Foodie Friday: Sweets and Treats
Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2025 with our calendar of live events, recommendations, and on-demand content!
Dive into cuisines and culinary traditions across Houston's Asian and Asian American communities! In our Foodie Fridays, Asia Society Texas' team shares favorite foods, traditions from diverse backgrounds, and more — stay hungry!
Meet Michael Buening and Megan Sham
Michael Buening is the Director of Performing Arts and Culture at Asia Society Texas, where he’s passionate about highlighting the incredible artistic talent that thrives in Houston. He runs on a weekly diet that includes 100 gummy bears, 30 White Rabbits, a box of Girl Scout Cookies, a pint of Van Leeuwen ice cream, and the occasional packet of Peeps.
Megan Sham is the Business and Policy Programs Associate at Asia Society Texas. She focused on food and culture in her college and graduate research, and is a native Houstonian who loves to cook, eat, and just generally talk about food. She enjoys live music, traveling, and visiting museums.
Why we're focusing on sweets and treats
On any given day in the Asia Society Texas staff break room, you may find a small pile of baked goods — cakes, kolaches, doughnuts, bread pudding, and more — courtesy of our friends and colleagues. We've decided to put our questionable eating habits to good use by sharing our favorite Asian and Asian American candies, baked goods, ice creams, and other foods where sugar is the primary ingredient. Whether you’ve got a ravenous sweet tooth or a not-too-sweet palate, we’ll have something that appeals to you!
What we are currently enjoying
Megan: Matcha has been on the rise, and I am super excited that there are so many more offerings now in Houston! Recently, I've been keeping up with the matcha popup Ensō. They have regular matcha lattes (using almond milk, for those who are dairy-free) and sweeter options like a strawberry matcha latte or an ube coconut matcha. Since they're a pop-up, the best way to find them is to check their social media to see where they'll be next!
Two brick-and-mortar locations that offer excellent matcha and coffee are Kohiko Coffee House in Sugar Land and Le'DRIP in Bellaire Asiatown. I would recommend the Houjicoco or any coffee or matcha with buckwheat syrup at Kohiko, and the egg coffee and pandan bac siu at Le’DRIP.
Michael: As Houston's summer heats up, Kwality Ice Cream on Hillcroft serves up really delicious, all-natural ice creams and frozen treats with South Asian flavors like saffron pistachio, meetha paan, and cashew raisin (my personal favorite). This version of Kwality is a growing U.S.-based chain that was started by a father and son based on their memories of the Indian brand, harking back to their recollection of the original Kwality flavors before the company was taken over by Unilever. You can taste their passion and enthusiasm in every bite.
Megan: There's a Kwality Ice Cream location in Sugar Land too, and their their kulfi and falooda are well worth a try!
What we find ourselves returning to again and again
Megan: A tried-and-true Chinatown standby is King Bakery! Their baos and egg tarts have truly a homemade taste. If you're lucky, you'll be able to catch a fresh-baked batch of pineapple buns (bo lo bao) or my personal favorite, red bean paste buns. Ever since the pandemic, they haven't displayed their baos — but trust that they are there, and that they're delicious.
Another spot in Bellaire Asiatown, in Dun Huang Plaza, is Star Snow Ice and Teriyaki. Alongside classic Taiwanese foods and drinks, they also serve multiple varieties of shaved ice. The classic style (剉冰) is more akin to a finely milled snow cone, frequently topped with mung bean, red bean, almond jelly, and more. The other version is sometimes called snow ice (雪花冰), as opposed to shaved ice, and has a milkier taste. With multiple ice flavors to choose from, the snow ice is more frequently topped with fruits and more sugary toppings. Their classic shaved ice has the approval of my Taiwanese grandmother, and if that isn’t an endorsement, I don’t know what is!
Michael: I love classic Hong Kong-style egg tarts and coconut milk buns, and chain 85° Bakery Cafe makes dependably classic versions that I like to wash down with their sea salt iced coffee. Raja Sweets on Hillcroft is my go-to for classic Mithai desserts like gulab jamun, habshi halwa, and patisa.
I never get tired of lychee (in season soon!). Eating them out of the shell, they are lightly sweet, refreshing, and make an elegant addition to desserts like panna cotta. But they are not above getting a little bit trashy in all manner of candies (classics: Dakeyi Hard Candy and Kasugai Gummy Candies) and dangerously strong cocktails.
What we're looking forward to trying
Megan: Chicha San Chen has now opened a location in Houston! The Taiwanese chain has received multiple International Taste awards for their teas, and the quality is worth the price tag. Even though there are many different shops to try for teas and boba, Chicha San Chen is at the top of mine.
Dishes that excite us
Michael: If I'm looking to eat out somewhere nice, I put a lot of stock in a restaurant that is adventurous with its dessert menu, playing with unusual and savory flavor combinations. At JŪN, chefs Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu infuse each dish with their distinctive Central American and East/Southeast Asian influences. Their goat cheesecake combines black peppercorn, ginger, and lychee flavors, while their take on nuegados incorporates star anise.
I'm also always excited to see what's in the display case when I walk into Koffeteria, where chef Vanarin Kuch is always working mad science on his pastries. I will always grab a mango sticky rice danish when they are available.
Megan: Next time you're in Katy Asia Town, try Café 11 for Hong Kong snacks, meals, and drinks. Their French toast in the Hong Kong style doesn't have the typical overzealous sugar of a more American version, perfectly capturing the "not too sweet" mantra of many Asian desserts, and it's a welcome, homey treat.
Also located in Katy is Wanpo Tea, a chain originating in Taichung, Taiwan, which is the birthplace of bubble tea. The quality of their teas, if you're a connoisseur, won't disappoint: their drinks balance the aroma of tea with the sweetness of milk, with available toppings including boba, red bean, taro, and aiyu jelly. They boast the time invested in sourcing all of their ingredients, from the tea leaves to the fruits that flavor the drinks to the cooking of their brown sugar boba.
Our wildcard recommendations
Michael: If you happen to be in New York City, I highly recommend a trip to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. They've been in operation for over 30 years, and in addition to the wonderful community feel in their original Chinatown location, they have amazing flavors I haven't seen anywhere else. Their menu flips the script with "regular" flavor options like durian, lychee, and ube, while their "exotic" listing includes chocolate, strawberry, and rocky road. My go-tos are black sesame and zen butter (peanut butter + toasted sesame seeds). A beloved dinner routine for me is to first get some spicy noodles from Xi'An Famous Foods next door before melting my mouth with Chinatown Ice Cream Factory's creamy goodness.
Sometimes I just want to mainline sugar, and the questionably overpriced fad for freeze-dried candies gives me just the sugar rush (and crash) I'm looking for. Froz Bites pops up at different festivals and community events, offering classic Asian candies and flavors in freeze-dried form, including White Rabbit, Lychee-licious, coconut crunch, and chili mango.
Megan: I have to give props to milk + sugar for being, in my opinion, the best ice cream in Houston. I was introduced to their ice cream by the biggest sweet tooth I know, but their products aren't cloyingly sweet. Founded by Perry and Chou Wong, milk + sugar stands by its "life is too short for plain vanilla" motto and showcases Asian flavors such as Thai tea and yum cha (pandan and chrysanthemum), alongside more familiar combinations like sundae funday (a sweet cream base with brownies and fudge) and butter pecan streusel. They make all their ice cream mix-ins in-house, and have offered various seasonal flavors and community collaborations, including a "Hocus Pocus" black sesame flavor for Halloween and a special baklava ice cream for Ramadan, made in collaboration with Al's Quick Stop. With three locations, there's plenty of opportunity to try their limited and regular offerings!
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About APAH Month at Asia Society Texas
Beginning in 2021, Asia Society Texas has celebrated Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with the Houston community and beyond through a curated calendar of events for 31 ways to celebrate over the 31 days of May. Spotlighting the traditions, talents, and contributions of Asians and Asian Americans, the calendar highlights the month's key Asia Society programming, providing a platform to showcase local artists, performers, educators, and leaders who contribute to the vibrant, multicultural tapestry of Houston while also featuring staff recommendations for our favorite music, books, movies, and more by Asian and Asian American creatives.
At Asia Society Texas, APAH Month is an opportunity to celebrate and honor Asians and Asian Americans and to uplift their stories to a broader audience as part of our goal to inspire our larger community to better understand one another through culture, conversation, and connection. For information about sponsoring APAH Month and other projects like this one, please contact Saleena Jafry at [email protected] or 713.496.9939.
Presenting Sponsor of APAH Month at Asia Society Texas
Sponsors of APAH Month
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APAH Month 2025 Calendar
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Past APAH Month Calendars
2024: Highlights | Details
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2021: Details
About Asia Society Texas
Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.
