Restaurant Review: Dream Tea
DREAM TEA 7912 104th Street ~ dreamtea.ca Instagram: @dreamteahouse Co-Diner: Tim Golem
Do you remember the very first time that you tried bubble tea? It was likely some time in the late 90s or early 00s, which is about when this beverage started to become more ubiquitous in Canada. Invented in the late 80s in Taiwan, this drink is incredibly synonymous with Taiwanese culture. There are now massive bubble tea chains and unlimited versions to try. However, I will always have a special place in my heart for Edmonton's Dream Tea. Voted #1 Best Bubble Tea Shop 2018 in VUE Weekly's annual poll, Dream Tea is kind of like the "original" bubble tea shop in Edmonton. Their very first location opened in Old Strathcona (technically Queen Alexandra) back in 2003 and they have continued to expand ever since. Now with six locations in the city, Dream Tea is a wonderful example of an Edmonton-born business that has been providing amazing bubble tea for the past 18 years. I've visited Dream Tea many, many times over the years and "my location" has always been the original one in Old Strathcona. The shop has always operated more like a cafe and very much like a casual place to hang out. Their cloud logo and bright blue lettering is easy to spot when you visit the strip mall shopping area where they're located. They've done a few renovations over the years (the space has been modernized quite a lot) but the vibe has always remained the same; it's a quirky cafe with comfortable tables, a busy and social atmosphere, and there's usually awesome Asian pop music playing. And the board games! Dream Tea might very well be one of the original board game cafes, because being well-stocked with games to play has been part of their business model since the beginning. The staff is friendly and ready to whip up any one of their 100+ drinks on offer. With literally so many options to choose from, bubble tea can sometimes be overwhelming (especially for first-timers). Dream Tea attempts to simplify the experience by creating clear menu categories and even offering a "Dream Tea Top 10 Picks" list. Do you want something fruity? Maybe more tea based? They've got everything from real fruit bubble tea (great in the summer), avocado drinks, milkshakes, slush drinks, fresh fruit tea, milk tea, and even just normal coffee. Almost all of these options include tapioca. The tapioca (the black pearls that you see in the drinks) are the whole thing - that's what you come for. However, these have also expanded to include other types of jellies and even pudding. You could never try all of the possible combinations because there are just too many. When I first started to get into bubble tea, I personally enjoyed drinking many of the milk tea varieties because they seemed to be the most like actual tea. I mean, it is called bubble "tea," after all. Dream Tea has a drink on the menu called Original Milk Tea, and that's honestly where I would start if you want to get in on the ground floor. From there, I eventually moved myself over to the Mixed Flavours Bubble Tea section because this seemed to be where Dream Tea was creating their most signature beverages. These drinks are all given special names and are made up of an array of ingredients and flavours. It wasn't long before I discovered Dream ($5.90) and it has been my go-to ever since. I mean, this bubble tea is named after the restaurant. It's gotta be the one.
It is typical to be asked how you want the texture of the ice to be prepared and how much sugar sweetness you want incorporated. I usually don't change anything and have them make my drinks "regular" across the board. Dream is a perfect bubble tea in my opinion. It's purple, which is fun, and the combination of taro and coconut are such an ideal mix of tropical Asian flavours and delightful sweetness. It's cold and creamy. I also love that you not only get the delicious chewy tapioca balls but also lychee jelly, which is probably one of the best jellies. (It tastes exactly like lychee.) Instead of trying to make bubble tea something else, enjoy it for what it should be! This version accomplishes exactly that. I also wanted to note that I was thoroughly impressed to see that Dream Tea has switched their straws to compostable ones. The big, fat, colourful straws used for bubble tea are quite iconic, however they create a whole lot of plastic waste. I appreciated seeing that Dream Tea is conscious of this and is doing their part. There is also a food menu. The idea is to offer snacks so that when you're sitting around playing board games with your friends, you've got something to munch on. The items aren't quite enough to make an entire meal out of, although you can certainly try! Sure, they've got several types of fries to choose from but I was much, much more interested in focusing my efforts on their most authentic dishes. They have some great Asian snacks, including items from Japan and Korea, but it had to be Taiwan all the way for me. Taiwan Style Fried Chicken ($7.49) was my number one pick!
This chicken was beyond what I expected! The bite-sized pieces were incredibly crispy on the outside and so tender and juicy on the inside. The flavour was big and bold and I loved the crave-inducing saltiness combined with the Chinese 5 spice (which is meant to capture a perfect balance of sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami). This seasoning is typically a mixture of anise, cloves, cinnamon, Szechuan peppercorns and fennel seeds. My expectations were exceeded and this stuff could be considered a new version of crack chicken as far as I'm concerned. Next, I went straight for the Fish Balls ($4.79) because they're probably the "strangest" thing on the menu and therefore incredibly appealing to me.
These were unexpected! A solid ball of fish (which I believe was pollack) had a thin and light coating of fried breading around it. For the most part, this dish is solid and dense fish, which I enjoyed! The seaweed and pepper seasoning was especially good, tying in more flavours from the sea. This is totally something that I can picture people snacking on in a country like Taiwan, which makes me prefer it over more familiar items any day. Dream Tea has also recently started serving "croiffles" which are a croissant and waffle combined. I am going to need to try one of these at my earliest convince! (Right now they're only available at one location and not the one that I went to.) Stabbing your straw through the sealed lid of a bubble tea is a unique and memorable experience. I love that even though the massive bubble tea chains have now moved into the city, a homegrown shop like Dream Tea has still managed to hold their ground and still offers some of the best bubble tea in the whole city.
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