Mar 28, 2022 - Food and Drink

Bubble tea, waffles and salted cheese review

Drink and waffles

Waffle and tea on the hood of a car. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios

A hot new bubble tea bar called Happy Lemon recently opened on Fullerton near the Lincoln Park DePaul University campus.

The idea: This Taiwan-based chain has operated in the U.S. for 15 years with its slushies, bubble teas, and bubble waffles accented with salted cheese.

The wait: I went two weeks ago, and my order of lemon jasmine green tea and a chocolate-filled waffle took about five minutes.

Insta-rating: The picture of the drink and waffle on my car hood looked pretty lame, which is why I went with a dunking GIF instead.

Dipping bubbles in cheese
This is the shot you want when visiting a bubble waffle shop. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios.
  • Also order the purple ube drinks — rather than my urine-looking lemon tea — for envy-inducing social media pics.

Taste rating: I don't love desserts, but these chewy, lightly sweet bubble waffles filled with a squirt of chocolate hit the spot, especially dunked in the cheese ($5.75)

  • But the jasmine green tea ($6.35) was way too sugary for my taste. I wish they'd told me it was sweetened.

Bottom line: Happy Lemon Lincoln Park, with sister locations in Evanston and around the country, delivers fun food and pics along with creepy-sounding salty cheese teas that actually taste like they're topped with cheesecake.

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