This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Chef-Owner Alex Au-Yeung at Phat Eatery which will open a second location in the Woodlands next year.

Phat Eatery, the Malaysian street food restaurant in Katy whose owner worked his way to a James Beard Award nomination this year, is expanding.

Chef/owner Alex Au-Yeung announced Thursday that he will open a second Phat Eatery in early 2023 at 2290 Buckthorne Place at Grogan Mills Village in the Woodlands. The Katy location, at 7,800 square feet, is more than twice the size of the original Katy restaurant and will offer seating for 180 diners. The restaurant will open with the Phat menu of dishes such as Indian flat bread with curry dip, satay chicken and beef skewers, dumplings and pork buns, Haianese chicken, Malaysian curry chicken, sizzling black pepper beef, beef rendang, chili prawns, curry laksa, stir-fry noodles, and fried rice dishes.

DRINK UP: Which Houston bar is the only in Texas on new list of 50 Best Bars in North America?

Opened in 2018, Phat quickly became a star in Katy’s growing restaurant scene. This year, Au-Yeung found himself among Houston’s semifinalists list for the James Beard Award’s Best Chef Texas.

“I’ve been thinking about expanding to The Woodlands for a while,” Au-Yeung saod. “It’s not easy to find good real estate in The Woodlands, but we've found the perfect spot with room to do the menu I've always wanted.”

At the Woodlands location Au-Yeung plans to introduce Chinese-style barbecue to the menu including barbecue pork and Peking duck. He also will add bian dang, inspired by Japanese bento box, during lunch service. Southeast Asian-inspired craft cocktails, in addition to beer, wine, and sake, are also planned for the new full-service bar. 

Phat Eatery Woodlands will serve lunch and dinner daily.

Greg Morago writes about food for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter. Send him news tips at greg.morago@chron.com. Hear him on our BBQ State of Mind podcast to learn about Houston and Texas barbecue culture.

Greg Morago was a features editor and reporter for The Hartford Courant for 25 years before joining the Houston Chronicle as food editor in 2009. He writes about food, restaurants, spirits, travel, fashion and beauty. He is a native Arizonan and member of the Pima tribe of the Gila River Indian Community.

The 11-year-old Uvalde student who hid during the mass shooting testified to Congress that they "thought he was going to come back."