Thiên Thanh offers a cozy strip mall vibe where you can dive into authentic Vietnamese comfort food like chewy bánh bột lọc and fresh noodle soups, all in a friendly, cash-only setting.
"Any place that pre-sets a table with a giant flagon of tangy fish sauce knows how to party, which makes Thiên Thanh the lunch it-spot in Chinatown. The specialty here is bánh cuốn, soft rice paper crêpes, which get dunked in fish sauce, hence why the flagon exists. The cash-only spot loads up the thin crêpes with mushrooms, grilled pork, and dried shrimp, which diners then stuff with bean sprouts and dunk into, you guessed it, fish sauce What to order: bánh cuốn thanh trì chå, bánh cuốn thịt nướng" - chelsea thomas
"One of the original businesses on Bellaire Boulevard, this mom-and-pop restaurant opened almost 30 years ago, introducing the strip mall and its visitors to bánh cuốn. The steamed and rolled thin sheets of rice flour are traditionally filled with minced pork and wood ear mushrooms or eaten plain with toppings such as fried shallot and fresh herbs and doused with nuoc cham, a tangy Vietnamese dipping sauce." - Minh Truong, Mai Pham, Eater Staff
"Any place that pre-sets a table with a giant flagon of tangy fish sauce knows how to party. Thien Thanh specializes in one dish, bánh cuốn, and serves it all day long. But most folks pop into the cash-only Chinatown spot midday. Even though the soft rice paper crepes fill up a large serving platter, one person can easily eat the entire dish. Crepes filled with pale pink dry-fried mini shrimps or charred slices of barbecue pork get dunked in fish sauce (hence the bottle) and disappear almost as quickly as they arrive." - chelsea thomas, gianni greene
"Any place that pre-sets a table with a giant pitcher of tangy fish sauce knows how to party, which makes Thien Thanh the Vietnamese lunch it-spot in Chinatown. Thien Thanh specializes in soft rice paper crepes known as bánh cuốn, hence why the fish sauce flagon exists. The cash-only spot loads up the thin crepes with mushrooms, grilled pork, and dried shrimp, which diners then stuff with bean sprouts and dunk into, you guessed it, fish sauce. What to order: bánh cuốn thanh trì chå, bánh cuốn thịt nướng" - chelsea thomas, gianni greene
"Houston is one of the best cities in the country for Vietnamese food, so if you’re visiting to eat as much food as possible, a swing through Chinatown should be on the agenda. Any place that pre-sets a table with a giant pitcher of tangy fish sauce knows how to party, making Thien Thanh our current lunch it-spot. They specialize in soft rice paper crepes known as bánh cuốn—hence the fish sauce flagon. The thin crepes get loaded up with mushrooms, grilled pork, and dried shrimp and are delivered to your table with bean sprouts for stuffing before dunking into, you guessed it, fish sauce. Note that this place is cash only." - chelsea thomas, gianni greene
