Cafe Japon

Great place to try some spicy, mouth-numbing foods I would recommend the soup dumplings, green beans, pepper twins steak cubes, fried spicy chicken cubes (very mouth numbing) and their duck with steamed buns. Staff are a bit overwhelmed as they only have a couple servers to cover the entire room so service is slow, but friendly.

Finally was able to try this place and it didn’t disappoint. Cumin Lamb and green beans were a stand out for me. Boiled beef, pepper steak, orange chicken, Mapo tofu were all excellent too. We tried a bunch of dishes and all were great. Seemed like the traditional dishes were quite authentic from my limited time in China. The staff was very friendly and service was very fast.

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Pepper Twins for lunch, and there's much to commend about this establishment. When it comes to food quality, I can't fault them. It's a solid 10 out of 10; everything tasted fresh and was cooked to perfection. For those seeking a traditional “China” selection, this place is a gem. Their menu boasts a plethora of authentic dishes, deserving another 10 out of 10 in my book. In terms of taste, they nearly hit the mark, scoring a 9 out of 10 from me. Every bite was a journey, with flavors dancing on my palate. However, there were some minor issues in our dining experience. The table we were seated was sticky. Even the teapot 🫖 felt like glued to the table every time we need to refill the cups. While our food came out promptly after the order, the sequence was a tad chaotic. It was surprising to receive our cold appetizer midway through the main course. One thing to note for larger parties is the 20% mandatory tip. I found this a bit on the steep side. And while it's not something I'd fight over, it did leave a slight bitter taste. Additionally, it did take a while for us to be greeted after seated, which is something they can work on for better customer satisfaction. Oh, and a heads up for future patrons – the fish fillet dish listed in the non-soup section is actually a soup dish, something I wasn't expecting! While Pepper Twins shines in many areas, especially in the culinary department, there are a few service aspects that need fine-tuning. Would I come back? Yes, for the food. But I'd think twice about bringing a large group.

I was a little skeptical when we pulled up at 1:45pm and were the only customers but this was incredibly delicious! Shrimp xiu mai, xiao long bao (soup dumplings), dry fried green beans, Pepper Twin shrimp, tea-smoked duck, and Mongolian beef. I love the spicy-numb of Sichuan cuisine and the peppers on the shrimp and pepper sauce on the duck delivered a nice punch. That duck was so good that I got a little sad when I finished chewing my last bite. Service was friendly and attentive.

I want to point out that the dish called Mr. & Mrs Smith is an exotic cold & unusual beef-ish🤐 appetizer dish, which is designed for a more adventurous palate. Despite its unusual complexity, these guys managed to pull it off very well. The szechuan🌶 numbing peppercorn gave it the right kick which made it more distinctive. On the other hand, the vibe, crowed & ambiance were average. Probably if the place was smaller, it would have felt more intimate.

Great food, great service, and atmosphere is nice too. The food comes quite quickly, it's very authentic food (especially the spicy dishes), and the plates have large portions. Rice is free, as is in most places in Texas, and there's plenty of seating. Also lots of parking specifically for the restaurant.