X Kitchen

I was gonna grab some noodles next door. But I saw soft opening at X Kitchen. I decided to checkout this newcomer to Sterling Plaza. This suite used to be 2 restaurants. I'm glad X Kitchen took over. We need some unique eateries in Houston Chinatown. After sampling the Hunan cuisine, I realized why I like Sichuan cuisine. The hot sauce from Hunan restaurants is spicier afterwards. Flavors have characteristics of spiciness, sweet and savory. Because the restaurant was still soft opening, I'd rather not explain the menus until they officially open.

Thanks to Doc Ricky, we tried one of the more unique regional Chinese cuisines today for lunch. After their grand opening, the hours will be from 4 pm to 2 am.Every dish we tried has something extraordinary that we appreciate. The Braised Pig Ears is surprisingly addictive. We keep munching on the crunchy cartilage. The Black Classic Stinky Tofu is a deep-fried dense marinated Tofu, topped with chili and garlic. I was expecting a more pungent smell and flavor, but it's pleasantly palatable. Glad the Cavemen brothers are all on board to try it.The BBQ whole Squid was highly recommended, as he told me most Chinese order this. The Squid is grilled nicely, with a sauce that has cumin as the top note.Braised Noodle comes with silky and soft Udon-type rice noodle, stirred with Braise Sauce, Beef Slices, and Peanuts. The last dish is probably my top favorite even though all the dishes are exotic and tasty, it's Steamed Marinated Trotters. The spices infuse into the pig feet, creating complex flavors and I do like the texture of bone-in meat and rind.All-in-all, we enjoy the whole meal and wanted to come back to try their other dishes. It's so interesting that even though it's authentic HuNan Cuisine with a focus on the city of ChangSha, the dishes we tried are so different than the other HuNan restaurants in Chinatown. We recommend this spot for more adventurous diners, especially those who enjoy spiciness.

Quaint little Hunan style Chinese restaurant. I got the stinky tofu and it hit the spot. I really liked the beef skewers as well!! Some of the best in houston. The owner and his wife were friendly as well. I'll definitely be back to try out all the other dishes too. Highly recommend for some unique eats and authentic food

Server was friendly and kind. Beef noodle soup we ordered was a little spicy but has good flavours.

I gave a star for service, a star for cleanliness, and a freebie star since I went during their soft opening. Their food was extremely salty and the skewers were a bit dry. The mung bean noodles were too soft and finely cut so it was difficult to pick up. I also did not like the ambiance because it was quite dark inside. Finally, I did not like that they didn't provide physical menus. You can only get the menu by scanning a QR code on your phone. However, older generations are rarely as comfortable doing so, so physical menus should be an option.

Based on my experience, I will come back. I had the sizzling lamb and fried squid. The lamb chunks were tender and spicy. The waiter said it would be seller but it wasn't sweet at all. I'm ok with it but ya not sweet. It tastes like cumin lamb dishes you would have at fusion places. The vegetables were well cooked too but there were more vegetables in the squid dish, wish just means they give you a lot of lamb. The squid was perfectly cooked and I'm not a huge squid fan, but I found myself eating it a lot. The huge chunks of ginger and garlic were awesome. The waiter was very nice. She immediately showed us the popular dishes. The inside is nice and looks clean. I'll definitely be back.

Plenty of seats inside, service is fast, food came out really fast as well (that's when you know it's authentic Chinese food), and the owner even came to talk to us and asked for feedback. We felt comfortable and welcomed. It's located near 85 bakery and Mogee Tea. Food is great, flavor is on point and the portion size is impressive. We tried: Boiled fish in hot oil: a generous amount of fish, mixed with bean sprouts and cucumber, spice level is just right. Da pen cauliflower (big bowl of cauliflower with delicious juicy pork slices), portion size is more than satisfying! This is my favorite cauliflower dish out of many Chinese restaurants in H town. Beef skewers: meat is tender and juicy, well seasoned, definitely order Pickled peppers with beef: not our favorite, but it comes with a generous amount of beef and the meat is tender

This place has changed owner a few months ago. It used to serve Hunan style food. It is now serving Sichuan style food. We didn't realize it until we looked at the menu. We decided to stay and gave it a try. We were glad we did. All the dishes were super tasty but not overpowering spicy like many other sichuan restaurants. We particularly enjoyed the sweet and sour fish. It was not prepared in typical Americanized way with red sweet sauce. It reminded me what I used to had back home. The chef recommended their special chicken and intestines hot pot. That was amazing and more than enough for 6 of us. We will definitely frequent this place in the future.

The X Kitchen attracts me to have dinner on my own because many popular Chinese foods are displayed on the wall before I go in, such as small lobster, teppanyaki, stinky tofu, etc. The restaurant is easy to find and clean. I have ordered a total of four dishes. One main course is Bone Soup Rice Noodle, which costs $15.99. Some people like to eat the meat on the bone, while others like to suck the bone marrow, who care little about the amount of the meat. I believe Bone Soup Rice Noodle makes a balance between the amount of meat and the bone marrow. The soup is delicious and not greasy. The rice noodle is not the kind of noodle I like back in China, and I was not very satisfied with its mouthfeel. In addition, it has vegetables and eggs. If you want to find one dish that meets a balance in nutrition, it is good. One dish is sizzling BBQ squid, which cost $16.99. This is the most expensive one among the four dishes I have ordered, but I would like to say that it is really worth trying. Sizzling BBQ squid, when served, surprised me, because it looks so big, fresh, and tasty. It has been cut into several pieces, which are convenient for eating. The smell of the squid was good and delicious. The taste of squid is very good, because I feel the squid meat is very tight, of which the quality is high. It is highly recommended for those who like seafood, because it is not very greasy and rich in protein. I hope some sauces like lemon juice can be offered to enhance and diversify its taste. Another dish I ordered was three strings of sizzling BBQ Lamb, which cost $5.99. These three strings are placed on an ordinary plate, which makes the whole dish look less attractive. It does not stimulate my appetite immediately. I was thinking the three strings could be packed into an eco-friendly paper box, because the color and patterns of the paper box can make it more interesting. I believe the first sight of a dish a customer has never tried before is very important, because we often depend on our first impressions when judging things. This cognitive bias of the customers should be taken into account. I felt the three strings of lamb tasted poorly compared with those I ate somewhere else. The last dish I tried was traditional stinky tofu, which cost $12.99. I believe its Chinese name was very confusing for a Chinese customer, because it is called black classic in Chinese. We Chinese do not call stinky tofu black classic, but refer to its places of origin, like Shao Xing or Chang Shao. This dish is not as spicy as I wanted, but it may cater to the taste of many other people who cannot eat very spicy food. The ingredients placed on the stinky tofu are too many, but it is a tradition to put many ingredients in stinky tofu. It does not have a kind of smell that makes you want to eat instantly.

ordered their beef, lamb skewers, spike potatoes, stinky tofu and chicken with chili. I will definitely come back for the potatoes and skewers, it's has a great portion and taste compare to Gaos Kabob who's also known for their skewers. My friend loved the stinky tofu and chicken.