Today, I visited Hella Bubble for the soft opening of their newest location in the Houston Heights. They currently have a total of three locations at the moment, with the first and original location in River Oaks, the second in San Antonio, and the third here in the heart of the Heights.
Upon arrival, you could tell that this location is a lot smaller and more intimate than its counterpart in River Oaks, so it's meant to be more of a grab-and-go location more than a hang-out/study location like the location in River Oaks. Worry not, however, because they do have outdoor seating in their front porch area outside the shop, which is also shaded if you happen to go on a sunny time of day. Since I haven't been to the location in San Antonio yet, I can only compare the two Houston locations together.
Since they need to be in preparation for their Grand Opening this upcoming Sunday, April 25th, I was able to meet the owner of the three franchises, Titan. He was very kind and welcoming along with his staff, and they helped me navigate which drinks I should try from them. I ended up ordering four drinks: Their "Hella Bubble Milk Tea", "Honey Lemon with Aloe Vera" fruit tea, "Matcha Red Bean Smoothie with Ice Cream," and "Very Berry Smoothie." Titan and his staff told me that these are some of their most popular options, and I can see why!
Hella Bubble Milk Tea. I judge teahouses and boba shops on how they make their milk teas. Their Hella Bubble Milk Tea is one of their most ordered drinks here, and I can understand why. Whenever I'm craving boba and am not sure what to get, I always go for a milk or fruit tea.
Honey Lemon Fruit Tea with Aloe Vera. I honestly love lemon + honey fruit teas, especially when I need a small Vitamin C boost. They remind me of the days I would stay home from school in my childhood whenever it was flu season. I guess there are ties to nostalgia for me? Honey Lemon Fruit Teas and Wintermelon Lemonades with Aloe Vera are definitely in the high tiers of my favorite types of boba drinks for sure.
Matcha Red Bean Smoothie with Ice Cream. I was first introduced to matcha back in 2011/2012, thanks to Starbucks finally carrying Matcha Lattes and frappucinos. Thankfully I've grown out of my Starbucks matcha phase and was able to find access to locations that carried higher quality matcha over the years. However, Matcha still has a strong chokehold on me and my tastebuds over ten years later, and most likely will continue to for the rest of my life- it's truly delicious! In many Asian cultures, we consume beans as a dessert. In Vietnam, we have many dessert drinks that contain beans, such as Chè Ba Màu, which also contains red beans. Their Matcha Red Bean Smoothie w/ Ice Cream is such a great dessert drink! If you're currently counting or watching your calorie intake however, I definitely would say to be cautious with this drink!
Very Berry Smoothie. As much as I love fruits and berries, I honestly wasn't sure how I'd feel about this one because many "berry" drinks contain lots of blackberry/raspberry seeds. However, since Titan and his staff said this is a fan favorite, I wanted to have an open mind and try it. I actually did like the drink- it oddly reminds me of the Costco Berry Smoothie. I'm not sure why it was as specific as it was, but my brain immediately went into thinking of the Costco Berry items from their food court. This isn't a bad thing, however! This drink definitely had its share of berry pulp and seeds, however, but I just chewed through the seeds and pretended they weren't there. It was also topped off with either ice cream or whipped cream, so the drink was very creamy and blended. It wasn't bad! Out of personal preference however, I'm not sure if I would order this again simply because I don't want to continuously chew seeds, or accidentally smile or laugh in public and I have seeds all over my teeth! Again, this drink was delicious and looked beautiful! I just don't like seeds~
From Left to Right: Hella Bubble Milk Tea, Honey Lemon with Aloe Vera Fruit Tea, Matcha Red Bean Smoothie with Ice Cream, and Very Berry Smoothie.
A gift from Fresh Beauty arrived in the mail today — their new Hydrating Mango Lip Balm. When I was in High School and early college as a broke student, I remember walking into Sephora often to admire Fresh Beauty's skincare products. The price point definitely made Fresh Beauty out of my reach, but in mid-2020, I was blessed enough to be working with Fresh Beauty and received many of their products, classic or new, since! This balm smells exactly like Asian Mango Jelly Dessert cups. I would eat this if I could... or go to my local Asian supermarket and get a pack of mango jelly cups!
My weekdays usually don't consist of much if I'm not at the gym or on a shoot, so I went straight home afterward! I definitely was excited to visit Hella Bubble today, because it gave me a chance to recreate and wear some of Jennie from BlackPink-inspired clothing. I recently began working with YesStyle, and I was tasked with creating some outfits inspired by K-Pop Idols. If you are a fan of Jennie Kim or BlackPink, you'd definitely recognize which outfit my clothing was inspired by today!
A lot of my Instagram friends and followers asked me where I got my top from, and it was actually a Chanel-inspired top from YesStyle! For $15, this top was well constructed and did not have any loose threads. The fabric isn't see-through, stands up well, and ironed easily. The cardigan I wore was a cooling fabric, not itchy at all, but unfortunately was a one-sized item. Even though I am a US XS-S in most brands, this cardigan was pretty tight/form-fitting on my arms! This was actually my first time ordering from YesStyle, and I had no real issues with my items or their quality, especially for the price. Shipping did take a while, but by a while, it was about 2-3 weeks so you'll just need some patience! If you shop on YesStyle, use my code "KVTHY10" for $$$ off your purchases! I'll link the top and cardigan I wore today below:
I'm wishing Titan and Hella Bubble further success in their franchises! I'm all for supporting local, small, and Asian/POC-owned businesses, and it's magnified even more once I get to meet the owners of these franchises and learn a little more about their story and their businesses. There are so many inspiring people in Houston, and I'm grateful I've called this city home for all these years.
Thank you guys for reading this post, and feel free to circle back to this article for reference to my clothing, food options, or whatever else interests you about this blog!
With Love,
Kathy
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