The minimalist interior is very bright and orange with a few bench seats by the windows. The store doesn’t only sell bubble tea, they’re also offering ice tea, milk tea, and flavored fresh milk-all of which will be very refreshing once summer rolls up in here. Between my two visits, I sampled the banana milk tea and the black tea latte. The banana was flavorful, but not overwhelming, while the black tea latte tasted similar to a milky cup of iced Earl Grey. Though there is a bit of a language barrier, I found the staff helpful even when I was questioning the “pudding tea” (that has dense tapioca added in.) This is definitely the store for the tea-lovers, but its worth a visit if only to watch the fascinating machine they have glue that plastic lid on.

Coco Fresh Tea & Juice, 459 Lexington Avenue, (212) 518-8808

Couple of weeks ago there was a question in the forum about good bubble tea in Midtown. The other day I was walking by Shanghai Mong, a K-Town Korean/Chinese spot known for their jjajangmyeon (on 32nd btw. B’way+5th), and saw that they have bubble tea! They’re known as one of the go-to Korean-Chinese restaurants around k-town. Many are fans of their jjajangmyeon. What I never noticed was that they had bubble tea. So I investigated for the sake of possibly finding some good bubble tea. After inquiring about it, I almost choked at the price, $4.90. Seriously that’s gotta be one of the most expensive bubble tea prices that’s out there. They got the usual flavors like coconut and taro and some not-so-usual ones like blueberry and thai.

As a test for what they have to offer, I picked taro because it’s easy to measure this one against the one inside of the souvenir store. What came out was not what one usually consider bubble tea but it was more like bubble slush (a taro frappuchino with tapioca balls, if you will.) The taro flavor was strong. This option is enjoyable and refreshing for the hotter days of the summer The price is the main drawback but on the whole, it was still pretty good. (And not a bad choice in this weather…)

Shanghai Mong, 30 W 32nd St (btw. B’way+5th), 212-629-6450

If I say 5th Avenue Empire Cafe… you say… wha?! Exactly. Where is that? You could walk up and down fifth avenue and never see this restaurant. They have a banner outside on the sidewalk but it fails to mention the name. What’s more strange and awesome about this place (and certainly has contributed to its anonymity) is that it’s in a place where most Midtown Lunchers would never visit… a touristy souvenir shop. Beneath the shadows of the Empire State Building on 5th Ave btw. 33+34th, sits a little souvenir store that would be like any other… except they have a restaurant on the second floor. Of course, it’s a Chinese restaurant. With bubble tea! And General Tso’s chicken…

The bubble tea comes in two sizes, 16oz ($3.50) and 24oz ($4.50). If you wanna get all technical, yes, this is more expensive than what you can get in Chinatown. But we ain’t in Chinatown, and the alternative is walking to 34th and 8th, so it’s not bad. I got the taro milk tea with bubbles and it was surprisingly good. Bubble tea is pretty difficult to hunt down in Midtown and most kind of suck. So it’s refreshing to get one that’s actually decent. Even though I can vouch only for the taro flavor, I can tell you the boba was cooked properly and not too mushy or undercooked. The bubble tea also comes in some fruit flavors like mango and peach, and you can get some of the flavors in a slushy form. Not bad for any neighborhood, not just midtown.

They also offer lunch specials featuring all the Americanized Chinese food hits like chicken/beef with broccoli, shrimp in lobster sauce, and of course, general tso’s chicken. Half of the lunch special menu is $5.50 while the rest are up to $6.50 so it’s moderately priced. You get your choice of white or fried rice. You also get soda, soup, or an egg roll. I got the general tso’s chicken which was $6.50.

The general tso’s chicken was like your average general tso’s. It’s mostly white meat and the pieces vary in batter coverage. Some pieces are pretty awesome, while others have a little too much batter. What they do for you though is make the dish extra spicy. It definitely packed a punch and I found myself sweating after finishing the meal.

When we’re talking about getting general tso’s chicken and bubble tea out of a souvenir shop, it’s almost insane not to do it. I mean, how could I not visit a place like this? Eating in Midtown is all about discovering the places that’s the exact opposite of a boring salad. And what’s better than eating lunch and picking up a I heart NY t-shirt?! Ok… maybe you don’t have to take it that far, but I just can’t help but love the idea of getting some general tso’s and bubble tea in the middle of a bustling tourist district.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• Bubble tea! In Midtown!
• The lunch specials and bubble tea are priced so you could get both for under $10
• It’s inside of a souvenir store, what more could you want?

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Yuck, I’m a real new yorker. You expect me to go inside of a souvenir store? Fuggetaboudit!
• I’m an authenticity monger, and the bubble tea in midtown just won’t cut it.
• Why would I eat generic Chinese food with Koreatown one block away?

5th Ave Empire Cafe, 339 5th Ave (inside a gift/souvenir shop), (212) 686-0036

Beard Papa fans shouldn’t be too upset about Friday’s news that they’re leaving Cafe Zaiya (on 41st btw. Mad+5th). Not only is Beard Papa going to look for another Midtown location to sell their cream puffs, but Cafe Zaiya will be converting the extra space into a dessert/drink bar. From the GM of Cafe Zaiya:

“We will be creating a drink/dessert bar as time comes. A big store like us and all we serve is hot coffee/tea? We just got a nice state of the art machine as well. Our plan is, sometime in June, to offer a full service drink bar w/ a japanese touch just like the one down the street in the bookstore.”

Oh… and that includes bubble tea.

“We also plan to offer “a 1st in midtown” bubble tea as well. Ice cream based desserts and many other items are currently in the works. We always like to evolve and as you know, over the 7+ years we’ve been in business, we always have something new for our customers year after year. Its another evolution for us I guess.”

Hing Won’s bubble tea is kind of iffy, and Ying Du and Fay Da Bakery are both kind of far to trek for a lot of Midtown Lunchers. It will be nice to have a bubble tea option in the heart of Midtown lunching. Hopefully they’ll get it open before the summer is over!

However, I will be back for one of their lunch specials. $6.25 and it comes with soup, egg roll, or soda.  Not bad at all. So cheap, and I’m sure their double cooked pork or Ma Po Tofu is better than their bubble tea.  Anybody been before?  Thoughts?

Grand Sichuan NY, 227 Lexington Ave. (btw. 33+34th) 212-679-9770

We can add one more location to the list of bubble tea places in Midtown that got put in the comments of this Profile last month.  Galaxy 2.0 has opened up on 38th St. btw. 5+6th serving frozen yogurt, smoothies, and a slushy version of bubble tea out of of a takeout window.  At $3.50 for a small, it’s slightly more expensive than a few of the other Midtown options, but they blend it with ice, making it pretty refreshing for the summertime.  I had Taro, which was prety tasty, but on second look I think I may have to try the “cookies and cream.”  They also serve a version of Pinkberry’ish frozen yogurt, with the green tea option being replaced by blueberry (???).  They didn’t have cap’n crunch as a topping, so I’ll be sticking with Red Mango- thanks.

More photos, after the jump…

Galaxy 2.0, 24 W. 38th St. (btw. 5+6th)

One of my favorite (in theory) lunch places, that I don’t get to nearly enough, is the Lunch Box Buffet on 34th St. btw. 7+8th.  It’s been mentioned a few times in the comments, and I just never have gotten around to writing about it.  A fairly simple concept, it combines two of my favorite things- value and cheap chinese food.  5 items for $5.  How does it get any better than that?  Well, I’ll tell you how:  they’ve added a Fay Da Bakery to the front of the location.

Lunch Box Buffet isn’t necessarily the best cheap chinese food in the area, but it has got the largest selection, the best pricing concept (especially for variety), and it’s much less intimidating than the far more adventurous Ying Du (on 38th btw. 7+8th.)  All the food is labeled, and the’ve got plenty of non-chinese items, like the very popular fried chicken.  Now with the addition of Fay Da it becomes much easier to ignore the cheapness of the Chinese food… you can always follow it up with a delicious custard bun.  

Fay Da is pretty well known; with 4 locations in and around Chinatown and another 6 in Queens they are a welcome addition to the Midtown Lunch landscape.  There’s a great selection of cakes, buns, cookies and of course- bubble tea, and if you’re not into Asian sweets, they’ve also got a selection of “regular” desserts behind a glass case.  Something for everyone!

As for the chinese food, if you’ve been to the Lunch Box Buffets in Chinatown (I think there are two), this one is a little different.  Just as many hits as misses, it does a good job of adapting to the clientele around Penn Station, while still retaining its Chinese identity.  The steam table has got about everything you could want, and some things that only crazy people like me want (i.e. pig’s feet).  And it’s not everyday where you find a steam table with just as many versions of tofu, as they have sauced up chinese chicken dishes.  Like I said, it’s something for everyone.  At $5 for 5 items, there is clearly no guarantee of quality- but if variety is your thing, you can’t beat the Lunch Box Buffet. 

Still don’t want to take the cheap chinese food risk?  You’ll be perfectly safe sticking to an after lunch dessert at Fay Da…

THE +

• I love cheap chinese food!
• I love Chinese bakeries!
• I love variety! (5 items for $5. Is there a better deal in Midtown?)

THE -

• You get what you pay for (for $5 you’re not getting filet mignon, that’s for sure)
• It’s a little too “clean” for me. I prefer the excitement of a place like Ying Du
• $1 for buns is ridiculous! Take me back to Chinatown…

Lunch Box Buffet/Fay Da Bakery, 257 W. 34th St. (btw. 7+8th), 212-868-8881

Awhile back I posted a “Where to get Bubble Tea” Ask Midtown Lunch post, which yielded a few responses: Dishes (which is supposedly terrible) and Hing Won on 48th btw. 5+6th, which is not that bad. You can get in Koreatown on 32nd btw. B’way and 5th, but for those of us working in the heart of Midtown Lunch, there’s not much. I did however noticed the other day that Ying Du on 38th btw. 7+8th (formerly the 38th St. Restaurant and Bakery) is now serving bubble tea. For $2.50 you get a decent size cup, and the regular black tea version I had was pretty darn good (especially in the ridiculous heat,) and definitely better than Hing Won.

If you’re heading over to Go Go Curry today for your 3 free toppings coupons, you might want to check it out- it’s right next door.  Anybody else have a bubble tea suggestion?  Feel free to put it in the comments below…

“There used to be a bubble tea café right in the middle of Times Sq., but it appears to have been replaced by one of those terrible Tasti D-lite (fake) ice cream places. Dishes offers exactly one type of bubble tea, “fruit-flavored jasmine tea”, with one type of tapioca and three choices of fruit jelly. They don’t even offer the basic milk pearl tea. At $3.50 it’s a ripoff and a poor attempt at trendifying a delicious commodity item. It’s the perfect remedy for Starbucks, especially in the summer–the tea tastes better, it’s healthier and cheaper, and refreshingly cool! Where has all the midtown bubble tea gone?”
                                                                                      – Lane R.

The only Bubble Tea I’ve seen remotely close to Midtown is on 9th Ave. btw. 47+48th @ Pearl on the Sushi.  But technically, 9th ave. is out of ML range… anybody got a bubble tea selection for Lane, more centrally located?  Post it as a comment below. 

And as always, if you’ve got a question, email it to zach@midtownlunch.com  If I know the answer, I’ll let you know- or post it for the Midtown Lunch readers to answer.