afternoon tea/dessert: MOCKTAIL TEA

MOCKTAIL TEA
at ATT4Fun
No. 12, Songshou Road, 4F
松壽路12號4F
(02) 7745-2168

MRT: Taipei 101

website: www.mocktail.com.tw 

hours: 11AM- 10PM

$$

Kid friendliness: kids will want try the soft serve boba mocktails, but glassware not too kid friendly. probably can ask for extra bowls for sharing.

Visit reviewed: 4/29/2015

Afternoon tea, Taipei style. There's no shortage of dessert/ boba milk tea places in Taipei, let alone at ATT4Fun, where the whole fourth floor is a collection of cafes and dessert shops. Recently on my dessert crawl with Kirbie's Cravings, visiting from San Diego, we stopped at Mocktail Tea. Mocktail has that annoying 1 drink minimum per person, but if you are doing afternoon tea, then it's the price to pay for an air conditioned place to chill for 90 minutes.

The signature and most visually striking "drink" is actually a dessert served in a cocktail glass, the signature Pearl Milk Tea Soft Serve Ice Cream (NT$160) so you can see the layers of oolong tea tie guang ying jelly, boba, soft serve and milk tea. It's not even served with a straw- instead it's served with a spoon that doesn't quite easily scoop up through the smaller rimmed opening of the glass. The separate elements aren't too memorable tastewise, but the presentation is key.

There's also fruity teas and sparkling drinks, with flavors like passionfruit and lemon or an odd iced tomato honey tea (I couldn't imagine the taste and didn't give it a try, but the waiter said it's popular). Drinks marked with the crown are house specialties.

There's light cafe fare- quiche and soupy rice dishes- in case you're looking for something savory.

I ended up ordering the iced lemon matcha (NT$140) and I quite liked it. It was frothy from being freshly shaken and stirred, and the matcha worked well with the lemon and sweetness.

The tie guang ying soft serve ice cream NT$130 is easier to eat, served in an open glass and is the same as the pearl milk tea mocktail except it doesn't have the tapioca pearls. 

Personally, I'd prefer the classic Chun Shui Tang at Mitsukoshi A9 for a tall glass of boba milk tea (and fried radish cakes) or Ice Monster for bubble milk tea shaved ice and a side of gooey chewy boba, but Mocktail is less crowded and piles the soft serve ice cream inside, like a Taiwanese root beer float.