Dragon Ball Tea House, West King Edward Avenue

One of my favourite comfort food is bubble tea. It is like a perfect ending to an Asian meal. And my all-time favourite bubble tea place is Dragon Ball. I usually have mango slush without pearls. Tons of people have told me that they don't see a point of me having bubble tea without pearls. Don't get me wrong - I like those  sago pearls but I don't enjoy the experience of sucking those pearls from a straw and chewing them. I much enjoy having them as a desert - coconut milk and sago in a proper desert bowl.

One of the reasons why I really like Dragon Ball is that the drinks are really not that sweet. The place does get busy in the evening but service is pretty prompt. Dragon Ball opens at 2pm till midnight so I usually go there in the evenings or late at night.

My two favourite orders - mango slush and purple taro slush

If you are a blueberry fan, you will enjoy this drink

I tried a couple of flavours at DragonBall - including logan, strawberry and horlicks. But I always gravitate towards my favourite mango slush. Yummy!!

A note of warning though - do not think about parking at the back of the building. Apparently, there are frequent patrols and your vehicle might be towed. So, if you drive, parking your car at the Saveway parking lot (opposite Dragon Ball) is the best bet.

A notice put up by Dragon Ball - there are designated parking lots for DragonBall customers.

I have never ordered their snacks at Dragon Ball. The pictures of their snacks don't look very appetising. I usually grab the bubble tea as a takeaway. Another note of caution: this place only accepts cash.


Overall Experience:
Deco: Limited sitting capacity. Dragon Ball does look a bit old and tired.
Quality: 4/5 for the drinks - The place has become my benchmark for all other bubble tea joints. Whenever I have bubble tea at other places, I always comment that I prefer Dragon Ball.
Value for $$: $$$$/5 
Overall Experience: 4/5 - What can I say?? I am addicted to this place.

Bubble Queen - Pacific Plaza

One of my list of favourite things is bubble tea. I thought this was a most fantastic invention - whoever thought of blending milk tea with fruits, chocolate etc and then add it with sago/tapioca balls? Apparently, bubble tea originated in Taiwan. I came across this article at CNN International which was quite informative. http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/drink/inventor-bubble-tea-885732 
Chun Shui Tang Teahouse in Taichung makes their bubble tea shaken and not blended. Sounds very Janes Bond - Shaken not stirred :) I suppose this requires a lot of hand power.

In any case, I heard a lot of positive reviews about Bubble Queen and decided to check out the place. I must say that the shop has an excellent selection of drinks - all kinds of flavours. They even store boxes of chocolates in their store - Hershey's, Kit-Kat, Oreo etc. Decided to get Hershey's Chocolate and their infamous mango slush with no pearls.

I was actually disappointed - the drinks were really too sweet for my taste. I much prefer my bubble tea at my favourite hangout which is a post for another day. Ascetically, its really nice that they add real mango pieces and even a small piece of  Hershey's chocolate onto their drinks. But I found it really hard to eat them (especially the mango pieces) with a straw. It bothered me a little. I rather drink the bubble tea and be done with it. On hindsight, I should have ask for less sugar and/or syrup in my drink.

It was an adventure just going down to Richmond Centre but I don't think I will make a trip specially there just for the bubble tea.

Mango slush with mango pieces -it really fills you up. 

Whipped cream with a piece of Hershey's chocolate - this is way sweeter than the mango slush!

I was so thirsty, I started drinking my mango slush before taking another pix.

Overall Experience:

Deco: not many seats for you to hang around and chat. Its quite a sight to see their display of mangoes and the variety of chocolates.
Quality: 3/5 (for the drinks). Was too full to order their waffles.
Value for $$: $$$/5
Overall Experience: 3/5. This place is just too out of the way and I still prefer my favourite bubble tea joint.