Mak Chin’s

closed

Drove by last night and there was a sign on the door that says «closed for remodeling».

I took a girlfriend to lunch here for her birthday. To our surprise the food was outstanding. Some co-​workers of ours had eaten here and suggested we give it a try. My girlfriend had the Mango Chicken and I had the Crispy Duck Lettuce Wraps. Both were excellent choices! We will definitely be coming back to this place to sample a few more of their dishes.

I love the luxury of free wifi while catching a bite to eat/​drink during happy hour. Mak Chin’s offers this combination with easy electric outlet accessibility. We had the clay pot mussels, ribs, chicken wings and calamari. Everything tasted great and the service was excellent. We also tried the Singapore sling and lychee martini, which both were also wonderful. In the meantime, I caught up on all my emails while checking on election updates on the net. There was also the option to sit on the patio (with electric outlets) as well. I will definitely come back!

Went here a few nights ago to take the parents to somewhere «cool» inside the loop. Sure enough, the décor was chic & modern just as I remembered, but nobody in there was under 50! What is up with that? Also, last time I visited, I was the only one at the bar for almost the entire time I ate dinner.
The food is good, though. Try the calamari to start with — they come nestled among jalapenos & onion in a snazzy Chinese take-​out container. The crab & cheese wontons are also excellent. Dumplings are a must-​try, but the seared tuna slaw has way too much dressing to make ordering a salad as an entrée actually worth it (liked the tuna on top, though). Singapore noodles and citrus walnut prawns are both solid dishes.
Bottom line: if you’re planning on going here, bring your own party! The food is creative & well priced relative to similarly-​themed restaurants in Houston, and the atmosphere’s nice. Invite about 20 people to your party to liven the place up and you’re in business.

I was expecting this place to be all hype but I was pleasantly surprised!
It’s not authentic but the food is really tasty… I always think ethnic knockoffs should just be treated as a different cuisine instead of criticized for their divergence.
ANYWAY…
Highlights:
— Singapore Curried Noodles
— Thai Basil Eggplant
— Salt & Pepper Calamari
— Beef Rendang
The Beef Rendang is my favorite. The Food in Houston blog (
) describes it this way:
«This is an Indonesian style curry made into a paste-​like sauce that contains no coconut milk. The earthy spices in this dish were very interesting, very non-​Western. The curry and beef were served over an excellent coconut sticky rice, which had the perfect sticky texture.»
This is a great place to go with a group of adventurous friends so that you can order a bunch of different dishes and sample the variety of flavors and textures. The happy hour prices are really cheap but it’s not a full menu so take your pick.
The drinks aren’t too memorable except that they don’t skimp on the alcohol.

The first time I went to Mak Chins it was with a group of people and I thought it was a good place. I like the three different kinds of spicy sauces and mixes they bring out. Plus they have wifi and a lounge area. Happy Hour is probably your best bet here. Since the items are cheap and you can choose different plates.
Well today was the second time I have gone to Mak Chins and I am so grossed out. I ordered the Curry Tofu and hot and sour soup. $ 16 dollar lunch because you cannot order off the lunch menu if its a to-​go order. The Curry was completely F L A V O R L E S S. So all I have to say is that I am giving this place 2 stars because the serious inconsistency in food I have experienced.

The SSTNHFTDC crew stopped in here several months ago for dinner… last I recall it was decent but not fabulous fare… a step above Pei Wei… there were some interesting and satisfying dishes but there are better asian restaurants in Houston… not bad for the Heights/​Washington area though…

You’ve likely driven past it on your way to I-​10 and not even blinked. Perhaps, you stopped in when it should have been named Crap Chin’s due to the lackluster cuisine. In either case, you need to get to Mak Chin’s for happy hour dining.
Happy Hour runs from 3 — 6:30 Monday through Friday. The cocktails are good, but the best features of the double aych are the discounted delectables from the kitchen. Start with the Indonesian BBQ Pork Spare Ribs ($ 2*) if you’re ready to get down to business. Three ribs are presented over a bed of Szechwan Fries and are garnished with pickled onions and lemongrass-​soy glaze. FYI, «Spare» does not mean leftover or small; we ordered two servings, and all six pieces were large. Good? Ooo, you talk about. I would have kept ordering them if I hadn’t wanted to sample more of the fare.
Items from the surf were nearly as remarkable as that from the turf. The tuna wonton tower ($ 4*) was killer. Three wonton chips are each adorned with tuna tartar salad concoction and then stacked on top of one another. You’ll be tempted to share when you read the menu description, but you should plan to order one per person if you’re into tuna.
Order the Salt & Pepper Calamari ($ 4*) if you’re in the market for mass quantities. The squid is served in a cute take-​out box that looks little but isn’t. There is enough for two. You should request extra dipping sauce ahead of time.
Is there a vegetarian among your party? Fret not. The Malaysian Roti Chanai and Szechwan Fries are solid options. Simply put, the Szechwan Fries are freedom fries (is it OK to say French fries yet again?) sprinkled with a spice mix; you may have had something similar at a burger joint.
I’m willing to bet you’ve never had roti chanai ($ 3*) unless you’ve been to a Malaysian restaurant before. RC is a flatbread that is very similar to naan (the flatbread from Indian cuisine) but it is just dissimilar enough to be considered a unique dish. My Malaysian friend considered Mak Chin’s roti chanai good enough to order again. That’s good enough for a gwai lo like me.
Wash down all of your goodies with some signature frozen drinks and cocktails at $ 5* or choose beer or wine for $ 3*. Mak Chins adds cosmos, martinis and dirty samurais to the cheap drink list ($ 3*) on Wednesdays.
Who has two thumbs and loves Mak Chin’s? This guy! The owners should rename the place Smack Chin’s (as in lip smacking good) thanks to the new chef’s cuisine and baller-​on-​a-​budget happy hour price list (* = Happy Hour price).

I am going to assume some drastic changes have occurred since the earlier reviews. This place is GREAT! I’ll reserve the fifth star until I go again to check for consistency and try a few more items on the menu.
We went this past Sunday around 4pm. We walked in and I was immediately confused because I saw registers at a counter. I was disappointed at that point, thinking that this was something akin to Pei Wei. A hostess immediately came up to greet us. I told her it was our first visit, and she enthusiastically welcomed us and asked us if we wanted to enjoy the weather by sitting outside. That was exactly why we went there. The outdoor patio was very nice and had a large lounge area with great mod-​inspired, brightly colored Kite chairs.
Our server was Terry. He was very polite and informative. He was friendly and talkative, but never overstepped. I was excited to see that they served Malaysian Roti Chanai (which I can rarely find anywhere). I ordered that and their version of «Phad Thai». How many ways can you spell that dish!?! That dish was massive so I decided to take most of it home so I could try dessert. The Green Tea cake was like a mint chocolate chip cheesecake which is to say it was AWESOME! The Roti was the best I’ve ever had, and the Phad Thai was a good take on the dish adding two kinds of tofu and asparagus to the mix. Even though it was Sunday, they were still offering some happy hour specials so a few drinks were ordered. George loves Bloody Mary’s and said their version was the best he’s had. I should add that I was thrilled to see a good number of vegetarian options on the menu.
Terry made sure he brought us some menus to take home which also highlighted their lunch specials. All in all, the experience was great and we can’t wait to return!

I think the concept has changed since the first two reviews were given. We had a choice of sitting at the bar or in the dining room. We chose the dining room, which was divided in half with wine racks. The overall décor was red and black, and pretty dark. My only complaint was that the menu was limited — my friend and I had a very hard time picking something to order — as nothing looked super appealing. However, our final choices were superb. My friend got Colonel Chin’s chicken (similar to General Tso’s chicken, but without breading/​deep frying and a more subtle, complex sauce) and I got Bamboo Steamed Vegetables. The vegetables were delicious — cooked perfectly and a nice mix of sugar peas, mushrooms, carrots, asparagus, cauliflower, and broccoli, served with a light tamarind sauce. The waitress and busboys were wonderful and when my friend asked for different vegetables (as his dish came with mostly red and green peppers), not only did the waitress rush to get him something different, she returned with a full bowl containing a mixture of many kinds and didn’t charge extra.
The bar looks like a great place for a happy hour get together.

The food isn’t bad, don’t expect authentic, this is definitely a Pei Wei knock off. It’s counter service and the back room is good for a large group of people. The back patio is nice and spacious. I went there for birthday party once and it was a fun time– lots of space to mingle.