Atlanta’s Designer Fast Food Obsession Jumps Into Houston’s Restaurant Scene in a Major Way

Houston’s about to march to a brand new beat. Atlanta’s popular pan-Asian restaurant chain Tin Drum restaurant is headed to Space City in a big way.

Just one new haven for Singapore noodles, pad thai and spring rolls isn’t enough. But five Tin Drums should do the trick and satisfy the whole city, with the first opening by the end of the year.

Dubbed “designer fast food” by an Atlanta food critic, Tin Drum is all about ingredient-driven, technique-driven cuisine from all over Asia at extremely affordable prices.

After all, this burgeoning chain started at founder Steven Chan’s alma mater Georgia Tech. If you want to draw college students, you need eats bursting with flavor that are budget-friendly with big portions at the same time.

Tin Drum’s vibe revolves around the urban Asian environment and the hustle and bustle of busy streets, bringing everyone together.

“Our philosophy is we’re here for everyone. The street is our inspiration — all walks of life. Someone who’s not well-traveled, and also someone who’s well-traveled walk down the street,” Chan tells PaperCity.

The Tin Drum Legend

 It all goes back to the ancient Asian legend of the Tin Drummer. Each morning, the Tin Drummer roamed the streets, banging a drum to wake up the town and lead people to a lively cafe where they could fill their bellies and learn all the goings-on. The unsung hero gathered everyone together.

“We carry that through our menu,” Chan says.

The food at Tin Drum isn’t strictly authentic, exactly, but it’s true to its mission.

“We’re not trying to tell you everything. Our food is special, and you can enjoy it not thinking too much about it,” Chan says.

“We never claim that our food is authentic like you’d get in a village in Vietnam. We are not that. We’re proud that we are a gateway to global Asian cuisine.”

You enjoy the casual American-style Chinese stir-fry? No problem. You’re more adventurous, looking for something more hidden, exotic? This chain has got you covered.

All the recipes hit close to home for Chan, based on his mother-in-law’s cooking. This is what happens when home cooking goes national.

“She’s a terrific cook and knows how to do Southern chinese food like Cantonese via Hong Kong or Thai food or Laotian food or Vietnamese food. She fed me through college, really,” Chan laughs.

The Tin Drum menu is split between stir-fry, noodles, curry, apps and the recently introduced, health-bent Urban Garden dishes.

The banh mis are a favorite, alongside the teriyaki chicken, Korean fried chicken with Indian pav, crab and cheese spring rolls — Tin Drum’s take on rangoons — and three types of curry, Thai, which is coconut-milk based, cream-based Indian curry and red curry.

Restaurateurs Shairoz Lakhani, Avez Maredia and Faizan Momin will run The Bayou City Tin Drums. Lakhani and Maredia fell in love with Tin Drum during their college years in Georgia. They moved to Houston two years ago and have been dying to bring the restaurant here ever since.

It didn’t take much to convince Chan. Houston’s diversity drew him in, with people of all palates. “The food culture here is world-class,” Chan says.

Tin Drum won’t miss a beat in H-Town.