The Origin? - Chun Shui Tang in Taichung, Taiwan

Allegedly. But most likely!

Enjoying a cold one!

Boba really is the craze these days, isn’t it? Trust me, I know – I did my prom ask with five cups (it went great). Boba, the great drink that goes by so many names and refers to one thing: a drink with tea, condensed milk, sugar and those sweet little pearls made out of God knows what (PCB actually). Pearl milk tea is another name for it, a direct translation from its original Chinese name 珍珠奶茶(zhen zhu nai cha). Its origins are in Taiwan – there’s no doubting that. But there is a controversy about the exact store that started boba. The one I went to claims to be the first – it opened in 1983 after being converted from another tea shop. And according to Chun Shui Tang in 1987, pearl milk tea was brought into the world. The other shop in this race for the first is Hanlin Teahouse in Tainan, Taiwan – I’ll tell you about it if I ever head down there. Chun Shui Tang came into existence when my dad just entered into high school at the number one ranked boys high school in the city of Taichung. It’s located behind the old city hall, where my grandmother used to work at a market that took place there. Surrounding the city hall is a bunch of historical food spots – including their famous sun cakes and meatballs. The meatball stand is one I remember from my childhood in Taichung – their service while not exactly friendly s quick and smooth, allowing a plethora of customers from the busy street rush in and out getting their meal in. And to contrast this all, Chun Shui Tang.


What started as a small and quaint little tea shop has extended to outdoor and basement seating – the latter of which my party of four was relegated to. The host warmly showed us to our seats and offered us menus. We marked down our orders and turned in the slip, and the food arrived shortly thereafter. In two visits here, I ordered a few dishes including fries and some tofu. To be honest, I personally thought the food was alright – with the exception being the fries which were astonishingly good. The main treat here is the pearl milk tea, which I have to say is exquisite. The “medium” size is huge, as in the cup is bigger than the largest size you will find at any other boba spot. It’s probably as long as a dumbbell, and has the diameter of a healthy grapefruit. Contained inside this giant chalice is some absolutely great pearl milk tea! The tea is of course excellent, while the milk they used didn’t make me feel bloated or weighed down as some other shops do (the only other shop to achieve this is Boba Guys in San Francisco). My guess is that they use fresh milk instead of condensed milk, which would make the drink, well, less condensed. The pearls were a bit smaller than other shops, but that didn’t change a thing about their taste. They’re still the sweet and loveable little orbs of brown sugar that can bring a smile to your face!

FRIES!

Chun Shui Tang is definitely an experience for all boba lovers – you might not be able to make it down to Taichung from Taipei but I definitely recommend going to any one of their locations (there’s one near Taipei 101).Being able to step into a part of beverage history should be enough to entice you into their shops, if the opportunity to drink a very solid cup of pearl milk tea didn’t do the trick.

You can find me on Instagram as @stumpyeatsfood and on yelp at theplumpcat.yelp.com. You can also check out more of my photos on Flickr! If you've got a restaurant recommendation or even a recipe that you think I should try, send it to me at ryanjchen2@gmail.com! Thank you for reading!