Phat Eatery Team Keeps Late Chef’s Dream Alive With Its Latest Opening

With chef Alex Au-Yeung’s enduring vision and special touches, the Malaysian restaurant opened its largest location in The Woodlands

It was Alex Au-Yeung’s dream to open a second restaurant. The James Beard Award-nominated chef had developed a reputation for introducing numerous Houstonians to “hawker-style” Southeast Asian fare at his Katy Asian Town restaurant, Phat Eatery. He had his sights set on The Woodlands, but the restaurant community was delivered a difficult blow when, in March, Au-Yeung died after a brief battle with cancer.

Plans for the much-anticipated second location had already faced several roadblocks due to delayed shipments and damaging storms, but Au-Yeung’s team was intent on getting Phat to the finish line, keeping the chef’s vision — and his spirit — alive. And on Wednesday, June 26, coinciding with Phat’s sixth anniversary, Au-Yeung’s team did just that, opening the second and largest location of Phat Eatery in The Woodlands.

“It’s been two years of us drawing the ideas from paper to the physical location,” says Kevin Lee, who along with Marvin He, co-directs Phat Eatery’s operations. The two had worked closely with Au-Yeung on Phat Eatery’s inception, and they’re just now completing the final touches as Au-Yeung would have seen fit, he says. “He paved the way, and we want to make sure this style of restaurant lives up to the hype and carries on [his] legacy.” Fortunately, Lee adds, “Everything is pretty much to the T and what he dreamed of.”

Jenn Duncan

Jenn Duncan

The 8,200-square-foot building welcomes diners in through an LED-lit archway. Inside, Chinese lanterns, designed by Au-Yeung before his passing, illuminate wood-framed booths that complement the restaurant’s splashes of fiery orange and red. A stamped metal chandelier serves as a focal point in the room. Near the entrance, a vibrant painting of Au-Yeung by Chris Hernandez, commissioned by the chef’s friends at No Label Brewing, reinforces that Au-Yeung’s palpable tenacity still permeates the space. A settee pays homage to his Malaysian culture, featuring details about Malaysia’s first prime minister; hibiscus, the country’s national flower; and the sacred keris, a dagger that represents power and culture.

Diners who have experienced Phat will find familiar elements in the new outpost, including the signature neon market signs — one with the brilliant and playful definition of “Phat” (“highly attractive and gratifying”). But the new Woodlands digs are noticeably larger than the Katy location. The restaurant can hold 194 people between its various spaces, which include a spacious dining room, a 16-seat bar, and two private dining areas, including a tree-lined atrium that fits 75 and the 15-person Chef’s Table that has a built-in electric Lazy Susan. Glimpses into the kitchen, thanks to a more open layout, reveal dedicated stations for roti, dim sum, and Beijing duck, plus two 40-gallon tilt skillets used to cook large batches of curries and sauces and an impressive industrial potato peeler that helps process 400 pounds of potatoes every two days.

Most of Phat’s street food-inspired offerings, including its cult-favorite flaky roti canai, saucy rendang, satay skewers, sizzling egg tofu, and stir-fried noodles, remain, but Lee and He says they plan to expand the menu later this year, continuing Au-Yeung’s vision with infusions of Cantonese-style barbecue and Beijing duck. Dim sum will also take on a greater role at Phat, with new steamed rice rolls and xiao long bao joining its selection of har gow, siu mai, pork buns, and lotus lead-wrapped sticky rice. The full-service bar, which promises a selection of beer, wine, sake, and Southeast Asian-influenced cocktails, like lychee margaritas and coconut espresso martinis, will offer small plates that include salt-and-pepper wings, Malaysian tacos, and beef rendang burgers.

Jenn Duncan

Lee and He say Phat’s Katy location, which opened in 2018, still serves as a prime spot for suburban families. The two predict that The Woodlands location — just a five-minute drive from the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion — will become a dining destination, drawing in even more diners despite not being in Houston’s busy Inner Loop. Already, the directors say The Woodlands community has been receptive to Phat’s presence, as noted by the many residents sending in emails or walking up to the restaurant expressing their excitement for its opening.

“We’re proud that we get to call this place our second home,” Lee says.

Jenn Duncan

Phat Eatery — The Woodlands is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Grogan’s Mill Village Center at 2290 Buckthorne Place, The Woodlands, 77380.