Sister duo Lin Lin Yan and Lin Motiwala opened Aling’s Chinese Cuisine in Sugar Land about nine years ago to provide Indo-Chinese fusion cuisine. Yan oversees the restaurant’s operations, while Motiwala is the head chef.

“My sister has a great passion for cooking,” Yan said. “She’s always been entertaining friends and family. We just came up with this idea, like, ‘Why not just start our own restaurant and see where it goes?’”

Yan and Motiwala are Chinese, but were born and raised in India, so fusing the cuisines together came naturally, Yan said.

“We know that in the South Asian community, they love spicy food, so we kind of incorporated both the flavors together,” she said

Originally, Aling’s opened at Hwy. 59 and Williams Trace Boulevard and moved last November to its new location near the intersection of Hwy. 90A and Easton Avenue, providing more visibility for the restaurant, Yan said.

“In the other location, we were kind of tucked away,” she said. “We were more like a destination place. This location is a lot better. A lot of people already know us from the old one as well. It is doing a lot better over here with people getting to know us.”

Some popular dishes at Aling’s include basil chicken, pepper steak and the chicken sizzler, a dish served on a sizzling platter with veggies, chicken and fries and topped with a soy-based sauce, Yan said.

Aling’s fusion is also highlighted in the way the rice is made. While traditional Chinese restaurants serve jasmine rice, Aling’s serves the longer-grain basmati rice typically found in Indian dishes.

Aling’s also offers several vegetarian options for customers to try, such as Buddha’s Delight, Yan said.

To top dishes off, the sauces at Aling’s are Yan and Motiwala’s grandmother’s recipes, Yan said.

“Most of our recipes that have the sauces [are passed down] two generations. Grandma and mom passed the recipes on to us, and that’s how we are sharing it out to everyone,” Yan said.

Aling’s Chinese Cuisine

6542 Hwy. 90A, Sugar Land

281-242-0432

www.alingschinese.com

Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5:30-9:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5:30-10:30 p.m; Sun. noon-9:30 p.m.