Heights Thai/Lao restaurant and grocer offers popular Thai curries alongside rarer dishes like yentafo.

A year into our Houston residence, we have come to feel almost as spoiled for Thai and Lao food as we do for Vietnamese and Chinese. Two of our favorite spots, Banh Somtum and Street Food Thai Market, have garnered reviews on this blog, and Aim Thai has similarly bowled us over for its fine execution of the classics and inclusion of lesser known dishes. Perhaps, we were incredulous that yet another excellent Thai/Lao restaurant could be in our midst. For months, we kept driving past Asia Market en route to feed our fancy donut vice at Morningstar. But after hearing and reading enough positive remarks about this place, we tested it out on the eve of an extended trip out of town—ill-advised, perhaps, given how poorly air travel mixes with raging levels of chili heat.

Much like the nearby Street Food Thai Market, Asia Market is a restaurant with about ten tables occupying the front of a small Thai/Lao grocery store. Instantly, we noticed many new-to-us items on the menu. We ordered a “pink noodle soup” called yentafo and some green curry to see how the restaurant handled a dish more familiar to us Westerners.

Yentafo (pink noodle soup with chicken, $7.99). This soup of soybean paste with vegetables and a choice of protein intrigued us too much not to order it. Like many Thai restaurants, Asia Market offers a scale of chili heat, ranging from “Mild” to “Thai hot” and maxing out at “Raging Volcano.” This approach confuses us a bit. Aren’t some dishes supposed to be very spicy while others would be inappropriate to dump extra chiles into on a whim? The menus offer no guidance, and understandably, waitstaff are more interested in the customer’s happiness than assuring the dish is prepared as it would be in Thailand or Laos. That said, we ordered this one “hot,” and the waiter reported back that the kitchen staff said that anything less spicy would be a shame for this dish. The shockingly pink hue of yentafo comes from a fermented bean paste, which adds a teasing funk to this spicy, salty, soothing bowl of satisfaction. The toothsome and slippery noodles make a winning textural combination with the crunchy nest of cabbage included. We lack the experience to judge Asia Market’s yentafo against other versions, but we enjoyed it more than a bit and loved the Barbie-pink color.

Green Curry with Tofu ($7.99). We ordered our curry “Thai hot” and indeed it was. Seriously, take some care because unlike many other places, Asia Market does not compromise with their upper spice levels. More important, we rank their green curry as one of the best, most richly flavored versions of this popular dish that we have tried in any restaurant. Like most dishes here, you choose your protein, and we found the tofu to be a good choice. The springy cubes of fried bean curd act like flavor sponges, absorbing the creamy curry and delivering its complex seasoning with each bite. Did we mention that it was very spicy?

Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango ($6.99). One of our all-time favorite desserts, Asia Market’s sticky rice and mango delivers the goods, especially in quantity. To our taste buds, nothing compares to the sugar-and-acid flavor of ripe mango partnered with sweet, gelatinous rice and leche de coco. Served in a loose, soupy style with rich coconut milk, Asia Market’s portion of sticky rice exceeds all expectation. The grains were al dente but stayed within the “matter of taste” range rather than flat-out “undercooked.” The dish also included a nice nutty flavor from a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds. Offered seasonally, this dessert may not be available on your visit.

Thai Iced Tea with Lime ($3.00). Another new one for us, Asia Market offers the choice of cream or sweetened lime juice layered with your iced tea. This tart, citrusy spin on a Thai restaurant classic is lighter and mightily refreshing when paired with the restaurant’s creamy and fiery offerings.

We like this friendly, unpretentious place a lot. Trying yentafo for the first time is not something we will forget, and we anticipate more deep dives into the menu. Asia Market is conveniently located for central Houstonians, its prices are very reasonable, and most important, the food is well-prepared and delicious. Plus, you can pick up a few groceries on the way out the door.