Every cup of chai is brewed to order at Chai Pyala, a new bakery and cafe in Lakewood — the only one of its kind in the South Sound.
Owners Honey and Guru Batth might be familiar names to regulars of the Lakewood Farmers Market. In the late 2010s, when the weekly summer event still happened at Towne Center, the couple served chai and traditional Indian sweets like gulab jamun and ras malai, as well as custom treats such as a strawberry-lemonade cookie. A few years ago, they refocused their attention on opening a cozy, comfortable storefront where Honey could share her love of chai, paired with homemade pastries that honor Indian flavors.
“I always knew I wanted to do fusion baking,” Batth shared in an interview at the cafe, which opened in February next to Bowlero Lanes. For the Punjabi native, that inspiration has created specialties such as a gulab jamun doughnut, a mango mulai that resembles tiramisu and an orange-cardamom bun…