Asian-Owned Businesses in Austin
Support a variety of local Asian-owned businesses in Austin from delicious ramen spots to Japanese bookstores.
ASIAN-OWNED RESTAURANTS IN AUSTIN
DEE DEE is an Austin food truck run by Lakana, Justin, and their dog Mango. They serve authentic Northeastern Thai street food from Lakana's hometown in Thailand. Lakana grew up helping her family plant vegetables and rice to sell at the local market and learned to appreciate the freshest and healthiest ingredients. Her passion for cooking was born from the intensive and time-consuming process of preparing meals that she learned from her family's generations of experience. Now she wants to share her traditions with you and your loved ones.
Chef Ling from Fuzhou City in Fujian Province has a passion for Chinese cuisine that she developed through her grandmother's cooking. She honed her skills in New York and Austin restaurants, focusing on dim sum under Chef William Wong. She combines Eastern and Western cuisine and focuses on healthier ingredients. Ling's goal is to promote better health through the appreciation of Chinese cuisine. Her Asian Bar Restaurant in Austin serves traditional Chinese dishes made with better, healthier ingredients, sourcing from local suppliers. They offer limited dim sum on weekdays and full dim sum on Sundays.
Broth & Basil is the dream-turned-reality of owner Phen Diep, whose passion for cooking started in his home kitchen with friends and family. Although he now cooks outside his home, he remains dedicated to making quality food, taking care to parboil his broth bones and simmer them for 10 hours to produce a clean taste without bouillon powders or fillers. He combines traditional Vietnamese dishes with a Texas twist, offering unique dishes like Pho Wagyu, made with high-quality beef sourced from Austin's Ranger Cattle. It's his most popular specialty dish, and he invites you to come try it for yourself.
Y and Nguyet Quach owned and operated the Hao Hao Round Rock location. Once their kids had finished college, they decided to sell the location and focus on Nguyet’s passion for baking. This allowed Nguyet to develop her signature bánh mì sandwiches. They went on to open the cafe, and they make delicious Thai-inspired cuisine as well as French baguettes that Nguyet makes from scratch daily. To top it all off, they create delicious desserts like cheesecake and mango sticky rice.
Run by local Buddhist nuns and volunteers, this Vietnamese food truck focuses on homemade meat-free and meat-alternative options that cater to vegan and vegetarian diets. They donate all of their proceeds to their temple, and they use homegrown vegetables from their garden when they can to create their meals from scratch. Even if you aren’t on a meatless diet, their food is well-received by diners, and they even have a 4.8 rating on Google.
Komé is a restaurant that offers authentic home-style Japanese cooking influenced by various cultures and cuisines. Their food reflects their family history and background from Japan, New Orleans, and Austin, as well as their travels throughout Asia. The Asazu family, who owns the restaurant, wants to provide a casual and comfortable atmosphere with great food at reasonable prices. They use fresh ingredients and want to introduce real family-style Japanese comfort food to more people.
It’s funny thinking that the founder of a restaurant would hate cooking, but that’s just the story behind Koriente. The founder loved going out to eat, but she found the food to be unhealthy. So began Koriente, a healthy, affordable, and quick Asian eatery. The team expanded to include chefs who create incredible dishes. They don't add MSG to their food, and they put a focus on reducing the oil, sugar, and salt content without compromising on flavor. Their fresh veggies are cut daily in their kitchen, and they offer plenty of vegan-friendly dishes. Most of their entrees are designed to be customized how you like, and you can add options and change the spice levels to make something that suits your taste.
This fantastic fusion restaurant grew from a food truck behind the Liberty Bar to include a brick-and-mortar location on South Lamar, a location in Houston, and another in Denver. That just goes to show how in-demand their Japanese street food is. It began as an idea between Paul Qui and Moto Utsunomiya during their time at Uchi in Austin and has flourished into a creative space for Asian inspiration and Austin’s laid-back culture to meld together. Try unique options like their Beet Home Fries, which include deep-fried roasted beets, Japanese mayo, shichimi togarashi, and green onion.
Sarah Lim is the owner of OMG Squee bakery in Austin, which saw a massive surge in popularity after Lim was featured on the Austin season of “Queer Eye” after going through a tough time dealing with the pandemic and vandalism. The crew also helped connect Lim to other Asian restaurateurs. Now, fans can enjoy visiting OMG Squee for 100% gluten-free Asian-American desserts like macarons, taiyaki, mochi donuts, cheesecake, and bubble tea. Everything is made in small batches for the best flavor and freshness. “Squee” is the sound you make when you see something cute, which will definitely be the case at this adorable dessert shop.
This Vietnamese and French-owned café is a cute and cozy spot in East Austin. It’s also a family-run business! Their extensive menu includes fresh pastries, bagel sandwiches, traditional crepes, and more. They change their menu frequently and are fond of experimentation, so following them on social media is sure to make you hungry. They also make themselves a great resource to the community by offering conference rooms, a kid's corner, a printing station, and a free library.
This Asian-owned and inspired cookie company creates nostalgia and indulgent rotating flavors. They don’t have a physical location, but instead do Austin delivery and South Austin pop-ups. They age their cookie dough from 1 to 3 days to allow all of the flavors to absorb and mature. They also source local ingredients from local companies like Maggie’s Micros Extracts, Yegua Farms Pecans, Matcha is for Lovers, Falfurrias Butter, and Vital Farm Eggs. You can enjoy original flavors like Matcha Pistachio, Black Sesame Cookies and Cream, and seasonal flavors, too.
This authentic Chinese teahouse focuses on farm-direct Chinese Tea and Artisan-direct teaware for a quality experience. You can make a reservation for self-serve tea and hosted tea, and on the weekend they take reservations for their formal tea ceremonies. They serve more than 130 different kinds of tea, and they also have community programs and classes to learn more about the art form of Gong Fu Cha, which focuses on ritual and presentation.
Fans of this no-frills spot might think it closed since it disappeared from Guadalupe Street by the University of Texas at Austin campus, but it simply moved to a new location up north that’s just as fantastic. They combine influences from Korea, Japan, and Hawaii for healthy and flavorful options that are hearty and affordable. They’ve even got some of the best ramen in Austin. When you’re here you can enjoy their complimentary miso soup and watch anime and sports on their multiple TVs.
ASIAN-OWNED GROCERY STORES IN AUSTIN
This Asian grocery store chain has a massive location in North Austin, complete with imported food, fresh fish, drinks, and housewares. HMart’s Austin location also has a stage with live music in their food court. The food court has a variety of options from sushi to fried Korean rice hot dogs. Here, you can make a trip to the grocery store into a fun family outing or date night.
MT Supermarket is a family-owned and operated international grocery store located in Chinatown Austin. With over 100,000 square feet of retail space, it offers a wide selection of hard-to-find products from Asia and beyond. The store is committed to providing excellent customer service and strives to be the premier destination for all Asian and international grocery needs in the area. Come see the wonder of MT Supermarket for yourself!
Ranch Market was created in 1984 by Mr. Roger Chen. As a Taiwanese immigrant, he noticed a lack of Asian options in the typical American supermarket, which led him to start this successful chain that’s now one of the largest in the U.S. They want to introduce people to a variety of diverse foods, so they launched a food court called Eat Up inside all of their locations. They proudly provide opportunities for mainstream American families and global customers to experience the authentic flavors of Asian cuisines.
Asahi Imports is the only Japanese-focused market in Austin. Here you’ll find everyday Japanese food options, specialty ingredients, fun snacks, sweets, sake, Japanese beers, household goods, unique gifts, and more. They’ve been in business since 1967 and provide the Austin community with convenient options like curbside pickup and an Onigiri Corner with high-quality grab-and-go dishes.
ASIAN-OWNED SHOPS IN AUSTIN
This 100-yen shop chain is similar to the Dollar Store in the U.S. and just as popular! They’ve got a huge selection to choose from like travel gear, stuff for your pets, beauty products, and of course cute plushies. Everything tends to be around $1.99, and you can even find fun videos of people doing hauls of their Daiso purchases.
Kinokuniya is a unique shopping experience that’s a bookstore and much more. You can buy books including an extensive collection of manga and comics in Japanese or in English, cute stationery, and gifts. They also have a monthly stationery box called Maido in a Box. And if you love Studio Ghibli, Kinokuniya is an official retail partner and carries a wide variety of DVDs and Studio Ghibli merchandise.
ASIAN-OWNED ART GALLERY IN AUSTIN
Francisca Tung started Lotus Gallery in 2001, and it has since grown to be a member of the Antique Council. The gallery focuses on Asian art, antiques, and antiquities with a carefully curated range of art, furniture, jewelry, sculptures, and more. While they also supply private collectors, they can name the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Rubin Museum, the Ringling Museum, and the Heritage Museum of Asian Art, among their clients.
ASIAN-OWNED FITNESS
In Japanese culture, Yokai are supernatural beings, and the mission of this studio is to strive toward supernatural strength. This personal-training fitness studio puts an emphasis on holistic health, and they’re proud to offer a judgment-free space for people who have felt left behind by the traditional fitness industry. Owner and coach Evan Le believes that strength training is for everyone, and they also can offer nutritional advice since they are Precision Nutrition level 1 certified coaches.
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