Houston Chinatown desperately needs your support. Since January 2020, many restaurants in the area are reporting 30-90% losses in business because of the coronavirus. It all started a fake tweet. Since then, many establishments are struggling to stay open for dinner and a lot of employees have already been laid off. The mom and pop shops face the hardest impact. As we enter March, some places started closing because of the sharp decline in business. Jade Garden and ChaTime Bellaire closed in the beginning stages of the pandemic. We as a community can help keep Chinatown alive by coming together, eating local, and spreading awareness to practice preventive measures regarding virus spreading. One way to support Chinatown is to share your experiences on social media with the #supportchinatown hashtag. Many Houston bloggers are already using it!
Houston’s Chinatown is in need of support. It’s not just Houston’s in particular; all Chinatowns around the world are facing a hard time,. In Houston, businesses are reporting 30-90% down. Many employees have been laid off and some businesses are already starting to close. Houston is one of the most diverse cities in America and our Chinatown reflects that. Houston’s Chinatown is not exclusively Chinese, but also includes Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, and many other cultures. It is also one of the largest Chinatowns in the U.S. There are so many great restaurants to try.
Support Chinatown Social Media Campaign
I am participating in the #SupportChinatown campaign. Chinatown is like my second hometown considering the significant amount of time I spend there. It’s almost creepy how the parking lots became so empty. I encourage everyone to post their pictures, even if they’re old, on social media using the hashtag. Let’s do our best to support local!
I’ve partnered up with Shabu House located in Dun Huang Plaza to give away a $50 gift certificate [update: giveaway ended]! Shabu House serves shabu shabu, a traditionally Japanese style hot pot, with high quality ingredients and homemade recipes. They serve individual style hot pot, so everyone in your party will be satisfied with no need to debate on what ingredients to order. Choose from several different soups, meats, seafood, and veggies for your pot. The combinations are endless!
During my visit, I recorded a vlog of my meal at Shabu House. Owner Debbie was a fantastic host. She explained how many of the items on the menu are recipes that her grandmother passed down through the family. First, we started with the appetizers which are all made in-house. The taste pleasantly surprised me. Specifically, the clam salad and the tofu skin enoki appetizers were fantastic. Since they are cold appetizers, taking bites of them through the hot pot meal is very refreshing and a bit of a palate cleanser.
For the hot pot, first choose a soup base. Debbie recommends the Szechuan spicy soup if you like things extra hot. Then, order ingredients a la carte or choose from pre-selected combos. Each combo includes one meat of your choice and a vegetable and noodle basket for a very good price. I highly recommend the meatballs, also a family recipe, as well. They were the softest and most flavorful meatballs I’ve ever had. There’s a funny story behind the meatballs; they are made soft because her grandmother didn’t have very good teeth! Another recommendation is the Texas craft wagyu beef with egg. You can’t go wrong with wagyu. Take the meat and swish it through the egg to add another layer of flavor in your mouth. See all of the details in my video!
This is the outfit I wore to promote Shabu House in my vlog. The rocking horse shoes are new and I wanted to wear them out. They were on a crazy 70% off sale, so I pulled the trigger and bought them. I never imagined I’d own the authentic rockinghorse shoes. The wood is surprisingly not too much heavier than foam, but I did get a blister from not breaking them in enough. They’re still nice though; they just need some more time. Since I wanted to highlight the shoes, I opted for shorts instead of long pants. This photo was taken at Dun Huang Plaza on a nice sunny day.
Outfit Rundown
- Vest: Alice and the Pirates Jerenile Vest
- Top: Moi meme Moitie Asymmetry Frilled Blouse
- Pants: h.NAOTO SEVEN Demon Slayer Mini Trousers
- Socks: Alice and the Pirates A/P Lame Chandelier Print OTKs
- Shoes: Vivienne Westwood Golf Rocking Horse Shoes
- Accessories: MALICIOUS.X Devil Horns A, Bandai Premium Rohan Kishibe earrings
I also want to give a shout out to journalist Mai Pham, the creator and organizer of this Support Chinatown movement. She is a local food and travel journalist whose work I admire very much and I’m very honored to be a part of this project. If you are a blogger interested in helping with the support campaign, contact her for details.
Follow Shabu House
Shabu House
9889 Bellaire Blvd Suite 319
Houston, TX 77036
Shabu House on social media: Instagram
Lovely video. Glad to see you supporting your local Chinatown. Hope to see more videos soon, even casual ones. I really liked you trying that chocolate yakisoba and you showing off your Daiya no Ace merch.