Hang around Khao Noodle Shop long enough, and Donny Sirisavath will start telling you unbelievable things. Things like secrets of how this tiny kitchen makes its own tapioca-flour dumplings, or a confession that not one of his cooks had ever worked in a restaurant until they started at Khao. Sirisavath, a first-time executive chef himself, walks the fine line between loving tribute to his half-Lao, half-French mother's recipes and tweaks from his fine-dining education. He's also helped shepherd a team of rookies as they produce probably the best Lao food in Texas, at one of the most exciting restaurants in Dallas.