The Phat Eatery Story — This New Restaurant Coup For The Woodlands Keeps a Chef Who Died Too Young’s Legacy Alive

The highly anticipated Phat Eatery is open in The Woodlands, continuing the legacy of James Beard Award nominated chef Alex Au-Yeung. The late chef’s proteges Kevin Lee and Marvin He brought their friend’s dream to life on the sixth anniversary of the first Phat Eatery’s opening in Katy Asian Town. Phat Eatery’s new Woodlands restaurant, in the works since 2022, can be found in the Grogan’s Mill Village Center.  

The Phat Eatery team faced an uphill battle to bring this Malaysian food restaurant to life. The obstacles included bringing a 40-year-old building that previously housed a Fuddruckers up to code, awaiting routinely delayed or damaged overseas shipments of custom equipment and decor, storms that sent a 35-foot tree crashing onto the roof and the biggest tragedy of all —Phat Eatery founder Alex Au-Yeung succumbing to cancer in March at age 52.

“With the passing of Alex, a lot of things were delayed, but I’m thankful everyone has been more than understanding,” Lee tells PaperCity The Woodlands. “I am sorry it took so long, but we’re here. We’re ready.”

Lee and He have overseen the Katy Phat Eatery’s operations and the new buildout in The Woodlands for months. Many longtime employees trained by Au-Yeung are on site in The Woodlands to help get the restaurant off the ground. With a background in fine arts, an interest in architecture and experience with kitchen equipment at a prior warehouse job, He proved to be an invaluable asset to the buildout of The Woodlands restaurant, especially its kitchen. Cross training was a priority for Au-Yeung and it has paid off as the co-directors fill in wherever needed from moment to moment.

As a tribute to Phat Eatery’s founder, Au-Yeung’s friends at No Label Brewing commissioned local artist and brewer Chris Hernandez to paint a vibrant portrait of the chef, which hangs near the host stand in the new restaurant in The Woodlands.

Phat Eatery Does The Woodlands

Familiar elements that pay homage to Phat Eatery’s original restaurant in this new Woodlands spot include an oversized neon sign defining Phat as meaning “Highly attractive or gratifying” and neon night market signs. All designed by Au-Yeung, He and Lee. The new Phat Eatery seats 194 people between the main dining room, a 16-seat bar, two private dining spaces and a serene, tree-wrapped atrium with floor-to-ceiling windows that accommodates 75 diners.

In The Woodlands, diners will find fresh, street food-inspired favorites, including flaky roti canai, satay skewers, kerabu prawn, curry laksa, sizzling egg tofu, Malaysian curry chicken and beef rendang, along with stir-fried noodles, specialty fried rice and a range of seafood and vegetable dishes.

The bar includes selections of beer, wine and sake, alongside Southeast Asian-inspired craft cocktails. Offerings include a lychee margarita and Malaysian sling, a house old fashioned and a coconut espresso martini.

Later this year, Lee and He plan to expand the menu at The Woodlands’ Phat Eatery, introducing Au-Yeung’s passion project Cantonese-style barbecue, something he fell in love with while training in Hong Kong, along with Peking duck. They will also expand and elevate the selection of house dim sum, adding steamed rice rolls and xiao long bao alongside the already popular har gow, siu mai, pork buns and lotus leaf-wrapped sticky rice.

A Custom Kitchen For The Woodlands

Au-Yeung and He visited New York City numerous times to design everything for the wok station and dim sum steamer at The Woodlands’ New Phat Eatery.

“With traditional Hong Kong-style kitchens, there’s a valve that turns on the gas and turns on the fire,” Lee notes. “All of this has to be dialed into the cook’s height, how high their knee reaches up, etc. The manufacturer customized everything according to everyone’s preference.”

The layout provides maximum efficiency for recipe production, with dedicated stations for roti, dim sum, Peking duck and testing chef experiments. Two 40-gallon tilt skillets cook large batches of curries and sauces, helping this larger restaurant serve as a commissary kitchen.

Yet to open is a private 15-person chef’s table room with a built-in, electric Lazy Susan rotating tray.  

“Phat Eatery is special,” He says. “Here, it’s all about how to make people feel welcome. It’s more laid-back and casual than any other place. In addition to great service and food, it’s very welcoming and comfortable.”

The Woodlands’ Phat Eatery is open Sundays through Thursdays from 11 am to 9 pm, and Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 10 pm. Reservations are available through Resy.