Labobatory’s “50 Shades of Earl Grey” Boba Milk Tea

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys clever drink names, then you’ll love Labobatory, my favorite boba tea shop in the San Gabriel Valley. The drink in the picture above is called “50 Shades of Earl Grey.” The name alone is cool. The fact that it’s actually grey makes it that much cooler.

What makes it grey? Charcoal. I asked the boba-ista what the charcoal does, thinking that it had some health benefits, and she said, “Nothing really. We just put it in there for the color.” But then she added that some people do take charcoal supplements for detoxification purposes. I could use some detoxifying, for sure.

My go-to drink from Labobatory is the Lebanese Rose Milk Tea, which remains the best rose milk tea I’ve ever had. Like rose milk tea, Earl Grey milk teas are fairly common at boba shops. But Labobatory takes common drinks and does them to perfection. The 50 Shades of Earl Grey, though not wildly different from other boba shops’ Earl Grey teas, was the best one I’ve ever had in terms of quality.

The flavor of the tea is strong but not bitter or too heavy on the bergamot. The dairy-free milk is smooth and creamy. (They use non-dairy creamer unless you specify otherwise; they also offer regular milk, soy milk, and almond milk.) The drink comes out the perfect temperature and has just the right amount of ice.

But here’s what I like best: You can adjust the sweetness level, even to 0%. At many boba shops, if you ask them to make an Earl Grey milk tea with no sugar, they can’t do it. Why? Because they use a pre-sweetened Earl Grey powder or syrup, rather than making the drink from freshly brewed Earl Grey tea. Since I don’t like my tea sweetened, I will go out of my way to find boba shops like Labobatory.

And did I mention that my drink was grey??? This is the type of beverage that will get you a lot of views on Instagram, if that’s the kind of thing you’re into.

I declined getting the boba pearls in my 50 Shades of Earl Grey because I’m trying to cut down on carbs. But even without those chewy little bombs, this drink was top-notch. I just hope that the owner of Labobatory opens a shop in L.A. again — the now-defunct Boba 7, which offered alcoholic boba drinks, was a true gem.

LABOBATORY, 819 W. Las Tunas Dr., San Gabriel, CA 91776 

The Best Boba Tea Shops in West L.A.

For months I was eagerly awaiting the opening of a bakery chain called 85°C Bakery Cafe at the Century City mall, and this weekend they were finally open for business. The main reason I was excited about it is that they serve boba tea. Since it’s a Taiwanese chain and Taiwan is where boba originated, I was hoping their boba drinks would rock my world.

Unfortunately, they didn’t. This might be because the place just opened and they still need to work out the kinks. I’d be willing to give them another try in a few weeks.

Here were the two drinks my husband and I ordered, the king grapefruit green tea (“king” because it contains fresh fruit) and the rose milk tea. Both were dairy-free. 85°C uses non-dairy creamer in their milk teas.

Both drinks were underwhelming. The grapefruit green tea was less flavorful than the one from Tea Bar in Azusa, which is still the gold standard in my book. The rose milk tea wasn’t horrible, but the rose flavor comes from syrup. So even though I ordered my drink unsweetened, it still came out too sweet for my liking. Labobatory in San Gabriel makes a far superior rose milk tea, flavored with rose water rather than syrup; their tea is also much stronger than the one from 85°C. I want to taste tea in my boba tea!

As a boba connoisseur, it’s clear to me that it’s much easier to find great boba tea in the San Gabriel Valley. I’ve only tried a handful of places out there, but most of them have been good to excellent. Some of my faves: Tea Bar (Azusa), Labobatory (San Gabriel), passion fruit green tea at Blackball Taiwanese Dessert (San Gabriel), and milk tea at Lady Bug Tea House (Alhambra).

But what about West L.A.? Well, believe it or not, my favorite boba milk tea comes from a place that’s in the Century City mall, just around the corner from the new 85°C. And it’s not even a boba shop, per se. It’s the dim sum restaurant Din Tai Fung.

Yes, the same Din Tai Fung that started in Taiwan and branched out to the U.S. with a couple locations in San Gabriel Valley. The one in Arcadia has been a longtime favorite of ours — and now we have one right in our own neighborhood!

The famous juicy pork dumplings from Din Tai Fung.

Din Tai Fung’s boba milk tea.

There are three things that make Din Tai Fung’s boba milk tea so good: (1) a strong tea flavor that tastes like it was brewed fresh, (2) crushed ice instead of chunks or cubes, (3) soft, chewy boba pearls.

My husband and I agreed that 85°C’s boba pearls were a little too hard. Even Volcano Tea House, which used to be my go-to boba shop on the Westside, has disappointed me enough times with hard boba that I’ve crossed them off my list.

So where can you get great boba tea on the Westside? Here’s my list, ranked in order of my preference. (Note that I judge them on the basis of their plain milk teas.)

1. Din Tai Fung
2. It’s Boba Time
3. CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice

I would put Toastea on that list, but it’s in downtown L.A., too far for a Westsider to make casual drive-by. Toastea’s Earl Grey boba is definitely up there as one of my favorite boba drinks.

If you live in West L.A. and have a favorite boba shop that I haven’t mentioned, let me know in the comments below!

Ode to Jonathan Gold, 1960-2018

On Saturday, July 21st, the beloved Los Angeles food critic Jonathan Gold passed away, and the whole city is mourning. Anyone who writes a food blog owes Jonathan Gold a debt of gratitude. He paved the way for an entirely new way of writing about food. He democratized it, proving that you didn’t have to be some sort of erudite elitist with a culinary degree to have valid opinions about food and express them.

Somehow, Gold managed to write about food in poetic language without sounding pretentious. He had a way of transporting the reader to the restaurant (or food truck) and making them feel like they were right there sharing a meal with him. I would often read his reviews in the L.A. Times while eating breakfast, and pretty soon my eggs and prunes would seem like the saddest meal ever, compared to his sensuous, evocative descriptions.

I didn’t always agree with Jonathan Gold’s opinions. For example, I have no idea why he liked Bob’s Coffee & Doughnuts at the Original Farmer’s Market on Third and Fairfax. Their doughnuts are nothing special. In my opinion, the best doughnuts in L.A. are from the Doughnut Hut in Burbank.

Chocolate old-fashioned, fresh out of the fryer at Doughnut Hut.

He also sang the praises of the LudoBites truck, run by celebrity chef Ludo Lefebvre, and I thought their signature fried chicken was unmemorable at best.

And in his “Five Rules for Dining in Los Angeles,” he listed as one of the rules: “There is no shame in avocado toast.” I contend that there is shame in avocado toast if you’re paying upwards of eight dollars for it.

But Gold loved Asian food and he loved spicy food, and that’s where our tastes intersected. Upon his recommendation, my husband and I drove out to Van Nuys years ago to try the pad Thai at a strip mall restaurant (the kind Gold loved so much) called Krua Thai. Not the regular pad Thai, mind you — the “Pad Thai Krua Thai.” The dish was so good that every time we were anywhere near Van Nuys, we felt compelled to stop at Krua Thai. We even went there after I broke my toe at a nearby Costco. I needed to get that pad Thai even if I had to limp there!

Jonathan Gold also championed Szechuan cooking, and it was through his reviews that I found Mian, a noodle restaurant in San Gabriel (again, in a strip mall). San Gabriel is crawling with noodle joints, and even for an Asian person it can be overwhelming to navigate the choices. Mian lived up to Gold’s praise and has become one of my favorite spots to eat in the SGV. The spices will make your tongue go numb and your nose run, but that’s part of the fun.

You can see how excited I am to tuck into these spicy noodles.

Whether or not you shared Jonathan Gold’s taste in food, you were probably influenced by him in some way. Do you read reviews on Yelp to decide where to eat? Most of the people who write those reviews — myself included — are doing it because Jonathan Gold made it okay for us to do it. He gave us all a voice.

He will be missed.

Homemade Dairy-Free Lebanese Rose Milk Tea

In honor of the roses we all want to get on Valentine’s Day this week, I’m making a copycat version of the Lebanese Rose Milk Tea from Labobatory, a boba tea shop that I always visit when I’m in San Gabriel. Mine doesn’t contain boba, but that’s better for me anyway, as those starchy tapioca balls are bad news for my waistline.

I love copycat recipes because every time I make one of these, I think, “I’m saving five dollars!” Not to mention, a long drive out to San Gabriel.

All you need is Zhena’s Gypsy Rose Organic Black Tea (available at Whole Foods or online), rose water, ice, and a non-dairy creamer such as Coffeemate. The rose water is really the key — it’s what gives Labobatory’s rose milk tea that Middle Eastern flavor. You can find it at Persian or Indian grocery stores.

Labobatory uses non-dairy creamer, but you can substitute almond milk or coconut milk instead. You can also add sugar or another sweetener if you wish.

DAIRY-FREE LEBANESE ROSE MILK TEA

1 cup boiling water
1 tea bag of Zhena’s Gypsy Rose Organic Black Tea
1/2 teaspoon rose water
1 cup ice
non-dairy creamer, to taste

Steep the tea bag in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bag, and let the tea cool for 20 to 30 minutes. If you like your tea strong, do this step a few hours before you plan to drink it, then refrigerate it (otherwise the warm tea will melt some of the ice and dilute your drink).

Add rose water to the tea and stir to combine. Fill a glass with the ice. Pour the tea over the ice, and add non-dairy creamer to taste. Stir and enjoy. Makes one serving.

Labobatory’s Lebanese Rose Milk Tea

No, that’s not a typo. It is, in fact, Labobatory, as in “boba.” You may have read my review of Boba 7, a boba shop in Downtown Los Angeles that served alcoholic boba drinks. Unfortunately, Boba 7 closed at the end of last year, but its owner opened a shop in San Gabriel that rocks just as hard.

The drinks at Labobatory are just as fantastic, even though they don’t contain alcohol. What makes them so good? Interesting recipes, fresh ingredients, customizable without being confusing. As a bonus, the whole shop has a cheeky attitude about it that I enjoy.

They sell funny T-shirts, too.

My favorite drink is the Lebanese Rose Milk Tea, which the boba-ista told me is their most popular offering. It’s dairy-free; they use non-dairy creamer that doesn’t taste artificial or weird. (You can ask for regular milk if you wish).

Most boba places use a nasty-tasting rose syrup to make rose milk tea, but Labobatory uses Lebanese rose water. It tastes better and doesn’t add any sweetness. And the boba balls are perfectly chewy. But even without boba, this drink is divine. Don’t let the light color fool you — this tea is strong as hell and packed with caffeine.

I’ve also sampled the Bobatella, a boba drink made with Nutella, and the Yoli, a yogurt green tea with lychee jelly. Both were delicious, but the Lebanese Rose Milk still wins. A couple of the best drinks from Boba 7 — the Horchata and the Creamsicle — have migrated to Labobatory’s menu, now made without alcohol.

Once a month, Labobatory does an alcoholic boba pop-up in Downtown LA at Seven Bar & Lounge, close to the original Boba 7 location. I haven’t had a chance to go yet, but it’s on my must-do list.

By the way, I hear you can get your boba drink in an Erlenmeyer flask at Labobatory, unless you’re getting it to go. Just another fun scientific touch, along with the microscope on the counter. I won’t tell you what you’ll see when you look into the eyepiece — you’ll just have to find out for yourself.

LABOBATORY, 819 W. Las Tunas Dr., San Gabriel, CA 91776

 

 

MALK Almond Milk

I already have a favorite almond milk, Trader Joe’s Unsweetened Almond Beverage, which I first bought because the box looked cute. Well, I fell for cool packaging again. Walking through the dairy section of Ralphs on my way to the eggs, I saw this futuristic-looking bottle of MALK Cold-Pressed Pure Almond Milk. It looked like a prop from a sci-fi movie. Can’t you just see Dave Bowman and Frank Poole sipping this stuff on board the ship in 2001: A Space Odyssey?

The ingredients list was also appealingly short and sounded healthy. I know, “Himalayan salt” is probably not much different from regular salt. It’s one of those marketing tools to get hippies like me to buy stuff. Guess what? It worked.

When I brought my MALK home, I still had some Trader Joe’s almond milk in the fridge, so I did a head-to-head taste test. The difference: Trader Joe’s has a subtle nutty flavor, while MALK has a strong almond-extract flavor.

I happen to like that flavor in certain contexts. It’s a staple in many Taiwanese desserts, for instance. At BlackBall in San Gabriel (yeah, that’s really its name), I had a hot almond soup with mochi balls in it that was weird and pretty awesome.

Dairy-free, despite its milky appearance.

But I digress. Back to MALK, almond milk of the future. After tasting its strong flavor, I decided the best use of MALK was in an almond milk tea. This is another Taiwanese classic you’ll see at most boba tea shops. It’s iced black tea with a non-dairy milk, almond-flavored syrup, and optional boba pearls. I usually find almond syrup to be overpowering and too sweet, but by using MALK, I achieved a more balanced almond-extract flavor without adding syrup.

Homemade almond milk tea

My experiment turned out well, but for most of my almond milk needs, I still prefer a subtler flavor. So even though MALK has the best packaging, I’ll be sticking to Trader Joe’s Almond Beverage.

But I can’t bring myself to toss this bottle in the recycling bin. I’m saving it for my next space mission, where all food comes in tubes and all drinks come in cool bottles like this.

The Loose Teas Café and Gifts

One day, looking for a boba place in Monrovia, I came across The Loose Teas Café and Gifts in a strip mall on Huntington Drive. This is not your typical boba place. It’s more of a traditional tea shop, specializing in a large selection of fine loose teas. I ordered my usual — lychee iced tea — and had to send it back because it was too sweet (this happens a lot with me). But the barista adjusted it until I was happy. And I was thrilled by the boba: super fresh with just the right amount of chewiness.

Since then, I have become a big fan of The Loose Teas Café. They make tea the right way: by brewing each cup fresh to order. And for those of us who don’t eat dairy, they offer soy and almond milk, rather than the non-dairy creamer that most boba shops use (yuck).

Last week I ordered an unsweetened iced tea latte made with rose black tea and almond milk.  It was totally on point. Most boba shops that make rose iced tea use rose-flavored syrup that tastes artificial and sickly sweet, instead of tea that’s flavored naturally with rose petals. This makes a huge difference.

Iced tea latte with rose black tea and almond milk

Most boba shops have snacks like popcorn chicken, Taiwanese sausage, and spicy fried fish balls. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some spicy fried fish balls, but they’re a sometimes treat. The Loose Teas Café makes super fresh, healthy sandwiches. They have a turkey sandwich called the “Flaming Bird” that doesn’t come with cheese and yet still tastes great, thanks to their seasoned mayo and house-made hot garlic chili flakes.

I don’t know about you, but I love not having to say, “Hold the cheese.”

Look at those chili flakes! Sprouts, cukes, avocado… heaven!

THE LOOSE TEAS CAFE AND GIFTS, 666 W. Huntington Dr., Monrovia, CA 91016

Pieology Pizzeria

After falling in love with Blaze Fast Fire’d Pizza in West Covina, my husband and I eagerly tried a similar “custom wood-fired pizza” restaurant called Pieology, located in an Azusa strip mall near my mother’s hospital. I was excited about it because they, too, have dairy-free cheese, a trend I heartily endorse.

Unfortunately, everything about Pieology’s pizzas is just a little lacking compared to Blaze. They offer fewer toppings, and their ingredients — particularly their meats — are not very flavorful. Part of the problem is that they don’t leave the pizza in the oven long enough to properly cook the veggies and sear the meat. Who wants to eat a pizza with almost-raw green peppers on it?

Note the undercooked veggies, not-quite-melted vegan cheese, and pale crust.

The crust is also woefully thin. I’m a fan of New York-style pizza crusts, but this crust is so thin, it’s more like a flatbread. It also tastes rather bland, unlike Blaze’s crust which has a nice doughy flavor. Cooking it longer might help, but probably not much.

As for the ambience of the joint, it screams “chain restaurant.” The air conditioning was turned up way too high, and they were already playing Christmas music two weeks before Thanksgiving when the weather was in the high 80s. This troubles me.

I’m all for pizzerias that have vegan cheese, but Pieology misses the mark.

PIEOLOGY PIZZERIA, 962 E. Alosta Ave., Azusa, CA 91702

Din Tai Fung’s Chocolate Dumplings

It’s Halloween and I should probably be writing about candy, but I’m not much of a candy eater. Chocolate, however, is a different story. My exploration of the San Gabriel Valley continues with a new dessert that I tried at Din Tai Fung, the Taiwanese dumpling franchise that now has many branches in the U.S. This dessert, which our waiter described as “mochi,” is so new it’s not even listed on the menu.

The signature dish of Din Tai Fung is their thin-skinned pork dumplings. When you walk in, you can watch the chefs in the glass-enclosed kitchen expertly rolling out the dough for the wrappers and placing dollops of pork filling in them before sealing them up. The dough wrappers are so thin they’re translucent. This, along with the freshness of the ingredients, makes for an exceptional dumpling.

The dessert dumplings are exactly the same as the pork dumplings, except that instead of meat, they’re filled with rich, gooey chocolate. They even come out piping hot in the same type of bamboo steamer. I never would’ve expected to enjoy this odd pairing of savory and sweet, but I have to say… it works. Sort of like a chocolate croissant. Pretty much any time you melt dark chocolate, you’ve got my attention.

And by the way, everything on Din Tai Fung’s menu is dairy-free and fabulous. Technically, the chocolate contains a little dairy, so if you’re allergic, you may be out of luck. But I’m lactose-intolerant and I was able to digest the chocolate just fine.

Another thing I love about Din Tai Fung: You sign in and they’ll text you when your table is ready. Meanwhile, you’re free to shop at the Nordstrom next door or anywhere else in the enormous Santa Anita mall. Retail therapy + dumplings + chocolate = bliss.

DIN TAI FUNG, Westfield Santa Anita, 400 S. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, CA 91007

BYOB Boba Company

Last week my mom had a stroke and has been in the hospital. The last thing I feel like doing right now is writing a blog post. But I know that writing is therapeutic for me, and sharing what’s going on in my life always feels better than pretending like everything is “normal.”

The hospital is in West Covina, and while visiting my mom there, I discovered a boba shop in a nearby strip mall. (I’ll admit that during times of stress, I sometimes reach for sugar, caffeine, and carbs. I’m not perfect — sue me.) What drew me in to BYOB Boba Company is the fact that they offer five different kinds of milk, three of which are non-dairy (soy, almond, and non-dairy creamer). Most boba shops I’ve been to don’t even give you a choice.

Hokkaido is a powdered milk that does contain dairy.

On my first visit, I ordered an oolong tea with almond milk, almond flavoring, and boba. It was pretty good, although too sweet — and I ordered it with 1/4 the sugar. The second visit, I ordered an OGMT (the barista explained this is the traditional tea used in boba tea) with almond milk, red rose flavoring, and boba. This time I forgot to ask for less sugar, and upon first sip I almost went into a diabetic coma and had to check into my mom’s hospital. But the staff was nice enough to re-make the drink for me, free of charge. It was still too sweet, but drinkable.

Bottom line: The drinks here are good, but way too sweet. They are also enormous; a small is the size of a cereal bowl. Fitting, since they even have a drink that contains Fruity Pebbles. If you’re into weird flavor combinations and drinks that are more like desserts, this place is for you.

Is this boba shop the best? No. But it provided comfort to me over the past few days. It’s always important to cherish the simple pleasures in life, especially at times like this.

BYOB BOBA COMPANY, 963 S. Glendora Ave., West Covina, CA 91790