Brown sugar milk, golden fruit teas and a creamy taro slush are just some of the specialty drinks you can find on Tea Daddy's menu. But what sets the hidden gem apart from Texas' over-saturated boba scene is not so much the drinks themselves; it's more what happens at the bottom of the cup. Tea Daddy makes all of its boba fresh in-house so that it's scooped hot into your drink. And while hot boba and iced drinks don't seem like a particularly enthralling combination, Tea Daddy has proven otherwise. The tea shop's iced, lightly sweetened teas provide a perfect background for hot, sugary tapioca pearls to melt inside. Order your beverage topped with a salted egg cream or cheese foam, both of which float on top and set the stage for an even creamier drink. Enjoy your boba in-store, then grab a few signature Tea Daddy egg tarts or tiramisu cakes for the road. Neither the food nor the drinks disappoint.

The name of this hidden gem in Dallas' Mockingbird Station is the first hint of what might be the creamiest soft serve in the state of Texas. Pure Milk & Honey gets its name from the two star ingredients in its ice cream. Organic Texas milk sourced from a local dairy farm is sweetened with natural honey and churned fresh in-house. The result is a thick, ultra-creamy soft serve that melts on the tongue almost instantaneously. But the texture is just the first part of the allure. Standard flavors such as a honey lavender and creamy milk chocolate soft serve compete with seasonal flavors like a buttery roasted pecan. Get your ice cream swirled in a cup, lick it from a cone or even order it sandwiched between layers of Pure Milk & Honey's signature honey ice cream cake. Any way you eat it, the texture is just as divine.

You can't have tacos without good ice cream, and you can't have ice cream without good tacos. That's what Casa Del Bro will tell you. Tacos here are rightfully lauded. Chile verde carnitas and spicy chicken tinga come topped with pineapple habanero or creamy jalapeño ranch. The menu is completely customizable with other entree options like burritos, quesadillas and nachos. But our biggest advice here: don't fill yourself with mains. It's what comes after that merits this place a spot on our list: some of the creamiest ice cream we've tried. Even the usual varirties like chocolate and vanilla are packed with fresh ingredients and flavors. Sink your tongue into house specials like a cookie butter flavor, made with a marshmallow-flavored cream base and studded with globs of gooey cookie butter. A Mexican chocolate comes with a spicy cinnamon flavor buried underneath. Come early, as they run out early. And we know why.

Sample Spanish delicacies like seared prawns, seafood paellas and ham croquettes — among others — right in the heart of Dallas. Located in the Bishops Art District, Sketches of Spain has made it its mission to bring authentic Spanish tapas and snacks to North Texas. Try the patatas bravas: a plate of crispy potato wedges garnished with a drizzle of spicy mayo. Piquillo peppers come stuffed with salted cod cream and drenched in a creamy tomato purée. A zucchini platter offers sautéed vegetables and seafood encased inside four blistered zucchini cups floating in a plate of tomato sauce. The local tapas bar also sells family-style paellas, priced by-the-head. Bring a big appetite, a group to share and some time to sample some of everything on the menu ... tapa-style.

Tracy Dowd of Garland looks to have mastered the fine art of pie crust-ing at her hole-in-the-wall bakery Piefalootin. Six-plus years of selling pies from her home and now her own bakery has led to the creation of drool-worthy pies with crust-to-filling ratios that don't disappoint. Over 23 different varieties of pie come in mildly clever names like the Chocolate EuphOREO, which is stacked high with layers of Oreo cookies buried under whipped chocolate cream. The Cinco de PIE-yo is served with the same chocolate cream but scooped atop a bed of spicy cinnamon-flavored brownies. A dollop of cayenne whipped cream on top gives it an extra kick at the end. Cherry, apple and peach fruit pies are available, too, depending on what's in season. Buy a couple of slices for $8 each or try your sampling luck with a "pie flight" of three different flavors for $16. Once you get down to the ultra-buttery, flake-in-the-mouth pie crusts, you'll understand the hype.

Asian Mint's Thai-fusion menu has earned it multiple recognitions among Dallas's culinary critics, local Yelp Elites and just everyday Thai-food enthusiasts since the restaurant opened in 2004. Customer favorites like the crispy-noodle kao soy are accompanied by comfort Thai dishes like the pad kee mow, drenched in a savory basil stir-fry sauce. Being born and raised in Thailand only makes chef Nikky Phinyawatana more credible. Four different iterations of the classic pad thai are a testament to the culinary creativity here. A crispy pad Thai comes with fried wonton strips soaked in Asian Mint's house-made tamarind sauce and topped with crushed peanuts. The focal point of the pad Thai woon sen is a base of clear glass noodles. Fried rices, hot curries and Thai-inspired salads add to the allure. Asian mint boasts fresh ingredients, large portions and diet-conscious menu options at all five of its locations.

Loved for its hand-pulled noodles, fresh buns and authentic Chinese cooking, Royal China has been a favorite on Dallas' food map since opening in the '70s. Not to be missed here are the homemade dumplings. Rice dumpling pockets come stuffed with shrimp, celery, jicama, chicken and pork among other ingredients. Steamed dumplings come with a beautifully chewy wrapper, which breaks into generous fillings of fresh meats and vegetables. A pan-seared option features a slight crispiness on the outer layer. Dumpling enthusiasts shouldn't leave without trying the soup dumplings, which burst open to reveal a pork soup broth inside. Owner and chef Buck Kao moved to America from Taiwan in 1974 and has since made it his mission to bring authentic Taiwanese recipes (and dumplings) to Dallas.

Recently named a finalist for Best Chef Texas by the James Beard Foundation, chef Reyna Duong knows how to make a pretty good sandwich. But run-of-the-mill sandwiches have no place on Sandwich Hag's menu, which instead offers six varieties of Vietnamese banh mi. Loaded with items like lemongrass pork, ginger chicken and curried vegetables, each comes with a buttered, baguette-like bread that's crunchy on the outside and fluffy within. Dip your bread into a warm pool of coconut-milk soup on the side. Sandwich Hag's curry soup is a hearty blend of bell pepper, shallots and your choice of chicken or vegan protein. Drinks like a Vietnamese coconut iced coffee are available, but are arguably overshadowed by Sandwich Hag's famous lemonade. The popular beverage is scented with hibiscus flowers and sweetened with a light strawberry flavor. Fruit jelly sits at the bottom of the cup and adds a chewy finish to the end of each sip.

Asian flavors are baked and churned into just about everything on the menu at this hole-in-the-wall ice cream joint in Plano. Start with a scoop of Vietnamese coffee, which comes with a rich coffee-infused base studded with chocolate-covered cookies. A creamy coconut-ube ice cream has a purple yam-scented base with pockets of crunchy coconut pulp buried throughout. Test your curiosity with other unique flavors like the black sesame and avocado toast, which are all churned fresh in-house by owner and ice-cream-enthusiast Charlie Lin. Accompany your ice cream order with C&B's fresh-baked goods, which are no less exotic than the frozen treats. Options like a brown-butter miso and a sesame-seed-studded chocolate chip make a great snack in-store or on the ride home.

Shiva's Bar and Grill is named after the Hindu deity of everything good and pure, which is fitting. Everything on the menu here is enticing. Order a la carte from different types of herb-scented biryani or indulge in chunks of Indian cottage cheese tossed in a creamy curry-scented pool of goodness. The cornerstone of the menu, though, is the royal chef's meal, which lives up to almost every expectation set by the name. For just over $80, the meal for two comes with a medley of deep-fried starters, oven-baked breads and cream-based curries. Food is delivered to the table in four waves, which begin almost immediately after you order. Towers of curry, trays of dipping sauces and huge baskets of naan bread are almost intimidating at first but oh-so-gratifying after you've taken a few bites.