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Bubble Tea

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gongcha-menu

In all the Lotte Department stores is Gong Cha or at least I keep seeing it in the Busan locations. I remember having Gong Cha in Hong Kong a few Summers ago and it has always stuck in my mind.

Gong Cha opened their first location in Taiwan during 2006 and soon after opened locations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, China, Malaysia, and Philippines. There are a lot of locations all over Asia and attracts locals and tourists. They are best known for their signature milk tea with a dollop of cream on top.

gongcha-tea

House Special Green Tea (large – 3,900 won) is one of the most popular flavours. It has the base of the brewed green tea and it is topped with their signature creamy foam. The foam tasted like salty cream.

Overall, it was a nice refreshing drink. I’ve never really been a fan of the cream, but I do the link the tea underneath it.

We rate Gong Cha

Location:
Bujeondong, Busanjingu
(Seomyon subway station)

Website:
http://www.gong-cha.co.kr/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=Bujeon-dong&sll=35.1578439,129.0570025&sspn=0.0269466,0.0439464&t=m&hnear=Bujeon-dong,+Busanjin-gu,+Busan,+South+Korea&z=15 “]

Strike 破店

Strike is a Taiwanese Restaurant near UBC and they will soon open another location in Richmond. I came here twice before and I’ve been addicted to their sizzling plates. You can super full for $12.

I came here again for a ChineseBites dinner with my fellow food bloggers.

Strike 破店

Yam Fries is probably one of the last things I would think would appear on a menu of a Taiwanese restaurant. It tasted good, but I wouldn’t normally order it off the menu unless I wanted something to nibble on with bubble tea.

Strike 破店

Wonton with Chili Oil was good. Meaty plump wonton pieces wrapped in a thin wonton wrapper. If you like it more spicy, go ask for some hot sauce.

Strike 破店

Stewed tofu with garlic sauce was alright.

Strike 破店

Five spice beef wrap was ok. It fell apart easily as the wrap itself was a bit thick.

Strike 破店

Deep fried chicken nuggets is a must have dish at any Taiwanese restaurant. Well seasoned and very crunch. Yum.

Strike 破店

Thai style chicken was good, nice sweet sauce on top, but of all the deep-fried chicken items, I would stick with the Deep fried chicken nuggets.

Strike 破店

Deep fried pork chop was tender, well seasoned and I really did enjoy this. Good appetizer if you just want to pick away at something.

Strike 破店

BBQ chicken is probably not an item you want to order on its own. You may want to order it as a combo with rice. The skin in spiced really well.

Strike 破店

House special beef noodle soup was ok, but I found the beef to be a bit tough.

Strike 破店

Taiwanese cold noodle is a great item for the summer. It has peanut sauce, cucumbers, carrots and the noodle. You mixed it all up together and enjoy.

Strike 破店

Taiwanese Braised Minced Pork Rice with meat sauce, tea egg, pork fluff and pickled mustard greens. It was really good! One of the must order items here.

Strike 破店

Taiwanese style chicken steak with black pepper sauce is one of my favorite item to order here. You have so much going on with this dish and you will get full. Highly recommended. You can choose either noodle or rice.

Strike 破店

Taiwanese style steak with black pepper sauce is the same as the dish above but just the protein is different. I liked this dish too but My personal preference is to get the chicken instead. Don’t get me wrong, both dishes are awesome.

Strike 破店

Milk Tea with Pearls is definitely a must if you want to indulge in the whole experience. I wanted to get it with real milk, but they didn’t have it on hand to accommodate. They did use the powdered milk to make it. It tasted good, but

Overall, the food is pretty good at Strike, but the best way to enjoy your time at Strike is to order the combos or the sizzling plates.

We rate Strike

Address:
3217 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Strike/113553352131031

Strike 破店 on Urbanspoon

If you are from the Port Moody area, you must know Lazy Den Bubble Tea. I vaguely remember coming here in 2008 during my early University days cause it was open pretty late. Where else can you get bubble tea in Coquitlam/North Burnaby at 11pm? Sure, there are tons of places in South Burnaby, but thats quite a bit of a drive. I’m not a huge bubble tea fan, so I didn’t come back till now.

We came back here again because some friends told us they have good cheap food at night. All I heard was food, so I was happy to come here. I was really hungry during this day.

Lazy Den Bubble Tea

The interior isn’t pretty, but it’s a good place to chat and chill with friends over bubble tea till midnight.

Lazy Den Bubble Tea

On their menu, they have 4 items. All under $6 with a food item and a bubble tea. Not bad at all! It’s not a large selection, but it will do.

Lazy Den Bubble Tea

Meat Sauce with Noodles and Green Milk Tea ($5) is the most popular item. It’s not relatively amazing, but it’ll satisfy your hunger without breaking your wallet.

If you are needing a cheap place to go at night for $5 noodles and bubble tea, definitely come here.

We Rate Lazy Den Bubble Tea

Address:
#105 – 3003 St. Johns Street
Port Moody, BC

Lazy Den Bubble Tea on Urbanspoon

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=%23105+-+3003+St.+Johns+Street+Port+Moody,+BC&hnear=3003+St+Johns+St+%23105,+Port+Moody,+British+Columbia+V3H+2C5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

Cattle Cafe has now opened 3 other locations in Richmond, Edmonds, and another on Kingsway. I usually just go to the original locations on Kingsway and Nelson. It’s open late and you get good value for what you pay.

The downside is the service. Its pretty meh, but you can probably get by. We’re experienced a whole range of attitudes from the servers in the past. We only really come here for a quick cheap meal.

Cattle Cafe

Deep Fried Shrimp Skewers (6 for $3.99) looked pretty intriguing. A little bit cruel, but I love eating shrimp. The seasoning they used was good, but I think the shrimp themselves were not fresh, the meat was dry and may have been frozen at some point.

Cattle Cafe

Iced Milk Tea is always a must at any HK style Cafe.

Cattle Cafe

Malay Laksa Soup + fish tofu, beef brisket, and vermicelli noodles is a popular combination for their popular noodles. Mandu and KoreaGirl both ordered this and the loved it.

Cattle Cafe

This was another noodle combination. I just pointed at a picture on the menu, but I didn’t have a clue what it is called. It’s quite big and there’s lots of noodles, but wasn’t as good as the laksa. Probably best to stick with laksa if you don’t want to be disappointed.

Overall, the food is ok for the price you pay. You can probably spend less than $10 and leave full. It’s a popular place to go to for late night meals and they even have a few other locations a few KMs away.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Parking Underground, street parking
  • Decently priced food
  • Noodles are their specialty and items on rice.
  • Limited seating, best to come in 2 or 4

We Rate Cattle Cafe: 

Address:
4885 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Cattle Cafe (Burnaby) on Urbanspoon

 

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=4885+Kingsway+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=4885+Kingsway,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V5H+4T2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

Sweet Garden has a few locations in Hong Kong. The location I went to was in the Windsor House in Causeway Bay. We were walking around the mall and got thirsty, so we decided to stop for some drinks before heading home.

It’s very colorful inside! Service was OK, but you have to ask for an english menu.

We ordered Milk Tea with pearls and coffee shaved ice, Red Bean Milk with Milk Shaved Ice, and Milk Tea with Milk Shaved Ice. The taste of the drinks were good, but it was a tad expensive.

Overall, it was cool having the combination of shaved ice on top and the bubble tea on the bottom. It’s not a good drink if you are wanting to quench your thirst because it is quite sugary.

We Rate Sweet Garden:

Address:
4/F, Windsor House, 311 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Windsor+House,+311+Gloucester+Road,+Causeway+Bay&hl=en&hnear=Windsor+House,+311+Gloucester+Rd,+Hong+Kong&t=m&z=16 “]

Gong Cha first launched in Taiwan in 2006 and soon opened locations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, China, Malaysia, and Philippines. There are a lot of locations all over Hong Kong and attracts locals and tourists. They are best known for their signature milk tea with a dollop of cream on top.

The location in East Tsim Sha Tsui was very busy and had lots of tourists ordering drinks. The menu had some english and the cashiers knew a little bit of english too. It’s not great english, but at least it will make your ordering experience go smoothly.

On top of each drink are instructions on how to consume it:

  1. Open the lid and drink, letting the tea pass through the foamy layer.
  2. Insert the straw and enjoy the flavour of the tea.
  3. Use the straw to stir and enjoy the combined flavour of the tea and milk.

Milk Tea ($10) has the tea on the bottom with the dollop of cream on top. It was delicious and different than usual bubble teas. The cream does change the taste a lot and not everyone will love it. My sister liked the drink at first, but eventually started hating the cream on top.

Gong Cha Milk Green Tea ($12) needed a good mixing in order to incorporate the layers together. I tried mixing it together very well, but it was a bit hard to do that. The cream itself was salty.

Afterwards, my sister and I headed to Kowloon Park to walk around and enjoy the fountains and trees.

Overall, Gong Cha was ok, but not the best bubble tea I’ve ever had. We were not a fan of the cream on top.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Lots of locations in Hong Kong
  • Most locations have no seats, just take out

We Rate Gong Cha:

Address:
Shop A2, G/F, 41C Granville Road ,
Tsim Sha Tsui

Website:
www.gong-cha.com


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Bubble Queen is a very popular restaurant in Richmond that serves up a variety of drinks and bubble waffles. I’ve been meaning to check out this place but it took me a while since I don’t live in Richmond.

After going to the Night Market, FoodPunk and FoodQueen decided to come here. I think we were all excited. The place was packed and lots of people were doing takeout. We were determined to get a seat, so I had to stalk tables to snatch one up. A group left and I accidentally ran over a person to grab that table. I felt bad, but I really wanted a table.

Fresh Mango Slush with Mango Cubes is everything a mango lover needs.

The chunks of mango were very large and delicious. You may need a spoon or fork to help you out when eating this.

Overall, they have a HUGE selection of drinks and bubble waffles. You may need some time to figure out what you want to order. It’s a very popular place to hang out, but since the store is very small, most people won’t find a table to sit and chill.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Cash Only
  • Free Wifi
  • Large selection of drink and bubble waffles
  • Very limited seating
  • Paid Parking in front  or free after a certain time (I can’t remember the time)

We Rate Bubble Queen

Address:
8888 Odlin Crescent
Richmond, BC

Bubble Queen on Urbanspoon


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Flo Tea Room is located on Granville Street in the Marpole area. It’s been there for several year now and they would serve food similarly found at Hong Kong or Taiwanese Style Cafes.

FoodPunk, FoodQueen and I decided to grab some drinks and dessert here since we were in the area.

The interior is quite spacious with a few booth seats and standard tables.

Shakespeare’s Affair ($4.95)

Fire in Ice ($4.95)

Shrek ($4.95) has red bean on the bottom and matcha slush on top. It’s a very creative name since the drink is green and shrek is green. I did enjoy the drink, it wasn’t too sweet at all.

Honey Box Toast ($7.50) is a hallowed out chunk of bread and filled with toasted bread pieces topped with ice cream, fruit, Oreos and your choice of sauce. We got chocolate sauce on top.

I’ve seen so much hype over the Honey Box Toast and when I saw it on the menu, we just had to order it. It seemed quite popular at other restaurants too.

I wasn’t a big fan of this item since it was essentially toast but in a different form. I didn’t find the toppings to be very unique either. To make it a bit sweeter, I asked for a dish of condensed milk to add into it. Even though the honey box toast does look super cool, it’s not for everyone.

Overall, I may not have liked the box toast, but the service was pretty amazing. We probably spent 3 hours here and the servers were so nice and filled up our tea quite often. We never felt any pressure to leave. Great place to have some bubble tea and chat!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Parking in Rear
  • Large variety of drinks
  • Very attentive and friendly staff

We Rate Flo Tea Room: 

Address:
7994 Granville St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.flotearoom.com/

Flo Tea Room 采 on Urbanspoon


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Sometimes after a large dinner, you need more food! For the #604insomnia crew, they are always hungry! After consuming king crab, we headed over to Pearl Castle to eat some more. We’re young and adventurous! Pearl Castle is a great after- dinner spot as it sells bubble tea and a few snacks.

The interior is quite nice and modern! Unfortunately, the service is really bad here. We sat there for a while waiting for a server to take our orders. It took a long while and I’m not crazy at all. We had to wave our hands several times to get their attention and sometimes they glance at us and then walk away again.

Shaved Ice an awesome after dinner treat. you get a pile of shaved ice delivered to the table. There is condensed milk on top and underneath are pearls and pudding. You can choose any 3 types of toppings for shaved ice and additional toppings cost a bit extra too. It’s fun dessert to share with everyone at the table.

Avocado Yogurt Juice was surprisingly good. The combination of the two flavours made it a bit tangy and sweet. I’d probably get this again! I only ordered it because it sounded cool and they ran out of another drink.

Overall, drink and desserts are good, but you do have to put up with the bad service.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Bubble Tea + Shaved Ice… or any deep-fried item
  • Lots of parking in parking lot
  • Horrible service
  • nice interior

We Rate Pearl Castle:

Address:
3779 Sexsmith Rd
Richmond, BC

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Bubble 88 is a Taiwanese restaurant that serves bubble tea and food. They are located very close to the SFU Surrey Campus, so it does draw a lot of traffic from students in the area.

It was a long day at school, so a few of us decided to head off to Bubble 88 for some light snacks before heading home.

The interior is quite nice with lots of modern decor. It’s good for large groups.

Coffee Milk Tea with Milk ($2.95) is essentially the coffee and tea mix that you would find in other restaurants. I requested that they use milk instead of the instant milk powder stuff. I tastes so much better and I’m sure much healthier too if you substitute with milk.

Deep Fried Squid Tentacles ($4.50) is good! A good amount of seasoning is added to the batter, so when it comes out, its delicious.

Wonton in Chili Sauce ($3.95) was not very spicy at all. The others at the table had some too and it was the right amount of spicy. It comes with 10 pieces, which is awesome because places like Bubble World give you less and charge you more.

Hot and Sour Soup ($5.25) was quite large. It seemed like it was never ending, so I decided to pack it to go. The taste was good, but not everyone will like it.

Deep Fried Pork Chop with Curry on Rice ($6.95)

Popcorn Chicken with Curry on Rice ($7.25) was also good. M liked it since the curry is more spicy than other places.

Overall, the food was good and the prices were affordable. It’s probably not the best Taiwanese food, but it will satisfy your cravings. It’s good to have another bubble tea place in Surrey besides Bubble World. I much prefer this place.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Lots of parking in front for free
  • Service is a bit slow
  • Good prices and decent quality

We Rate Bubble 88:

Address:

10209 King George Hwy
Surrey, BC

Bubble 88 八十八 on Urbanspoon


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Bo Laksa King’s Bubble & Bits serves up Malaysian food! I heard their Laksa is really good, so I took a few friends here to try it out.

They are cash only, so you are outta luck, if you don’t have any….there should be a bank close by.

Their interior is not very large, but can fit a few groups of 4’s and 2’s.

Roti Canai (Large -$5.99) is like a asian pancake with a curry chicken dipping sauce. It was very fresh and crispy. It was probably one of the best Roti Canai I have had! The sauce was really really good too. The 4 of us fought over this dish since it was so good! Highly recommended.

Beef Rendang ($8.75) is marinated beef slowly cooked in coconut gravy plus a special sauce served with rice. M really liked it because it was very flavourful and the meat was really tender.

Mee Goreng ($7.75) is spicy stir fried noodle with veggies, chicken with a sweet and spicy sauce. I really did not like this dish because of the sauce they used. I much prefer the instant mee goreng from the store.

Laksa ($7.50) has vermicelli or yellow noodles, prawns, fish balls, tofu puffs, eggs, chicken and a nice coconut curry broth. Scarface and TaiwaneseGirl both liked it.

Overall, the food is pretty good if you go for the usual items. Too bad I lucked out and chose a dish I didn’t like.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Cash Only
  • Parking on Street
  • Laksa and Roti Canai Higly recommended

We Rate Bo Laksa King’s Bubbles & Bits:

Address:
2546 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC V5K

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/BO-LAKSA-KING/139851834390

Bo Laksa King's Bubbles & Bits on Urbanspoon


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Since my mechanic is right beside The One, I needed somewhere to kill time. The closest thing was The One for some Taiwanese food. Since I was starving from a long day of school already, I was ready to chow down with my sister. They are known for their HUGE slush drinks that are super tall.

Preserved Egg With Tofu ($3.25) is definitely not for everyone. It has 2 slices of tofu with preserved egg on top with a sweet sesame sauce. I really liked it but I found that their yolk could have a be more creamy.

Meat Sauce on Steam Rice with Vegetable ($6.50) comes with side dishes too. Really good value since you get the bowl of rice and meat in addition to the 4 side dishes. Good price.

The One Wonton Soup with Noodle ($7.95) was quite horrible this time around. The bowl was HUGE and had so much noodle that I found it a very hard challange to finish it all. The wontons tasted so-so and bland. Also, the soup tasted like it had a lot of MSG inside.

Overall, I think a few dishes are a hit and a miss, but the pricing is very good.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Large portions
  • Under $10
  • Fried Chicken Nuggets!
  • Free parking in the front lot

We Rate The One: 

Address:

5908 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
theonerestaurant.ca
The One Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Near Gilmore Skytrain Station, there is a small Cafe called Sweet Puritea. They specialized in Bubble Tea and drinks that are made from 100% fruit. They also have teas that are infused with real fruit rather than the artificial flavourings. They also offer lunch specials too! This place comes in handy when you live in the apartment above.

I find that this place can be quite empty at times, so it is a good alternative to come with a group of friends if you want a more quite environment compared to places like Bubble World.

 

There is not a super large amount of seating, but it can suit you and a few friends quite comfortably. Very good for group meetings!

 

I went a few times and the first time I ordered a fresh pineapple juice and the next time I ordered the fresh watermelon juice. These were really good and super refreshing on a hot day. Way better than Bubble World or Estea! The other normal Bubble Teas taste good as well, but if you are unsure of what to order, you can always ask them for a recommendation!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Fresh Fruit options
  • Fruit infused teas
  • Quiet environment, great for group meetings
  • Lunch specials/ snack specials
  • Free Wifi
We Rate Sweet Puritea: 

Address:

4248 Dawson St.
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.sweetpuritea.ca

 Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/sweetpuritea

Twitter:

@sweetpuritea

 

Sweet Puritea on Urbanspoon

Just before watching the movie at Metrotown, M and I decided to get a drink at Big Orange. Big Orange has been in Metrotown for a while selling bubble tea.  A few years ago, their shop was shaped like a big orange too.

Their bubble teas come in so many different flavours! They have the regular powdered bubble teas, fresh fruit bubble teas, smoothies, juice, slushies and ice cream. They are all around $3 – $5 per drink.

M ordered the Pineapple smoothie. The smoothie was milky and did not go well with the sourness of pineapple, according to M. It was good that it didn’t have ice chunk left overs that you get from poorly slushed drinks.

I ordered the fresh mango bubble tea. The drink was pretty good. Nice and smooth with no large icy chunks. It kinda reminded me of a smooth instead. I thought bubble teas were supposed to be milky, but this drink was not milky at all. Very ironic since M found it weird his smoothie was milky.

I always love looking at the image on the lid. Makes me feel super lucky when it’s a horoscope and its the right astrological sign. Too bad I’m not a gemini.

OH! Also, I love poking the cartoon figures in the face with my straw! Serial killer in the making.

Overall, it’s a convenient place to grab bubble tea at Metrotown before the movie. If you want to take it into the movie with you, make sure you hide it because they won’t let you take it inside. It’s best to stuff it in your bag and start drinking it inside the movie theatre.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Fresh Fruit all the way!
  • Under $10
  • Bubble tea and desserts
  • One of the better places at Metro for Fresh Fruit BBT

We Rate Big Orange: 

Address:

4700 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
www.bigorange.ca

Big Orange (Metrotown) on Urbanspoon

Bubble World is a great place to just chill with friends. TaxMan was back in town, so it just seemed right to catch up with him, M and Scarface.

We decided to go to the North Road Bubble Word location because it’s closer than all the other locations. They have lots of space to sit and talk. It’s best for groups of 4 -6 people. This location does not serve food nor does it serve the drinks in nice cups. It is mostly to go in the plastic cups.

I’ve never loved the bubble tea here for these reasons:

  • Most drinks made from powder
  • No healthy options like – real milk or fresh fruit

Granted that they do have a few fresh fruit options like Watermelon Slush but its doused in lots of sugary syrup. Bubble World is a chain, so I guess we can’t expect too much.

I usually stick with the hot Milk Tea or the Hot Milky Malt Tea. I find that they use less malt or whatever those crispy little bits in the drink. They use quite a bit of coffee mate in this drink.

M had the chocolate milky tea. He usually gets sick when he has the powdered coffee mate, so he had to talk to the owner for a bit to get real milk into his bubble tea.

The bubble tea here is decent, but it’s pretty standard. Very minimal service since you have to go up to the counter to order and pay.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Lots of seats, group of 4 – 6 is best
  • Most drinks made with powder
  • Can special request milk instead of powdered milk
  • under $10
  • Closest Skytrain: Lougheed Town Center

We Rate Bubble World:

Address:

555 North Road
Coquitlam, BC
Bubble World (Coquitlam) on Urbanspoon

SkinnyBones was back in town after 1.5 years of exchange to Korea. Flo and I decided to meet up with her to catch up over some food near Kingsway.

Since The One on Kingsway looks super cool, we decided to check it out. They serve the usual type of Taiwanese food found in places like Bubble Word and Beef Noodle House.

The menu was fairly large and it took a while for us to see what we wanted. So, the waiter kept coming back to check up on us about 3 times, up to the point where they stopped approaching our table. Eventually we had to flag them down to take our order.

I ordered the Pineapple and Banana Milk ($6.75). The taste of the drink was really fresh and had a lot of banana inside. It was great but it was lacking one thing – pineapple. I tried really hard to distinguish the tastes from each other, but in the end I concluded that they left out the pineapple or just put in one small piece. I didn’t bother asking the waiter because it was still pretty good and I didn’t feel like complaining.

I ordered the Chicken nuggets with Noodle in Soup ($9.50). This meal is pretty huge and it comes to you to the table on the huge tray. The large bowl of noodles has the vegetables already cut up, which is good because you don’t have to be that weirdo at the table spending forever trying to chew through you vegetables. If you have kids, it’s a good dish to share with them.

The chicken nuggets live up to their expectations and were really good! The meat was nice and tender. The batter was quite light and enjoyable. It took me a while to figure out what was on top, and it was fried basil. It was a nice touch because all the nuggets that would be sitting under the basil left had a slight hint of basil to it.

SkinnyBones ordered the Beef Curry with Rice ($8.50). Since she just came back, she was not use to such large portions.  You will probably get stuffed from this. You get your curry and the rice, and on top of that, you get 4 side dishes. These vary on every visit. She did like it but it was just way too big for her.

Overall, this is not a bad place to go. It’s a good alternative to the usual places near Kingsway like Bubble Word, Estea and Beef Noodle House.  Don’t expect this place to be perfect either since service is a bit lacking.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Large portions
  • Under $10
  • Fried Chicken Nuggets!
  • Free parking in the front lot

We Rate The One:

Address:

5908 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
theonerestaurant.ca
The One Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Pearl Drops was my “high school hang out” many years ago. During our breaks or even after school, we would drive here, drink some Bubble Tea and just chill. Ever since I graduated, I seldom go here even though I live in the same area and SFU is pretty close by. I’m not exactly sure of the reason, but perhaps its because I’ve learned how to drive further distances, discovered more of Vancouver and found other Bubble Tea restaurants.

Pearl Drops is quite quiet and has changed much over the years. They use to strictly only have drinks, but now they offer sandwiches and dessert. The reason I find Pearl Drops different from the usual bubble tea places is that for certain teas they use real tea leaves and its not a premade batch of tea…unlike some bubble tea places. They have fresh fruit options as well.

For indecisive people, they have a top 5 list of their popular Bubble Teas. You know you can’t go wrong with them unless you are allergic to the flavours or they are your most hated fruit in the world.

KoreanGirl ordered the Mango Slush + Mango Stars ($4.05 +$1). It’s just a regular mango slush with mango stars, nothing too different than what you would get at other places.

M ordered the Strawberry Milkshake ($5). It essentially is made out of  milk, ice cream, and strawberries. Just the regular and nothing too different. M said that it was a lot better than the fake syrup flavours found in most fast food joints, so if you’re itching for a strawberry milkshake, come here!

I ordered the Iced Honey Jasmine Tea with Mango Stars ($3.63 +$1). I found this drink to be a bit sweet due to the honey. You can really taste the honey! I am a type of person who does not really like sweet drinks. Perhaps next time I should ask for half sweet. I also think I chose to have mango stars in the wrong drink. It really doesn’t go well together. I just really really craved mango stars.

I find that this place is quite limited and some items still use powder. If you are new to this place, you might have trouble figuring out what’s fresh fruit or not.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Free parking in adjacent mini lot
  • Under $10
  • Good for small group meetings since it’s quiet.
  • Very limited food

We Rate Pearl Drops: 

Address:

422 Willingdon Ave
Burnaby, BC

Website:
pearldropstea.ca
Pearl Drops Teahouse on Urbanspoon