Chinese Puerto Rican Restaurant Michy’s Chino Boricua Is Drawing Diners to Katy | Eater Houston

"At a corner storefront with a drive-thru, I found a casual fast-food takeout spot where people will drive for hours to get a taste of Chinese Puerto Rican food; a large SUV of men from a Laredo military base loaded up heavy takeout trays and said the food made them feel “like I’m on the island.” Owner Michelle “Michy” Lao opened the Katy/Houston location in May 2021 to bring her Chinese American Puerto Rican roots stateside, serving recipes passed down through her family. The menu is a full expression of that fusion: mounds of mofongo piled high with pepper steak; crispy tostones tossed in garlic-and-butter and served with a mayonnaise-and-ketchup dip; carne frita—chunks of seasoned pork fried hard and marinated with Chinese five-spice and curry powder; boneless barbecue ribs glazed in a sweet Cantonese-style sauce and commonly served with fried rice; dark meat-only fried chicken cooked in a large wok and seasoned with Latin and Asian spices like oregano, cumin, and achiote; numerous plantain preparations from sweet pan-fried chunks to savory mofongo; and a gooey fried guava cheesecake that nods to a popular island fruit. Lao says about 80 percent of her customers are Puerto Rican or Latin, and she hopes to both comfort those who miss home and teach this cuisine to people unfamiliar with it." - Brittany Britto Garley