Guest bloggers

Thoughts?

What I'm thankful for

Boba on Thanksgiving.


Grandma who drinks boba on Thanksgiving.

Would you rather...

...Drown in mayo or be stoned to death with pickles? Be invisible or fly? Do cartwheels constantly or be striped like a zebra? Eat a bar of soap or drink a bottle of dishwashing liquid? Speak backwards or only be able to mouth words silently? Be married to Bush or Palin?

And most importantly, drink boba everyday or never drink boba again, EVER?

I think I know what your answer would be. And I think you know mine, too.

Anyways, I'd gone a whole month without boba until tonight, when I hit up Boba Loca near USC. It was meh, but it's kinda like this: If you haven't had ________ in a month, any ________ is good.

I know what you're thinking. And you probably know what I'm thinking, too.



(Boba, of course.)

It's all for you

For my loyal readers: If you don't know this already, Boba Find will hook you up with boba places in your zip code. Of course, this makes my blog less relevant and useful to you, but I'm hoping you love me enough to overlook that fact.

(Thanks to the future Dr. Lin, who introduced me to this gem.)

A first

Los Angeles - This is my first blog entry that's not about boba. Rather, it's about the absence of boba in my life. I think I've gone a solid month without a single sip of boba. A month! How did I function these last 30 days?

I didn't even celebrate the election with boba. (And really, if there was ever reason to celebrate...) That's pretty weird, given the fact that I've actually made up reasons, and possibly holidays, to celebrate just so I could justify having boba.

I think I need a boba buddy. Someone to keep me motivated and on my game. My reader(s) are counting on me, after all.

Boba a.m.

Los Angeles - This sounds gross, but have you ever had boba first thing in the morning? It's kind of awesome.

Inconsistencies

Los Angeles - Since my hideous TenRen experience in Sydney (followed by an equally appalling TenRen experience in Melbourne), I'd been reluctant to try TenRen here in the States. However, in the spirit of generosity, I decided to give the T to the R another shot. Third time's the charm, apparently, because the TenRen in Monterey Park is baller. I immediately texted my friend J in Boston to share the good news: "You were right. TenRen is good. Our friendship may now recommence." (paraphrased)

Conversely, the Lollicup I grabbed in Koreatown today was not nearly as impressive as the Lollicup I had in Guilin, back when I was a crazy kid traipsing around China. In fact, Guilin Lollicup (or GL, if you will), tops my list of Best Boba Ever.

Which brings me to my point: I guess you can never really pre-judge any given boba, even if you've tried the same chain in another country. I find that alternately frustrating and exciting.

Up next: Things that look like boba. This is weird, but I think you'll like it. You are friends with me, after all. Here's a preview:


Any guesses?

Monterey Park, Calif. - Break out the champagne - $1.50 boba has been located! More importantly, it's GOOD $1.50 boba. Get your own cheapie fix at King Express Tea Cafe, at the corner of Atlantic and Emerson.

Disclaimer: To be clear, I'm not saying this is Verde-caliber boba (which, to date, is still my favorite boba on American soil. I think.). But it's a good milk tea paired with decent tapioca, at a very attractive price. I am quite pleased.

Cats

San Francisco - At the request of my friend Cat Chang (not to be confused with Cat Ho - you would not believe how many of our friends were confused by this. Seriously, guys. Guys, seriously.), here are some photos of my most recent boba outing. It was a rather unsatisfactory culinary experience, given the obscene amount of sugar in the milk tea. However, I have notably fewer complaints about the company, which was just right.


To be clear, that's HO on the left, and CHANG on the right.


And a Leslie. Try to keep up, I know it's confusing.


Goodbye, San Francisco. Hello, L.A.!

Hella illegit, pt. 2

Melbourne - Going off of advice from my friend J, who said "TenRen is good, I swear! It just depends on location," I gave TenRen another shot. Round 2 was still hella illegit, and left me questioning my friendship with J. (Haha. Jk. Sorta.)

Xoxo,
Cat

(If you know what this is in reference to, we need to talk about season 2!)


Foreground: Boba from TenRen. Background: Flinders Station.

Hella illegit

Sydney, AUS - I am NOT happy. Ten Ren's black milk tea w/ pearls was one of the worst teas I've ever had. And to think, I was really enjoying Sydney, too. Unacceptable.


If you ever walk by this sign, DO NOT go in.


If you ever see a friend with this boba, DO NOT let them drink it.

That's more like it

Brisbane, AUS - Boba twice in two days. Not bad, huh? Brisbane boba part deux was infinitely more successful, even though it didn't involve a cute elderly Chinese couple. It's the trade-off, what can ya do.

BOBA BRIEFING
Name: Tea Bar (motto: "It's made in heaven")
Address: Food court inside Queen St. Mall
Date visited: Wed., Aug. 14, 2008
Goes by: Bubble tea
Price: $3.60 AUD (~$3.15 USD)
Form: Milk tea, tea
Flavors: A couple dozen
Flavors tried: Green milk tea
Lid style: Sealed plastic wrap

Smiles:

• Green milk tea flavor isn't bad, but tastes a bit watered down. Very Tapioca Express-esque.
  
• Cups come with a handy "history of boba" blurb so accurate it could've been lifted from this blog. Impressive.
  
• Cups also contain this text: "The pearls are made from cassava plant juice and are so addictive that they've been called the faux opium of the Orient." Lofty claim, but I guess it explains my addiction.
  

Scowls:

• Scowling takes too much energy.
  

Most memorable bo-ment:

• Thinking of one takes too much energy. This is a lazy post. Blame the opium.
  

Overall rating: 8/10


Tea Bar




Read the fine print

BRISBANE ROX

Brisbane, AUS - I em so eggcited I ken hardly tipe. C? My copy editor friends are probably grinding their teeth reading this. Haha, suckas.

Anyways, I AM HELLA EXCITED. I arrived in Brisbane about 2 hours ago and found boba approximately 1 hour ago. Since then, I've been on a tapioca high that I have no intention of coming down from. A timeline would probably sum up the last hour better than sentences right now (I know, and I'm supposed to be a reporter, right? Oh, the shame.), so here goes:

• 4:20 p.m.: Leave hostel, walk 15 steps to the right, spot sign for pearl milk tea (PMT), flip out.
• 4:21 p.m.: Walking into restaurant, see patrons with cups w/fat straws. Flip out more.
• 4:22 p.m.: Find out restaurant just sold out of tapioca. Am crestfallen.
• 4:22:30 p.m.: Walk next door into another Chinese restaurant, see sign for pearl milk tea, continue flipping out.

Note the yellow sign for milk tea on the door

• 4:23 p.m.: Start chatting with adorable elderly Chinese couple who own the restaurant. Grandmotherly lady makes my PMT and insists, in true grandmotherly fashion, that I get it hot instead of cold. Charmed by her cuteness, I relent.
• God, I'm tired of writing "p.m." over and over.
  
• 4:24-4:45 p.m.:

1. Couple asks me if I'm from Shandong, because Chinese people from Shandong are tall.
2. Grandmotherly lady asks me if I'm 18. Forgive her because am still charmed by her cuteness.
3. Not believing that I'm 23 (Being an Asian girl under age 30, I look 15, welcome to my life), couple asks what year I was born, and what zodiac sign I'm under. (1985, Year of the Ox, and god why would I lie, is this a bar?!)
   
4. Chat about their time in Brisbane (immigrated 30 years ago from Hong Kong).
5. Chat about China, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Canada and other places w/ lots of Chinese people (this is what Chinese people do, and about all my limited Chinese vocab will allow me to do).
6. Chat about how tall my parents are (this is also what Chinese people do when discussing height).
   
7. Realize that hot PMT really is better than cold PMT. Grandma was right.

Cute Chinese couple, owners of Yee Foong (HK BBQ restaurant)


Boba

Oh right, the boba. Sorry. The tea is quite good. She really took the time to brew it and mix in milk and sugar. The tapioca is VERY soft, softer than I usually like it *that's what she said* and has a strong ginger flavor, which I REALLY don't like (and is weird). Still, I just couldn't get over how friggin cute they were, so really, it was all good. Brisbane rox.

Reef to Boba (R2B)

Cairns, Queensland, AUS - Cairns is sweet not only because you can do cool stuff like swim with turtles at the Great Barrier Reef, but also because you can do cool stuff like swim with turtles at the Great Barrier Reef and THEN GO DRINK BOBA.

That's right - after a relatively painless search about town, I found Onigiri Cafe/Omu on the second floor of Orchid Plaza, an indoor shopping center with mostly Japanese and Chinese food counters and trinket shops.

Boba briefing:

• The milk tea is decent, but not spectacular. It has a strong tea flavor, which I like, but is a little bland. Or maybe I've just become so accustomed to gulping salty seawater that I've forgotten what sugar tastes like.
  
• The tapioca is inconsistent in size and shape. Some are smaller than others, and some are lopsided. Some are even clumped together, presenting a challenge for the weak sucker.
• There aren't enough balls to last you through the entire drink. Btw, Michael Scott is apparently the name of a local Kuranda artist who makes colorful glassware.
• Overall, I'd recommend dropping by Onigiri Cafe/Omu if you're ever in Cairns. I'd also recommend dropping by Cairns. Ha.
  

Boba tidbits:

• Onigiri and Omu both mean "rice ball" in Japanese.
• The cafe opened in 2004.
• The owner is from Japan.
• The atmosphere mimics a mini-Asia, with lots of Japanese and Taiwanese high school students hanging out. (At least, they appear to Japanese and Taiwanese, judging by their hair. Then again, we all look the same, so you can imagine my confusion. -____-)

This is a 3-foot sign that I totally walked by w/o noticing until I asked the noodle shop next door where I could get bubble tea.

Vegan balls

Chicago - Oh you dirrty. But no seriously, vegan boba - look into it! Argo Tea did, and they've come up with a quirky twist on the traditional tea drink, using coconut gelatin instead of tapioca. (Tapioca, like Jello, apparently contains bone marrow extract or something equally appetizing.)

Okay, I went to Berkeley and not even the nuttiest nutjob in the Capital of Weird came up with vegan boba (that I know of), so I was pretty impressed.

The gelatin cubes have the consistency of firm Jello, and are like tiny bursts of fruity juiciness when you bite into them. The tea itself (I tried mango and my friend had the coconut) is light and refreshing. Overall, a very pleasant summer drink to top off a very pleasant summer week in Chicago.

Just when you thought I had nothing left in my boba arsenal

I don't think I've ever posted the following DIY boba instructions. It's not groundbreaking, but I threw it together for a presentation a while back (um, don't ask) so I figure someone other than me should benefit from it. Knock yourself out and let me know how your boba turns out!



I'll be in Australia for the next month, so look out for updates from the land Down Undah!

The world's going green

I just had the greenest green tea ever. I think my stomach lining is the color of Kermit the frog covered in mint ice cream.

News

The good news: My work is about 50 feet away from a Happy Donut that serves 20+ varieties of $2 boba.

The bad news: The nice grandmotherly lady behind the counter takes about a week and a half to make one.

I mean, I love old people. They play a mean game of backgammon and tell the best stories about what it was like having a president that read books instead of comics. But damn.

What the world is missing: drive-thru boba. The first presidential candidate to suggest this will get my vote. Unless it's McCain. Haha...



It would probably be a Democrat though, no?

A taxing drink

Today, I hit up Tapioca Express in Cupertino with Mom. During the car ride back, we were both vexed by the following:

Jasmine Milk Tea (delightful, if a bit sweet) cost us $3.30. But the menu listed it as $2.75. Now, tax in Santa Clara County is 8.25%. So how does a drink that's less than $3 ratchet up a tax of $0.55? We then spent a good two minutes doing this:

Cat: Wait, wasn't it $2.75? How did it end up being $3.30?
Mom: ...
Cat: Cuz even if you rounded the $2.75 to $3, and the 8.25% to 9%, the tax still shouldn't be more than $0.27. (For the math-impaired: 3 x 9 = 27.)
Mom: ...
Cat: (doubting her mental math skills)...Right?
Mom: (silent for 30 seconds)
Cat: (silent for an additional 30 seconds, feeling either cheated by Tapioca Express and/or ashamed of being a math-incompetent Asian)
Mom: (digs up receipt)
Cat: Oh. They charged us $0.30 for tapioca.

Mystery solved. Also, I don't know if I used "ratchet" correctly. I don't think I did. But more importantly, who charges extra for tapioca? At a boba store?! WITHOUT TELLING THE CUSTOMER?!

Boba booze!

Two of my favorite things in the world come together to form one unbeatable drink.

For the record, many have experimented with this combination before. I'd say the NYT is a few steps behind...

The Hills are alive

...with the sound of boba!

I debated long and hard about whether I should reveal my penchant for trashy (and I do mean TRASH-EEE) TV in such a public way, but decided that if you're reading this blog, you're probably already judging me anyways.

So yes, I watch The Hills. And yes, Stephanie Pratt, the not-so-demonic sister of demon-spawn Spencer Pratt, ordered a chai boba on last night's episode of The Hills. And yes, I blushed just now as I realized I just plugged what is probably the worst show ever made. (In my defense, I'm not the only one!)

Nonetheless, boba hits MTV! Sweet.

Baby boba

Little Tokyo, Los Angeles - Remember that episode of Friends where Chandler says that holding a minibar liquor bottle makes him feel like a giant?

Well, holding the boba at I (Heart) Boba made me feel like a giant. Their "small" is like, 20% smaller than most standard boba servings. This turned out to be a good thing, since their tapioca was a hot mess. Not fierce at all. It took me awhile to figure out just what went wrong, and my scientific analysis stands: it was cooked too long. So long, in fact, that it had this weird bumpy thing going on. Like I said, not fierce.

iLeft my boba in San Francisco

San Francisco - I didn't, actually. Leave my boba in San Francisco, that is. And if you thought that I would EVER leave my boba anywhere unattended (especially in a city like SF, which is full of boba drinkers), you need to check yo-self!

Anyways. Despite growing up one hour south of this fine city - and going to college right across the Bay - I've never fully explored SF's boba offerings. (I blame the fog.) So, this is the beginning of what I hope will be a long and eventful journey uncovering the hidden boba treasures of the City by the Bay.

Inside iCafe

BOBA BRIEFING
Name: iCafe
Address: 1716 Irving St., San Francisco, CA 94112
Phone: (415) 665-2893
Price: $2.50-$2.95
Form: Milk tea, tea, slush/smoothie, juice
Flavors tried: Boba milk tea, mango smoothie

Background: mango. Foreground: Milk tea

Lid style: Plastic wrap. Poking needed.
Smiles:

• The tea is quite good. It has a stronger tea flavor than many other milk teas I’ve tried (which are more milky and sweet than tea-esque), which I personally enjoy.
• The tapioca balls are solid. Not literally, but in quality. Chewy - check. Soft but not too soft - check.
• The mango smoothie is really good! It’s not overwhelmingly mango-y, but really hits the spot if you’re looking for a pleasant, light, smooth mango drink.
• Wireless internet. But this also falls under the “Scowls” category. See below.

Scowls:

• It is crazy hard to find parking. Ah, the beauty of SF.

• Some yappy woman at an adjacent table would not get off her cell phone. To prevent myself from sucking up tapioca with my straw and shooting them at her, I proceeded to eavesdrop on her conversation, which spanned from jewelry to grad school to - what else? - hemophiliacs. No mention of Alexei Romanov, though.
  

• You have to spend at least $5.00 to get their wireless passcode. Being illiterate, I did not read this sign, and ended up having to buy two drinks instead of, say, a drink and a snack-sized sandwich (which they also serve, in addition to coffee and Asian snacks). Normally, this would not have been a problem, but I was supposed to meet friends for dinner an hour later, and two boba drinks is an awful lot of sugary liquid to consume right before a meal. Especially if you’re parked in a one-hour zone. This conundrum prompted the following AIM conversation with my sister:

Cat: I have a problem.

Liz: Yes?

Cat: I’m at a boba café and I had to spend $5 to get the wireless here. And I’m by myself!

Liz: How is that a problem?

Cat: I have two drinks. That’s a lot of liquid. And balls.

Liz: No one said you have to drink both of them.

Cat: But it’ll taste bad later.

Liz: Well I know. JUST LEAVE IT ALONE. (what does this mean, anyways?)

Cat: Well, I’m gonna drink it. I’m just saying…I have a problem.

Liz: No shit.

My biggest problem turned out to be this sign: No Public Restrooms.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Playing favorites

What's the best boba you've ever had?

I get asked this question a LOT. Probably even more than "You nut, why do you have a boba blog?"

So here's my Top 3*, in order:

1. Lollicup - Guilin, China
2. Verde - Mountain View, Calif./Cupertino, Calif.
3. Waku-Waku Teahouse - Windsor, Ontario

*rankings based on taste and texture of black milk tea w/ tapioca


Your turn: What's the best boba YOU'VE ever had?

Quit Playin' Games With My Boba

I found the Boba Blast Game while browsing Boba Tea Company's Web site. When you get to the main site, just click on the wheel until you reach Play (Fun and games). You can download the PC or Mac version of the game, which - as you probably guessed - involves shooting tapioca balls at helicopters.

Since they don't include instructions on how to play, this is what you do:

• Hold down your left mouse button to reload the cannon, aim at helicopter and release.
  
• The objective isn't to shoot down the helicopter, but rather to shoot the boba up so that the helicopter can catch it, then drop it into the cup at the right side of your screen.

If you have an addictive personality, I wouldn't suggest adding this to your bedtime/wind-down ritual. It is far too intense. O_o

A BQBA DETQUR

San Jose, Calif. - I didn't mean to have boba today.

Don’t worry – this is not an imposter who hacked into my account, pretending to be me. (Although if Boba Hacker really did log in as me, he certainly wouldn’t gain anyone’s trust by writing that I, Cat, didn’t mean to have boba.)

Anyways, I really didn’t mean to. But I was at the mall picking up an engagement card for one of my best childhood friends who just got engaged (Yay congrats! And Ellen, would you consider serving boba at your wedding?! If not, I might have to reconsider my participation…), and there was a Q-Cup on the way to Hallmark and…


A cup of Q-Cup! Heh heh heh! *Twittery laughter*

…well, you can figure out the rest. If you can’t, well, maybe you should just stop reading and go to a bar.

There are many issues to address in this post.

• Some background info about the name, Q-Cup. I can only assume (though we all know that makes a you-know-what out of U and ME) that the “Q” refers to “QQ,” which is one of the many synonyms for tapioca pearls. Incidentally, QQ is also the name of a popular instant messaging service in China, not unlike MSN. My point is: props for the cute – albeit obvious, in a hit-me-over-the-head kind of way – play on words, Q-Cup.

• Apparently there is some legal controversy over Q-Cup’s franchising. Then again, my source is Wikipedia, which means I could be reading lies written by a precocious nine-year-old who has access to Daddy’s laptop.
  

• I guess there were really only two issues. Sometimes I just get a little excited.

Pros, cons, and other basic info about Q-Cup:

Pros:

• Their standard black milk tea isn't bad. Reminiscent of Quickly, it's on the sugary side. I tasted a subtle hint of coffee flavor, which should NOT have been there, but I like coffee so I have an unfair predilection for coffee-flavored tea (a weird concept, if you think about it).
  
• The pearls are pleasantly chewy.

Cons:

• The Q-Cup I went to (it's a chain, with another location in Cupertino) was right next to a children's indoor playground at a mall. Now if you know me but at ALL, you know that screaming kids are far from my cup of tea. Tea! Ha! Yeah, I don't really like kids running circles around my knees when all I want to do is sit down, do a crossword puzzle and drink/chew my boba in peace, g'dammit. A visual of why this is not okay:

Notice the proximity of small children to boba. Meh.

• Secondly, $3.50 is definitely on the pricier end for boba, especially since it was $3.50 for just regular boba, not even a slush or fancy boba that comes with, I don't know, flowers or a Dwight Schrute bobblehead or something.

One of these days, I'll bring Boba Briefing back (click here for an example) faster than Justin brought...you know...other stuff back.

Un-Super Bowl-ba

New England recently lost on two fronts:

1. Patriots
2. No boba (no-ba)

Though to be fair, Boston boba's got it goin' on. I just thought it'd be fun to make a list where I get to reuse the word "no-ba." (See origins here.)

U.S.B. (United States of Boba)

San Jose, Calif. - It's been almost a week since I left Shanghai, and one of the toughest parts about moving back has been knowing I can no longer cross the street for a quality $0.50 boba fix.

I've had boba twice since returning to the States, both of which were predictably anticlimactic. The first was at Quickly in Berkeley's Asian Ghetto - what we Cal students and alumni (omg I'm an alum! How depressing.) say when referring to the cluster of cheap, mostly Asian restaurants in Southside, less than a 5-minute walk from the UC Berkeley main gate. As most NorCal-ers know, Quickly is a cheap knockoff for real boba, mostly because it's so inexpensive ($0.59 for milk tea w/o boba, $1.19 w/ boba), we tend to excuse its mediocrity as a trade-off for price.

To be honest, I never really had a problem with Quickly, probably because I like my milk tea on the sweet side. Also, I like money, and I spend a lot less of it when I get boba from Quickly instead of some other boba place, which would charge around $2.50 for the same thing. You're probably thinking, "Okay, so you save $1.31, you bargain-hunting boba-boozer, who cares?" BUT consider this:

1. Well, first check out that alliteration. "Bargain-hunting boba-boozer," I feel, is one of my finer literary creations on this site, which should tell you a thing or two about the quality of writing here.
2. If you factor in just HOW MUCH boba I drink, $1.31 definitely adds up. If I spent $1.19 every time I drank boba (and there have been times I've shamefully spent more than $3...check past entries), I'd likely be able to afford all kinds of things, including some underhanded scheme to buy my way into being named CEO of some boba company.

Anyways, I'll be on the East Coast this week, so stay tuned to see what, if any, boba tricks New England's got up 'er sleeve.

Bo-brrrr

Haerbin, Heilongjian Province, China - Ever been to a place so cold your eyelashes kept freezing? If not, you might want to check out Haerbin one day. The city in northeast China is known for its ice lantern festival, Russian architecture, Siberian tiger park and Speedo-ed crazies who swim half-nekked in the Songhua River in the middle of winter. Crazy!

In between putting on seven layers of clothing (seriously), my cohorts and I tracked down boba just outside the Flood Control Memorial tower.



I THINK the place is called iooioo. It could also be called looloo. It could also be called Happy Baby. Frankly, I was too cold to care. I'll let you be the judge:

iooioo? looloo? happy baby?



Anyways, 2°F + scalding hot boba = happy babies indeed!