Campus Restaurant Roundup, Summer 2008

Mings Cafe

Chef/owner Fai Jow has opened a branch of Houston’s Ming’s Cafe on Guadalupe, with a shaded, Zen-like patio out front if you want to brave the heat and traffic noise. Inside, you’ll order at the counter, with staff delivering your order to the tables (the tip bucket is right next to the register when you pay). The music level is perfect, the staff friendly, and the central column has a couple of chalkboards with daily specials posted (always worth checking out). Monday nights between 8 and 10pm, the Ming­tones play to a full house: fun, upbeat, jazzy reinterpretations of what could be Disney tunes (although Walt would spin in his grave if he heard them).

We like the egg-drop soup ($1.69/2.49): rich and silky smooth egg flower and not too thick. The hot-and-sour soup ($1.99/2.99) is nice: a rich pork stock that’s properly balanced with vinegar and chile. We like the pan-fried chicken dumplings ($3.49 for four), made from wonton wrappers with a plump filling of ground chicken and a zesty, assertive soy-ginger dipping sauce (which is also great on rice).

The pepper steak ($5.99, as a lunch portion) was okay, but the beef could have been a bit more tender, and we found little evidence of menu-promised black beans in the brown sauce. It came with a portion of sweet-and-sour chicken – the chicken was lightly coated with batter but overcooked, while the sauce was refreshingly tart and not cloyingly thick as it so often is.

Szechuan shredded pork ($6.99) was requested as spicy as they could make it, which wasn’t very spicy. Generous additions of their chile paste condiment saved the dish. The chicken with garlic sauce ($6.99) was fine, although not assertively garlicky. Mings may not be the best Chinese food in town, but it’s right across the street from campus, service is quick, and the prices are right.

This article appears in June 6 • 2008.