Yao Yao Cha means Shake Shake Tea in Chinese. The naming approach tickles me and certainly the little shop in London’s Seven Dials area has shaken up the local bubble tea market since it opened earlier this year. Yao Yao Cha’s founder and owner Susan Fang was born in Taiwan but has lived in New York, Dubai, Seoul, Beijing and now London (a city she describes as the most vibrant she’s lived in to date; I’ll drink bubble tea to that!)
In launching this business she wanted to bring us an authentic taste from her childhood, adding global influences gleaned from her globetrotting lifestyle.
The storefront on Earlham Street and Dagaz, our friendly server
The menu offers classic Taiwanese bubble tea options alongside modern, global flavours.
Bubble tea (aka boba tea), for those who’ve not come across it before, is simply a glass of (usually) sweetened tea with a generous spoonful of tapioca pearls at the bottom. Served with an extra wide straw that allows you to suck the little spheres of tapioca up as you drink. I’ve found that most people either love or hate the chewy texture of the tapioca, with some of my friends describing them as frogspawn (how do they know?) and others delighting in the bounce, as I do.
Most bubble drink cafes sell a variety of drinks, so if tea isn’t your thing (and there are quite a few different teas to choose from) you one of a range of frappés instead. For tea drinkers, there’s matcha green tea, a range of fruit-flavoured jasmine green teas, several black teas including ones flavoured with salted caramel, chocolate, strawberry and lemon. Frappés include blueberry, mango, passion fruit, chocolate and even crème brulée!
The teas can be ordered hot or cold, though personally I think cold works best with bubbles.
Don’t worry if you don’t think you’ll like traditional bubbles either; another option is to order your drink with fruit pop spheres – tiny liquid-filled spheres available in a range of flavours, with not a hint of chewiness to them. Or maybe you’d prefer a flavoured jelly, chopped into teeny tiny cubes?
Teas are £3.50/ £4.50 (regular/ large) and include a portion of tapioca. Frappés are £4.00 and include one flavour of fruit pops or jelly. Extra fruit pops or jellies can be added to any of the drinks.
Oh and, if you visit in the evening, YYC are usually running a 2 for 1 offer on the bubble teas.
Sweet milky black tea with lychee pops and salted caramel black tea with tapioca pearls.
Newer to the menu is the range of shaved ice desserts, known as baobing in Chinese and hugely popular across China and much of East Asia.
We had a lovely time chatting to Dagaz who came to London from Taiwan just a few months ago and is really enjoying working in Yao Yao Cha, improving his English and exploring the architecture of London.
On his recommendation, we went for one traditional shaved ice (with condensed milk syrup, taro, crème brulée pudding, tapioca pearls and red bean paste) and one modern option with fruit pops and jellies and a mango fruit syrup.
Tapioca pearls are included for free (if you want them) and the £5 price includes three additional toppings of your choice. Of course, you can add more if you like, for 50 pence per topping. Portions are enormous and one is plenty for two to share, or even three if you’ve just stuffed yourself with huge bowls of ramen, as we had!
Shaved ice with traditional toppings; shaved ice with mango syrup and a selection of fruit pops and jellies
With lots of great restaurants in the immediate vicinity, I hope lots of Londoners discover the pleasure of a shaved ice dessert. With all the sugary toppings, it’s not a healthier option but it makes a refreshing alternative to the creaminess of ice cream and it’s particularly appealing when the weather is warm.
Kavey Eats was a guest of Yao Yao Cha.
Please leave a comment - I love hearing from you!5 Comments to "Yao Yao Cha | Boba & Baobing | Bubble Tea & Shaved Ice"
Wow what a fascinating place Kavey, I’d love to try some of these unique sounding drinks and desserts. I love that part of town, so will definitely be paying a visit when I’m next there. Great review.
Having never drunk tea or coffee for nearly 40 years and recently getting into iced coffee, I guess I should be game for this. If I can drink it cold I’ll probably like it, the texture doesn’t put me off if it’s sweet.
I like their logo with the teapot very much and will look out for them if I’m around Covent Garden direction soon.
Still not convinced about the merits of chunky tea, but I would give it a go nonetheless! Sounds intriguing!
I too delight in the bounce. There is something very much fun about Tapioca Pearls. Has anyone used them with abandon in inappropriate recipes just to jazz things up a bit? Spaghetti Bubblenaise for example?
Ha ha I think I may have to make such a dish purely on honour of this comment, Simon!