Best Brunch in Houston's Chinatown: 12 Weekend Spots

Houston's Chinatown — the Bellaire Blvd corridor between Gessner Road and Beltway 8, plus the Asiatown strip running west from the Beltway toward Boone Road — does weekend brunch differently from the rest of the city. Dim sum is the anchor: cart-pushed or order-sheet, steamed or fried, eaten loud and family-style over tea. But brunch here also means a Hong Kong milk tea and French toast at a cha chaan teng, a flaky egg tart warm from the oven, or a heaping Vietnamese buffet that runs 300 dishes deep. This guide covers 12 verified spots, all confirmed open as of October 2026.

Where is Houston's Chinatown? The core commercial district runs along Bellaire Blvd from Gessner Rd west to Beltway 8 (Loop 8), with Vietnamese businesses clustered further west toward Boone Road — a stretch the Greater Houston CVB officially calls Asiatown. Fung's Kitchen sits just east of the Bellaire grid on the Southwest Freeway and is part of the same dining district. Both zones are in southwest Houston, roughly 20 minutes from downtown via US-59.

How we chose

Every restaurant on this list had to show current hours on its own website or a verified business profile updated in 2026. Hours change and dim sum service often ends at 2 or 3 PM — always check the official site before you go. Eight spots serve full dim sum; the other four are a cha chaan teng, a Taiwanese bakery, a Vietnamese buffet, and a specialty egg tart bakery — each a legitimate weekend morning destination on its own.

The dim sum halls

Ocean Palace

11215 Bellaire Blvd, Houston (Hong Kong City Mall) — weekend carts only

Ocean Palace is the grandest dim sum hall in Asiatown: a two-story, 38,000-square-foot space where the entire second floor is a banquet hall seating 500. On weekdays, dim sum runs by order sheet; on weekends, push carts circle the floor — the classic format, and the reason to plan your visit for Saturday or Sunday. The Infatuation rates it one of the top spots in Houston for large groups.

What to order: Truffle shu mai, squid ink har gow, egg tarts.

Fung's Kitchen

7320 Southwest Fwy #115, Houston — dim sum daily (Tue–Sun) from 10:30 AM; closed Mondays

Fung's opened in 1990 with a $90,000 loan in a 3,000-square-foot space and now operates out of 25,000 square feet with six private dining rooms. Weekend dim sum draws lines in the parking lot 30 minutes before the 10:30 AM opening. Confirm current hours on the official site before you go.

What to order: Crispy taro dumplings, egg yolk buns, char siu bao, chicken feet from the steam table.

Golden Dim Sum

10600 Bellaire Blvd Ste 105, Houston — opens 9 AM weekends

Golden Dim Sum is one of the few places on Bellaire where dim sum runs all day — not cut off at 3 PM. On weekends it opens at 9 AM, a full hour earlier than most halls. Every item is numbered and posted on the wall with a photo, so you can point without speaking Cantonese. The standout is item No. 52: a fried glutinous rice ball filled with salted egg yolk custard. The Infatuation calls it a genuine standout; plan a 15-minute wait for a fresh batch.

What to order: Item No. 52 (salted egg yolk glutinous rice ball), shiu mai, scallop dumplings, taro puffs.

HK Dim Sum

9889 Bellaire Blvd #110, Houston (Dun Huang Plaza) — daily 10 AM–9 PM

HK Dim Sum is a small counter-order spot inside Dun Huang Plaza with no push carts and no ceremony. Every dish goes straight from the kitchen to your table, which means items arrive significantly hotter than they would on a cart that has been circling for 10 minutes. Most items run $4.99–$7.99.

What to order: Stuffed crab claws, shrimp dumplings, cheung fun, congee.

Dim Sum King

9160 Bellaire Blvd Ste B, Houston — daily 10 AM–8 PM

Dim sum at most restaurants ends at 3 PM; Dim Sum King bills itself as one of Houston's first all-day dim sum restaurants — brunch, lunch, or dinner, no cutoff. It is tucked behind a police station on Bellaire, which keeps foot traffic low and lines short even on Saturdays. A second express location operates at 9938 Bellaire Blvd.

What to order: Har gow, shu mai, fried shrimp balls.

Arco Seafood Restaurant

9896 Bellaire Blvd Ste K, Houston — dim sum daily until 3 PM

Arco is an 18-year family-run Cantonese seafood hall where the rice noodles for cheung fun are made fresh in-house every day — rare among Bellaire dim sum spots, most of which use pre-made sheets. The owner is typically on the floor and will walk over to make recommendations. The restaurant takes BYOB with a $30 corkage fee, making it a good pick for a quieter, longer brunch.

What to order: Cheung fun (house-made rice noodle), giant shrimp-wrapped crab claws, har gow, mango pudding.

Crown Seafood

10796 Bellaire Blvd Ste C, Houston — dim sum daily until 3 PM; opens 10:30 AM

Crown Seafood is a large Cantonese banquet hall with weekend push cart service and a photo-menu ordering system — no Cantonese required. Regulars request seating near the kitchen, where dishes arrive faster.

What to order: Panko-fried crab claws, har gow, shu mai, cheung fun noodle rolls.

Beyond dim sum

Fu Fu Dim Sum & Hot Pot

11810 Bellaire Blvd Ste A, Houston — opens 10 AM daily

The original Fu Fu Cafe was an Asiatown institution for 18 years at Dun Huang Plaza before permanently closing in November 2024. The owners reopened as Fu Fu Dim Sum & Hot Pot at a larger western location, with floor-to-ceiling seafood tanks, electronic rotating Lazy Susan tables, and the same fast, loud energy. The xiao long bao (soup dumplings) and bánh cuốn are the weekend morning picks.

What to order: Xiao long bao, shu mai, bánh cuốn, congee, dan dan noodles.

Kim Son

10603 Bellaire Blvd, Houston — Sat 11 AM–9:30 PM; Sun 11 AM–9 PM

Kim Son on Bellaire runs an all-you-can-eat buffet spanning more than 300 items: Vietnamese standards, a dim sum station, a made-to-order noodle bar with bun bo Hue, pho and banh khot, pan-fried noodles, eel rolls, and fresh-pressed sugarcane juice on tap. Weekend buffet pricing is approximately $32 per adult; weekday lunch runs approximately $21.50. No reservations — add yourself to the waitlist before you drive.

What to order: Made-to-order noodle bar, pan-fried noodles, dim sum station, sugarcane juice.

Hong Kong's Cafe

9108 Bellaire Blvd Ste A, Houston — Mon, Wed–Sun 10 AM–7 PM; closed Tuesdays

Hong Kong's Cafe is the only traditional cha chaan teng in Houston — the genre born in 1950s Hong Kong as an affordable fusion of British café culture and Cantonese fast food. Its signature is silky milk tea made by straining brewed black tea through a cloth "silk stocking" filter, which gives it a famously smooth texture. The Hong Kong French toast — thick bread deep-fried and served with butter and syrup — is the brunch anchor. The restaurant has operated on Bellaire for more than 24 years.

What to order: Hong Kong milk tea, Hong Kong French toast, baked pork chop over rice, egg tarts.

85°C Bakery Cafe

9750 Bellaire Blvd Ste 168, Houston — Mon–Sat 8 AM–9 PM

85°C is a Taiwanese bakery chain founded in 2004. The name comes from the founder's conviction that 85 degrees Celsius is the ideal temperature for coffee. Its signature sea salt coffee — hot coffee with a cold salted cream poured on top — became a social media staple in Asia years before salted coffee was mainstream in the US. The Bellaire location opens at 8 AM, making it the earliest stop on this list and a natural pre-dim-sum start: grab a sea salt coffee and a pineapple bun before the dim sum halls fill up. See more Taiwanese picks in our Taiwanese restaurants guide.

What to order: Sea salt coffee, Portuguese egg tarts, pineapple bun, Hokkaido milk bread.

ECK Bakery

6918 Wilcrest Dr Ste A, Houston — daily 9 AM–6 PM

ECK Bakery's Chinese name — 蛋撻王 — translates to "Egg Tart King." It makes the Portuguese/Macanese puff pastry variety: flakier and more caramelized than the shortcrust Hong Kong version. Batches sell out without warning; the strategy is to arrive before 10 AM and wait for a fresh tray from the oven. The wait can run up to an hour on peak weekend mornings.

What to order: Egg tarts (best warm, puff pastry style), Vietnamese-style pastries.

Save this: your Chinatown brunch route

Most dim sum halls begin cart service at 10 or 10:30 AM and close the carts at 3 PM. This route covers a full Saturday morning without backtracking.

1. 8 AM — Coffee and a pineapple bun at 85°C Bakery (9750 Bellaire Blvd). Opens earliest on this list.
2. 9 AM — First through the door at Golden Dim Sum (10600 Bellaire Blvd) for item No. 52 before it sells out.
3. 10:30 AM — Push cart session at Ocean Palace (11215 Bellaire Blvd, Hong Kong City Mall).
4. Midday — Milk tea and Hong Kong French toast at Hong Kong's Cafe (9108 Bellaire Blvd). Closed Tuesdays.

For dim sum technique and what every item on the cart actually is, see our best dim sum in Houston guide. For the full neighborhood picture, start with the Houston Chinatown and Asiatown guide. More dining options in our best restaurants in Bellaire and Chinatown guide.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best dim sum in Houston's Chinatown?

Ocean Palace (11215 Bellaire Blvd) and Fung's Kitchen (7320 Southwest Fwy) both run push-cart dim sum on weekends. Ocean Palace is a 38,000-square-foot two-story hall; Fung's draws lines in the parking lot 30 minutes before the 10:30 AM opening. Both confirmed open as of October 2026.

What time does dim sum start in Houston's Chinatown?

Most halls open between 10 and 10:30 AM on weekends. Golden Dim Sum (10600 Bellaire Blvd) opens at 9 AM on weekends, earlier than any other hall on Bellaire. 85°C Bakery Cafe (9750 Bellaire Blvd) is open from 8 AM for coffee and pastries.

Is there brunch in Houston's Chinatown besides dim sum?

Yes. Hong Kong's Cafe (9108 Bellaire Blvd) is a traditional cha chaan teng serving Hong Kong French toast and silky milk tea from 10 AM, closed Tuesdays. Kim Son (10603 Bellaire Blvd) runs a 300-plus item all-you-can-eat buffet open from 11 AM on weekends.

What is a cha chaan teng?

A cha chaan teng is a Hong Kong-style café that blends British and Cantonese traditions — serving milk tea brewed through a cloth filter, French toast, baked pork chop rice and egg tarts at low prices. Hong Kong's Cafe at 9108 Bellaire Blvd Ste A is the only one operating in Houston.

Which Houston Chinatown dim sum restaurants have push carts?

Ocean Palace, Fung's Kitchen, and Crown Seafood all run push-cart service on weekends. Most switch to an order-sheet format on weekdays. Cart service at most halls ends by 3 PM, so plan to arrive by 10:30 AM.

Where can I get egg tarts in Houston's Chinatown?

ECK Bakery (6918 Wilcrest Dr Ste A) specializes in puff pastry egg tarts and opens at 9 AM daily — go early because batches sell out fast. 85°C Bakery Cafe (9750 Bellaire Blvd) sells Portuguese-style egg tarts starting at 8 AM.