Tiny bubbles

Best Thai in Addison gets bigger and better with Boba Tea Treats bubble tea shop

The Addison branch of Best Thai has opened a bubble tea shop in its quarters called Boba Tea Treats, where it will serve a full menu of drinks containing chewy little tapioca "pearls."

Best Thai, which is part of a small local family-owned chain, took over an empty space next door to its Belt Line location to expand its square footage and accommodate the new concept-within-a-concept.

"We have a bigger dining room, and it gave us room in the front to do this other idea," says Too Chaisuwan, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Kunya Chaisuwan. "The boba tea concept was my wife's inspiration. She wanted to do a little project. It's already open. We did our soft opening on Sunday."

You can get your bubble tea hot or cold, with ice cream or without, in all sorts of flavors, like piña colada, mango and strawberry.

They have a slate of drinks in four modes to which you can add your bubbly pearls: coffee, tea, smoothies (made with milk) and slushies (no milk). You can get hot drinks or cold, with ice cream or without, in all sorts of flavors, from exotics like piña colada to fruit flavors like mango and strawberry. If you don't like the chewy pearls, you can get small cubes of gelatin. And if you don't do dairy, they have soy milk.

Too and Kunya own two branches of Best Thai: this one at Belt Line and Midway roads, and another location at Frankford Road and the Dallas North Tollway. The restaurant has won awards such as "People's Choice" in 2012 for Best Thai in Addison. There are four other branches owned by Kunya's sister Booney — in Plano, Irving, Frisco and Dallas, at Preston Road and Royal Lane.

The sisters learned the craft from their father, an enthusiastic amateur in their native Thailand. They do stir-fries, noodles and several kinds of curry, including red, green, yellow, massaman, panang, pineapple and jungle, the spiciest of all.

The bubble tea stand isn't the only way the Chaisuwans stand apart from their peers. Unlike most Thai restaurants, which are sit-down only, Best Thai offers a buffet. And the restaurant is also one of the most vegan-friendly Thai restaurants around, with more than 20 vegan and vegetarian options.

"We have a separate vegan page on our menu, and every first Sunday of the month, we do a vegan buffet," Too says.

Best Thai also has a full menu of Thai specialties.

Photo courtesy of Best Thai

Best Thai also has a full menu of Thai specialties.

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Hot Chicken News

Lava Hot Chicken opens in Rowlett with a different approach

Lava Hot Chicken

There’s a new hot chicken concept in Rowlett that's taking a unique approach: Called Lava Hot Chicken, it’s located in a former ice cream shop at 6310 Dalrock Rd. #900 in Dalrock Crossing, where it opened March 8.

Lava Hot Chicken is from restaurateur Sam Sakhleh, who opened it with his two sons in mind. Both are allergic to peanuts, and some frying oils use peanuts. To solve the issue, he uses beef tallow to fry the chicken and fries.

“We fry everything in beef tallow — we don’t use oil or have any peanut product,” Sakhleh says.

Sakhleh, who has been in the industry since 2003, decided to start a hot chicken restaurant because he wasn't impressed with the conventional flavor at most hot chicken restaurants.

He connected with a distributor who offered a 27-spice mix imported from India which had a far more complex flavor profile.

"It made a big difference in the taste, and that's what we use in our spice mix," Sakhleh says.

The spice mix also gives the chicken a deep, ruddy color, unlike the neon orange tint of other hot chicken options.

Lava's menu features sliders and tenders with five heat levels. The sliders are on 4-inch thick buns from Martin's Famous Potato Rolls. Also, they use one big tender so big that Sakhleh says it's sometimes mistaken for a chicken breast.

They're marinated with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and buttermilk before being fried.

They’ve also recently added wings, with the same heat levels as sliders and tenders. Other dishes include chicken & waffles, and loaded fries topped with cheese, mac & cheese, pickles, coleslaw and "Lava sauce," a sweet and smoky sauce with honey and mustard. Homey desserts include sukseh, also known as "lazy cake," a rich no-bake dessert made with condensed milk and chocolate that's a little like fudge.

Prices range from $6 for a tender to $16 for two sliders with fries.

To-go orders are common but Sakhleh devoted two years to transforming the former ice cream shop into a bright cheerful space with colorful cartoon murals on the walls, plus a patio, so diners who want to eat on-site are covered.

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