I’m not a very big fan of regular served tea, with the steaming hot water, herbs, and little to zero sugar, it’s simply not my preferred drink. But add some sugar, some milk, and some boba and cool it up, now THAT’S my cup of tea.

Purple Kow in San Francisco is located right next to the Balboa Theater at 3620 Balboa St. San Francisco. They are open from 11 A.M. till 10 P.M. every day except Fridays and Saturdays, when they close the shop at midnight. It sports a very out-going and friendly decor which has a nice orange color. The restaurant itself isn’t very big. It reminds me of old cafes where people stop to chatter and enjoy their drinks and food. The cashiers, much like the customers, are young college students who are very friendly and seem to handle their busy restaurant quite efficiently.

I ordered the Hazelnut Black Milk Tea, with extra boba, and a side of sweet potato fries. As usual the Hazelnut milk tea did the trick for me. I tasted the sweet hint of hazelnut extract along with the black tea that carried it. The boba was perfectly cooked as well, it wasn’t chewy but it also didn’t feel like jello in my mouth. The boba also did not harden or taste like syrup as time went by; which I observed was what happens with boba from other places. I also tried the Iced Milk Tea with glass jelly boba and this quickly became one of my favorites. It tasted less like tea and more like melted vanilla ice cream with boba.

After a couple of sips from my drink, my sweet potato fries came. It was covered in tempura starch and was then deep fried. The fries, however, were not very crunchy. They felt a little soggy and tasted more like carrots than yam. So I decided to order another meal.

I ordered the beef rolls. It was four slices of beef, paired with a slice of cucumber, doused with teriyaki sauce, and put together by a sesame crepe wrap. Just describing it makes my mouth water all over again. It was a tangy little wrap; you can taste the tenderness of the meat and the kick of the teriyaki sauce. The cucumber added the crunch that balanced out every bite as well as adding to your daily dose of vitamin B. The wrap was a very soft crepe shell mixed with sesame seeds which added a very subtle crunch and saltiness.

My dining experience at Purple Kow was very relaxing. The meal was great, the weather was amazing, and the size of the restaurant created a very intimate yet playful mood. I would recommend this place for anyone looking for a fix quick of milk-tea without the watered down taste and the undercooked bobas.