Launched in late September, this dish, featuring milk tea-flavored broth with beef and tapioca pearls, quickly gained attention. The dish is being offered for a limited time at Yu Tang, a bubble tea and Taiwanese cuisine chain, and is not part of their regular menu.
According to a brand representative, the dish was inspired by Taiwan’s famous milk hot pot, which uses a broth made from pork bone simmered in fresh milk for a creamy, rich flavor. However, Yu Tang added tea and black pearls to give the dish a fresh twist.
The beef, which is sliced thick, with about 4-5 pieces per bowl. Each bowl is priced at VND98,000 ($4).
The dish is prepared simply by blanching the noodles, adding the beef and tapioca pearls, and pouring in the broth.
The broth is made from simmered pork bones mixed with black tea and spices like chicken powder and cream to balance savory and sweet flavors. Some diners have found it difficult to pair the milk tea broth with beef.
A representative from the chain acknowledged that the dish has sparked a mix of reactions online, with both praise and criticism. However, they noted that no customers have reported any health issues after eating it.
“We welcome feedback from our customers and hope people see this as a fun culinary experience”, the representative said.
On a recent weekend, Doan Thi Vu Quynh and her friends visited the restaurant to try the dish after seeing it talked about on social media. Sharing one bowl between them, they found the dish “quite harmonious overall”.
“It tasted better than I expected, with the sweet and savory flavors balancing each other”, said Quynh, giving the noodles an 8/10 rating.
However, some customers have found the dish too filling, with the broth becoming overwhelming when consumed in large portions.
“The combination of broth, noodles, and beef works well, but the tapioca pearls feel out of place”, said 28-year-old customer Hoang Anh, who added that while the dish was worth trying for the experience, he wouldn’t order it again.
Staff at Yu Tang’s Thai Phien location noted that while some customers found the dish challenging to eat, others enjoyed the novelty of the experience.
During a weekend visit, most customers ordering the dish were young people, drawn to it out of curiosity.
