A Contrast of Frozen Desserts (with tapioca pearls)

I am slightly apprehensive in writing this post as it is inspired by something I wrote a while back, A Contrast of Coffee. Not that that wasn’t a successful little write-up. In fact one of the coffee shops I mentioned, Cafe Punta del Cielo reached out to me saying that I had really captured their vibe. And that’s a compliment, so what’s the problem? Well they are no longer in business. And since I want neither Snopioca, “the first Asian shaved snow in San Antonio”, nor Jollicup Bubble Tea and Desserts to get the same curse I am hesitant.

But not really. Curses are just a good seasonal theme in October.

For boba tea in the Alamo City we are pretty loyal to the aptly named Boba Tea. It’s the nearest to our side of town and really the only place to get the Vietnamese bubble tea drink on the Southside. But one day we decided to branch out just to see if there was another hidden treasure in town.Jollicup Bubble Tea and Desserts became our random pick.

While the tea was good (lavender milk tea + assorted sizes of pearls) the best part was the Cracker Barrel style checkerboard set. Hands down. That said, the checkerboard sets at Cracker Barrel are also the best part of Cracker Barrel (and I love Cracker Barrel pancakes). Also, A+ plus for my phone still sitting where it fell into my seat when I came back for it 20 minutes after leaving.

While sipping seems to be classic way to the classic way to enjoy your Asian boba pearl filled frozen desserts in Modern America, Snopioca‘s Taiwanese shaved snow, is breaking stereotypes hard with the introduction of the spoon. The kind of spoon that changes color when cold for extra cool effect. Get it?

Every time I visit the place is packed. That’s partly because I’ve gone during the weekends and grand opening, but it is worth the hype. In true San Antonio fashion, Snopioca knows its city well enough to include lucas and chamoy options to take your shaved dessert down a sweet, sour and spicy Mexican inspired path.

The takeaway: both are delicious and full of sugar and please don’t go out of business.