Off Campus Cuisine: Bubble World

Image from I Love Food Blog.

Blissful bubble tea and forgetful food

By Kyrsten Downton, Contributor

Bubble tea has been building up in popularity for the last couple of years. I too enjoy the cold, smoothie-like drink, so I was excited to try out the recently opened Bubble World, just a short walk down from Douglas College in New Westminster (on 601 Agnes Street and 6th Street).

Walking in, the dĂ©cor was cute and the windows and a few tables were covered with Halloween decorations. I silently applauded Bubble World for getting into the festive season and loved the fun vibe. It’s a great place to hang out with friends and is also surprisingly quiet, so you could easily “work” on some homework if you ever felt inclined to.

The drinks at Bubble World are amazing and even have a menu devoted towards bubble tea alone. I found myself worrying about the prices though, as the tea isn’t cheap. Every drink could cost up to five dollars. However, all of the bubble teas come in one cup size: absolutely ginormous! My strawberry slush was peaking out of the cup so high, it came with a spoon to eat it. The tea portions are huge, so be prepared to ask for a to go cup if you didn’t ask for it already. Not only was there a huge amount of the drink, but it was absolutely delicious and definitely worth the price.

[quote]Bubble World’s food may just be simply edible and the service is barely adequate—but the bubble tea is worth it.[/quote]

The food menu was also elaborate and plentiful. It ranged from traditional Oriental cuisine, such as gyozas—which I had—to simple sandwiches and chicken wings. Unfortunately, the food I had was nothing special. I liked the sauce they gave me but the gyozas were bland. I was disappointed with not having the amazing food tasting experience that I was looking forward to.

The biggest let-down of all though was the service. None of the waitresses even tried to offer a friendly smile. At first, I thought they were attempting to be efficient: sit customers down, listen to their order, bring them food, give them their bill, and then let them leave. However, the servers came off as cold as they followed their routine. Is it really that hard just to smile at someone and wish them a great day?

Moreover, Bubble World’s food may just be simply edible and the service is barely adequate—but the bubble tea is worth it. I wouldn’t recommend you go every day, but it’s a nice change from all those Starbucks and Tim Horton’s coffees we all seem to love.