Within Houston’s always-growing cocktail scene, there’s a welcome new appetite for drinks that represent more than just the creativity and playfulness of its bartenders—there’s also a desire to incorporate flavors from cultures integral to the fabric of the city. Cuisines from countries across the Asian continent have long been a part of Houston’s restaurant landscape, so it’s exciting to see regional ingredients showing up in bar programs in new and exciting ways. Here’s how local restaurants are using cocktails as a canvas for Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean spices, fruit, tea, and more.
Jūn’s Michelada
Tangy, spicy, and bubbly, the typical beer-based michelada includes variations on Mexican spices. At Jūn, chef and owner Evelyn Garcia’s version gets extra umami punch from hoisin sauce—a Cantonese paste made with soybeans, fennel, red chile peppers, and garlic—and fish sauce, a common seasoning in Southeast Asian cuisine made from fermented fish.
“Micheladas are a staple in Texas and in Mexico, so I’ve had a lot of renditions,” Garcia says. “Clamato is more of a Texas border/Mexico thing, and I wanted to combine all of those ingredients and introduce fish sauce because it’s definitely one of my favorite ingredients.”
Like many of Jūn’s offerings, the michelada reflects the backgrounds of Garcia and her business partner Henry Lu. The restaurant, “even down to our cocktails, is about showcasing our background: myself as a Mexican Salvadorean and Henry being Chinese American,” Garcia says. Making a more savory version of the michelada with hoisin and fish sauce reminds them of home, she adds.
Hongdae 33’s K-Shawty
Yakult may have started its road to probiotic dominance in Japan in 1935, but today the 2.7-ounce drinkable yogurt is enjoyed in Asian communities all over the world for its ability to aid digestion—and can be found on the shelves of H-E-B. It’s also since become a staple at Korean barbecue restaurants, where diners enjoy the child-size bottle at meal’s end.
At Hongdae 33, Yakult plays a starring role in the K-Shawty cocktail, along with Original Soju, strawberry liqueur, and the popular South Korean soda Milkis. Owner Grace Xia is mindful of how cocktails play into the Korean barbecue dining experience, which is usually a special occasion celebrated in groups.
It’s why Xia wanted to create the pink drink as a fun and photogenic option often favored by women having a good time out (thus the “shawty” reference). But she notes that, first and foremost, it’s a drink made to pair with the food. When a meal is heavy on meat, it’s nice to have “something refreshing for the stomach,” she says.
The Blind Goat’s Fungi & Gal
Beverage director Alex Coon was looking to create a cocktail that he describes as “a little bit funky” to round out the drink list at chef Christine Ha’s Blind Goat. The result, after some trial and error, was the Fungi & Gal, a savory vodka-based drink with white miso, shiitake mushroom, celery, and an oolong and jasmine tea blend.
“I have a soft spot for white miso, like miso ramen, so I wanted to work with that. Shiitake goes hand in hand [with miso], and I’m also a huge tea lover, so when I was thinking about incorporating all of those ingredients, sweet and very dry, [it] made sense to me,” Coon says.
He incorporates the miso and mushroom flavors by creating a small-batch syrup that combines the two ingredients, adding it to fresh blends of oolong and jasmine tea. “Asian ingredients are powerful,” Coon says. “I really enjoy working with [them] because they bring so much to the table, no matter how light or heavy they are, there’s always that flavor addition.”
Money Cat’s Omija-Rita
When the Omija-Rita makes its way to a table at upscale Japanese spot Money Cat, assistant general manager and beverage director Ashley Castro says it has “the sizzling-plate-of-fajitas effect.” That is, when one comes out, suddenly a rush of orders from other diners comes through.
The cocktail presents in the glass as a brilliant, deep red, courtesy of pigments pulled from a mix of hibiscus and omija berries, known as five-flavor fruit and popular in Korea. It’s mixed with tequila and sudachi, a Japanese citrus fruit, and the rim of the glass is topped with what Castro calls “a togarashi Tajín.”
The kitchen’s pastry team helped create the togarashi blend—Japanese spicy dried chile peppers, sugar, and salt—for the finishing touch. The result is a sour, sweet, salty, and umami cocktail that blends Castro’s Hispanic heritage with ingredients from different parts of Asia.
Kau Ba’s Pho-loma
The genius of a bowl of phở is in its aromatics—spices like star anise, cloves, black cardamom, and coriander create a soup base ready for any number of savory and herbal additions. Translating these flavors into a cocktail makes sense, but it does present a challenge if the goal is to drink something cold and refreshing rather than warm and comforting.
Perhaps that’s why Kau Ba’s Pho-loma is a cocktail menu staple at chef Nikki Tran’s Viet-Cajun restaurant. Made with Arette reposado tequila, a housemade phở spice syrup, fresh lime juice, grapefruit soda, and a habanero tincture with a dash of Peychaud’s bitters, the Pho-loma is “a take on a paloma, but make it Asian-Vietnamese inspired,” says former general manager Amanda Donaho.
Not only does the cocktail stand up to Houston’s heat and humidity, it’s an excellent sipper throughout a meal. As Donaho says, “It’s complementary to any of the phởs because it has the same spices, and anything fried, like street eggrolls and the F.O.B. [soft-shell crab]. It’s balanced and can go with pretty much anything.”
Treasure Hunt
Spot these other ingredients in cocktails around town.
- Black sesame: These nutty seeds, often made into a paste, make appearances in the Blind Goat’s Mot-Hai-Ball and Jūn’s Open Sesame.
- Taro: This starchy root vegetable from Southeast Asia produces a mildly sweet taste in cocktails like the Blind Goat’s taro colada.
- Japanese whisky: The climate and flavors of Japan are prominent in this malted grain spirit, an ingredient on cocktail menus such as Uchiko’s. Opt for a highball to sample its complexity.
- Pandan: The fragrant, blade-shaped leaves of this plant are prized across the Asian continent for their grassy, floral vanilla flavors. Taste it in Better Luck Tomorrow’s Gullywash and Kau Ba’s Chanh Dây Cooler.
- Yuzu: Used primarily for its aromatic zest and juice, this tart citrus fruit from East Asia features in Ten Sushi and Cocktail Bar’s spicy yuzu margarita and Loro’s yuzu spritz.
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