Taro Slush from Quickly

Ok, I admit it, I have an obsession.  I'm currently obsessed with taro bubble teas, in all variations.  It started a year or so ago with a simple taro milk tea with tapioca from Quickly, and then I upped the ante with a taro milk tea with taro pudding from Quickly, and then sorta forgot about taro teas, after a disappointing one from Out The Door.  But then I had the taro smoothie with tapioca from Miss Saigon, which was a creation entirely of its own, and delicious.  So I went back to standard taro bubble teas, trying a fairly mediocre one from Little Garden, and both hot and cold versions with assorted jellies from Chai Yo.  I crave them all the time now.

There are Quickly shops all over the city, always calling out at me with their bubbles teas.  This particular visit was my first to Dak Win, in the Mission, not exactly where one normally goes for bubble tea, I know.  Dak Win is actually a Chinese restaurant that seems to just happen to also carry Quickly products.  I don't know anything about the restaurant, I just know that they have Quickly, and they are available on Eat24, so you can order ahead and pick it up, or, if really needing your bubble tea fix, you could even have it delivered.  Seriously, Quickly delivered?  OMG.  Danger. Danger.

This time, I decided to mix it up again, and not just get a standard taro bubble tea.  No, I didn't just choose a different flavor of jelly or size of tapioca, I decided to try a "slush" rather than a bubble tea.  I've wondered the difference between a regular bubble tea, a slush, and a snow for a long time, but haven't wanted to mix it up, in fear that it would disappoint.  I knew that the slush would be more blended, but besides that, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into.  The description just said "Slush (icy)".  I also had no idea how it differed from the "snow", which unhelpfully said "Snow (soy smoothie)".  If you know the real definitions of these, please enlighten me!

Taro Slush, with Tapioca.  $3.

My order was ready promptly, in the standard Quickly packaging.  I selected my favorite straw color, and quickly made my way out into the sunshine to enjoy my icy drink.

As expected, it was basically just a blended up bubble tea.  The same taro powder, milk powder, and ice, only instead of ice cubes, it was pulverized.  Slightly less refreshing, more like a smoothie.  I honestly can't say which I'd prefer, I think if I wanted to drink it faster I'd want a bubble tea so I could gulp it, this was something I'd savor a bit more.

The taro flavor was great.  I continue to find Quickly's flavor to be the best of any I've tried.  However, everything else was a bit off - it was too sweet, and too creamy.  I waited for some of the ice to melt a little to help break the sweet, but it was still a bit too much for me, and I love sweet.  I am not sure if it was just bad luck, or if I should ask for less sweet next time.  The creaminess was also strange, it sorta coated the back of my throat in an unpleasant way.  But, the taro flavor was so good, that I was able to get past these less fortunate aspects.

The tapioca were large size, and at first I thought they were too soft, reminding me of the unfortunate one from Little Garden.  But, given just a few minutes, they hardened up after coming in contact with the icy bits, and became quite delightful.  A generous amount of boba were provided, but they never seemed like too much.

Overall, a success, and I'd certainly get another, although, perhaps ask for less sweet.

The base price was $2.50, plus another $0.50 for the tapioca.  More expensive than the other Quickly locations I've visited, but cheaper than any other shops.