1906 Guadalupe St
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 482-9880
One thing I’m enjoying as I’m acclimating to my new job at UT is relearning the campus and rediscovering old beloved haunts. One such place is Tapioca House, affectionately or lazily? dubbed “Tap House” as heard from most of my college friends and acquaintances. I’m delighted that they’re still open! It’s been over 4 years since I’ve had their food and over two years since I had their pearl drinks (kind of, I went to the Houston location over 2 years ago).
Tapioca House is first and foremost, a bubble tea/pearl drink place. It’s been 2 doors down from another longstanding pearl drink place called Coco’s. Now these recent years past, I go to Coco’s the North location to get my bubble tea because I could not be bothered to drive to campus. But before I graduated, Tapioca House was many a college student’s preference over Coco’s for some very obvious reasons.
1. Tap House has punch cards allowing you to earn a free drink after every 10 punches or so.
2. Coco’s and Tap House both served a handful of Taiwanese food. Both very good. What gave Tap House the edge with college students is the meal combos! You can get your bubble tea drink and for an additional two or three dollars, you get an authentic Taiwanese meal! Very economical for the broke college student.
So I was walking around the deserted campus on Monday and was going to try a new banh mi restaurant called “Bite Mi” (get it?) but much to my dismay, like a handful of eateries, Bite Mi is closed for the holidays. I guess with all the students gone for the holidays, some restaurants don’t find it worthwhile to stay open. It was no bother as I just walked a few doors over and I was reunited with Tap House!
I ordered one of my rotating usuals, a coconut milk tea. I made it a lunch combo and ordered their curried chicken. Now Tap House is all about product and doesn’t care too much for packaging. Decor is absent, design (if you can call it design) is only practical. You don’t come here for frills. One said frills is plates! Everything comes out in your own takeout box, regardless of whether you eat in or out.
True to my memories, the boxed meals still come with a side of sauteed bean sprouts and a soy sauce braised egg (We have these in Vietnamese cuisine too). Yum. As you can see, I like to douse most of my food with anything red and spicy. It was good and tasted like decent basic curry. I think I most enjoy just all the memories that were triggered from eating here. It was a quiet and peaceful lunch. I sat by the window and watched the very few people still on campus walk by.
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