Yippee, yippee, joy, joy! A 2nd bubble tea shop in my UES hood...Vivi Bubble Tea is best! (The 1st…read more- Jupioca - is decent & my go-to for quality green juices but it only has a smaller menu of tea flavors).
Vivi sells many more varieties of tea, drinks & even has some Taiwanese eats. For those who are unaware...you can order teas without boba & aloe jelly (which is too caloric for me!). Plus, you can also request different %'s of sugary & flavored syrup /sweetness. They also list the calories content of their drinks.
My LOVES: Grapefruit & Strawberry @ 30% sweet level, Champagne Grape Aloe (w/ fresh aloe jelly & bits of grapes) & Fresh Watermelon Slush (w/ NO sugar), which is my absolute #1 fave..especially refreshing on a hot, summer day! Another MUST TRY: the BEST POPCORN CHICKEN in NYC - a popular Taiwanese street snack in a small paper bag eaten w/ lil' wooden sticks. You can choose from Spicy, (the original classic) Pepper Salt, Curry & Basil but my fave is always the Garlic, which is less salty than the classic flavor. You bite into a non-greasy, super-tasty & crunchy garlic batter followed by a juicy & tender dark-meat chicken morsel. It's 1 of the BEST (Taiwanese) Popcorn Chicken on UES & IMHO, compared to other popcorn chicken versions (eg. Popeyes,' KFC, etc), it's the tastiest of the bunch & doesn't require any sauces! Any popcorn chicken purist would approve. :)
OK's: pork chop, (Chinese) ramen & rice bowls were basic w/o the authentic fixings (eg. Tea egg, pickled veggies, minced pork on top of rice). If only they would improve certain food items by making them more authentic Taiwanese...I guarantee that they would not only increase their sales but also bring awareness to UES -a neighborhood lacking in good, authentic Chinese cuisine options- that authentic Taiwanese / Chinese street eats are much more delish than Americanized versions of these dishes.
Overall, I give Vivi 5 stars for being the ONLY tea spot on UES that sells boba teas, slushes along w/ the BEST POPCORN CHICKEN I've had so far in NYC (outside C'Town + Flushing)!
Yet to TRY: Kumquat Plum Ice Jelly Tea, Oreo Cookie Slush, Flaming Brown Sugar w/ Tapioca, Pineapple Mango Jelly Tea, Peach Aloe Fruit Tea, Strawberry Fizzy Pop, Lychee Jelly Tea, Peach Oolong Cold Brew, Thai Milk Tea, Strawberry Slush, Passionfruit Slush, Mango Slush, Lychee Slush. Grape Yakut, Fresh Mango Tea w/ Tea Jelly, Flora Forest Tea.