Boba, bubble tea, pearl tea, whatever the name, I’m sure we can agree chewy starchy balls in sweet milky liquid is delicious. However if you’re one of the unfortunate few like myself, then you can’t handle the milky part of the equation, which is why today I’m introducing a great small establishment providing non-dairy options.
Not only that, but putting quality first with fresh, homemade and original flavours on their menu.
Here are all the details:
BANH & BOBA
- ADDRESS
The Mix at Chatswood – R04/260 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067
Banh & Boba was started by Karlvin and Izzie because they simply wanted to get a banh mi and a boba tea without going to two different places.
They couldnt find something similar, so they decided to open a spot up themslves. At Banh & Boba, everything is made in house, from their fruit purees, to ginger syrups, to the ingredients in your banh mi. They have a pretty extensive boba menu that’s inspried by desserts (all with non milk alternatives such as oat milk) and banh mi with their own spin on it.
First up we have a Tokyo Banana bubble tea and popcorn chicken banh mi. A lot of their bubble teas are inspired by desserts and their Tokyo Banana bubble tea tastes exactly like the Japanese Tokyo Banana snacks.
Popcorn chicken is a fun new take on this Vietnamese sandwich, which I think works. The popcorn chicken is deep fried to order giving the sandwich a nice crisp. They dress it with a Sriracha mayo which isn’t too spicy and the fresh veg cuts through the meat nicely to give a signature banh mi flavour.
Next up, we have the traditional pork roll banh mi with cha siu meat they make themselves. The meat is tender and juicy with cha siu sauce. It’s spicier than the popcorn chicken banh mi with a few chilies, but I think it goes great with the fresh vegetables and herbs.
They have a few different banh mi options. I’ve only tried the two but with the fresh bread rolls they use, fresh crisp vegetables and so many made in-house elements, I think you can’t go wrong.
I also tried a three more drinks off their menu, a pandan caramel matcha, lemon ginger with four seasons tea and a strawberry Jasmine.
Pandan is commonly found in South East Asian food and Banh & Boba’s pandan caramel matcha is based off a Vietnamese dessert. It’s pandan flavoured coconut caramel with boba and hand whisk premium matcha. This drink can use milk or a milk alternative like oat milk.
All the flavours work, but remember to give it a good stir!
The next drink is lemon ginger with four seasons tea that uses homemade lemon konnyaku jelly and ginger syrup. This was my favourite out of all the drinks that day. It’s a refreshing drink perfect for a hot day and the ginger is great for your throat.
Lastly, we have strawberry jasmine. It’s jasmine tea with strawberry puree made fresh everyday in-house from scratch. You can definitely taste the strawberry in the tea which is completely different to any strawberry “flavoured” syrups you find at some other places.
