Top 100 Houston restaurant: Nam Giao

The cuisine of Hue, the ancient Vietnamese imperial capital, lends a specific regional elegance to the fare at this family-run Asiatown spot. I was thrilled to see it featured in David Chang’s Houston episode of “Ugly Delicious,” his recent Netflix series. What would Chang eat? I hoped it was those graceful little steamed rice-flour pancakes, bánh bèo chen, with their topknots of carrot and shrimp and crunchy fried pork skin. Or the superbly glutinous pork and shrimp crystal dumplings. Or — yes, eureka! — the marvelous bánh nâm, intensely savory rice-flour packages steamed, tamale-like, in a banana leaf. When Chang tells Nam Giao’s owner and chef, Ai Le, that he could charge four times as much for his food, I yipped in happiness — and agreement.

WHAT TO ORDER: The aptly named Happy Crispy Rice Pancake; baby clam salad with rice and a clam-broth chaser; grilled flank steak wrapped in vine leaves with house-made vermicelli; tiny bánh béo chen pancakes; tamalelike bánh nâm.

PRO TIP: Incredible bang for the buck here.

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Entree price: $

Where: 6938 Wilcrest

Phone: 281-568-4888

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EXPLORE OUR TOP 100: It’s consistent quality that has kept 42 restaurants featured in Alison Cook’s 2012 lineup in the Top 100 mix today. Cook’s choices stay at the top of their game in their respective class, whether that be high or low, pricey or affordable. Search Houston’s top restaurants by name, neighborhood and cuisine using our interactive tool.