Bopomofo Cafe
Cafe · San Gabriel
841 W Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91776
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:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23624516/2022_05_13_bopomofo_005.jpg "Bopomofo Cafe by eater.com")
Highlights
Tapioca tea & Chinese-American mashups star at this cool boba shop
Tapioca tea & Chinese-American mashups star at this cool boba shop
"Announced on the Disney Parks Blog on April 1, a new Downtown Disney location inspired by Asian convenience stores will feature Bopomofo’s signature teas and boba drinks alongside imported snacks, candies, and small bites. The shop builds on the San Gabriel–based brand that launched its first location in 2019 when Phil Wang — one half of Wong Fu Productions — and business partner Eric Wang opened the original. Drink offerings referenced include jasmine tea, strawberry corn milk, brown sugar pudding milk tea, and an assortment of matcha drinks, while snack and small-bite options mentioned are mapo tofu–inspired mapo tots, a spicy Taiwanese chicken sandwich, and Hainan chicken tacos. No opening date has been shared yet; when it opens, it’ll join the recently-arrived Downtown Disney Din Tai Fung and two forthcoming restaurants from chef Joe Isidori." - Rebecca Roland
"I go for Bopomofo’s springy tapioca pearls and not-too-sweet drinks; signature flavors include strawberry corn milk, a hojicha and corn latte, and brown sugar pudding milk tea, and they also offer green and black teas, matcha, and coffee — plus if I want something more filling I’ll try the mapo tofu–topped tots or the popcorn chicken." - Eater Staff
"Fans of Bopomofo Cafe have a little longer to wait before fully experiencing its new San Diego storefront, but co-founders Eric Wang and Phillip Wang will be in the Convoy District on Wednesday, June 19 from 3:30–8:30 p.m. for a meet-and-greet where they’ll pour samples of bestselling drinks like guava matcha, the creamsicle-like Orange Bang!, and Assam milk tea made with oat milk, and hand out giveaway coupons for free drinks with purchase and discounted gift cards. Launched in San Gabriel in 2019 and now with an Artesia outpost, the cafe—best known for co-owner Phil Wang of Wong Fu Productions—offers creative beverages such as corn milk with housemade strawberry sorbet, a carrot matcha latte (matcha mixed with carrot juice), strawberry corn milk, watermelon oat milk, strawberry ginger lemonade, and seasonal items like a springtime Blueberry Cooler and a Taiwanese sausage corn dog. Its food menu blends Chinese, Taiwanese, and American influences, from mapo tofu tots and Hainan chicken tacos to a hoagie stuffed with braised beef shank served with Asian au jus. Bopomofo is noted for avoiding artificial flavors, syrups, fructose, and powdered creamer—using real fruit, pressed juice, loose-leaf teas, and fresh milk—and offers lactose-free milk plus oat, coconut, and almond milk as non-dairy options. The San Diego shop should be open by the end of July, with San Diego Comic-Con as the target date, and additional drinks and dishes are being developed exclusively for that location." - Candice Woo
"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
"I noted the Los Angeles Times profile included Bopomofo for its Hainan chicken tacos as one of six tacos that could only exist in LA." - Mona Holmes
