Bopomofo Cafe

Los Angeles Standout Bopomofo Cafe Expands to San Diego | Eater San Diego

"One of the LA area’s essential boba spots is expanding to the Convoy District: Bopomofo Cafe, whose flagship San Gabriel location opened in 2019 and was followed by a second outpost in Artesia, will open a new branch by mid-January in the Convoy complex shared by Target and the Costco Business Center. Co-founders Eric Wang and Phillip (Phil) Wang — the latter a filmmaker and notable YouTube creator with Wong Fu Productions — say the shop is much more than boba: drinks are made with lactose-free milk or oat milk and avoid artificial flavors, syrups, fructose, and powdered creamer, relying instead on real fruit, cold-pressed juices, loose-leaf teas, and fresh milk; non-dairy options include oat, coconut, and almond milk. Signature beverages include a matcha latte infused with cold-pressed carrot juice (carrot matcha latte), a strawberry-corn concoction that mixes fresh corn milk with housemade strawberry sorbet (strawberry corn milk), as well as watermelon oat milk and strawberry ginger lemonade. Bopomofo also offers a substantial fusion food menu of Chinese, Taiwanese, and American flavors, with bestsellers like mapo tofu–topped tater tots, Taiwanese fried chicken sandwiches, honey walnut shrimp burgers, and seasonal items such as Hainan chicken tacos, and the partners plan to create San Diego–specific items as they hope to open multiple locations there. It's a full-circle moment for Phillip, who told Eater he spent a lot of time on Convoy while attending UCSD in the early 2000s." - Candice Woo