Hawaiian News

Hawaiian Bros imports comforting tropical plate lunches to Dallas

The comforting plate lunch.

Photo by Kathy Tran

Dallas is about to get a big plate of Hawaiian food with the arrival of Hawaiian Bros, a fast casual concept founded in Kansas City that specializes in authentic island comfort food including the classic Hawaiian plate lunch.

Hawaiian Bros was founded by brothers Cameron and Tyler McNie, who learned traditional recipes and cooking techniques used by native Hawaiians for generations. They opened their first location in Kansas City in 2018.

There are currently five locations in the K.C. area, plus locations in Chicago; Belton, Missouri; and Austin. North Texas is their next frontier.

They're already operating out of Revolving Kitchen, a commercial kitchen facility in Garland, but will open brick-and-mortar locations in late spring/early summer, as follows:

Hulen: 4732 Bryant Irvin Rd, Fort Worth
Denton: 2220 S Loop 288
Alliance: 2301 N Tarrant Pkwy, Fort Worth
Frisco: 11560 Dallas Pkwy.
Upper Greenville: 6011 Greenville Ave, Dallas

Eight locations in the works include Hurst, Allen, Waco, Mesquite, Addison, Richardson, Euless, and Murphy.

The food
The classic Hawaiian plate lunch is a starch-tastic experience that comes with two scoops of rice and macaroni salad, plus an entree/protein such as teriyaki chicken, teriyaki beef, or pulled pork.

At Hawaiian Bros, the menu includes:

Huli Huli Chicken – Hawaiian Bros' signature marinated teriyaki chicken
Luau Pig – slow-roasted Kalua pork seasoned with Hawaiian sea salt
Molokai Chicken – sweet and spicy grilled chicken with a little heat
Honolulu Chicken – savory chicken infused with garlic, green onions, and sesame
Macaroni Salad – classic Hawaiian side featuring a "secret blend" of spices
Spam Musubi – rice with seared spam glazed in teriyaki sauce, wrapped in seaweed

All plate lunches are available in small, classic, and large sizes.

They're also doing Dole Whip, the cult-favorite dairy-free soft-serve created by Dole in 1986. Hawaiian Bros. has the original pineapple flavor as well as an occasional rotating flavor.

Hawaiian Bros president Scott Ford says in a statement that the founders had a Hawaiian vision.

"From their first taste of Hawaiian cuisine, our founders Cameron and Tyler McNie, knew they wanted to share the flavors of Hawaii with the mainland," Ford says. "They also very purposefully centered their business around the value of Ohana —knowing the blending of community, connection and food would be the best way to honor the Hawaiian culture."

openings

Fried Chicken News

Chicago restaurant debuts its fried chicken and boba tea in Frisco

Chi Tea

Chi Tea burgers and chicken sandwiches.

A new restaurant serving boba tea and fried chicken just opened in Frisco: Called Chi Tea, it's a chain from Chicago that opened its first location in Texas at 4760 Preston Rd. #228, in a former Bonchon Korean in Frisco Village.

According to a release, It opened November 1.

The concept was founded in Chicago in 2020 by brothers Zak Ayyubi, Aman Siddiqui, and friend Abdurahman Sharif, with an unusual goal to pair fried chicken sandwiches, fries, and bubble tea drinks. They've since opened two more locations in Illinois; Frisco is the fourth and the first outside the state.

The name is a little misleading, as it implies it's a beverage place, but there's equal emphasis on the sandwiches and fries. They also tout their welcoming vibe, encouraging customers to eat, drink, and linger.

Their menu features three sandwiches — Nashville hot fried chicken sandwich, a grilled chicken, and a burger with grilled onions, jalapenos, pickles, cheese, and Chi-sauce — which can also be ordered in a smaller slider size.

There are also fries, loaded fries, popcorn chicken, chicken tenders, and mac & cheese, which can be customized with bacon, beef, fries, and other toppings.

Prices typically range from $5 for a single Chi Tea Classic slider to $13 for four-piece chicken tenders.

Boba drinks are entirely customizable, starting with choice of blended smoothie or over ice, with choice of flavor ranging from pineapple to brown sugar milk tea to horchata; and toppings, like popping pearls or cream cheese foam. A regular starts at $5 and a large starts at $6.

Notably, Chi Tea was among the restaurants selected in the recent Spongebob Krabby Patty promotion during October that took place in 12 cities across North America, included a dozen restaurants in Dallas.

"We are very excited to finally bring a taste of Chicago to the Greater Dallas area," says Ayyubi in a release. "This move has been very promising and we cannot wait for the community to welcome us and for us to serve this beautiful city."