Tsaôcaa Tea Cafe | Plaza Midwood

Description: Modern bubble tea and snack shop in Plaza Midwood serving milk teas, fruit teas, fried chicken, and Hong Kong–style egg waffles inside a sit-down cafe space with shared parking off Central Ave.

Comments: This is right next to the original Haraz location in Plaza Midwood and shares the same parking lot. Which means, parking is rough if you go at any reasonable time. It’s free but the lot gets packed on account of being shared with multiple businesses.

That aside, this place has an aesthetic that seems consistent across bubble tea stores in general. Bright colors, toy vending machines, a good amount of seating, and free Wi-Fi. This is a great alternative to Haraz if you’re in the area and looking for a place to plop down and work or study. There’s solid access to outlets and enough seats to feel comfortable about finding a spot.

Food and drink wise, they have very expensive chicken options, and an egg waffle that’s their specialty. And of course, plenty of bubble teas. What’s interesting here is you’re sort of expected to order on a tablet. There’s two big ones when you first walk in and more at the back of the store. You can order at the counter but it’s pretty clear they’d prefer you use the tablets. Which is…very modern.

As an introvert, I actually quite like it, I just wish you didn’t have to sign up for an account to complete your order. I have a Google Voice number I use for those situations, but I suspect most people are out here handing out their personal cellphone numbers, which I don’t like. Why do you need my phone number to facilitate an age old transaction of ordering food or drink in person? Like, I’m at the store. Maybe I’m just being unreasonable idk. I’m a data privacy nerd.