Chun Shui Tang Taipei Review: A Meal at the Teahouse That Claims It Invented Bubble Tea

I had some friends visit me from Korea a few months ago, and one of the main reasons they wanted to come to Taiwan was to eat as much local food as possible.

When it was time for them to go to the airport from Taipei Main Station, they wanted to visit one last place before we parted, and they took me to a place called Chun Shui Tang (春水堂Chūn shuǐ táng), located opposite the station in B2 of the Japanese Department Store Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越Xīn guāng sān yuè). If the name sounds familiar, it's the Taichung teahouse that claims to have invented bubble tea back in the 1980s. It made enough of an impression that I decided to come back a couple of weeks ago to do a review.

When you arrive, a member of staff will greet you and help you find a seat.

They will then hand you a menu where you can tick the food that you want to order. It is a pay-first restaurant, so once you’ve decided you have to go to the cashier to pay.

Photo by Richard Elliott

First on the list is the Chilli Sesame Dressing Pork Belly (椒麻拌豚五花Jiāo má bàn tún wǔ huā).

Tender pieces of pork cooked in a creamy sauce that has a Japanese-style sesame flavour blended with soy sauce. It's incredibly fragrant and smooth. It's infused with a house-made chilli and Sichuan peppercorn oil. It's not too spicy; it actually gives the dish a nice kick with a subtle, pleasant numbing tingle which complements the dish very well. It's also served with broccoli, carrots, mushrooms and sesame seeds.

Next on the list is the Spicy Wontons in Chilli Oil (鮮肉紅油抄手Xiān ròu hóng yóu chāo shǒu), a classic favourite here. The dish starts with a savoury, spicy sauce pooled at the bottom. It features a house-blend aromatic chilli oil that brings a sharp, clean heat; it’s not uncomfortably spicy and doesn’t burn your mouth when you eat it.

The sauce has a tangy-savoury undertone that makes it incredibly appetizing.

The wontons are generously stuffed. The filling is made of finely minced pork that is savoury, juicy, and tender. The wonton wrapper itself is silky, smooth, and slippery, acting like a sponge to soak up the chilli sauce. Overall, this dish tasted very fragrant, and the minced pork with the chilli oil made an amazing combination. This is probably my favourite dish I tried that day.

I also ordered the Handmade Thin Noodles with Sesame Oil (手工麻香麵線Shǒu gōng má xiāng miàn xiàn)

At the bottom of the bowl is a pool of rich, fragrant black sesame oil blended with a splash of rice wine and a light, savoury soy sauce base. The noodles are incredibly delicate and silky, perfectly absorbing the sesame oil sauce. They carry a soft, smooth texture with just a tiny bit of body. It comes with chopped celery, which adds an aromatic flavour with a nice crunch and keeps the dish light. And it also comes with broccoli, which keeps the dish healthy.

Photo by Richard Elliott

For the side dish, I ordered the Braised Cabbage with Green Tea (茶香高麗菜Chá xiāng gāo lí cài)

It’s a very nice side dish that balances out the meat dishes that I ordered. It's nice and savoury with a subtle tea aroma to it. The cabbage had a slight crunch to it; it had fried shallots and was cooked in a mushroom sauce. Topped with sesame seeds.

What Chun Shui Tang is also famous for is their bubble tea. The story goes that a staff member at their Taichung shop dropped tapioca pearls into her milk tea in the late 1980s, and the rest is history. I couldn’t come here and not have one, so I ordered a Medium Iced Brown Sugar Amber Bubble Latte (黑糖琥珀珍珠拿鐵Hēi táng hǔ pò zhēn zhū ná tiě)

Photo by Richard Elliott

The drink gets the name "Amber" from the marbled tiger-stripes created when rich, hand-fried brown sugar syrup falls down the sides of the glass into fresh milk.  It uses Chun Shui Tang’s premium black tea, and they serve it with mini pearls.  Because they are smaller, they are slightly more chewy than standard boba pearls.

What makes this drink stand out from the others is that it’s topped with crushed caramelized biscuit pieces that taste like Biscoff. So as you drink it, you get a brilliant contrast between the silky milk tea, the chewy pearls, and the sudden, crispy, brown-sugar-spiced crunch of the biscuits.

Overall, this is like having a dessert in a cup, which makes it a must-try.

Chun Shui Tang has many locations in Taiwan. They are also in the Zhongshan, Zhongzheng and Xinyi areas. If I had one small complaint, it is that it is a little bit pricier than other places, but it’s still worth the money.  It’s very easy to order food, the atmosphere is comfortable, and the service is very efficient. It is an overall good experience, and you get to enjoy delicious Taiwanese food.