Although you can buy them all year round, smoothie-like “bubble tea drinks” are best sipped before the summer slips away. That’s not just because these icy Taiwanese bevies are great for cooling off, but because, when they’re done well, they require lots of fresh fruit. Yes, some of these concoctions include milky potions of black tea, green tea, red beans or taro roots. But our favorites are made with fresh strawberry kiwi, mango, watermelon, avocado and honeydew. That’s why we don’t mind waiting in line with the rest of the hip Asian world for fabulous fruity bubble teas sold for $2.50-$3 at Joy Yee’s Noodles in Chinatown Square (2131 S. Archer Ave.; 312-328-0848). There you can choose from dozens of fruit-, tea- and root-flavored drinks with the optional additions of milk and big chewy tapioca balls. Our advice: mix sweet and tangy fruits (like kiwi and mango or strawberry and papaya) and always get the tapioca. After Joy Yee’s success, plenty of other Chinatown eateries have started bubbling with mixed results. We loved the fruity avocado bubble tea ($2.75) at Lee Wing Wah (2147 S. China Place; 312-808-1628), while the milky iced tea called Hong Kong special ($2.75) at St. Anna Bakery & Cafe (2158 S. Archer Ave.; 312-225-3168) was less impressive. We have enjoyed their fruit concoctions in the past, though. The most disappointing bubble tea we’ve tried was at the Phoenix Lounge (2131 S. Archer Ave; 312-328-1206) on the ground floor of the restaurant. Their “strawberry” tea tasted like a mix of Kool Aid and Coffee Mate.
