Undoubtedly one of my biggest guilty pleasures is a quality cup of milk tea with pearls added in. Trust me, I’ve had a lot of different kinds of bubble tea from all over the world such as Japan, Taiwan, and even on the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean.

In my opinion, the best ones come from Taiwan, the birthplace and origin of this chewy drink. If you ever go there, make sure to try out some locally made tapioca pearl drinks. However, some bubble tea places in Burnaby around the Metrotown area are surprisingly very high quality and can certainly hold their own. This is due to the high density of drink shops that have popped up within the past 5 years, establishing lots of competition. With competition, naturally there will be an increase in quality in hopes to become the best around. These are some of my personal favourites.

Rainbow, Katie. ‘Bubble Tea’ 2021.JPG file. / Unsplash

My first pick is Café Eggstatic located in the Crystal Mall. Their specialty is actually not in their drinks, but their uniquely shaped bubble waffles. The combination of a warm crispy waffle and a cup of milk tea is the perfect afternoon snack. Both are easy to hold by hand, but if you order multiple drinks, they give out cartons to help hold them in place.

Next up is also another tiny drink shop also located in the Crystal Mall, named Shiny Tea. Their specialty is the fascinating assortment of bubble tea flavoured desserts! It can range from cheesecakes to ice cream to hot variations on cold days. With so many creative uses of the bubble tea flavour, they are definitely a memorable location.

This one is actually located within Metrotown itself, called Chatime. The standout menu item that I get every time is the Brown Sugar Pearl Milk. At first you might think “it’s just milk and no tea, I can make that at home”, but the star of the show are the brown sugar pearls. The flavour seeps into the milk creating a sweet combination that you are guaranteed to finish in record time.

What are your bubble tea orders of choice?