to dine on the other side of the plaza. With its clunky metal teapots, their handles wrapped in cord to prevent burning, and carved wooden furniture darkly stained and varnished to a mirror gloss, Spicy Hunan evoked for us a cosy teahouse far removed from the Houston Saturday grinding on just outside.

Steamed Fish Head in Pickled Chili Sauce (large, $25.95). As signaled by the sign out front prominently featuring a silvery fish head peering out beneath a pile of red chiles, this dish reigns supreme among the specialties at Spicy Hunan. New to fish heads as anything more than the base for soup stock, we were intrigued and took the opportunity to order what many seem to consider a favorite. Normally, Spicy Hunan offers the choice of two sizes of fish head, but on our visit, the kitchen was out of small ones at $18.95, so we threw our lunch budget to the wind and settled for a large.

Like the spectacle of sizzling fajitas with their power to silence a room full of chattering diners, our massive carp head elicited stares from the surrounding tables when two waitresses hefted it out on a sprawling platter. Smothered in pickled, medium-hot chiles, the triangular cut sat partly submerged in a pool of thin, tangy sauce, and was accompanied by a nest of linguine-like wheat noodles. Dissecting the head, which included interesting curly bones and skeletal plates, required patient intervention, but our efforts were rewarded with tender chunks of cheek and collar flesh. This item will appeal most to those who actually like “fishy” flavors; carp is not particularly mild, and the abundance of bone and skin in the head assures that the finished dish will have plenty of pungent fish oil. Depending on your personal taste, this could be either good or bad.

On textural appreciation: A much more complex piece of anatomy than a filet, a fish head provides many gelatinous bits for sophisticated aficionados to seek out and enjoy. It is customary to offer the eyes to honored or senior table guests. For other diners, eating this dish may be too akin to an exercise in dissection. Food writer Fuchsia Dunlop has noted: “One of the great barriers to outsiders’ appreciation of Chinese food is the Chinese love of textures that others consider revolting.” But it is worth remembering that just as not all Westerners are fond of stinky, runny cheese, not all Asian diners love these textures, as confirmed by comments from some of our fellow patrons. We can’t say we absolutely loved this dish. Mainly due to the price, we will probably not soon order it again, but we are glad to have had the chance to try it and to up our tolerance for textural variety.

Note: Since this dish requires 20 minutes for the kitchen to prepare, it may not be ideal for a workday lunch.

Beef Tendon in Spicy Garlic Sauce ($6.95). Variations of this cold appetizer of offal slices abound in Sichuan and Hunan restaurants throughout Houston. Spicy Hunan’s version tastes lighter and brighter than most, consisting of sliced tongue and tripe (despite the name). Crushed peanuts add dimension to the beef flavor, while finely-diced celery and lacy cilantro cut the richness of the meat and nuts. The thin-sliced tongue is reminiscent of pastrami and more tender than in other versions of this dish we have encountered. The flavor profile is dominated by five-spice seasoning with prominent cinnamon and clove, and a bit of tongue-numbing Sichuan peppercorn oil. Personally, we love this dish and tend to try it all over town, and we give Spicy Hunan’s top marks.

Mala Tofu with Minced Pork (AKA Mapo Tofu; $7.95). Found under the “Vegetables” section on the menu, this dish follows the general trend at this restaurant towards an acidic flavor profile, brightened by the spice of ginger and the bite of garlic. Like the plate of tendon, Spicy Hunan’s mapo tofu is a lighter version of the usual Sichuan versions of the dish; it’s not as oily, and there is not as much (if any) detectable Pixian douban, a thick paste made from fermented broad beans, chili pepper, wheat flour, and salt. In this version, there is also no dusting of ground Sichuan peppercorn. Embedded in the chili oil, however, the peppercorns introduce themselves to the palette with a lemony, floral flavor, suggestive of the perfume of magnolias, and leave behind a pleasing, non-corrosive level of numbing effect. This treatment of the sauce allows the high-quality proteins in this dish to shine: homemade-tasting tofu that, yes, has actual flavor, of fresh soybeans, and the minced pork with its pronounced savoriness.

We loved our meal at Spicy Hunan, which left us flabbergasted as to how two excellent Hunan restaurants can exist right across the street from each another in the midst of all of Dun Huang Plaza’s bounty. We can’t say which we prefer, so you had better try both for yourself. It’s also worth noting Spicy Hunan offers an extensive menu of cheap lunch specials on weekdays, including stir fried lamb with green onions, which ranks as a favorite among online reviewers.