When in Tokyo ... seek out Instagram worthy trendy items? It appears so.
But I really wasn't intending that, exactly.
My destination: TP TEA in the Hillside mall in Roppongi.
TP TEA is a chain from Taiwan, founded way back in 1983, which, does sound old for bubble tea years. They now have 250+ stores worldwide, including the one I visited, which was newly opened.
I didn't do any research really before visiting, but I now know that TP stands for "Taiwan Professional". Ok.
Anyway, I was drawn in, amusingly, not for the bubble tea.
No, it was 93* out, and I wanted one thing: ice cream. Soft serve ice cream to be exact. In a cone, to be even more exact. It didn't matter than I knew nothing about the soft serve at TP Tea, it just mattered that they had it.
I stepped up to order, and was quite pleased when the cashier flipped the menu over, revealing an English menu. Phew.
But I really wasn't intending that, exactly.
 |
| Storefront. |
TP TEA is a chain from Taiwan, founded way back in 1983, which, does sound old for bubble tea years. They now have 250+ stores worldwide, including the one I visited, which was newly opened.
I didn't do any research really before visiting, but I now know that TP stands for "Taiwan Professional". Ok.
Anyway, I was drawn in, amusingly, not for the bubble tea.
No, it was 93* out, and I wanted one thing: ice cream. Soft serve ice cream to be exact. In a cone, to be even more exact. It didn't matter than I knew nothing about the soft serve at TP Tea, it just mattered that they had it.
 |
| English Menu. |
I glanced quickly over the options, pausing slightly to consider a taro milk tea, or a bubble tea parfait, but I knew what I wanted. Soft-serve ice cream. The menu had two options: cup or waffle cone. Single size. It didn't say what flavor the soft serve was. And both seemed to have tapioca on them. Well, that then.
After ordering I was given a buzzer, and had a longer wait than I expected. My cone I'm sure was fast, but, I had to wait for all the more elaborate teas and noodle dishes ahead of me to be prepared. Eventually, my buzzer went off.
"Original soft-serve ice cream with fragrant tea leaves and sticky tapioca."
I could tell just from looking at the soft serve that it was not the texture I was hoping for.
Tokyo is home to some really incredible soft serve (although both my favorites from my last trip, Silkream and Mother Milk Farm, have closed), where the soft serve is just sooo perfectly creamy and rich. This, I could tell, was not.
But I still dug in.
The flavor was milk tea, which I guess I could have expected. The tea flavor was indeed good. But the ice cream was just not very smooth. It melted nicely though, and got much better as it melted, basically turing into, um, milk tea. Which perhaps I should have just gotten in the first place.
The cone was a waffle cone, large size, well made, but clearly not very fresh. Meh on the cone too.
And finally, the tapioca, which I expected to be stars given the venue, I really did not like at all. They were a smaller style ball than is more standard, but they were kinda hard, and had a flavor I didn't care for.
So overall, this really wasn't much of a winner. The tea flavor was good, but the rest of it ... not so much.
 |
| Bubble Milk Soft Serve Ice Cream, Waffle Cone. 550yen. |
I could tell just from looking at the soft serve that it was not the texture I was hoping for.
Tokyo is home to some really incredible soft serve (although both my favorites from my last trip, Silkream and Mother Milk Farm, have closed), where the soft serve is just sooo perfectly creamy and rich. This, I could tell, was not.
But I still dug in.
The flavor was milk tea, which I guess I could have expected. The tea flavor was indeed good. But the ice cream was just not very smooth. It melted nicely though, and got much better as it melted, basically turing into, um, milk tea. Which perhaps I should have just gotten in the first place.
The cone was a waffle cone, large size, well made, but clearly not very fresh. Meh on the cone too.
And finally, the tapioca, which I expected to be stars given the venue, I really did not like at all. They were a smaller style ball than is more standard, but they were kinda hard, and had a flavor I didn't care for.
So overall, this really wasn't much of a winner. The tea flavor was good, but the rest of it ... not so much.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete