The story goes, back in the golden 1980s Taiwan, a gentleman poured tapioca pearls apathetically into his cup of tea because a meeting was too dull.

Now though, bubble tea or boba, a Taiwanese street corner classic, is an iced drink you can find in every corner of the world. Typically but not inclusively, the drink combines milk, different tea varieties, and chewy tapioca balls into a creamy (and sugary) deliciousness — a ridiculously addictive one at that. And if you don’t have a chance to go to Taiwan, you will find a high concentration of bubble tea shops in southern Thailand (for some weird reason). Here are the best boba in Hat Yai.

Rin Rin Bubble Milk Tea

We challenge you to find a cheaper bubble tea place. A cup of tea starts at only 19 baht, and special toppings cost you just a fiver. And how do you make an order? Through an old-fashioned phone booth, obviously (ring, ring). Press a button, pick up the ringing telephone to place your order, and put your money in a small basket behind a tiny door next to the phone. The flavour is not as sweet and artificial as bubble tea sometimes gets.

Niphat Uthit 3 near Odean Department store. A seven-minute walk from Red Planet Hat Yai.
Tel: 083-674-5555
Opening Hours: 8.30am – 7pm (Every day)

Kin Cha Milk Tea

Perhaps the most exciting thing about a bubble tea house is that you can get a personalised product. The DIY of boba, Kin Cha Milk Tea lets you combine any flavours into your own fantasy cup. You can have fruit jelly, passion fruit, aloe vera, chocolate pudding, Oreos… all in one cup with tapioca dumplings. You can go wild here, but we recommend the original white milk tea with lychee jelly. It’s a proven, successful combination.

Juutee Anusorn Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla.
Tel: 081-959-7767
Opening Hours: 7am – 10pm (Every day)

Hao Wei Milk Tea

The ideal bubble tea house will combine high-quality ingredients, ideally at a low price, with the latest bells and whistles. Hao Wei Milk Tea is known for all of the above. Perhaps you’ll be surprised how good a proper cup of real tea tastes. If you don’t want to take a risk, order yourself the original green milk tea.

Juutee Anusorn Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla.
Tel: 088-783-7411
Opening Hours: 10am – 8pm (Every day)

Tea Inn Milk Tea

Designing a bubble tea shop starts from the outside. The pink colour of this shop surely has the advantage of being eye-catching next to the many roll-up doors. Unless you’re there for the pastel backdrop, you should try their signature tea which is light and slightly creamy. And they let you decide the sugar dosage from ‘I’m on a diet’ to drunk on sugar. Bubbles start from 25 baht and come with excellent, fast service.

Juutee Anusorn Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla. Opposite Mr Stake shop (you can’t miss it).
Tel: 083-653-9915
Opening Hours: 8am – 9pm (Every day)

The Smiling Whale

To make a boba stall stand out from the rest, and to have it shared on Instagram, it needs to come in gradient colours. We’re listing the best bubble teas, but we suppose it’s fitting to mention their amazing grilled buns (and now that we changed the topic to bread, you should not miss this shop in Bangkok’s Chinatown). Although not as colourful, we recommend the classic Thai tea with grass jelly. It’s the local variant to Taiwanese boba.

Prachathipat Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla. Near Thidanukhro school.
Tel: 080-546-3942
Opening Hours: 4pm – 11pm (Every day)

If you’re looking for bubble tea in Hat Yai, well, you found it.