Bubble tea in Taiwan/ 陳三鼎 (Uncle's Boba shop)

After reading this hungry girl's guide to Taipei blog, (http://hungryintaipei.blogspot.com/) i figured it's about time i updated this boba blog.

I've been inspired to start blogging once again about delicious bubble tea. Since I am in Taiwan right now, I'll be blogging about the bubble tea shops in Taiwan. Let's see how this goes...

Let's just say within my neighborhood, there are at least 6-7 bubble milk tea shops. Maybe i'll make a vlog for that instead hahah.

Anyways, Taiwanese boba is different from any boba you'll ever have in America. The Taiwanese KNOW exactly what the texture and taste of boba should be. So since it's 1.38am in Taiwan right now, I'll leave you guys with a boba shop you guys HAVE to visit if you ever get the chance to visit Taipei. :D

Chen San Ding (陳三鼎)

• location
  
• Alley 8, Lane 316, Section 3, Roosevelt Rd., Zhong-Zheng District, Taipei City (if you dont know where this is, you can always google map this)
  
• price range:
• ~30NT (~$1 USD)
  
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 5 out of 5 -> I'd have to say this boba is made with perfection. The boba is soaked in brown sugar, yet chewy to the max! Unfortunately, if you don't have much of a sweet tooth, then I wouldn't recommend you trying this place.
  
• milk vs. tea:
• Purely milk ->This place is known for their fresh milk brown sugar boba drink so there is no option for a milk tea sadly. The milk is refreshing though, and tastes nothing like whole milk (at least not the strong kind we're used to in the States).
• overall service quality:
  
• 4 out of 5 -> As you can see in the picture above, all the locals love this boba shop. On a weekend, the wait can last around 20-30 minutes. Because of this long wait, there's an actual employee that tells you where to stand/ move in line. Great traffic control, except if you're catering this many people, traffic is inevitable. More interestingly, the man pictured on the cup (I call him "Uncle"), who I assume is the owner of this shop, will sometimes be your cashier.
  
• what's so special about this place?
• I've never seen so many Taiwanese people line up for a drink before. Taiwan is known for its street shops/shacks. These shops may not look like they're fancy or famous, but this is one shop where the line does not lie. This, my friend, is a true Taiwanese experience, where boba intersects with the Taiwanese culture.
• recommended drinks/specialties: This shop may have many other choices, along with their fresh milk brown sugar boba drink (黑糖粉圓鮮奶), but it's this original drink that really makes the locals, as well as the foreigners, bond over lines and boba.
  

Tea Garden - San Diego

It most deff. has been a whileee...

• location:
• Convoy St., San Diego
  
• price range:
  
• $2.75-$3.50 (teas)
  
• $3.25-$4.25(juice/snows/slushes/specialty drinks)
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 3 out of 5 <- they gave me older boba =(. [the really squishy and gross kind]
• milk vs. tea:
• more tea/less milky <- their milk tea is kinda Creamy but not really sweet. [reminds me of 85 degrees milk tea, but not as rich flavored]
• overall service quality:
  
• 3.5 out of 5 <- there's one cashier and the cashier is really slow.
• what's so special about this place?
• this place is quite spacey. They also have a lot of games and cards you can play with (even a CHINESE MONOPOLY set). So it's a really nice place to chillax and hangout.
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: you CANT go wrong with their Taro Smoothie made with fresh taro bits to perfection. Also, they have a huge variety of specialty teas that come in pots (perfect for some afternoon tea parties).

85 Degrees - Irvine

~I apologize about how i havent updated in a month, so here goes....

• location:
• Diamond Jamboree Plaza, Irvine
  
• price range:
  
• $2.25-$3.50 (teas)
  
• $3.00-$4.00(juice/snows/slushes/specialty drinks)
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 4 out of 5 <- pretty chewy AND a tad bit sweet
  
• milk vs. tea:
• more tea/less milky <- what distinguishes THIS milk tea from others is that their milk tea is rather Creamy and Rich
  
• overall service quality:
  
• 3.5 out of 5 <- it's so packed here that it takes a while for them to make your drink, but i mean this is more rather a cafe than a boba shop.
• what's so special about this place?
• this cafe/bakery known for its bread. fresh out of the oven. also, the drink covers arent transparent like normal boba shops.
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: I dare you to try the sea-salt coffee (i hear it's famous), i love the jasmine milk tea, and also the BREAD IS AMAZINGGGG!!!!

<3 LiLi

The Sweet Booth - Oakland

• location:
  
• Chinatown, Oakland
  
• price range:
  
• $2.50-$3.75 (teas)
  
• $2.50-$4.25 (juice/snows/slushes/specialty drinks)
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 4 out of 5 <- the boba here was pretty chewy AND a tad bit sweet
  
• milk vs. tea:
  
• more tea/less milky <- you can definitely taste the tea, but the drink itself is still rather sweet
  
• overall service quality:
  
• 3.5 out of 5 <- the name says it all. the store is the size of a medium sized booth/shack. Again, only two workers max; but the quality of the milk tea was quite nice. My only worry would be the cleanliness issue, since it's an indoor shack.
• what's so special about this place?
• you can have boba with almost ANY DRINK (see menu below). i had no idea you could get boba with sodas and OVALTINE!!!!
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: I dare any of you to try a soda-based boba drink or the OVALTINE boba drink. wonder how those would taste?! 0.o

<3 LiLi

SweetHeart Cafe - San Francisco

• location:
  
• Chinatown, San Francisco (on Grant Street)
  
• price range:
  
• $2.75-$3.75 (teas)
  
• $3.50-$4.25 (snows/slushes/specialty drinks)
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 4 out of 5 <- the boba here was pretty chewy AND very sweet, in fact it makes the overall drink REALLY sweet
  
• milk vs. tea:
  
• half and half -> you can taste the tea and the milk at an equal amount. However, the sweetness of the boba makes the overall drink taste rather sweeter than bitter
  
• overall service quality:
  
• 3.5 out of 5 <- it's a tiny little place, but there's a LOT of seats on the second floor. They tend to give a greater amount of ice and boba, compared to the drink, which causes an imbalance of milk tea vs. boba, and you'll have lots of left over boba x.X.
• what's so special about this place?
• the milk tea here is ORANGE colored!!! One of few places where the milk tea looks like a Thai Tea haha. Also, Sweetheart Cafe is one of the more famous places to check out for boba in Chinatown.
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: Try their smoothies & popcorn chicken! My favorite drink is their fresh Strawberry Banana Smoothie! =)

<3 LiLi

Sinbala - Arcadia

• location:
  
• restaurant in Arcadia, Los Angeles (plaza near where LIFE PLAZA, Din Tai Fung, & Phoenix are at)
  
• price range:
  
• $2.50-$3.00 (teas) -> more of a place to eat rather than a boba place
  
• not sure if they sell slushes/snows
  
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 4 out of 5 <- the boba here was pretty chewy
• milk vs. tea:
  
• more tea/slight milky -> when you first drink this, it will taste more milky but the AFTERTASTE of tea is quite strong.
  
• overall service quality:
  
• 3 out of 5 <- service was quite slow when compared to usual sit-in cafes that sell boba. took them awhile to make my order, but at least it came before the food.
• what's so special about this place?
• the milk tea is standard priced, but their milk tea had an unusual flavor compared to many that i've tried. i really liked that special tea aftertaste because most drinks tend to be rather milky or strongly tea-concentrated. The sweetness covered the strong tea-concentration but the aftertaste (and also the sleepless night x.x) was definitely a throw-off.
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: if you ever have a chance to try the food there, definitely try their pork chop rice & sausage rice. both are AMAZING... and if you're at that plaza, dont forget to stop by din tai fung for some delicious xiao long bao's!

<3 LiLi

TeaWay - San Francisco

• location:
  
• Irving St. in the Sunset District, San Francisco (Northern California)
  
• price range:
  
• $1.99-$2.75 (teas) *special price of $1.99 for grand openning*
  
• $2.75-$4.00 (snows/slushes/specialty drinks)
• boba "chewy-ness" quality:
  
• 3 out of 5 <- the boba here was rather hard; not exactly as chewy as quickly's
• milk vs. tea:
  
• more milkly/slight tea-ish <-tea is rather diluted, but you can taste a TINY hint of tea
• overall service quality:
  
• 3.5 out of 5 <- service is great when there's no lines; there's only one working in the store (like quickly's) ; more importantly, you can decide what toppings you want on your own like frozen yogurt places.
• what's so special about this place?
• its cheap, fast, and SELF SERVE drink toppings (yes, you choose as much variety as you want; there's a cap on how much but the worker is quite flexible)
  
• recommended drinks/specialties: i heard their popcorn chicken is great. you can definitely try their mango popping boba and lychee popping boba (they're more like tadpoles than boba balls) which have quite interesting textures
• personal note: this is probably one of the first places to have self-serve toppings for drinks. definitely take advantage of it, but personally, mixing jellies and boba isn't my cup of tea (and i tried this myself x.X)

(my two friends who came along w/ me for the TeaWay adventure. i think they loved it, dont you?! =D)

<3 LiLi