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[Epi]sode 1 – Boba Tea Café, Flamingo Shopping Centre, Modderfontein
Where Have You Bean? · 11. June 2023

[Epi]sode 1 – Boba Tea Café, Flamingo Shopping Centre, Modderfontein

Episode 1 of the Where Have You Bean? series features Boba Tea Cafe at Flamingo Shopping Centre in Modderfontein.

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I took a walk to clear my head (as if I were preparing for a cup final) before heading to the place, taking random pics along the way like I just stepped off a tour bus. My zero experience as a content creator ensured that I at least looked like I knew what I was doing, so I had that going for me. I invited one of my brothers to accompany me to not only avoid looking creepy, but also so that we could sample more items that way. Since he was running late (but not really running, ironically), I took the chance to add to my collection of random pics while acquainting myself with the various menu items.

Contrary to everything that I expected, this place didn’t feel at all like a coffee shop. I don’t know why I expected it to, it’s called BobaTea Café after all, and an extension of the branch of the same name located in Lakefield. I don’t know if it’s that new shop smell or the friendly faces behind the counter, but something about the place felt like you just knew you’re about to experience something different and exceedingly refreshing. It feels out of place yet exactly where it needs to be, with a modern simplicity to the layout and design. One of the things that stood out was the cleanliness of the place, and how the 'bubble' theme from the logo easily transfers onto the decor. 

Upon my first glance at the menu, though, I noticed that they don’t actually serve or sell food or coffee, which you unknowing mortals are probably thinking is a good reason to stop reading, right? Wrong. After explaining that this was more of a regulatory thing with the centre management and not a menu design flaw, the waitresses, who were as knowledgeable as they are friendly, took me through the halaal menu of drinks and desserts that would undoubtedly make my day.

 

The menu looked lengthy for a place that doesn’t serve food, but I soon realized the genius of it all – These guys have a drink or dessert for every moment, occasion, weather condition, and mood that you can think of. Crammed into these walls is a menu that comprises Fruit Tea Bobas, a selection of hot drinks, freezo’s, ice cream, milkshakes, mocktails (yeah, what is that?) and something called Popping Sodas, while a glass display housed a selection of cakes, their take on baklava, and what I would later learn to be mochi, a Japanese rice cake dessert that is doughy and creamy and tasty and confusing and as “can I get some more of this” as anything I’ve tried in recent times.

Before that, though, I asked for a drink that keeps you calm when your brother’s watch is seemingly broken, and one of the aforementioned knowledgeable and friendly waitresses recommended something called the Dalgona Crunch from the Milk Boba Tea selection. Being notorious for blindly trusting strangers, I went with her suggestion, and boy, I am ready to marry her just to see what other good decisions she has up her sleeve.

 

The Dalgona Crunch is a rollercoaster ride in your mouth; a delicious and complex drink rooted in honeycomb milk and tapioca. I obviously had no idea what tapioca is, living under a rock and all, but Google describes it as “a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant”. All I know is that it added a new textural dimension to the drink and somehow brought all the ingredients together.

 

My Brother eventually showed up and dug into a serving of Strawberry Black Tea, but since we were in search of a holistic experience, we couldn’t stop there. I followed up my Dalgona Crunch with a Lemon Splash Popping Soda, also a recommendation from my betrothed, while my brother went for something called Blue Lagoon and insisted I try the aforementioned mochi, which at Boba Tea Café is available in both Strawberry and Oreo flavours.

Dalgano Crunch Milk Boba
Dalgano Crunch Milk Boba

All this was happening in the midst of a powerful conversation about home as a concept, which I will expand on in my next post on "The After Taste". I returned to the place a few days later just to make sure the feeling was constant, and met up with Arif, manager, co-owner and partner, and he was keen to share some future plans with me. While I would strongly recommend visiting the store location, very soon you won’t have to as there are plans in place to join the list of establishments on Uber Eats and Mr D, which is good news for us all.

 

In terms of the surrounding areas, the Modderfontein Bird & Sculpture Park is situated across the road from Flamingo Shopping Centre, while a children's adventure place is tucked away just behind it. Further up the road you could visit the Modderfontein Nature Reserve, which will also lead you to the popular Farmer’s Market, so a stop at this establishment can be a welcome stop in an action-packed day.

 

In conclusion, Boba Tea Cafe at Flamingo Shopping Centre is a really cool place to treat your taste buds to a new and exciting experience, and you can click on the icons below to check out their social media profiles and like and follow and stuff.

Boba Tea Cafe | Facebook
Boba Tea Cafe | Instagram
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