Bubble Tea

I splurged today and got a bubble tea from the mall when my fiance and I went. They had taro flavor and I had to try it. I am so glad I did! It was so delicious and I might have to get it again in a month or so. I’m not quite sure how to describe it and the only thing that I can come up with is bubble gum but not as sweet and not as gummy. It was really good though and I now know why that flavor is popular. Yum!

Since this is already here I shall use it for my magical tea.

From Sweet Hut: Jasmine Milk Green Tea with Honey Boba and Lychee Jelly.

I’ve created quite a floral drink! Normally I don’t stray from a coconut milk black tea but someone told me to try this one…I think. All I remembered was milk green tea and jelly. Well they have 3298752 jellies. I figured lychee would best match, and it does.

So good. Taking away all the problems I had driving home. Everyone sits in this left lane even though the right lane continues to exist for a good third of a mile. So I go in it if nobody else is there. Well the person first in the left lane, who has been slow the entire way accelerating after red lights decides they’re going to try to block me. Hilarious. I’m in a little car, they’re in an SUV…so guess who can go faster. And surprise, after I got over they were nowhere even near me. I really wanted to give them a Hot Fuzz “jog on” gesture :(

Oh god, my mom and I took one for the team and ordered a durian bubble tea. It was $6 since it had real, fresh fruit in there, but we figured it would be the best way to try durian.

Who here has tried durian before, and what does it taste like to you?

I’m telling you, this bubble tea tasted like a freaking onion milkshake. I’ll admit, I wimped out after a couple sips and refused to consume anymore calories worth of liquified creamy onions. Blech.

FWIW, the other day, I got an avocado (and strawberry) fresh fruit bubble tea the other day, for the first time, and it was awesome. I can see why avocado is very popular in bubble tea. It was so rich and creamy, like strawberries ‘n’ cream.

EDIT: OMG! The creamy onion bubble tea makes me think of The Rutles’ Cheese and Onions (for all you Beatles and/or Monty Python fans). It all makes sense now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePaHG6g7uFw&spfreload=10

This morning I had coffee, and there’s not really any place to brew tea in the area I work (no really, it’s a 5 minute walk to the filtered water and nice kettle), so I went for bubble tea.

Lemon “red” tea with lemon jelly.

Yummers. I usually get stuff 1/2 sweet when I get jelly or tapioca, as the additives tend to be rather sweet. I didn’t, but it’s still good. Super strong tea, fresh lemon juice, chewy lemon jelly, yay!

I need to find a recipe for the flavoured jellies so I can make them and add them to my iced teas at home. So good.

Back to the backlog! We pick up at the mall, right after my DT trip prior to seeing Hedda Gabler. My friend Robyn, who I went to the play with, had just arrived at the mall!

First things first we stopped at the food court because I was starving; and I loaded up on assorted food from the different places. I got a Veggie Poutine, Pumpkin Pie Blizzard, Pizza, and a Passion Fruit Bubble Tea. I’d never noticed the Asian restaurant (I can’t remember the name) in this mall had bubble tea; so I pounced on the chance to have some. Honestly, I wasn’t impressed at all though; the passion fruit flavour was spot on but it kept separating way too fast for me to drink it, and the “bubbles” were really mushy.

Nellie’s Bubble tea has spoiled me; I fear nothing will compare.

After the food court we did some shopping around the mall; I bought this cute wool sweater thing that I normally would have stayed away from (it’s from a store that typically does not sell clothing in my size/cuts that flatter my body type) but Robyn talked me into it, and then we went to the bigger clothing place that carries all the super fancy designer/big brand name fashion-y clothing and cried over the pretty things and expensive prices. I ended up buying this GORGEOUS but EXPENSIVE scarf with this detailed design over the whole thing of an ancient world map, in French. It is now easily the most expensive accessory I own.

After that, the play! It was at my city’s version of a Broadway theatre, and the majority of people there were definite theatre snobs (which I say in a mostly loving way). Very fancy, somewhat over the top dressy attire – and very not my “look”. I mean, I was wearing Cargo pants and a Spiderman hoodie. Still; I felt justified in being there and didn’t let their staring hinder my enjoyment one bit – especially since we had front row, dead center tickets! Cost a ton, but so worth it. It also helped knowing how in depth Robyn and I had both studied this play; and that we knew it inside and out, unlike probably most of the patrons. We were there for a reason.

Before the play started we enjoyed sipping fancy alcoholic beverages in the lobby with everyone else; ‘cause I guess that’s a thing you do at live theatre. They had a really cool featured drinks menu with selections inspired by the play; lots of German wines and mixed drinks inspired by the characters. We each got one that was Vodka, Pear Puree, and cranberry juice – it was very sweet, but delicious!

The acting was phenomenal, the set well done, and all in all it was a really, really perfect night and performance!

I found a decent bubble tea place fairly close to me in Boston! Or maybe I’ve just been here so long that my standards have just lowered. Anyway, I got a roasted oolong milk tea that was pretty good. I also picked up a pitcher and some paper tea filters for more cold brewing. All in all, a pretty good afternoon!

So I finally tried boba tea this weekend! I’ve always wanted to try it but I’ve never actually seen it on a menu. I think there might be a shop in the mall, or there used to be, but I haven’t been to the mall in a really long time. Before Teavana shut its doors actually. Anyway, there’s been a Thai food truck at our farmer’s market the past couple of weeks and when I saw they were offering bubble tea I immediately put a couple of glasses on my order. It was bright orange so maybe it was from a mix, not sure, but it was delicious. Very strong, but also just the right amount of sweetness, and the tapioca pearls were delightfully chewy with a nice floral quality. Now to try all the flavors!

From Tay-Thai Street Food in Birmingham, Alabama.