Derek W.
Yelp
I enjoyed TBaar's Vanilla Milk Tea at Los Cerritos Mall, and I was aware that there was a location in Buena Park. However, I didn't know it was specifically at The Source, which is located on the northeast corner of Orangethorpe and Beach, just north of the 91. The only reason I was at The Source was because I needed a short little getaway from LA County, and I wanted to see what The Source was like.
The Source is a pretty large shopping center that consists of three levels, and TBaar is in the food court on the third level. When I saw that both TBaar and Gong Cha were at the same food court, I pulled up the Fivestars app on my phone. I know TBaar and Gong Cha in Cerritos both participate in Fivestars, so I wanted to see if these locations in The Source participate as well. Sure enough, they did, and both had a reward for $1 off any drink!
I was torn between Gong Cha and TBaar before finally deciding on TBaar due to the longer lines at Gong Cha, which looked a little more expensive than TBaar.
After adding the $1 off reward on Fivestars, I perused the TBaar menu, which appeared more extensive than the Los Cerritos location. I had a hard time deciding until I suddenly caught sight of the Papaya Milk Shake. I hadn't had papaya before in my life, and just a few days prior to my visit, a Yelp friend mentioned comparing it to butter due to its creamy texture and slightly sweet taste. She also mentioned refreshing, and I definitely needed some refreshing while walking the labyrinth of walkways at all three levels of The Source!
When it was my turn to order, I intended to order the Large Papaya Milk Shake as long as the $1 off reward could apply to that. She repeatedly said it would work for any drink and kept asking what size I wanted. I thought I said Large? This went on for a few more seconds before she finally heard me say "Large". I don't know if she misheard me the first time, but that was a little frustrating. However, she was really sweet and courteous, so maybe it was my bad for not speaking clearly enough.
It took just a couple of minutes before a staff member placed a straw and a large orange-colored milkshake on the pickup table. He didn't say anything, so I asked, "Is that the Papaya?" After he answered affirmatively, I grabbed the shake and drank it while walking back to my car.
Since I hadn't had papaya before, it would have been hard to describe the taste, but I do agree with my Yelp friend that it was creamy and slightly sweet. I'd also say it was smooth like butter (see what I did there?) because it wasn't thick, and I had a pretty easy time sipping on the shake. However, the taste of the papaya wasn't too strong, so there definitely could have been more flavor added. I still liked the shake though!
There are cup sizes behind a plexiglass by the order counter so you can get a better idea of how large a Large really is and how small a Small is. Actually, that's a lie. They don't have Small. The smallest they have is Medium, and I think the size difference between Medium and Large is quite noticeable that I would recommend paying the extra $1 to upgrade to Large.
It was a nice refreshing drink that helped me get through the day. Even if Gong Cha would have tasted better, I'm still happy with choosing TBaar over Gong Cha since I wouldn't have wanted to wait in such a long line for a drink that I would have paid probably $1 more for.