There aren’t many places in San Antonio that offer sit-down Filipino dining and an Asian grocery market all-in-one.

At M.Y. Chockdee Oriental Market & Restaurant , located at 115 E. Lindbergh Blvd., Owner and Chef Merle Ramirez said they have both—along with catering options and more.

The backstory

Ramirez said she wanted to bring her love of cooking to the United States, so she moved from the Philippines to Texas in 1985. During that process, she met her husband, Yong—who trained her to become a professional cook.

“Eventually, we wanted to open our dream,” Ramirez said. “So we started extremely small.”

The couple began by selling food at various flea markets and local concession stands.

“Our end goal was to have a little store and a little restaurant, but we had to start somewhere

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