DINING FEATURE
BY RENEE FARMER
3 DISHES TO TRY
MALASIAN ROTI CANAI $6.99 Malaysian-Indian atbread is cooked on a skillet and served with
"THIS PLACE IS KIND OF LIKE A GLUE, BRINGING THEM TOGETHER AS A MALAYSIAN COMMUNITY." FRANCO CHIN, CO OWNER
curry chicken dipping sauce.
STIR FRY FLAT NOODLES WITH CHICKEN $13.99 $15.99 The dish includes stir-fried at noodles with chicken, seafood or tofu.
Wife and husband Jovia and Franco Chin own and run Uncle Chin’s Kitchen. (Photos by Renee Farmer/Community Impact)
Uncle Chin’s Kitchen Katy restaurant brings Malaysian community together with authentic food F ranco Chin, an IT professional-turned-chef, has a heart for bringing authentic After graduating from high school, Franco wanted to work in a ve-star restaurant but was discouraged from “All these years, there’s been a voice telling me, ‘You need to start a restaurant,’” Franco said.
MALAYSIAN CHICKEN SATAY $13.99 Chicken is marinated with spices, grilled and served with peanut sauce, cucumbers and red onions.
Malaysian food to Katy and uniting the area’s Malaysian community over a meal that tastes like home. Franco and his wife, Jovia Chin, own and run Uncle Chin’s Kitchen, a reference to the Malaysian custom of referring to an elder as “uncle.” Building on a family legacy of cook- ing talent, Franco serves Malaysian food with some Singaporean options at the eatery. Franco said his relatives, who never attended cooking school, were talented at cooking. Franco’s father, who passed away in November, revealed to him that one of his ancestors was a chef in the Malaysian emperor’s palace.
doing so. Instead, he came to the U.S. and attended the University of Kentucky to study computer science. “All this time, there’s been a passion for cooking. Whenever I was stressed out, I would go to the kitchen and start cooking,” he said. Franco built an outdoor kitchen 15 years ago. Using concepts gleaned from his years in IT, he reverse-engineered recipes based on how he remembered the taste. He said the better weather and good schools for his two sons drew him to Katy from Chicago 10 years ago; after 24 years working in the IT industry, he opened Uncle Chin’s Kitchen in May 2021 o Mason Road.
Many Southeast Asians living in the U.S. miss homecooked food, as it is hard to nd authentic cuisine, Franco said. Franco does most of the cooking at Uncle Chin’s Kitchen, with help from an assistant. All of the sauces are homemade. Franco said, previously unbe- knownst to him, there is a large Malaysian community in the Katy area. In his own restaurant, he has seen long-lost friends reunited on two occasions, and numerous guests have made the restaurant a weekly catch-up spot. “This place is kind of like a glue, bringing them together as a commu- nity,” Franco said.
Uncle Chin’s Kitchen 1520 Mason Road, Ste. A, Katy 832-437-3273 www.unclechinkitchen.com Hours: Mon., Wed.-Thu., Sun. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fri. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Tue., Sat. closed
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KATY EDITION • FEBRUARY 2023
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