This restaurant has closed according to Urbanspoon; updated on 15th June 2010.
The four of us, we don’t normally go to Bubble Tea Houses. It is not that we don’t like Bubble Tea. As a matter of fact, our boys absolutely like it but they told us they will not be caught dead in a Bubble Tea House. I think they are associating it with places where girls hangout … LOL!
We would not had gone in if not for the fact that we have absolutely no idea where to go. You know, it was one of those days when we needed some place to blog about but simply cannot think of one … until we drove past the Cosmos Plaza on Garden City and McKim (in Richmond that is). That is when Suanne said that Gogo Tea Cafe had at sometime ran commercials on the TV.
It is located a floor above the street level. Almost all restaurants in Richmond simply had no views at all and is dark. Well, the view here was not that great but at least it had a lot of light here. It was still winter when we visited Gogo Tea. When spring comes round, there will be more color.
Talking about spring, I just can’t get enough of spring … it is simply the best season of the year for me. It does cheer me up with the longer days. Even driving to work is interesting observing how there are more colors every day.
Gogo Tea is bright … with ceiling to wall windows and white furnishings. On a bright day it could be blinding. Oh yeah, it is a youngster hangout alright but there are a couple of families there too.
Milk Teas are Gogo Tea’s specialties. Ordered as an individual items, the Milk Teas are $4 and above. However, if you order from their lunch menu, you just need to add $1 for regular milk tea and an additional 50 cents if you want pearls (or coconut jelly, pudding or grass jelly) too.
We love the milk teas. They are absolutely fabulous and I am sure you will like them too. They are uniquely served in really tall glasses. They are so tall that we can’t even drink from the straws without taking it off below the table level to reach the straws!
I had the Gogo Milk Tea which came with coffee flavoured chewy jelly and whipped cream. Suanne had the Matcha Milk Tea which was more green tea and not at all sweet. Arkensen had the Chocolate Milk Tea and Nanzaro the Mocha flavoured one.
The best among all had to be the Gogo Milk Tea … it’s rich, creamy, chewy, sweet. They have a huge milk tea selection and if you don’t know what to order, then go for the Gogo Milk Tea. You won’t be disappointed.
For food, Arkensen ordered the Deep Fried Pork Chop on Rice which costs $7.25. It came with a side dish of edamame, tofu and century egg drizzled with sesame oil.
The Tofu and Century Egg Drizzled with Sesame Oil dish is surprisingly very good. No one wanted the century eggs (not even Suanne) but really, they are great.
BTW, century eggs … I grew up being told that century eggs are all black because they were soaked in horse’s urine for a long time. Is there any truth to it?
Nanzaro ordered the Curry Beef on Rice which costs $6.95. It was pretty disappointing and does not look appetizing for me. To me, only Indians and Malaysians makes the best curries on the planet.
Suanne ordered the Tofu on Hotplate. This is a vegetarian dish but really tasty and served on a sizzling hot plate. The side dishes that came with this is the same as those that came with Arkensen’s Pork Chop Rice. We like this and it’s just $7.95.
Me, I ordered the House Special Beef Soup. Although they serve the non-spicy version, I asked if they can make it spicy hot. Was glad that they did and must say that they did a great job in making it ultra spicy. This bowl costs $5.25.
The total bill came up to $40 including tax and tips. They accept cash only, by the way. We’ll definitely come visit again someday … we enjoyed their milk tea a lot.
They have their website on http://gogotea.ca
Wikipedia’d century eggs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg no mention of urine!
The tofu dish looks yummy
7 pearls = a 325ml can of coca cola!
Sorry, 7 pearls = a 355ml can of coca cola! Not 325ml. Basically, eating all the bubbles in a bubble tea is potentially drinking 4-5 cans of coke!
I always get Jasmine Milk Tea (sometimes aka Milky Green Tea), no pearls. Then I judge whether the bubble tea place uses good jasmine green tea. =D
(Although, I am also often tempted by wheat milk tea. Maybe I should just buy those packets of “cereal drink” from T&T and sprinkle it on the bubble tea myself! haha.)
Reagrding those “pickled vegetables” — does anybody know how those are made?!! It’s a Taiwanese thing. They’re often put into Taiwan Beef Noodle soup, or the Taiwan minced pork rice, or in those “kwa pao” (white bun filled with pork belly, peanuts w. sugar, and those pickled vegetables).
We were told to get “pickled mustard greens” from the supermarket and just saute them. We tried that, and it’s not the same at all! The ones from the store were just salty, not sweet/sour. Or perhaps there are lots and lots of different kinds of “pickled mustard greens”?
What to do?! We’ve been asking around re this for quite a while and nobody seems to have any answers.
What are you talking about Ling? Kcalories? I’t kind of hard to believe that.. are you talking about diet coke?
Anyway.. if it’s worth the calories.. who cares.. I think it’s worth it 😉
TS said: “Reagrding those “pickled vegetables” — does anybody know how those are made?!! It’s a Taiwanese thing. They’re often put into Taiwan Beef Noodle soup, or the Taiwan minced pork rice, or in those “kwa pao” (white bun filled with pork belly, peanuts w. sugar, and those pickled vegetables).”
TS, if I recall correctly they are called “sour cabbage” (translated from Mandarin). Yes it is ubiquitous in Taiwanese cuisine, like kimchi is in Korean cuisine. Best to ask Taiwanese restaurants what they are, better yet ask them where they buy them 🙂 (and tell us here)
This should be it:
“Suan Tsai” (Sour Cabbage)
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/507272
http://research.amnh.org/~cliu/rabbliu/Yum2/pickledcabbage.txt
We posted about this place a long while back and liked it for its novelty and value in the food, but its interestingly become one of the most popular pages on our blog…..albeit from visitors more interested in the waitress ‘maids’ than the food.
http://eatsnaprepeat.wordpress.com/2007/05/05/gogo-tea-cafe-trendy-maid-cafe/
Thanks Ken! I don’t know about asking Taiwanese places. Everybody’s been very secretive. Haha. =D
There’s a lot of Taiwanese bubble tea restaurants in Vancouver and Richmond. I like them because they are cleaner (sometimes prettier) than other inexpensive restaurants. They bother to have decor. And they always offer great value, food is not expensive.
Other great bubble tea restaurants are like: BBT Cafe in Kerrisdale, Well Tea in Richmond, Tri-ty in Richmond, Pearl Castle in Richmond.
Of course these Taiwanese bubble tea restaurants have great food. It tastes good. That’s important.
“7 pearls = a 355ml can of coca cola! Not 325ml. Basically, eating all the bubbles in a bubble tea is potentially drinking 4-5 cans of coke!”
It can’t be. Pearls are just tapioca starch, they are sugar free and fat free. It’s like rice which is also starch, it’s sugar free and fat free but has lots carbohydrates.
The portion of pearls i the milk tea is usually not a lot. It’s not as much as a bowl of rice or a potato.
I think it’s safe to eat pearls, it’s not as bad as coke. After I drink soda ( even just 1 cane), I can feel I am bloated right away. The belly gets big and it’s obvious. It takes few days for the belly to get smaller. I never feel and look that way after I eat some pearls.
Please visit the following websites for the nutrition facts on bubbles. A serving of bubble tea (depending on the size) can actually equal to the same calories as a can of coke.
Even if one serving of bubble does not equal to a can of coke, it still has a high calorie content. I was merely stating a fact learned from nursing school, not trying to discourage anyone from drinking bubble tea. Drinking it in moderation is fine but we shouldn’t drink it too much because the powder mix to make the drink also contains high calories.
http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/item/112045.html
Break down of calories/fats.
http://www.bobateadirect.com/statichtml_images/Nutrition_facts_2005.pdf
I was told that the Century eggs are black because they are immersed in lye for a period of time. In any case, that sounds better than horse urine! 🙂
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I can’t believe the review doesn’t mention that the waitresses cosplay and dress up as a maid or school girl. I have been there once. While the food and drink is average, the service is terrible. We waited over 30min for our drinks. I think a lot of guys go there for the “eye candy”. Also, the parking there is very cramped, a la Crystal Mall style, so it’s better to park on the street.
The place has changed new management and it’s now called Magnetic Cafe.
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