Bounce Boba Loft

Somehow, no guide to the Valley would be complete without the mention of Bounce Boba Loft in Northridge.  I also feel like no post about a boba place can be complete with a few of these emoticons.. ^-^  >.<  o.O

Ok, ok, now that I got that over with, I headed over to Bounce yesterday afternoon with some church friends to get something cool to drink on a hot valley day. The store was part of the Lollicup franchise, but a few years back, they changed the name and the entire atmosphere of the store.  Although Lollicup still supplies Bounce with its ingrediants, Bounce has since attempted to make the store its own.

Walk inside, and it’s one of the top hang-out spot of Cal State Northridge students, with dim lighting, a plasma screen TV, and a rack of Asian magazines.  The menu includes not just boba – which are chewy tapioca balls placed inside the different drinks such as milk tea and blended fruit smoothies  – but also Taiwanese snacks including fried squid balls, fried tofu, and fried rice.  The boba balls  can be added into any drink on the menu, regardless if it’s hot or cold.

But what makes Bounce different than other boba shops is its constellation drinks, according to Bounce employee Lionel Vivar.  Each astrological sign has its unique drink with different fruits blended in.  For example, the drink for Capricorns is Tropical Waterfall – a blend of mango, peach, passionfruit, pineapple and strawberry.  Why? Because it’s in the stars…

Egg Pudding Milk Tea

One of my personal favorites that isn’t found at most boba shops is Egg Pudding Milk Tea.  Instead of having the usual tapioca balls in the drink, this instead had cubes of egg pudding that is easier to suck up through the straws.  It’s convenient when I don’t feel like chewing the boba, and even though it might sound strange at first, egg pudding and milk tea really do go well with each other.

Prices range from $2-$3.50, with an extra $.25 to add boba to the drink which is a pretty standard price for boba.  Bounce is the perfect place to study, hang out, or just grab a quick drink to cool off.

Rating: 8.5

Location: 18429 Nordhoff St. Northridge, CA 91325 (on the second story of the strip mall complex)