Teariffic Indeed

I was at the Lafayette Dorm studying hard (cough Facebook stalking, online shopping, blog reading) when I got some hankering for some boba.

Yes, in the West Coast, bubble tea called BOBA. We're too lazy to say the entire phrase, but you know what that's like. Right, New York?

Thankfully, in the dead still of Chinatown at night, one bubble tea cafe is still open, offering wonderful drinks and snacks for hungry and thirsty college students like myself.

I walked out from the dorm outside to find...silence. Chinatown becomes a ghost town after about 9 p.m. One dark sign after another, I saw the light! Large 9 letters spelled out Teariffic shined in the dead Chinatown night. The menus are posted on both sides of the entrance doors -- which are always swung open graciously -- with a bright backlight to allure thirsty people wandering in the night to stop by for a drink.

NYU students might mistakenly think they walked into Saint's Alp Teahouse when they come in. Saint's Alp Teahouse is another bubble tea joint with the same Taiwanese flair in Union Square on 3rd Avenue and 10th Street. The tiny (and identical!) wooden tables with the glass tops and those goddamn low and backless stools can be seen at both cafes. Back comfort apparently is a nonissue for both cafes.

But I wasn't staying tonight. I ordered my drink from the waiter at the front desk left of the entrance and watched as they made my Passion Fruit Black Tea with Aloe at the drink bar in the back. The regular size is $2.55 -- a much cheaper price compared to Teariffic's competitors like Ten Ren Tea Time and Quickly that charge at least $3 for the same size. At my first sip, I was finally satiated. There was a generous heap of aloe in the bottom of my drink (which I paid an extra 50 cents for) and the passion fruit flavor mixed well with the black tea. Yuuummmmy. For those who aren't in love with aloe as I am, try the boba balls for your classic bubble tea for the same price.

I walked back to the dorm excited for the long night of papers galore that awaited me. But it's okay. I have passion fruit by my side.

For late owls, be warned. Teariffic closes at 11 p.m. So get your boba fix quick! Teariffic is at 51 Mott St. between Bayard Street and Pell Street. Call them up at (212) 393-9009.