Having lived in Athens for so long, I obviously consider it my home; my mom of course, thinks of it as her home away from home- and rightfully so. So I guess it is more of our family's home from home, and as we've made our lives here, we have strived to incorporate as much of our culture and connect with the things we love as we can. That's not unique to my family though; rather, it's every immigrant family's story.
In our 18 years here, we have been grateful to find our go-to grocery stores and reliable restaurants in the greater Atlanta area; Decatur offers us our directly-shipped-from-India grocery goods, such as the various daals, spices, basmati rice. There's always a lovely assortment of fresh produce that'll we'll stock up on for the month as well. There are also been a nice rotation of restaurants in Decatur, from the go-to Zyka, south Indian Saravana Bhavan for your "tastes-just-like-home" dosas, and Bawarchi for your North Indian/Islamic-based biryani, and Global Mall. There used to be long-gone good ones, like Madras Chettinad (which has now in Alpharetta) and a few others that I can't remember off the top of my head. The Cherians grocery store in my opinion has some of the best snack foods. Patel Brothers is a staple that any curry person will know (and I use that as a term of endearment). Even though I've only named a few of the South Asian grocery/food havens in the surrounding area, you'll notice I didn't mention Athens.
There are a few appreciable places in Athens: Taste of India, Siri Thai, the Thai Spoon, the Bombay Cafe, , however, that, in my opinion, aren't highlighted enough: Fook's Foods and my favorite: the Bubble Cafe.
The Bubble Cafe is located on College Avenue, just in perfect view of the iconic Arch. I understand that tea isn't for everyone...but you know, you put India and England (from the colonialism) and Georgia (peach) sweet tea together, you get me. So it's right up my alley. Bubble Tea (AKA boba milk tea or boba) is a Taiwanese drink invented in the 80s; it's usually tea mixed with milk or fruit, and often generously mixed in with tapioca pearls. And if you're into choices, get ready for the variety of flavors available to you.
I know a lot of people who have made it a goal to try every flavor on the menu, but I have a list of go-tos. For reference, here's the menu:
Endless options...and it's impossible to choose. The proximity to one of my classes every week makes it hard to not justify a treat a week with this cute cafe. I highly recommend it, even if you aren't familiar with Asian/East Asian foods. It might seem like a new thing to add chewy foods to drinks, but it's very popular in Asian cuisine: Indian lassi often has mango pieces, buttermilk often has cucumber or mint, paal (milk) payasum/kheer desert, and falooda is the iconic drink with all of the goodies mixed in.
Paal Payasam/KheerEverypixel
FaloodaEverypixel
So it's nice to know that it's not just one culture that enjoys the chewiness present in some drinks. Join the bandwagon!
Here's my top choices and go-to-teas at Bubble Cafe (in no specific order):
Rose Milk Tea with Strawberry Poppings
Coconut Milk Tea with Boba
Peach Green tea with Strawberry or Mango Poppings
Pomegranate Black Tea with Lychee and less sugar
Thai Milk Tea with Boba
Some of these flavors might be new to you, namely the rose milk and coconut milk; again, tying into other South Asian cultures, rose milk is a popular desert drink in India, and coconut milk is a very common ingredient in many dishes in both Southeast Asia (Thailand) and India. If you're less of a tea/milk person, go with the snow bubble drinks, the fruit slushies, or the coffee. And if you're feeling snacky, the dinner meals and snack foods are to die for: I am a strong strong supporter of the very spicy salt and pepper chicken. And I've also had friends who truly love the rice meals. It's just a haven.
In honor of my love for Bubble Cafe, here are a few memorable pictures of my addiction that hopefully inspire you to join along.
