The Whale Tea — Restaurant in New York

Flushing is completely saturated with bubble tea joints but for some reason, I still get excited whenever a new one opens. This new bubble tea place called The Whale Tea opened yesterday along Kissena Blvd near Queens College. The Whale Tea is a Nanjing-based bubble tea chain and very popular in China with over 500 outlets.

This location in Flushing is big and shares its space with Qiu Sushi and Ramen (grand opening soon). The space is wide and spotless with tables along the wall of floor to ceiling windows overlooking busy Kissena Blvd. It looks like a really nice place to hang out.

We ordered Taro Fresh Milk Tea, Watermelon Fruit Milk with Lychee Jelly and a Mango Slush with Lychee Jelly. The Mango Slush was delish! The slush was finely textured and melted in your mouth. A great refreshing drink in the summer heat.

The Taro Fresh Milk Tea was different from your usual taro drink. First of all, it was not purple but rather white in color. It was made with real taro. The taro texture was soft but a bit dry, nutty and grainy. To be honest, I’m a bit on the fence with this drink.

As for the Watermelon Fruit Milk drink….it was just so unique! Not at all what I was expecting. The drink contained chia seeds and needed to be vigorously shaken before drinking. The watermelon was very subtle and the chia seeds along with the lychee jelly gave it a very interesting flavor and texture. I thought it was strange on my first few sips but then after a while, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I actually enjoy trying new things and this tea shop has truly piqued my interest. I appreciate that their drinks are made with real fruit and ingredients are healthier. I’m really curious about their other drinks on the menu and will be back to try them.

Tip: As part of their grand opening promo, buy 5 drinks and get 1 drink free.

Tip 2: Ask for a loyalty card. Ten stamps =...

Went to check out this place with my friends after work. The inside is very spacious and clean. We ordered enough drinks to receive a free drink of our choice (2 stamps per drink and 10 stamps for a free drink). The menu is diverse with many unique flavors I have never tried. Some teas were also thicker in consistency compared to drinks I’ve had from other stores, but they were tasty. The staff members were extremely nice, especially the cashier. She also helped us clean up after I accidentally spilled a strawberry slush (I’m so sorry!) I will definitely revisit some day and order sushi to pair...

When we walked in, it was pretty small- but didn’t matter as much. We ordered 3 drinks. We saw one worker there which wasn’t good due to the lack of service. We had to wait a while because the guy had to keep taking orders and stopping. He also had no communication with us. Didn’t wear gloves either....