Jiu Fu Cafe 明记

Yum! Absolutely delicious -- loved our meal here. I think this place specializes in congee but we weren't feeling adventurous and wanted to play it safe. We tried: salt toasted shrimp with pepper, hot and sour soup, fried green beans, and stir fried chive flower with squid, chicken, taro, and carrot (K01). Honestly, everything was stellar. I was already excited that they had different soup sizes (some places don't offer a small portion) but their small serving was actually pretty big. I still finished it because it was delicious. I truly enjoyed every dish. Friendly service. They have high chairs btw! They were very sweet to my 14-month-old and even gave her a chocolate gold coin (Daddy ate it, lol). No issue finding parking -- it's in a really large plaza (shared with a lot of businesses though).

Tried to dine here last weekend, but the place was crazy packed for lunch, so we decided to visit it last night right after work ended.I was expected to be Wow'd based on the headcounts last weekend and the raved reviews on Yelp, but felt disappointed or Meh by the dishes we sampled. Maybe we had selected the wrong items, so I'm open to trying it again in the far future. Service was alright, typical Chinatown style.- Teochew Shrimp Roll: I'm surprised by how people say this is authentic Teochew restaurant, yet this appetizer they brought out was so burnt compared to the poster picture they had on the wall. Not sure how they could still bring it to the table! The rolls were not packed at all -- I would not get it again.- Crispy Fried Noodle with Beef abd Gai Lan: standard dish, was okay but nothing out of this world.- Braised Intestine: should be more flavorful as "braise" dish, but the intestine pieces were clean, and portion was good.- Salt Toasted Spare Ribs: very strong beer aroma, lacking flavor. The part I liked most of this dish was the pan fried onion and pepper, that should say a lot...Overall, maybe I will come back in the far future to try their congee, seems like it was a popular item of the night.

Best darn food we have for a while! We were on a trip there for 3 nights, and we had dinner there for 2 of them! Best congee!

I've been wanting to try this place since a friend told me they had Chiu Chow style dishes and so glad i finally got to try! We enjoyed everything we ordered! My favorites were the soy braised tofu and the egg omelet with taro and peanuts, although honestly every dish was very enjoyable.The egg omelet is chewy, I think they mixed glutinous rice flour or tapioca starch in it, and the peanuts inside gave it a nice crunch. The texture reminded me of mochi,but savory and with egg. Also loved that the taro pieces were big enough to be tasted, so that you knew it was a taro dish. Delicious! The soy braised tofu was very flavorful and marinated thoroughly, so that the inside wasn't bland. The texture wasn't too hard, but firm enough that it won't fall apart. My 5 year old also loved this dish as well.My husband's favorite dish was the pan fried rice noodle. They literally put the flat rice noodle in a pan and cooked the bottom until it was crispy, then cut the round rice noodle pancake into 8ths, like a pizza, lol. The sauce with veggies and meat of choice was then poured over this rice noodle "pizza". Yum! My husband kept commenting "this is so good" throughout our entire meal.Some of the dishes did take a little longer to come out (like the pan fried rice noodles), but it's nice they stagger the dishes so that you can eat other dishes while you waited for the more time-consuming one (otherwise you may be consumed by hanger). I can't say how authentic the dishes are, since I've never actually had Chui Chow style food. However, father-in-law is Chui Chow so I will definitely be bringing him here next time he's in town! Also the restaurant is small, so call ahead for a reservation if you have a slightly larger party, say 6 or more. I also saw many people come in for pick up orders, so that's another option if you can't get a reservation. The entire restaurant was full while we dined in on a Friday evening.Jui Fu Cafe is a great addition to the Houston Chinese food scene, especially if you are wanting something some non sichuan or Hunan style Chinese food m. Yum! Will be back!

Super yum. We have our Italian friends in town and needed to stop at H mart for some fresh fish. I've been here before and wanted show them some authentic China town food. Everyone was happy with their meal.

I actually went by to eat dine in this past weekend and my experience was completely different from a few years ago. I'm not sure if management changed, menu changed, or the food quality is just a lot better as dine in. But anyway...This place is a gem. The variety of the menu and the quality of the food to price ratio is unbeatable. There's a reason why it's always packed for lunch on the weekends. It's a small-ish place, but the food is delicious.Personally, I'd recommend the seafood congee, the flat rice noodles, the oyster omelette, and the braised meat platter. The fried rice was not too bad either.It's one of those places I probably should keep a secret cause I don't want it to blow up and have to wait longer the next time I go.

This Yelp page is really confusing. 明记 took over Jiu Fu Cafe early 2022. They changed the entire menu to Chao Zhou aka Teo Chew or 潮州 cuisine. Prior to 2021, the restaurant had noodles. But the only noodles you can find is on the standard menu, nothing special. If you want to experience the Chao Zhou food, consider paying a little more. The restaurant's well-known dish is the rice porridge 粥 or congee. They only serve them in volumes. Solo diner has to order chicken congee, oyster clams pork congee or preserved egg with pork congee. Fancier congee is served in a huge pot. Definitely for family to consume. Looking at the photos on the wall. The second popular dish is the oyster pancake 潮式煎蚝饼, which is more savory from the Taiwanese version. It costs $13.98 and portion is big enough for 2-3 people as an appetizer; or 6-8 people to sample it. You'll find fresh oysters, egg and gummy or elastic texture, which is from the potato starch. The third picture shows Chiu Chou Style Sweet Potato Cake 潮州番薯饼 ($7.98). I dined solo and it was skipped during this visit. But it's a recommended dish. Another highlight in Teo Chew Cuisine is the marinaded sauce dishes or 潮州卤水 on the menu. I tried it once during my lunch takeout. Pork belly was too tough for me. Flavor of the sauce was good. I'd rather cook my own at home. I skipped typical drinks and went for a dessert 红糖冰粉 Brown Sugar Ice Jelly on the beverage menu. According to Wikipedia, the clear gelatin is actually made from plant, not collagen from animal bone for Jell-o. So, this is clearly for vegan diet. I hope this review would still give you a good reference for my upcoming UYE.

Great food and good service. The food came out quick! Located in a big plaza, we had no problem finding a parking spot. Got the Stir Fried Mixed Chine Flower dry squid, chicken taro and carrot 潮州小炒皇, marinated delights combination 卤水拼盘, and deep fried shrimp roll 潮州炸虾枣, the portion were big and the flavor did not disappoint. We devoured everything.The only ding I would give is for the marinated pig feet in the combination plate we got. It was a little bit too salty.

The food was great! I would recommend the sweet potato cakes and walnut shrimp. The restaurant is small so bigger groups may have trouble getting a table. I would also note that people tended to smoke outside near the restaurant and you could smell it every time the door was opened if you sat near the entrance

Authentic Cantonese restaurant Extremely satisfied with their mixed seafood congee Seafood were very fresh and tasty Bbq plater is even a plus with the congee Highly recommend