When Philippines-native Ayie Acierto moved to Houston, she was disappointed by the selection of Filipino restaurants.

The labor-intensive cooking process might tempt others to resort to frozen or pre-prepared ingredients, she said.

“It’s so embarrassing for us to go to Filipino restaurants because she tries to teach the people how to make the food, and she has comments on every single dish,” Acierto’s daughter Shana Stevenson said. “The other ones are franchises or buffets, so [Ayie’s is] very different.”

The mother-daughter duo opened Ayie’s Traditional Filipino-American Food with family friend Dan Whitcher in summer 2017. Several dishes on the menu are recipes passed down from Acierto’s grandmother that she said have been modified over the years.

Dishes at Ayie’s are made-to-order based on diners’ preferences. The staff visits the market two or three times a week to keep the restaurant stocked with fresh ingredients, Acierto said.

Popular dishes on the menu include beef kare kare—a stew served with a thick savory peanut sauce—and pancit, which is similar to Chinese lo mein or Vietnamese vermicelli, served with chicken, pork, shrimp and vegetables.

“Mom cooks so much at the house ... so we would take leftover food to the bar,” Stevenson said, referencing Bedrock Tavern, a Grant Road bar the family has owned for the past six years. “Everyone loved it, but no one really knew about Filipino food.”

Because of its location in Southeast Asia and its historical relationships with countries like Spain and the U.S., Stevenson said Filipino cuisine draws influence from all over the world. Opening Ayie’s allowed the family to share their culture, she said.

Filipino families living in Cy-Fair now have access to authentic meals that bring them back home. Since opening, Stevenson said many customers have visited Ayie’s out of curiosity.

“A lot of people don’t know about Filipino [culture], but we’re known for being very hospitable,” she said. “Regardless of who walks in here, we treat everybody like family. Everybody feels at home.”

Ayie’s Traditional Filipino-American Food 11702 Grant Road, Ste. C, Cypress 346-808-7993 www.facebook.com/ayiestraditional Hours: Tue.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Mon.