There’s certainly no sign of the bubble tea obsession dying down anytime soon – just look at the crowds at any bubble tea stall! Slurping on the black tapioca pearls at the bottom of the cup is certainly something many people love doing – it feels like it’s in between a dessert and a drink.
While no one can pinpoint why slurping on the “bubbles” is so satisfying, some people have even come up with weird recipes using the tapioca bubbles – or “boba” – on just about any kind of food. From main meals to snacks, here are some unique boba concoctions you can find:
Edith Patisserie: Boba Tarts
Known for their handmade bakes, Edith Patisserie has Bubble Tea Tarts, which come in three flavours of a tea-infused ganache: Earl Grey, Milk Tea, and Matcha, which are topped with chewy boba tea pearls.
Mamee x TeaLive: Mi Goreng Boba
This latest Malaysian concoction comes after shocking fans with the super weird Spicy Mi Boba – spicy instant noodles with boba pearls that can be eaten hot or cold (just add ice cubes) and comes with a straw so you can drink the soup at the end! This time, their collaboration is called the Mi Goreng Boba, which is basically instant dry fried noodles topped with boba pearls.
Tom’s Farm: Black Sugar Milk Tea Almonds
Tom’s Farm, Korea’s bestselling nut brand, has infused roasted almonds with black sugar milk tea in their Black Sugar Milk Tea Almonds. Instead of mere powdered seasoning, these come coated in milk tea-flavoured chocolate.
Goomedo: Pearl Milk Tea Sandwish
Fancy having bubble tea as a sandwich? Local brand Goomedo Sando has created a unique take on the popular Japanese fruit sandwich trend with their Pearl Milk Tea sandwiches. The boba pearls are sandwiched in thick cream, and you can purchase this at 7-Eleven.
Tao Kae Noi: Bubble Milk Tea
Singapore was the first country that the seaweed company chose to release its Bubble Milk Tea flavour. This sweet snack is a first for Tao Kae Noi – it has the aroma of tea and the earthy seaweed flavour reveals a hint of milky sweetness.
Pizza Hut: Bubble Tea Blossom Pizza
Back in February, Pizza Hut Singapore launched their Bubble Tea Blossom Pizza, which features bubble tea toppings. This thick crust mozzarella cheese pizza came with bouncy little marshmallows and was served with brown sugar milk tea sauce. This sweet pizza is actually shaped like a flower!
Baiza Sushi: Boba Sushi
Indonesia’s Baiza Sushi claims to be the first boba sushi joint in the world. Their stand-out menu item is the Spicy Salmon Roasted roll – featuring aburi salmon with boba pearls on top.
We saw peak boba madness in 2019, when truly crazy concoctions came out. One of the craziest was the Mala X Assam Milk Tea Hotpot from the now-defunct Spice World – half the hot pot was filled with sweet bubble tea, with the other half with Sichuan oil bath. It made for one hell of a dining experience.
