Brya Zan serves Thai food in a fast-casual setting without sacrificing flavor, with carefully handcrafted noodles and a focus on freshness fused into every bite, all at an even better price.
This restaurant is the newest endeavor for chef Braden and Yasmin Wages, who also own Malai Kitchen, a Thai and Vietnamese restaurant. With Brya Zan, they wanted a place with a menu full of the most favored Thai dishes at an affordable price, in a more accessible establishment.
Byra Zan is fast, casual, affordable and delicious.
“We really wanted it to be easy to understand, and this menu is kind of built around, like, a Bangkok street cart,” Braden says. “There’s one that I can picture in Bangkok. It’s this lady, she can make basically most of the things on our menu, and that’s kind of how we boiled it down.”
We got lucky enough to be invited over for dinner.
The Restaurant and Ordering System
On the outside, it looks like any typical fast-casual restaurant, but inside, it doesn’t feel like we have to leave anytime soon. There is a large dining room in the middle, with tables and booths lining the middle and back wall. A bar area with their house-made Malai beers on tap and a TV makes for comfortable seating.
The patio area spans the front of the restaurant and is well-lit, creating a relaxed atmosphere. Overall, the layout is welcoming, as if we are visiting a full-service restaurant.
Self-service kiosks are located at the back, in front of the kitchen, where diners can place their orders. The digital menu displayed on these kiosks shows pictures of every dish, so there’s no confusion or surprise.
Diners can modify their dish by adding or removing ingredients. Special buttons notify the kitchen of any dietary restrictions. Whether you’re a vegetarian who eats dairy, eggs, fish, or none of the above, there is a button for it.
“Their mentality is to make that like a service replacement, and that’s not the vision here,” Braden says. “That’s the one thing I’m most proud of about this restaurant, our service blows people away.”
The Menu and Prices
We got the classic pad Thai, with extra peanuts, and the drunken noodles (pad kee mow), each for $11.50, from the noodle section. Braden recommended we try the guest-favorite Bangkok street rice (pad grapao) from the stir-fry bowls section for the same price.
Another favorite we ordered is the yellow curry ($12.50), and for sides, we ordered the wings ($8) and the seasoned shoestring taro fries ($4). Taro is a starchy, nutrient-dense root vegetable.
They offer a fun list of cocktails, like the yuzu gin smash, the lychee mango spritz, and the frozen mai tai, each for ($8.75). For nonalcoholic drinks, the Vietnamese iced coffee ($4.25) and the tropical hibiscus iced tea ($2.75) sounded tasty.
No meal is set without dessert. We ordered the whole dessert menu: a chocolate, peanut, and coconut cookie ($3), pandan and Vietnamese coffee soft-serve ice cream ($4) and spicy cotton candy ($4).
Frozen Cocktails and More
Visually, the drinks were appealing, and tasting them sealed the deal. The tropical hibiscus iced tea was tart yet vibrant, without unnecessary sweetness, a theme that carried throughout all the drinks.
The yuzu gin smash, made with gin, yuzu (an East Asian citrus fruit), lemons and Thai basil, is like a boozy, refreshing lemonade. The lychee mango spritz has vodka, Aperol, lychee syrup, mango and fresh mint. It was another hit, fruity and naturally sweet.
The most popular drink, frozen mai tai, was incorporated as the go-to frozen drink that gets the job done, like a margarita. It has rum, Bacardi 151, ginger liquor and fresh juices. Made with condensed milk, the Vietnamese coffee is less sweet than expected and not as strong.
“We score really well with health-conscious people because everything’s made to order with all fresh ingredients, and because nothing’s too sweet, so it’s a great option for them,” Braden says.
Even Better Food
Soon after, the wings and seasoned shoestring taro fries came out, setting the tone for the rest of the meal. The taro fries were exceptionally crunchy, reminiscent of starchier potato chips and delicious, especially when dipped in the aioli it came with. The wings are tossed in a tangy garlic lemongrass sauce, offering spice and sweetness (nothing but clean bones were left).
Finally, to our main dishes. The Bangkok Street Rice blew us away with flavorful meat. It has ground pork, green onion, cherry tomatoes, fried egg and white rice. We aren’t huge pork fans, but this plate changed our minds.
The drunken noodles were a savory paradise with tender beef and exceptional rice noodles. Brya Zans’ artisanal noodles are the heart of their concept and a sign of their dedication to delivering high-quality food.
“We really wanted to make our own, and so when we opened our last Malai, we committed a section of our kitchen to making noodles, and it took me a year of failing to figure out how to do it,” Braden says.
Similarly, the pad Thai was the perfect culmination of flavors, from the chicken to the tofu to the egg, all tossed in a tangy tamarind sauce. The real winning ingredient was the pickled green bean sprouts and cilantro, which added a limey flavor and extra crunch and are a special addition from chef Braden and Yasmin.
“We put our own pickled bean sprouts, something we do that nobody else does. We just kind of applied it to this,” Braden says.
Curry isn’t a dish we select often, but that’ll change after trying the yellow curry. It is a flavorful coconut milk curry, seasoned with lemongrass, turmeric and coriander, and featuring pineapple, potatoes, veggies, shrimp, and fried rice. The shrimp is not overly fishy, and the curry sauce has a creamy sweetness.
Desserts We’re Still Dreaming About
Byra Zan’s chocolate, peanut and coconut cookie, pandan and Vietnamese coffee soft-serve ice cream and spicy cotton candy were standouts on an excellent menu.
To finish the meal, we tried all the desserts. The cookie has chocolate, coconut and peanuts, and every bite is a soft, warm, seamless blend of decadent flavors. The spicy cotton candy is dusted with chili-lime seasoning; beware, the spice might catch you off guard, but otherwise it’s a savory twist on a usually sweet treat.
The pandan and Vietnamese coffee soft serve won us over completely. Pandan, often called “Asian vanilla,” and the coffee flavor create a harmonious blend worthy of seconds (or thirds). It was the best dessert offered at Brya Zan.
The meal was a feast, and we never once felt lethargic or sick after consuming everything. Nor were we left with any weird aftertaste.
Chef Braden and Yasmin have created a restaurant worth visiting. Their goal of making an inexpensive Thai menu with the finest ingredients has been accomplished.
“I just like to cook this food, and we have a ton of Vietnamese regulars and a ton of Thai regulars, and that gives me confidence, and even our staff, you know, they help keep us honest,” Braden says.
Brya Zan, 1909 Preston Road, Plano. Monday – Sunday 11 a.m. 10 p.m.