We Have a Winner!

STORY TIME!

Bubble tea and I have had a bumpy past, I will not lie. I wanted to be part of that crowd that loves bubble tea and when I was in about grade 10 I decided to see what all the hype was about!

I went to China Town (Which by the way is one of my favourite places to go in the city!) with a friend and we decided to give it a shot. I chose honeydew flavour. I was slightly saddened that the only way it got this flavour was from a mysterious green powder. I was also slightly weirded out by the pearls... but I knew that it was probably just something to get used to. Unfortunately, I could not finish my tea... it was not making me feel so grand! So at that I kind of put a cap on my bubble tea dreams and just made up my mind that it was not for me.

But people kept on drinking it, everywhere! All the time! And worse yet? They would rave about how much they love bubble tea. I must have had a bad first experience or something, I thought. So this summer when I went to Kim Anh Subs to grab dinner with my friend Hayley, we said Yes Please! to also getting bubble tea. And guess what? I totally liked it. I was thrilled that I gave it a second chance! This time I had a Pina Colada flavour (Because Pina Coladas are my weakness, it's true). Again, the flavouring was only thanks to some powdery substance, but this one tasted absolutely delish, and I fell in love with Bubble Tea! I rejoiced. But only too soon. To my despair, about 15 minutes later I had the worst stomach pains! What the heck, world? How can you have bubble tea and I cannot? It simply isn't fair. :(

Despite the painful memories, I enjoyed my second attempt (while I was sipping at least) so much that I knew I had to try again. I was getting desperate here people. But good news! Third time's the charm! The saying works. I finally had a positive bubble tea experience at Thai Thai where I fully enjoyed a Pineapple-Mango tea, sans stomach soreness. Thank you, bubble tea lords! I am now part of the in crowd!

And if you didn't think that was a happy enough ending... THERE'S BETTER NEWS!

Just today whilst visiting the China Town Street Festival, the Ma and I decided to share a bubble tea. We stopped at a place in the mall that seemed to be bustling with activity - often a good sign . The shop was called Pearl House and it specialized in only serving up Bubble Teas. Their menu board was PACKED with every flavour you could ever want in life! Ma and I were craving mango, so we chose a Mango-Peach combo. Here's where things really get exciting: As I peered over the counter, there were no bins filled with the mysterious powder in sight... Instead what I saw was, GASP, Fresh Fruit!! NO WAY. They make their bubble tea with REAL things! And oh boy, I could totally taste a delicious difference. Ma and I happily marched away, confident that we had stumbled upon a real gem.

Moral of the story is:

If at first you don't succeed... Try bubble tea again.

Aaand:

The Pearl House in the China Town Mall has The Best Bubble Tea. (In my fairly inexperienced opinion)

This one's going in the little black book of Foodie-Fun. (What? You don't have a journal you keep of food related things? Weird...)

Do you like bubble tea? If so, where do you go to get it? What's your flavour preference? 

<3 Lari