Mak Chin's

Mak Chin's has changed since I first visited nearly two years ago. It use to be order at the counter, sit down restaurant, but now it is a regular seated and be waited on restaurant. The prices are a little steep, but food is delish! I love the bacon wrapped spring rolls, and the citrus glazed shrimp is to die for! small portion, but excellent and tasty. would highly recommend, nice ambiance...... Pros: atmosphere, food Cons: prices more

We stopped in the chic bar/lounge area for Happy Hour there last week, and I was SO impressed! The HH menu is an assortment gourmet appetizers - the ribs were delicious ($2.95!), the calamari, and the tuna tartar. But the best part was the bartender, Nathan, and his AMAZING selection of creative and DELICIOUS martinis! I am in love with the green tea liqueur one (forgot what else he uses), but all of the ones I tasted were so original and SO YUMMY! And our food came out almost immediately. I think I might go there tonight, my mouth is watering! Pros: Atmosphere, Martinis, Happy Hour Prices, Service, Yummy food Cons: The awesome martinis are NOT on the Happy Hour menu, so don't get carried away! more

Went in for lunch at 12:00, ordered one of the bento combinations and 3 dumplings. The restaurant was less than half full, but the kitchen was in complete disarray, scrambling and sniping. Dumplings came out in 20 minutes, the main course much MUCH later - several other customers had arrived, ordered and received. Got the check at 1:15. Pros: Decent value lunch; nice ambience Cons: Appalling lunch service; ""dumplings"" don't deserve the name more

Nice simple menu. Great tasting food with different degrees of spice and aroma. We ate in the restaurant area where service was average. Pros: Simple menu, great selection of appetizers. Cons: Amateurish service. more

I have been to Mak Chins several times. It is true that the service is usually lacking and sometimes terrible. I have met friends there for happy hour and appetizers and the food was great. It is perfect on a nice night for sitting on the patio and ordering a few appetizers and splitting one or two entrees with friends. Their cocktails are inventive and refreshing- even if they are a little pricey (sometimes around $8). I do really like the place but as a service industry person for 12+ years the service delays can be very frustrating. Note to management: when a waiter is assigned a section they should plan on being attentive to each of their tables. Showing up once twenty minutes after food is served is never sufficient. Pros: Great patio and couch area Cons: service service service more

I'm not one who typically reads the negative reviews for restaurants and assumes they are correct. Things happen, some people have very unreasonable expectations, others are just having a bad day and are impossible to please. It is for that reason why I overlooked the two negative reviews for Mak Chins, the other 14 people couldn't all be wrong. However, I'm actually pretty disappointed with the evening. I had never tried Mak Chins, and invited 5 other friends to join me for dinner after work (about 8pm), I never imagined such a disappointing evening would ensue. Our waiter was no where to be found, and consequently a very nice girl took our groups appetizer order, saying the waiter would be by shortly to take our drink order. It wasn't until after the appetizers had been served were we able to get a member of the staff to pull him away from the larger table he was catering to and attend to our needs as well. A multi-tasker he was not. And at that, he proceeded to say he wanted to finish with the other table before he even greeted us. Not a stellar first meeting with him, and things only got worse. We watched him have a conversation on the phone for a bit, all the while continuing to sip our water. All said and done, the food was mediocre at best, the service of the waiter left much to be desired (the busboy, on the other hand, was on his game), and to top it all off, the waiter charged us for the wrong bottle of wine. But what is most frustrating about that is not that it was human error, for when we brought it to his attention, he tried to tell us he gave us the more expensive bottle and it was our error for not clarifying what we wanted, while the (less expensive, long empty) bottle was still sitting in the middle of the table. Only when we pointed this out did he in fact acknowledge that we were charged for the wrong bottle, but served what we ordered. Will I go back? Absolutely not. It wasn't horrible, but definately not worth the time/money. Pros: Bus service Cons: Nearly everything else more

Are you kidding me with the reviews of this place? We started with an order of Chicken Sate which was all dark meat chicken. Who the heck serves dark meat chicken except the cheap places and this place fits that bill. I then ordered a chicken w/ a dry rub served over sticky rice and my partner ordered another chicken dish (which was so so). Mine came in a clay container with a lid that was so hot that I could barely touch it. Uhmmm, couldn't the runner have taken it off? When I finally got the lid off, it was sitting in about 2 inches of GREASE and guess what...MORE DARK MEAT. The runner, who spoke very little English, had no idea what we were saying when we asked if we were supposed to have rice. Cons: Owner, Runner, Food more

I so look forward to going to Mak Chin's at least once a week. I find it to be a wonderful place to unwind, have a cocktail, relax, and have some quality appetizers and/or entrees. I enjoy dumplings and while Mak Chin's are very different than what I am used to they are wonderful, good, light yet large. The accompanying sauces / relishes are delicious as well. The mussles are delicious as well as the crab puffs, fried rice, any chicken dish. Everything is delicious. The only con would be sometimes the bartender can be in the weeds and it might take longer than you would like for a drink. The relaxing atmoshpere though should keep you comfortable as you wait your turn. more

It used to be ""order at the counter"", but recently a consultant suggested they revamp the entire menu. Now Mak Chin's is a sit down experience with more daring fusion food. Be careful of the crab and shrimp dishes, some come with shells still on so ask before you order if that bothers you. Portions are sensible, but smaller than what they used to be. Prices have gone up slightly, but it still is considered a casual restaurant in that range. Best time to stop by is during their ""Happy Hour"" when they put many menu items on special right after work. Pros: Nice amibience, tables are far enough apart, solid and unique food, good service Cons: Some will find the food overly complicated and fussy served in ""healthy"" portions more

I used to really enjoy Mak Chin's quick, inexpensive lunches. I went today, and the menu is completely different--no lunch menu, no more desserts. What used to cost about $7.00 for an entree, vegetable, soup, and eggroll is now at least $9 for a small plate with no sides. Before, you would order at the counter for lunch and your food would be at the table almost as soon as you sat down. The restaurant was very understaffed today, with only one server and two cooks for the entire lunch area. Very slow service, bad dumplings, and overpriced food. more

The discription of food did not match it's entree. We ordered a chicken curry that was extremly spicy and was not labeled as such. It was so spicy that it was not even enjoyable. I am usually a big fan of curry but this curry had a piculiar taste. The waiter asked if I wanted to order something else. He waited as I looked at menu and I asked if he could give me a minute. He gave me a dirty look and walked away. We also ordered the soft shell crab. It was breaded and deep fried with the shell still on it. It was for my daughter and she usually loves crab, but she really didn't enjoy it. Is she really going to eat the whole shell off the crab. We asked the waiter a question about it and again he was rude. The service and attitude was not exceptable. I've eaten better food at Pei Wei! Pros: nice decor Cons: bad service bad food more

Eating on a budget? Come here! The food is good for the price and drinks pretty good also. Great lounge atmosphere, with slightly better than typical bar food. Really good for lunch or a weeknight dinner. Bring friends, get loud, have fun. Pros: price, food, drinks more

Great place to try out! I agree with many in the terms of price to quality ratio as far as the food is concerned, but it certainly isn't bad. The best part about this place is their happy hour drinks that I can go for anytime...only $4 bucks for a yummy Mai Tai blend and lots of others! If you come in during the evenings, its definitely going to be bustling, but what I like to do is go with a few friends after work, etc in the later afternoon say 5p/6pish and you get to have a very intimate yet super cozy lounge area pretty much to yourselves! If you're the type that likes to spend time out with your buddies and not have to worry about pushing through people or yelling over each other to have a good chat, then go a bit earlier and really enjoy yourselves. Try their menu by sharing plates before you go out and just order one for each person. Hope that helps! Pros: Awesome awesome happy hour drinks! great hangout lounge, gotta bring your friends~! Cons: food quality/expectations are on and off, overall decent more

Nice try but still food court cuisine. I am not hot on getting my own drink, set ups, and condiments. Bet the bar is rockin after happy hour and food always tastes better with a cocktail anyway. Pros: Clean and open with enthusiastic staff. Cons: Noisy with average food court style forgetable cuisine. more

I love this place! Laidback, yet hip, delicious Asian-fusion with a twist. The portions are huge, the food is super yummy, and the service is quick and friendly. This place has a great atmosphere and lots of space for quality lounging. I can't wait to try it for brunch!!!! Pros: Lots of parking, plenty of seating, delicious food, cafeteria style Cons: Gets a little too loud for conversation more

Looking to skip the boring and predicatable Sunday brunch offered everwhere in Houston? Check out Mak's on Sunday, with tasty and cheap, yet super potent Belinnis and a DJ spinning vibrant tracks outside on the patio. Had a great time and didn't even miss the Eggs Benedict! Pros: Great brunch, cheap yet tasty drink specials more

I am a HUGE fan of all Asian food - so when I heard about this place I was super excited to try it out. My first experience was a sit-down week-day lunch. The first thing I noticed was the minimal staff - cooks in the back and 1 hostess/order-taker at the door (no waiters). Once we ordered, it took about 10 minutes to get our soup and another 15 or 20 to get our entree - this is not ideal for a working lunch! I was unimpressed with the service, but the food made up for the wait. I got the Mango Sweet and Sour Chicken which was totally delicious - great portions are provided and very unique vegetables are implemented into the dish. My friend got a Beef dish that was equally tasty. If you are not on a time schedule - go for the dine-in experience. But every other time I've eaten here, it's been pick-up. The portions are just as generous for take-out! Pros: Unique & Tasty Dishes Cons: Speed of Service more

This has quickly become my favorite Asian American or Asian Fusion restaurant. The trendy decor and casual atmosphere make it fun to dine but the food it what brings you back. My favorites are what sound like old faithfuls; Madarin Orange Chicken and Mango Sweet and Sour but Mak Chin's take on the classic Asian American dishes is delightful. Pros: Parking, Ambiance, Food, Seating, Selection... Cons: Coctails are Not so Good, Sometimes close early w/o notice more

Food is great, but costs more than I would normally pay for this Pei Wei type cuisine. Makes it a little unreasonable for a work lunch break, but good for a friday night dinner. Pros: Great Food, Great Service Cons: High Prices more

Ordering at the counter and food-wise it does remind me of Pei Wei, and having the bar and patio reminds me a bit of PF Chang's (which owns Pei Wei). So I guess Mak Chin's is a combination of the two places. It's a nice addition to the area since PW and PF doesn't have a place near by. The food is good and I love the condiment bar. I am confused about the cliental they are trying to attract since I saw people fresh off the jogging loop at Memorial Park as well as suits from downtown. But the location is great and I believe everyone will find something to suit their taste there. Pros: A little bit of everything for everyone more