Bubble Tea Licious

Laotian food is hard to find — I’ve never actually seen it before even though I’m a fan of most Asian cuisines. THAT’s really the reason to seek out this food truck. Bubble tea — I don’t know if there are many *food trucks* serving it, but it’s not hard to find. I guess I’d give the bubble tea 3 stars, but the *food* was 5-​star.
My «Drunken Lamb» salad was a superb value for $ 10. Not just basic lettuce that most places would serve, it was mixed greens including some baby spinach leaves, along with cherry tomatoes. The grilled lamb strips (a good-​sized serving) were some of the most tender lamb I’ve had *anywhere*, and were nicely flavored although not particularly spicy — so I added some of their home-​made hot sauce. (Delicious, but be careful with it – it IS hot.) And behind the pile of meat, in the back of the box, was a generous serving of pineapple, strawberries, and blackberries, which was a pleasant surprise. I also had the green-​tea bubble tea, which was about on par with what I’ve had other places.
Unlike many of the other reviewers, I didn’t have to wait (L’Enfant Plaza Metro at 7^th & Maryland Ave. SW) because I tend to eat lunch so late. But clearly the owners could use some business advice on a number of fronts, even beyond food-​prep efficiency. For instance, it turns out they had a daily special, but they had no sign for it! (No wonder they still had some left at 2:40 pm…) I only know because the guy I ordered from mentioned it when I asked about the soups. (They didn’t mention it in their daily Twitter location announcement either.) And their Twitter «handle» doesn’t match their official name — on Twitter they are «@BubbleTeaParty». They had no prices next to their soups (I think they’re $ 9) nor any indication that they are large «meal in a bowl» type soups, similar to Vietnamese phở.
I’ll be looking for them again, maybe to try one of the phở-​style soups next time. If you come to this truck (and I recommend it), be sure to ask if they have any daily specials!

Love the food. Everything made to order. You do have to wait a long time for it with the long lines but it is worth it. My only gripe is that the last time I ate from that truck May 5 I was charged twice so. I paid $ 21 for a drunken lamb salad. A bit of an expensive lunch. Have not seen them since. That is the only reason not 5 stars.

Let me tell you that the food is really delicious! Five stars, no question. It’s the wait time that made the experience a bit disappointing.
Little did I know that waiting in line for a Laotian food truck at Farragut Square would take 50 minutes! But the crunchy bean sprouts, loads of aromatic basil and tender chicken in the spicy Pad Si Yo was worth it.
Some people waited so long just to get bubble teas. I tried this milk-​based tea for the first time. With each slurp, you get mouthful of tapioca pearls, tiny gummy-​like treats which you then chew down. I bet the kids would love this.
Pros: If you love spicy South-​East Asian cuisine with loads of crunchy vegetables and noodles, and if you love bubble teas, then look for this food truck next time you’re grabbing a food truck lunch.
Cons: The service was really slow. There were two people: the cook, and the person who takes orders. The cook prepares each meal fresh, which is great, but it takes forever for the line to move. Sometimes, if two customers order the same food one after another, instead of cooking two portions of the same meal, the cook would prepare them separately, cleaning the grill between each order.
Recommendations to business owner: Expedite food preparation process. Cook bigger portions, and get the line moving. Thanks for the delicious food!

I am OBSESSED with bubble tea. Actually tea in general, and I consider the tapioca pearls an added bonus :-).
This is the first of many reviews I am writing on bubble tea in the DMV, as I am making it my mission to give those jonesing for a solid boba/​bubble tea in the area, a guide to use. A guide based on my experiences, anyway.
I’ve had bubble tea domestically and internationally, as well as the fact that I make it on a regular basis at home. My rating is based on both types of tea I try, the boba/​bubble consistency, the quality compared to the BEST I’ve ever had, and the quality compared to the average level of quality for the DMV.
Of note: I will not write a review until I’ve tried AT LEAST one tea based and one fruit based/​flavored drink.
So far, this is the only bubble tea I’ve had in the actual district. I’ve read about other asian restaurants that have it on their menu and a supposed bubble tea shop (not sure if they are still actually in business) and I will eventually make my way to those.
First off, this is a food truck. So you will have to follow it online on Twitter/​Facebook/​Food Truck Tracking sites/​etc. to find out where it is on any given day. I caught up to them at GWU.
This review is only for it’s bubble tea. They do also serve food that looks to be vietnamese inspired.
I ordered a basic milk tea (black tea) bubble tea and a pineapple frozen smoothie bubble tea.
First, let’s talk about the milk tea. HORRIBLE! I’m pretty sure it was a powder. He positioned himself while making it so I couldn’t see what he used, but by the taste… powder :-(.
Now, I will admit, I have a bias towards powders. I’m not a fan. But I have tasted some passable powders and some horrible powders. I do also realize that the person making it does make a difference. However, my philosophy is that with so many options to buy brewed tea elsewhere and with the price of a bubble tea, WHY? Making it fresh and properly is always the best option but even pre-​made/​store bought tea is be better than powder (and has less chemicals added).
Anyway, the milk tea was weak/​tasteless and a waste.
The claim on the truck is that most of their fruit teas are made with real fruit. I was able to peak this time and see that real fruit was in fact used!
The pineapple smoothie bubble tea was on point except for being a bit on the sweet side. I would definitely come back for another fruit smoothie and just ask for him to not add extra sugar/​syrup to the drink (I couldn’t see if he added any, but by the taste, he most likely did).
The bubbles themselves were good and appropriate. I might say that they were on the soft side, but honestly they were good and I’d be nitpicking (texture is partially preference anyway). Their slight softness worked out perfectly in my pineapple frozen smoothie as the pearls firm up a bit when cold hits them.
All in all, I would come back if I was in the mood for a fruit smoothie. I suspect their non-​real fruit smoothies and teas are powders, so I won’t be ordering those.
This truck’s offerings could easily be outdone by other bubble tea I’ve had in the area, but for DC, it can stand up to the fact that it has no real competition and is a food truck. I only know of one other food truck offering bubble tea (future review!)
1 star for good bubbles
1 star for using real fruit and making a really good smoothie (though on the sweet side)
(No more stars earned for being below average in general, below average for the area, and for a crappy milk tea)

This is one of the many food trucks of dc. Next to it were trucks that served korean, vietnamese, bbq, italian, burgers…
I chose this because I’ve never had Laotian food. ItMs kind of like a mix of thai and vietnamese, but spicier than both. It was extremely tasty and a huge portion for the price.
The only downside was that actual process of getting the food… It took me about 25 minutes to get food! They should put a sign out that says that the process may be half an hour…

I took Jess W’s recommendation below and ordered the lemongrass salad with beef. I agree that this is one of the best salads I have eaten for $ 10. Huge portion of slightly spicy lemongrass steak and fresh veggies, berries, and pineapple. And the green tea bubbletea was enjoyable as well. I will be going back!

This rating is for the grilled lemongrass steak salad. I am usually suspicious of food truck portions and quality, but was pleasantly surprised to open my salad and find a colorful, HUGE salad with strawberries, kiwi, grape tomatoes, pineapples, mixed greens, with a hearty helping of flavorful lemongrass steak on top. One of the best salads I’ve had at $ 10. I wish I took a picture, but the sight made me so happy, I just dug in. I’d definitely go back to try the bubble tea and pad sen yai here.

Great bubble tea and yummy Laotian food. I was happy to find the truck was still there when I went searching for a quick lunch.

I ordered the pad saw with chicken and it came with a whole take out box full of noodle — worth the money. The noodles are tasty but I had to wait a little too long for the food. But the bubble tea is a little too sweet for me and full or sugar for $ 5.

I love bubble tea but it is hard to find in DC!
Whenever I’m around GW, I look for this truck. The tea is decent, it’s a good size, the Thai tea one is tasty, and the bubbles are not under or over cooked.
My last visit I tried their drunken lamb with salad and I recommend it! The salad contained more than the usual lettuce and carrots which was a huge plus! The use of pomegranate seeds, peppers, and onions made it hearty and went well with the lamb. I def will return for the food… next on my list to try is the noodle soup.

Waited 5 – 10 minutes at the front of the line without being acknowledged. A couple complained that they waited twenty minutes without receiving their tea. Instead of refunding their money immediately they just fumbled around. I left empty handed, and they probably didn’t even know I was there in the first place. This review is the equivalent of «did not finish» for a race.

This bubble tea truck is awesome. It’s no secret that DC seriously lacks any decent bubble tea, but this really satisfies my craving and is, by far, the best bubble tea I have tried in DC. There are a lot of varieties to choose from (a LOT more than the bubble tea joints I have gone to — and this is a *truck*). My favorite is taro, but the thai tea is really delicious, too. They are also incredibly nice and the drinks are consistently good (which is not always the case for bubble tea). I would HIGHLY recommend trying their bubble tea!

I tried my first bubble tea food truck. I got the black tea smoothie style bubble drink for $ 5. The flavor is not bad although I personally prefer the tea flavor to be more floral (like Earl Grey). The bubble texture was done well… with just the right amount of chewiness and no clumping. Size-​wise, it looks like a 16 oz, so I’d say its a medium. The texture of the smoothie was also done right with no clumps of ice. I’d come back to try another flavor.

WOW! A food truck that serves bubble tea? I was a little skeptical at first, but glad I spent the $ 5! For $ 5, your drink is a large, and it is a pretty great deal. I ordered the Bubble Milk Tea — and observed that the milk «tea» is powder based. Womp Womp… But oh well, because it was frickin tea-​licious! The tapioca was the right texture that I prefer — not too soft, but chewy. I came back the next day and was sad that the truck wasn’t there at the Farrugut North/​West park :(

This bubble tea is sold out of a food truck. How DC! The truck reminds me of the kind of ice cream truck you would chase as a child.
They serve loads of different bubble tea flavors. Everything from chai tea to cotton candy.
I ordered their mango bubble tea. Their mango bubble tea is made from fresh mangos. Their mangos are from a frozen bag. The mangos are super sweet and saturated in sugar water. The first few sips were so good. Then, the sweetness overloads your tastebuds so you really can’t finish the whole cup. The mango bubble tea is super refreshing and ice cold.
As far as the service, it took forever to get our orders placed and then it took forever to get our orders made. That really was a buzzkill cause I was super thirsty and it was taking so long… Like very long.
I want to try their watermelon smoothie boba. I wonder if they use real watermelon for it. The watermelon is apparently one of their new flavors, so it’s definitely the next flavor I wish to try.

The best word to describe their bubble tea is «alright». I’ve tasted way better bubble teas in the DMV. But, keep in mind you have very few options for bubble tea places in the district and this truck is one of the better options.

I love the Bubble Teas (and the service) here. Their food truck has plenty of options and varieties of bubble teas, and even options with no milk. The two individuals who run this food truck are amazingly courteous and nice — excellent service. The size of the bubble teas are pretty good so I think its definitely worth the price.

While this may not be the best tasting bubble tea I’ve had in general, it’s better than nothing. There’s not many bubble tea joints in the DC area and this truck helps people get their bubble tea on in an easily accessible manner.
This truck offers a decent amount of bubble tea flavors, shaved ice, smoothies, and ice cream bars. I thought my bubble tea, I got the Thai iced tea flavor, was on the sweet side. Otherwise the flavor was fine. The bubbles were a bit on the mushy side and flavorless. Bubble should have that nice bouncy, chewy texture (QQ please!). Also, when bubbles are cooked, they should be cooked with some sort of sweetener (honey, sugar, or both). The size is okay, but the quality makes me go «ehh…» for the price tag of $ 5 a cup.
I think if they revamped how they cooked their bubbles and adjust their overall sweetness (they should offer the customer options of how sweet they want their drink to be) this truck would have a better response.

I ordered a strawberry and pineapple smoothie that unfortunately didn’t really taste like strawberry or pineapple. Whatever the flavor it wasn’t wasn’t appealing at all. I know a good smoothie when I’ve had one and the one I had wasn’t very good.
One positive, for your money you get a pretty decent sized drink, probably close to 16 oz. So perhaps there is a flavor they offer that can satisfied, I didn’t get that flavor so I doubt I’ll keep running back for more.

I will tentatively award this newish food truck 4 stars, since there’s a severe lack of good bubble tea in the DC area and the black milk tea I just forked $ 5 for was better than I can make at home. They have milk teas, fruit smoothies, Thai Iced Coffee, etc. They even have shaved ice ($ 3), freshly juiced sugarcane, and fresh squeezed lemonade. The bubbles were good, squishy with a little bit of firmness in the middle.
I look forward to trying more than their black milk tea (it was on the too sweet side, but the tea was strong enough and properly done). Usually, I try a black milk tea first to see if they have the basics down. Also, just a heads up that this place looks like a converted ice cream truck.
Follow them at @bubbleteaparty