One Pineapple Bun and Pandan Coffee Later, We're In Love With This Boba Spot

The Boba Plug, a boba shop run by Gen-Z entrepreneurs Alyx Nguyen and Vivian Luu has operated as a pop-up shop model since its inception during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After four years of hard work, their business has found a new brick-and-mortar home near Fair Park that serves not only as a boba shop (with impeccable branding, incredible drinks and a pastry so good that it nearly propelled us into an existential crisis), but as a creative co-working space with a special focus on community and collaboration.
Affectionately and aptly called Hyphen Space for the various ways its owners have designed the space to function, Luu wants this location to become a “third space” for folks, something that many long for but don’t have access to.

Since opening its doors just over two months ago, the pair, along with a local artist, hosted a silent auction with proceeds that went toward supporting the Los Angeles wildfires and Dallas Sandwich Sundays, an organization that works to provide food to residents of Dallas who are experiencing homelessness.

“[Guests] feel safe to be here and hang out,” Luu says. “There are friends that come on Sundays that have a little book club and they just meet up here.”
Outside of the book club and silent auction, there have been private dinners and parties in the space as well as matcha workshops with their matcha partner and supplier, Sugimoto.

Stepping inside, the interior is gorgeous and warm, with ample natural lighting. It's just about as sun-soaked and beigey as it gets. Large paper lanterns make us think it must be just as cozy after dark. All of the art in the space is by local artists.

When we stopped by, we opted for Nguyen’s favorite drink: the Jasmine Blossom. Made from ceremonial-grade matcha, guests’ choice of milk (they even have oat!) and jasmine syrup, it came topped with dried jasmine flowers and was quite unlike any other boba drink we’ve had.

From what Nguyen told us, an incredible amount of research and development has gone into developing their recipes.

“Most people who don’t really like boba, the thing is, they’ve tried boba where it’s not properly cooked sometimes, and it changes the whole aspect of what they think of boba,” Nguyen said. “Ours is actually kind of like soft gummy bears.”

We found that description of their boba to be entirely spot on.

“Compared to a lot of boba shops around, whereas they’re using powders and syrups, we’re making almost everything from scratch,” he said.
We were lucky enough to be able to try The Boba Plug’s Viet coffee and pandan at both Hyphen Space and one of its pop-ups during a Lunar New Year celebration in Richardson in early February. The pandan coffee was a little almond, a little grassy (it comes from a leaf, after all), with a hint of vanilla but with more depth of flavor. The pandan went so well with the coffee, it’ll be something we dream about until the next time we stop by.

The coffee is sourced from AAPI roasters and is smooth — neither bitter nor acidic.
Though previously ignorant of the world of pineapple buns, Luu and Nguyen taught us that the traditional Chinese sweet roll isn’t given its name for being pineapple-flavored (because it's not) but for the scores on top. Luu and Nguyen grew up eating this treat and here put a twist on it by serving it with it plain, matcha or milk-tea flavored grass-fed butter. We got ours with matcha butter, which we can only describe as an absurd, near-spiritual experience. Salty-sweet, silky and as matcha-forward as we could’ve dreamed up.

We had a little bite during our visit, but it was so good that, in a way, we felt like we couldn’t truly experience it fully if we ate it amongst company. So, we took it home in a little bag and, without an ounce of modern decorum and in a manner that is frowned upon in public society, reminiscent of a wild raccoon, we ate it silently on our patio at dusk with our eyes closed. It was borderline (and embarrassingly) cinematic, but it was truly just that good.

“A lot of fine dining restaurants that are open here aren’t by Asian Americans, and so with that, we’re getting to showcase more about our culture through the lens of being Asian American,” Nguyen said. “It’s getting into the conversation of what it is to be Asian American. Sometimes our drinks are a mix between us.”

Having their own boba shop fulfills a childhood dream for both of them, and getting boba with their families seems to be a sentimental memory for them as well. Luu remarked that she always knew she'd have her own boba shop but that she didn't think it would happen so soon. What we know for sure is that we're super happy they're here and we can't wait to swing by to try one of their Japanese flash brew coffees and more.

Hyphen Space and The Boba Plug. 4100 Commerce St., No. 6. Open Tuesday – Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Closed Monday.