After Yeung died in mid-2024, Kevin Lee and Marvin He took over as co-directors of operations alongside General Manager Lonnie Atchison, who helps operate The Woodlands location.
“We decided to come out this way and try to expand our restaurant for new people to try new flavors,” Atchison said.
What's special about it
Atchison said Yeung merged his upbringing in Hong Kong and his Malaysian heritage to offer interpretations of regional Southeast Asian specialties as well as Indian cuisine at Phat Eatery.
Since its opening, the restaurant has earned a spirited following and over 40 awards for its Malaysian cuisine and hospitality, Atchison said. From the James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef Texas to numerous mentions in local newspapers, Phat Eatery has earned several honorable mentions, he said.
Phat Eatery features menu items such as its award-winning beef rendang, curry laksa and flaky roti canai, an Indian flat bread with curry dip, in addition to stir-fried noodles, rice and vegetable dishes.
“People that have been to Malaysia come down here and try out our food, and are impressed that it's even as good or better than what they receive there,” Atchison said. “We have state-of-the-art kitchen equipment and combined with our experience with [Malaysian food] our cuisine excels.”
Atchison said he joined the Phat Eatery team and helped open The Woodlands location in June after years of working in the restaurant industry, including Amedeo’s Italian Restaurant located in Kingwood.
On the menu
Phat Eatery is known for its large portion offerings with Malaysian menu times such as its CK Teow; flat noodles made with chicken, shrimp, calamari, sriracha, Chinese sausage, bean sprouts, eggs and chives; and its sizzling tofu prepared with house-made egg tofu, a choice of minced chicken, and chopped shrimp sauce or vegetable sauce.
The restaurant adapts its menu to the dietary requirements of its patrons, offering slow-cooked curries with five different levels of spiciness, he said.
“I have worked at a lot of restaurants and this has been the best. Everybody works as a family. Everybody helps everybody, and it's really easy to run a restaurant when everybody's a team player,” Atchison said. “It's almost all teamwork. Kevin and Marvin helped develop this way of training and learning, and the way we're always taught was customer service is always first. You can always fix food but you can't fix customer service. I think that's where we excel at the most.”
- 2290 Buckthorne Place, The Woodlands
- www.phateatery.com
