Star Chef Dumpling House

Just ok dumplings in the tunnels.
I am a longtime fan of Doozo, but I thought I’d give Star Chef a shot for the sake of trying something different. Besides, there’s always a line! That must mean they’re doing something right!
The dumplings that Star Chef offers are pretty fresh. The wrapping is somewhat shiny and slick, which makes me think the dough is factory made/​prebought (as opposed to Doozo’s more rustic floury outer jacket). The innards were warm and fresh, but really missing anything to distinguish themselves. I had 6 chicken and 6 pork, and aside from the texture, I genuinely couldn’t tell them apart. This wouldn’t be so bad if the sauce were a wallop of flavor, but the chili ginger soy sauce lacked any flavor of chili, ginger or soy.
Not much better with the hot and sour soup. I was impressed with the portion for the price ($ 2.50 gets you an awful lot of soup), but I was unimpressed with the lack of any sourness or spiciness.
I may go back to try the freshly pan-​fried dumplings, but I’m not sure I see a reason to with Doozo being equidistant from my office.

This is one of my favorite Lunch place. Pork Chop rice, Fried Chicken rice and Meatball rice are my favorite. If you like noodles, you can choose from beef noodle, mustard green noodle, and seafood noodle. (Make sure you ask them don’t put the seafood in the noodle, it will make the tempura soft and not crispy). You can also choose their dumpling, which are also fine.

Need to post hours. Doesn’t help when I walk almost 30 minutes to find a closed restaurant. Wish I could have tried it.

It pains my heart to say this, but I found a LIVE ROACH in my food today. He jumped off of my dumpling after I dipped it in my soy sauce.
The reason I’m giving this place three instead of one is because the food, sans the bug, is really really good. The best outside of Bellaire. And the service is always really good.
I hope they take care of this problem. And SOON!

Let’s preface this by saying that I also like what Doozo’s doing with their steamed, meaty and thick dumplings. In fact, if this were 6 months ago, I probably would have left a review consisting of much fewer stars for this place. My opinion changed, though, when I realized how amazing the pan-​fried dumplings were here when fresh. At first, I tried to time my lunches so that they’d be in sync with a fresh batch that hadn’t been on the steam table too long. Then I realized that you could simply ask that they heat it up on the pan. Is that great customer service or what?! Crispy pan-​fried dumplings with spicy ginger soy + chili oil = probably one of the best meals in the tunnels!

Star Chef is one of my favorite places to grab a quick lunch in the tunnels. They serve authentic Chinese food at a great price. (When you see lots of asians eat there it must be good)
Located on the end of the food court across from Rajin Cajun, you will see that there is usually a line during prime lunch hour. Don’t worry, it moves quickly and is worth the small wait.
For $ 5.99, I usually order 12 steamed chicken dumplings. Dumplings here are homemade which is a plus. If that’s not enough food, you can also order a side of vegetables or a soup for $ 2.75. Their egg drop soup is also a good choice. They serve a variety of dumplings both steamed and pan fried, and also rice plates with meat. I highly recommend Star Chef!

This place is not easy to find if you’ve been to Houston many times but never explored the downtown area just like me. It is located in the lower level of the ground and can be entered through tunnel entrance. The dumplings are pretty good. The owners were flexible enough to let me ‘create’ my own bowl of dumplings with beef soup! Good for a yummy and quick lunch.

I was pleasantly surprised at the good quality dumplings that I found in the tunnels of downtown Houston.
I got steamed dumplings: 6 chicken, 6 veggie. I thought that they were very tasty, particularly with the spicy ginger sauce. I especially enjoyed the veggie dumplings, which were much more substantial in my opinion than other veggie dumplings I’ve had downtown.
My friends got some other things, that I also tried. The side of steamed veggies was kind of blah, but let’s be honest. It’s steamed veggies. How can it not be blah? And another got the steamed pork dumplings, so I tried one. That was equally tasty as well, but I still preferred the chicken and veggie.

I came here for lunch and had the pork fried dumplings and wonton soup. The dumplings were alright and the wonton soup was pretty bland. Not sure what kind of meat they used for the wontons. Definitely not something I’m familiar with.
I’ve tried all three dumpling places in the tunnels. My favorite would be Dozoo, Baoz, and Star Chef. I was hoping for the dumplings here to win me over but it’s actually my last choice. Maybe I’ll give it a try sometime and try their beef noodle soup. Maybe it was an «off» day for Star Chef.

Was pretty good !
Food was delish!
People were welcoming !
Will be back soon !
Keep up the good work.

Yuck, don’t get the veggie dumplings! This place is much closer to my office than Doozo, but I’ll never stray again. They were mostly cabbage, and tasted old instead of fresh. Still trying to get the odd taste out if my mouth. Sauce was only thing that made them edible. Maybe their other offerings are decent (line was long) but never again for me.

On the recommendation of a friend I stopped by for lunch on ⁶⁄₁₆. I had the pork and the vegetable steamed dumplings. The pork dumplings were pretty good, maybe not the best I’ve ever had, but still a solid choice. The vegetable dumplings were great, certainly the best I’ve had downtown. The texture is of shredded vegetables instead of finely minced together and they were quite savory. For drinks I only saw some cans and bottles, so no fountain drinks. I’d definitely stop for dumplings here again.

The girl who took my order was VERY friendly, and the food came quickly!
It’s seriously really good!!! I got the pan fries pork dumplings, & they were incredible. I was tempted to get some soup after sitting down, but they were closing & I didn’t wNt to bother them.
They even allowed me to use their Wifi code as well.
Next time I’m in Houston, I’m heading down here. It’s REALLY yummy!!!

I eat here about once a week. I really like it and the service is always friendly. I usually get the mixed dumplings and a small hot and sour soup for around ten buck. The side of boc chow is great as well with little mushrooms on top. The hot and sour soup is the best I have had, it is loaded with ingredients. The pan fried pork dumplings are soo good but I usually go with half steamed to clean it up a little. If you come at noon expect a line of 10 – 12 people at least.

I think this might be my second time ever, to be down in The Tunnels. But it was a one or two minutes walk from where I was, so I thought, sure, why not?
The boyfriend informed me that Star Chef makes their own dumplings, which is always promising, because I can chow down on pre-​made frozen dumplings at home, yanno what I mean? It was $ 5.50 for twelve vegetable dumplings, boiled I believe? Maybe they were steamed? Anyway, they were pretty competent — bumped up to «pretty good» with the spicy ginger soy dipping sauce.
The boyfriend ordered the chicken steak on a whim and was none too impressed. He had perhaps been expecting something other than a hammered out tough slab of fried chicken. It’s all right, because twelve non-​wimpy dumplings was adequate for sharing, which in fact is caring, in case you didn’t know.
I’m not sure that I would return here because the food and service weren’t remarkable, but if you like dumplings and you’re nearby, might as well stop by!

I usually get the beef noodle soup but decided to try their dumplings. I popped over around 11am when they just finished setting up for the day and everything was so fresh looking. I ordered the 10 pcs DEEP FRIED Pork dumplings for $ 5.50. Yes, deep fried. I usually go to Baoz or Doozo for dumplings but decided to finally try out the dumplings at Star Chef. Now I used to not be excited to try them out cause I would see the steamed dumplings sitting out in the trays but I should not let that deter me.
Anyways, the girl took my order always is so nice. Within less than a minute or two, my deep fried dumplings came out. They had a variety of sauces but I asked for Ginger Soy Sauce.
When I opened my box at my desk, oh my, those deep fried morsels had a great aroma and I happily dunked away in the ginger soy sauce and munched on them. Mmmm, deep fried goodness!
Will I be back? Yes! This time I will try the other dumplings as they had beef, chicken, and veggie ones. I cannot wait!

I’m literally here at least once a week and get the mixed plate of dumplings. They’re cheap, quick, friendly, and very tasty.
I love the cilanttro in the pan fried pork dumplings, it adds a little «quirk» to the dumplings which I find flattering.
I’m not too big on the pan fried veggie dumplings (just not my thing), but I definitely enjoy them. Usually I just tell the girl making my plate to add more of something else.
I personally enjoy their soups. A mixed plate & a bowl of soup is a VERY filling lunch; I like their beef soup the best. You can easily eat for under $ 10.
If you go between 11:30−1, seating can be hard to find since EVERYONE in the surrounding area is on lunch break & eating at the same time. I get mine to go.
HIGHLY suggest it!

You know it’s a relatively decent Chinese place when the people lining up to order are all Asian. This place which I’m told was started by the same people who run Sandong in Chinatown does not disappoint.
The beef noodle soup is not quite like Sandong’s but it’s still savory and tasty. The soup base is a bit on the salty side but the meat is tender and easy to eat. For around $ 6 you get a very large order of noodle soup that is sure to fill you up for lunch.
The dumplings are all right but they tend to be sitting out in the open which = cold. Service is quick and friendly and there are plenty of seats available in that part of the tunnels.
Hands down the best Chinese place in downtown. If you’re looking for a filling bowl of noodles, look no further than Star Chef.

Star Chef Dumpling House is located in the tunnels across from Ragin’ Cajun. It is in a food court, and fulfills my downtown lunch requirements of being quick and having ample seating. The prices here are pretty good, but let’s talk food.
Growing up in a Taiwanese-​American family, I definitely know my Chinese/​Taiwanese foods. Thus, I tend to always be skeptical of any restaurant in this cuisine. However, my fellow Unilocalers gave this place pretty good reviews, so I excitedly brought one of my friends to go try this place. Gotta trust other Unilocalers right?! Okay, seriously… I MUST be missing something. (Update) The previous owner informed me that they recently sold the place and had hoped that the quality would not haved dropped. They own San Dong out on Bellaire (near Beltway), which we already know is one of the best places in all of Chinatown! (End Update)
Pork is the traditionally the standard when eating dumplings, so I got a mixed combo of steamed pork dumplings and fried pork dumplings. I also got a container of soy sauce and hot chili sauce (they also offer sweet n sour sauce, but… that… no, just no). Another reviewer here recommended the Wonton Soup, so I got a small bowl of that for $ 2.50.
My first warning should have been that all the dumplings were just sunbathing under the heat lamps. Considering that I took a late lunch (circa 1 p.m.), I may not have gotten a fair assessment of their food. Seriously though, the skin was dry and thick on the steamed dumplings and the meat filling was a bit odd-​tasting. Oh wait, where was the juice? Good dumplings always have juice oozing out upon your first bite! The juice was nowhere to be found. The fried dumplings… where to start? The universe pulled a fast one on me today because I had no idea that something could be so oily, tasteless and dry all at the same time! No amount of soy sauce and hot chili could have saved those dumplings. Oh, by the way, the soy sauce is really just that. Unlike Doozo’s, they do not mix in vinegar or sesame oil. I love Wonton soup, but I can say that the Wonton’s here are not very good.
I love dumplings! I have family friends in the Chinese food industry, and I really do care about these establishments. I wish I could show the world the beauty that is Chinese/​Taiwanese food, but there is seriously too many of these places that serve it half-​heartedly just because people in downtown don’t know any better and just eat it up. I want to love this place, but I have to say that I really hope they get their act together because I currently do not recommend it. If you want steamed dumplings, go to Doozo’s a couple blocks down in the Houston center. If you want fried dumplings, go to Chinatown (not really an option for weekday lunch right?) or go to an Asian market, buy some Wei-​Chuan dumplings, and pan-​fry them yourself!
TIP — Get two containers of soy sauce for those of you that use it generously.
TL;DR — I’m very picky when it comes to Chinese/​Taiwanese food. I recommend going to Doozo’s if you want decent dumplings.

If I had to pick by dumplings alone, I would pick Doozo, Star Chef, then Baoz. (Baoz last because of the value.) Here at Star Chef (like Doozo), I get 12 very large dumplings for about $ 5.50. Only reason Doozo gets a higher rating is because I can get chicken and veggie at Doozo (I don’t eat pork dumplings). While at Star Chef, they use CILANTRO in their chicken dumplings. Thus, I can only get veggie, but the filling kind of reminds me of an egg roll. The sauce here is the worst of the three– not much flavor, tastes like straight-​up soy sauce.
By service, Baoz wins. Star Chef, and then Doozo. Both the people that run Baoz and Star Chef are extremely friendly, but Baoz man chit chats with you. Star Chef is one of those really polite Asian ladies who bows every time you pay. Doozo lady is just really unpleasant.