Ten Ren’s Tea Time
79 Mott St
(near Canal St)
New York, NY
I like to point how difficult it is to take pictures in Chinatown without someone walking into your shot. It took me several shots because I can get the above picture. My before picture looked like this:
You see this priceless face? Yeah he hates tourists like me who flashes around their cameras like nothing. Don’t worry, just know that you need to take a least a couple of shots to get a clear one.
Anyways to continue, Ten Ren, I can say makes one of the best Bubble Teas in chinatown because it has this richness, in terms of taste and color, and can almost be compared to the ones on the west coast. I have tried bubble tea in Toronto, San Francisco, and Los Angeles and they all vary slightly, but will never let you down. If you try the bubble tea at Green Tea or Tea-riffic, also down on Mott St, you’ll taste how diluted their drink is and how bland it is, compared to Ten Ren. Let me tell you, bubble tea is definitely not made like that in NJ, Canada, or the west coast. Ten Ren here won’t disappoint, since Ten Ren is also located around the world.
I will rate bubble tea in terms of:
Appearance
Richness in taste
Texture of tapioca (boba or pearls in the west coast)
Price
Portion
This is exactly how big Ten Ren is. There are limited seating in the back and there is no bathroom at all. Repeat there are no bathrooms for customers so you should either take your drink to go or wait until you go to a restaurant or go back home.
By the way, this place also serves food as well:
Though I’ve never eaten there before.
There are only two guys who works here as you can see, and on the counter you’ll usually see a ten ren cup with tapioca filled inside and then they fill up your drink. You can tell if they leave it out for too long because then it becomes hard. But most of the time it’s soft and chewy, very chewy, just the way it should be.
A small drink is $4.00 and a large one is $6.oo.
I ordered a passion fruit tea w/tapioca from the ice slushy category:
My friend ordered the mango flavored one which looks exactly like this one. I had no idea that passion fruit would turn out to be orange, but it did and it tasted like it.
Let me tell you, at Green Tea and Teariffic, they can’t make a bubble tea like this maybe because they have a different way of making the tea. This drink is sweet til perfection and the tapioca is exactly how I remembered it — soft and chewy.
I highly recommend this place if you’re in chinatown or wanting to sport a good bubble tea.
And if you’re a heavy bubble tea drinker, I’d recommend you to ask for this card from the cashier:
Sorry if it’s a bit blurry, but basically it says what it says: Buy 10 get 1 free.
I will give it a 4.5 out of 5.
Well time for the health inspection verdict. Are you ready?
TEN REN’S TEA TIME
79 MOTT STREET, MANHATTAN 10013
212-732-7178
Current violation points: 27- PASSED
Inspection Date: 02/21/2006
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
1.) Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
2.) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
3.) Personal cleanliness inadequate. Clean outer garments, effective hair restraint not worn.
4.) Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided.
Lunch @ Almond
Almond Flower (Chinese Bistro)
96 Bowery St
New York, NY 10002
Tel: 212.966.7162
I don’t know what the hell this is.
So it is my first time going to a chinese/french fusion restaurant in Chinatown. There were rave reviews on menupages and NY Timeout magazine, as you can see on the front door, which is practically mounted like an award plaque, but I actually found out to see if it was true.
Okay, so I still don’t know what the hell Chinese Bistro is. Does it matter? Maybe not. Anyways, there didn’t seem to be a problem getting a table at Almond because the restaurant was practically empty! Like what, 2 or 3 other tables with a white guy and a wannabe chinese businessman. Very empty. I arrived late, but my friends were already sitting there chatting it away while eating toasted bread with olive oil. The servers seems to be super courteous and they were. There were like 2 people serving anyways.
I ain’t kid you. This place is very desolate. Maybe because it’s 2pm on a Tuesday?
With a growling tummy and a sense of sleepiness overwhelming my mind, I decided to order something that wasn’t so french. A cheap girl like me, I ordered from the pre-fixe section. Turns out the menu was really a mix of italian, hint of french, and a little bit of chinese. I swear, there was lop chern in my salad which I will discuss more later.
Appetizers!
Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad w/Caesar Dressing
Price: Normally priced at $7, but I got it for pre-fixe that is $15 for one soup/salad/appetizer and one choice of entree.
Design: Look at it! It looks off the hook, very amazing to the eye. It’s the first time I’ve seen salad crushed into one sandwich type of thing. Is it necessary? Eh, I had to mess it up like a normal salad to eat it anyways. But I like that they put some heart and effort into this simple piece of salad.
Taste: The salad did not taste bad nor was anything special. Throughout the whole chewing experience, it was creamy, real creamy for a salad. At least it’s better than most asian salads that’s for sure. There were chicken which was ok and this red piece of meat which I’m sure it’s not bacon – it’s lop chern, chinese sausage. Oh lop chern in my salad…hm…? Maybe I could be wrong?
Recommended: Yes if you’re in a salady mood. It sounds better than the Almond Flower House Salad, which I was told that it doesn’t have lettuce! O_o
Crispy Calamari w/Cardamom Salt
Price: $7
Design: It’s actually the best looking plate of calamari I have ever seen in my life. Too bad I’m not a fan of calamari, otherwise I’d take a bite into this.
Taste: Well my friends ordered two plates and finished it off completely, so I’m assuming that it does taste good. I heard that it was a little salty, but it’s a good kind of salty.
Recommended: If you’re a fan of calamari, why not? Go get it!
Alright, here comes the entrees:
Crispy Spaghetti w/Mozzarella Meatballs & Gorgonzola Garlic Bread
Price: $10
Design: Again, the design is pretty dam good. I have to give the chef a heads up for making my food beautiful!
Taste: Eh… Well, it looks like it taste. And in my case, it wasn’t all too impressive. The noodles was obviously made by egg noodles and the marinara sauce overwhelmed the dish itself. The bread sticking out was obviously not necessary, but it gives it a cute look.
Recommended: No. The only thing crispy about the spaghetti was the part that you see it. I broke that into my wet noodles but, eh….lacking something.
Grilled Salmon w/Asparagus, House Bacon & Roasted Carrot Puree
Price: $12
Design: Good of course. Has not let me down.
Taste: I was told it taste good, I can’t really say.
Recommended: I can’t say, but if you like Salmon, try giving it a shot.
Pasta Carbonara w/Prosciutto & Clams
Price: $10
Design: Well, I’m not a seafood and I don’t think clams should ever be mixed with spaghetti. That’s just a thought.
Taste: I was told it was very bad.
Recommended: No.
Grilled Sirloin Steak w/French Fries & Mushroom Gravy
Price: $13
Design: It wasn’t too bad, but it’s not anything special.
Taste: I’ve tried a piece, the meat is tender, but it’s not the good kind of tender. It tasted pretty dam tasteless and the fries were stale, really stale. There was no potato in it and it was hard has hell. No wonder Amy needed to call for ketchup.
Recommended: Eh, not really but you get what you pay for.
So to sum up guys:
Reservations: Not necessary, especially when you’re going early. Prefixe is before 3pm.
Design: Impressive
Recommended: Still yes, although the food isn’t spectacular. The price is very inexpensive and the design of the food is great.
