Comments on: Grand Sichuan’s Bubble Tea is Garbage

By: Naan

Naan — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:24:41 +0000

This place is indeed related to the other Grand Sichuans. They also specialize in hot pot (or the original form of shabu shabu). You’re only going to get good food if you know what you want and preferably can order it in Chinese. Otherwise, it’s just a mediocre restaurant.

I would not classify it as a lunch place by any means. More of a larger-group family-style-dinner affair.

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:39:22 +0000

I also have to chime in with Quickley’s – But there is one location in Manhatten (it’s on Grand St near Bowery) – it’s shared with shabu shabu restaurant – I’ve never been disappointed by their tea.

By: Russell

Russell — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:34:15 +0000

Well I stand corrected.

I keep finding articles and posts saying they spoke to the other locations and they say it is one of theirs. NY Magazine, AOL Cityguide, Zagat, NY Press and others say it is part of the chain.

But the website of the official chain does not include that location as one of theirs. Weird.

By: AL@1PP

AL@1PP — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:55:59 +0000

I have to put my 2 cents in for Quickly, but they only operate in Queens (Flushing, and Elmhurst) In Manhattan, just about any chinese bakery sells bubble tea and they are all basically on par. For those “fancy” tea houses like ten ren, saint alps etc, I recommend caution when experimenting with their more exotic sounding drinks. 9 times out of ten, it’s just a powder, and it’s gross, and never, never get what they call a “milk shake”. Look behind the counter, if you don’t see a softserve machine, You’re not getting a milk shake.

By: Monica

Monica — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:03:40 +0000

This place is not related to the other GS locations. The food is greasy and tasteless and the lunch special portions are laughable.

By: fedthefish

fedthefish — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:27:18 +0000

that place is awful. i ordered a quart of wonton soup from there once and when i opened it up, it had a big black hair floating on the top. blech.

By: Guest

Guest — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:11:47 +0000

@Lou: Bubble tea is best served cold. Ten Ren is a more upscale teahouse that’s from Taiwan. Should you be interested in Chinese tea in general, this is a good starting point. For your first bubble tea, definitely try Saints’ Alps for the whole experience. Go in, pick a table (they’re imitation of the old-school style tables and stools you’ll find in teahouse over China). Read the menu, pick a (cold) bubble tea and have a snack.

The signs of bad bubble tea?
-Under/overcooked bubbles
-Watery tea
-Overly sweetened
-Too much milk/too little milk (you want a nice balance between the milk and the tea)
-Chemical aftertaste from the powdered flavoring they use…bleah

I’m still looking for a teahouse that doesn’t use powder for the taro flavor. Guess I gotta go back to the motherland for that one :(

Too bad they don’t have a place that serves a good Cuban AND bubble tea. Hmm…

By: Lou

Lou — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:03:58 +0000

So it can be served cold… that’s mainly how i’d want it… not a fan of hot drinks. Is it any better or worse served cold?

By: Danny

Danny — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:28:14 +0000

I think Ten Ren is good. The thing about bubble tea is that you can always be pleasantly surprised. Really the only difficult part is to cook those tapioca balls correctly (and it’s much harder than it sounds… it can be hard, gummy, pasty, under-cooked… etc). I prefer mine with the ice slushie during the summer months. Much cooler.

By: MacontoNYC

MacontoNYC — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:00:22 +0000

ten ren is good but i gotta say that the best i’ve had in ny is at tea kettle on astor place. Blows ten ren out of the water, better tapioca balls, not as cloyingly sweet, really good tea flavor. There’s another place further down mott that’s really good too. I think it’s called green something… it is on the west side and has high stools with low tables.