24 Apr Bubble Tea Is Finally Hitting Cambridge review
Foodie Cambridge is booming – I couldn’t believe it, I was only away from Cambridge for 2 weeks and there were lots of exciting developments in the food scene in Cambridge. Clearly, a sign, that it is all happening at the moment with pop up restaurants, Sicilian shops opening up, beer festivals and the Bubble Tea craze coming to town.
Who said, Cambridge is a clone town? It’s clearly shedding the dust off ‘ the grey foodie scene’. Are we getting now 50 shades of grey in the food scene in Cambridge? I hope so. Ok, let’s stick to exotic rather than…..
Mill Road used to be the forgotten part of Cambridge. It still is though as I discover from local foodies on my tours. But there is another part of Cambridge, which seems to be forgotten on many local’s maps.
The bottom end of Regent Street or if you come from Hills Road, the top end. Many visitors or locals, who are on the search for a good bite to eat, tend to stop at the Varsity or a bit further along at the Fountain Inn. A real pity, as there are some fantastic places to dine along from the Fountain Inn. De Luca Cucina for your Italian kick, for a great cup of Italian coffee and delicious cakes and sandwiches it’s Massaro’s. A new kid on the block is Ceylon Cinnamon, where you can get delicious Sri Lankan food and the Japanese restaurant saw a change of hands too. I haven’t been yet, but the interior and the menu looks great. Chinese food is not as straightforward as you might think as in this huge country the food is very different from North to South. Beijing inspired food you can find at Seven Days and if you’re a fan of Hong Kong Style food it’s Yim Wah Express. If you thought you have covered the globe by now, then there is one last one to add to the list; the Iranian restaurant Shiraz. A must try here is the baklava!
These are just a few of the many restaurants, you can find along this part of Regent Street as there are almost too many to mention and yesterday I noticed, that there is a new addition, a lovely Greek café. I had a peep through the window and a quick look at the menu, but a visit to the Olive Garden is definitely on the cards for me soon. It’s funky and the food looks delicious! Another surprise yesterday; we now have a Moroccan restaurant in Cambridge too. Just on the corner next to Le Gros Franck, Marrakech opened their doors recently. So enough additions to the Cambridge taste palate.
Recently quite a few restaurants in this part of town were boarded up, but it was with great pleasure to find out that exciting places are opening up their doors. One of them is Ooshi, a Bubble Tea shop and next door we will have after Aromi opening their doors this week on the corner of Benne’t street, another Sicilian shop. The most amazing part about these two openings is, that these entrepreneurs are all from Ely!
So what is Bubble Tea? I have to admit, that I am very lucky to have had many drinks, tipples and food from all over the world, but never bubble tea. I was surprised to find out it is originally from Taiwan as I have seen it served in local Chinese restaurants. They only serve the straightforward tea flavour.
I was keen to find out more about ‘the craze of Bubble Tea’ as I discovered soon on the internet, that it is very popular in London. My teenage son gave me a full low down as it is incredibly popular in Germany. So what is it and why is it called Ooshi? The best way to find out was to visit Val at Ooshi himself, one of the ‘brains’ behind this new concept.
Why Ooshi?
It is the sound, that people make when the Ooballs first hit the taste balls.
What are Ooballs?
Tapioca – It’s one of the ingredients of the drink.
Why should you drink it?
It is a drink experience you will not have had before.
Experience?
Ooshi combines tea with a choice of creamy or fruit flavours. The interesting part is the topping. You will have a choice of fruit jellies, tapioca pearls, or Ooballs – jelly spheres that burst with flavours in the mouth. Wow! This isn’t a drink anymore, but a real experience.
It doesn’t stop with the drink experience as the shop is lively, fun and bright with exciting colourful graphics. I will not add the images as I want to keep the surprise for you. It’s definitely a Cambridge you haven’t seen before!
Chinese or Taiwanese?
Bubble tea is definitely from Taiwan. It appeared first there in the tea shops in the 1980s.
The secret recipe
The base is tea, usually Jasmine green tea, Assam black tea or Oolong tea. A choice of around 30 milky, sweet or fruit flavours and then the natural flavoured Ooballs, jellies or tapioca pearles are added to create an individual drink.
Any food?
Just cupcakes from Betty marshmallow cupcakes Ely.
Diary time
Ooshi will be open from 27th of April, seven days a week.
Best of luck to Val, Geoff and Lyudmila!
Gerla
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