Fame came quickly to Halal Fusionz in Farmers Branch, and the sudden success seemed to surprise owner Ahmed Siyaji, who is usually the only cook on board at his Pakistani-Tex-Mex fusion restaurant that’s takeout and delivery only.
Following TikTok food critic Keith Lee’s visit to this ghost kitchen this week, dozens of people arrived at the restaurant on Tuesday, looking for the dishes Lee loved the most.
Several had to wait up to three hours to receive their order, and others left empty-handed.
“Three hours, and it’s so worth the waiting,” said customer Ericka Watson. “I’ve watched him [Keith Lee] since I got on TikTok. I actually love his videos. I was waiting until he got to a restaurant that he said was really good, and I think he got a really good one. I think we got the one.”
Lee posted his video on Halal Fusionz on Monday. It was the third place Lee went to during his visit to Dallas. There, he ordered a birria taco, a chipotle kheema taco, a paneer tikka taco, a paneer tikka masala chili elote, and a side of consomme. He was in awe of the food.
Lee, who has more than 15.7 million followers on TikTok, came to the virtual restaurant after Siyaji wrote him an email, which Lee showed to his followers.
“I started this in my mom’s legacy. I lost her last January, and I’ve been creating this fusion of Pakistani food with Tex-Mex since I was in high school with mom’s leftovers,” Siyaji wrote.
The restaurant’s website tells the story: Siyaji was adopted by Noorjehan Killedar, in Chicago, and “together they discovered a shared haven in the kitchen.” Killedar passed away in January 2023 and Siyaji “set out to bring his dream to life beyond the borders of Chicago.” Halal Fusionz opened in August 2023.
Within hours, Lee’s video reached more than half a million views. On Monday afternoon, Halal Fusionz experienced what’s known as the “Keith Lee Effect.” By Wednesday, the video had 3.1 million views, and the restaurant could not keep up with the orders.
“We’re huge fans of Keith Lee. We love what he does, how he supports the community’s small businesses,” said Elizabeth Coleman, who went to Halal Fusionz with her husband, Aubrey Coleman. “We both happen to have our jobs nearby and so we saw and said, ‘Oh, hey, he went to a place nearby, gave them Keith Lee’s approval, let’s try it out.’”
But after waiting two hours, the Colemans had to leave without their meal when they learned that Halal Fusionz had canceled all orders placed outside of its website, whether they were UberEats, DoorDash, or any other app.
The small waiting space at Taste of Towerwood, the complex that houses 12 virtual restaurants, has been packed since Monday afternoon. On Instagram, Halal Fusionz announced on Tuesday that they would only take orders placed on their website. By Wednesday, all new orders were canceled, and they would only work on the ones they could not fill on Tuesday.
“Halal has the smallest kitchen in this place, and the owner works alone, until today when two people helped him,” said María Méndez, owner of Food Passion, a catering business based in the same complex. “His food is amazing, but he [Siyaji] was worried for his business.” She said after Lee arrived, “everything changed, it’s exploding right now.”
Siyaji appeared and disappeared from the delivery window with orders. He did not have time to talk to The News.
While Siyaji and his team worked to get as many orders out as possible, outside people waited patiently, made jokes, and competed to see who had been waiting the longest.
Sarah Park, owner of Everything Madeleine, a new gourmet dessert business she started at Taste of Towerwood, came out with a box of small treats to give away to those waiting, a gesture received with immense joy.
“This benefits all of us who work here; it’s good that so many people are coming,” said Park, as she handed out cards from her business to those waiting.
Shamieka Belser also waited for her food for more than two hours, but in the end, she was satisfied with what she tasted.
“I’m expecting this food to be amazing because that’s what it looks like on the video,” said Belser minutes after she arrived, at 12:40 p.m. “I think it was worth it,” she said, once she tasted the food, at 2:45 p.m.
Kristen and Luis Soto were two of the most patient diners. They came all the way from Fort Worth and waited more than two hours with their 11-month-old baby Emeri. They waited off and on in the car and in the waiting room, where they laughed and received compliments of their baby. The family arrived at 12:52 to place their order. They received it at 3 p.m.
“It’s really good,” said Kristen after the first bite. “It’s good, but I probably wouldn’t wait two hours for it again.”