Bellaire Street Food – Fat Ni BBQ
While you can usually find me at soft openings of the latest food offerings around town, I specifically waited a few months to let some of the crowd die down a bit at the Bellaire Street Food before braving the crowds. I wish I could say I was rewarded for my patience, but it was a HUGE disappointment.
Fat Ni BBQ was rather unimpressive and that’s putting it mildly. I ordered a variety of things and all the skewers tasted the same — like it was sandblasted multiple times in cumin. Actually, I’m pretty sure the animal pre-slaughtered was fed a diet of strictly cumin and then sent to die a slow painful death in a tub of cumin.
The beef noodle soup fared no better and was probably the most bland thing on their menu. It wasn’t until I drowned it in red chili oil, did it actually develop some flavor. Overall, the cut of meats for the skewers appear to be the cheapest cuts the restaurant could get by with legally; I’m also pretty sure I’ve eaten tapioca pearls larger than the blips of meat on what was supposed to be on my skewer of scallops.
Food should NOT fluctuate so drastically between overwhelming flavor (overdosed by cumin) and so much bland flavoring that running around Houston with my mouth open would provide more flavor than how their soup tasted.
Restaurant does offers a free plate of edamame and peanuts as an appetizer, but I would rather spend a little more to get decent grades of meat than what was being offered to the diners. It’s “appeal” seems to be the inexpensive skewer offerings. I supposed if an alcohol buzz was what someone was hoping to achieve, cheap food that all tastes the same would fit the bill.
To compound things, parking here is a nightmare. You can park in the garage, but if you try to be brave and venture for a front parking spot, you will be fighting with contractors and their giant trucks that could easily swallow up 2 family sized sedans.
I can’t in good faith recommend this to anyone and it does not require a secondary visit to confirm this sentiment. I don’t know how representative of Xinjiang-style food this is, but if this is how food from this region is supposed to taste, it’s a strong hard pass in the future.
Attire: Casual
Family Friendly: Yes
Price Range: $ (Under $10)
9393 Bellaire Blvd
Houston, TX 77036
(713) 993-6136
http://fatni-bbq.com/