GA_092018

glencoeanchor.com dining out
the glencoe anchor | September 20, 2018 | 27
New boba tea shop adds new twists to popular concept
Brittany Kapa
Contributing Sports Editor
Glenview’s Boba Club
knows it may be a black
sheep, but owner Steve Ha
is OK with that.
Ha’s latest business venture,
Boba Club, even dons
a black sheep on its logo —
a subtle way of letting the
community know his place
does things a little differently.
Ha, an avid boba tea
drinker, would frequent his
local boba tea shop with
his wife three or four times
a week. One day, as Ha
looked around, he noticed
the constant line of guests
waiting outside the door.
And, he then realized
there was room for another
boba tea shop in Glenview,
one that did things a little
differently.
Ha and his wife opened
Boba Club, 1825 Waukegan
Road in Glenview, just
a few short weeks ago and
offer more than just a graband-go
experience to its
customers.
Boba Club encourages
patrons to grab a drink, stay
a while and work. Long
chats, homework sessions
or work duties are encouraged
by the incorporation
of private and semi-private
work spaces.
For those that want to
focus and work alone,
there are two private workstations
disguised as red
phone booths.
“The telephone booths
are really a throwback to
when I first moved here,”
Ha said.
Glenview’s downtown
area originally had phone
booths located across from
the library, and Ha wanted
to bring a little local Glenview
history into his shop.
“I wanted to make it like
this because I worked from
home before, and I was a
Boba Club’s fruit freeze ($4 for a small, $5 for a large)
can be made with a variety of fruits, of which customers
choose three, and has tapioca balls at the bottom.
remote worker, so I was
always looking for places
like this,” he said.
Boba Club also has two
larger group work spaces,
both enclosed, in addition
to a general seating area
and a bigger open workspace
toward the back.
“I’m really happy since
we’ve opened to see the
regulars come in on their
bikes at 3:30 or 4 p.m. and
they’re in the rooms doing
their homework,” he said.
As for the menu, Ha
mixed traditional boba tea
flavors with more popular
and modern options for his
customers.
“We do things authentic
where they have to be, so
our jasmine milk tea, for
instance, it’s what you’re
going to expect when you
go into a typical boba tea
shop,” he said.
Part of that authentic experience
is making the tapioca
balls frequently, so the
flavor and texture is what
a customer would expect
from any boba tea shop.
Boba Club’s tapioca is
cooked every three to four
hours, as Ha doesn’t want
his product sitting around
all day.
“That’s what I expect
when I go to a boba tea
shop,” he said.
Boba Club offers more
recognizable drink options
Boba Club
1825 Waukegan Road,
Glenview
Noon-11 p.m., Sunday-
Thursday
Noon-midnight, Friday-
Saturday
(847) 603-6000
such as coffees and lattes
for customers looking for a
little caffeine.
Ha incorporated his version
of an international dish
he tried in Hong Kong. The
waffle puff ($5 classic,
$8.50 waffle and ice cream
combination) is a take on
a traditional street waffle
served in Hong Kong.
“The waffle has the texture,
bounce and chewiness
that you’re going to
get from the street waffle in
Hong Kong,” Ha said.
Boba Club’s waffle puff
is served with a variety of
ice cream flavors ranging
from traditional flavors like
vanilla to more exotic ones
like green tea.
22nd Century Media
editors recently ventured to
Glenview to get a taste of
what Boba Club has to offer.
Ha prepared two different
versions of a fruit
freeze ($4 for a small, $5
for a large), which includes
three different types of fruit
blended with ice and served
The Purple Palmer, served in a lightbulb cup ($6.75), is a twist on an Arnold Palmer
drink made with butterfly pea flower tea and lemonade. Photos by Erin Yarnall/22nd
Century Media
An original waffle puff combo ($8.50) is served with green tea ice cream and topped
with dried rose petals.
with chewy tapioca balls.
Ha combined peach,
mango and strawberry to
create a thicker version of
the drink that was sweet
and near-perfect for a hot
late-summer day.
The other fruit freeze,
made with honey dew, cantaloupe
and watermelon,
had a lighter texture to it
but was still a sweet treat.
“Our drinks are somewhat
good for kids, there’s
a lot of sugar because of the
fruits and stuff, but it’s all
real,” Ha said.
Ha also let us sample
the waffle puffs. The first,
with the classic waffle,
similar in flavor to vanilla,
was served with green tea
ice cream and topped with
dried rose petals. The second,
a nod to cookies and
cream, was the chocolate
waffle puff served with sesame
ice cream and topped
with crushed chocolate
sandwich cookies.
Both of these sweet treats
strike a balance between
authentic and inauthentic
flavors, that work well together,
as was Ha’s intent.
“I really want to keep
everything acceptable to
the people that live on the
North Shore,” he said.