Bubble Town Tea House

Although it may seem self-serving to be writing about Bubble Town, I think this blog deserves to have a piece (or more) on Naga City's only bubble tea house.

Several other blogs have written reviews on the place and I'm positive that there are a good number of happy comments on Facebook - so, I'll take the liberty to write about BTown from an insiders point of view. :)

Perhaps one of the best things about Bubble Town is the fact that it is a family initiative. My happiest memories of this young store are the first few weeks. Opened in early May (2011), Manay Kat (the owner of the store), Karen and I dove into being baristas - mixing tea drinks, cooking tapioca pearls and brewing tea. JJ and Tom would spend the evenings throwing trash, wiping tables and loading the things that ought to be brought home for refill/cleaning/replacement. The best floor mopper has got to be Tintin. The green tea connoisseur - PJ.

In our previous lives, we were bubble tea lovers. Customers. Happy payers for the refreshing drink. Tom and Manay Kat would frequent bubble tea places in Vancouver. Over the years, as Manay Kat would come home to Naga for vacation, she'd crave for it but not have anywhere to go for it. I have always been a Quickly child (which is not the same, I know) - but being introduced to bubble tea in Vancouver, I made the connection. Then you have the many many milk tea places that are booming all over the metropolis up north in Manila.

So early this year, we all made the transition from mere bubble tea lovers to sharers as well.

Because it's a start-up company, the growing pains are felt in each and every aspect of the work. Labor pains they call it. It's Manay Kat's third child. Or maybe her second - with the third on the way.

The amount of ingredient A into the drink ought to be _____ . The number of seconds the tea should shake. The design of the chair ought to be like this and not like that. Franchising in the future? So many things had to be taken into consideration. But it was fun - amazing to see how someone's dream (or craving) to lead into something like this that the whole family can enjoy (on whatever side of the bar you're on).

We all have our personal favorites. Tom definitely loves his Original Milky Tea with 80% sugar. JJ has been shifting from Mango Green Tea to Lychee Green Tea and I've been following suit. All drinks come with tapioca pearls - just the right texture, made with love, all fresh and newly cooked. And the tea? Brewed every morning with just as much love as the pearls. I can attest to that. :)

For the first time, I tried the Lemonade Jelly with 100% sugar, and I must say it's pretty good. Quite a contender for my number one spot. I'm staring at my empty glass now and thinking of getting one more.

Or oatmeal cookies. Hmmm.

Lemonade Jelly at Bubble Town Tea House

Laksa Restaurant

Tom and I have been wanting to try Laksa for over a month now but never really got to crossing over to Magsaysay.

Because of an intense craving for some sort of noodle soup (initially thinking of ramen or pho) we remembered that we had yet to check out Laksa - what I assume is the only South East Asian restaurant in this side of the country.

Nicely situated next to Chef Doy's (which we haven't gone to yet either), the casual, al fresco dining area boasts of beautiful wooden benches, attractive orange walls and a very unique wooden ceiling piece. All proudly made by a local carpenter, we hear.

We came at around seven in the evening - bumping into a few familiar faces (enjoying their own dates at Grissini and Uncle Johnny's). Surprisingly, there weren't many diners when we came in - but then again, it was a rainy evening. After a good hour or so, more families started trickling in.

We ordered Singaporean Laksa and Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls. Beautiful presentation and very very tasty. I was so not disappointed. In fact, it was very good laksa - even better than Secret Recipe's! Just the right amount of spiciness, getting better with every bite (or slurp, rather). I don't remember having it with pineapple before, but this one did. And the combination of sweet and spicy was perfect. The spring rolls were excellent as well. I love the sweet sauce that accompanied it. I was tempted to order more for "dessert".

The best part of dinner though was our gracious host, Mr. Johnny Casilang. He sat with us throughout our dinner, sharing stories, photos and dreams.

We talked about moving back to Naga, choosing to raise our family here. He nodded his head in approval. Everything in Naga is seven minutes away from almost any and every point. No stress from traffic, he said. So true! Although a native of Pampanga, this man has had the opportunity to live in the Visayas and Mindanao, carrying with him a wealth of experience. And he too chooses Naga to be his home. :)

We left Laksa with our tummy's full and our hearts bursting as well. Such an affirmation that we made the right choice to come home and settle here. There is so much potential in this little city and we are just beginning to discover the treasures that are hidden here.

On another note though - we are definitely going back to try the Pho and the Pad Thai. It's a good thing we aren't going anywhere - we've got a lot on our check-list of things to eat.