Find a World of Asian Flavors on Texas Toast at This Houston Cafe

Funky preserved duck eggs, Kalbi beef with corn cheese, and  tuna belly and tuna loin with salmon roe are just the tipping point at Vuji Cafe

When a friend who operated a bubble tea shop decided to sell her space in the Heights, Houston-based restaurateurs Ian So and Tristan Nguyen jumped at the opportunity to open a new cafe. The main dish, they decided, would be Vietnamese-style sandwiches. But after a thorough tour of the best banh mi shops in Houston (Don Cafe, being a favorite), So says he had to rethink things.

“We realized there’s just too many Vietnamese sandwiches, and banh mi is a pretty good sandwich,” So says. “It’s hard to make it better.” So, who also owns Boston’s Korean restaurant Seoul Kitchen and China Moon, a Chinese takeout restaurant in Miami, decided to switch gears. Other popular Asian-influenced sandwiches, like Kata Robata’s iconic wagyu sando — fatty slices of beef precisely layered on Japanese-style milk bread — offered some inspiration, until finally, So and Nguyen had an “aha” moment. What if they combined Asian diasporic flavors from around the world and sandwiched it between Texas toast?

So and Nguyen moved forward with the idea. After settling on a quirky “multicultural”-sounding name, which So says they made up, they officially opened their Texas-Asian fusion sandwich shop Vuji Cafe on Saturday, June 22. The Heights cafe now serves an eclectic lineup of seven sandwiches — a creative amalgamation of Chinese, Korean, Thai, Japanese, and Filipino flavors served on the thick pillowy white bread preferred in Texas.

Gracie Henley

Vuji’s chef Kevin Villanueva used much of his experience cooking and eating in other countries to shape the menu, but home-cooking and the dishes the chef and owners grew up with also had an influence. “Home-cooking or grandma’s cooking is always best because she’s made the recipe for like 30 years, and she doesn’t skimp on the ingredients,” So says.

The best-selling Negitoro Tuna sandwich, Villaneuva’s brainchild, pairs sushi-grade tuna belly and tuna loin with salmon roe, scallions, and furikake, a savory combination of dried fish, sesame seeds, and chopped seaweed. The Hainan Chicken sandwich, a refreshing spin on the popular Chinese dish that So’s mom makes, incorporates chicken baked in Chinese wine and served with a Hainan ginger scallion sauce. For meat lovers, Vuji offers its answer to the patty melt: slices of juicy roast beef on Texas toast layered with kimchi-infused corn cheese, and a sweeter Kalbi sauce; and, for vegans, the Thai-inspired Tom Yum Tofu features fried tofu topped with Tom Yum sauce and a yuzu avocado mash with a Japanese cracker for added crunch.

The Century Egg, made with a salty, black-hued preserved duck egg, is likely the most eclectic. Another Villanueva creation, it’s a cross between a funky duck egg salad and an avocado toast thanks to its yuzu avocado spread, So says. Meanwhile, the grilled cheese keeps it basic, with the option of adding Hainan chicken, and for those with a hankering for something sweet, the Ube Pandan — what So describes as an Asian PB&J or s’mores-like sandwich — is a sweet yet balanced blend of ube and pandan, ube foam, strawberries, Japanese wafer cookies, and marshmallows.

Gracie Henley

Asian ingredients are also represented in its drink menu, with refreshing Thai iced teas, honey yuzu seltzers, and salty plum limeades, plus cold brews coming in special flavors like coconut, calamansi — a bright Filipino citrus fruit, and the sometimes-divisive durian.

The sandwich experimentation is far from over. Vuji plans to eventually expand to include sandwiches with ingredients like smoked brisket and Japanese tamago, and will feature more twists on classics like the bacon, egg, and cheese.

Vuji Cafe is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. 718 W 18th Street, Suite H, Houston, 77008.