With the holidays right around the corner, browsing all day long for the perfect gift can be a drag. Treating yourself with a nice drink can help ease the stress of holiday shopping. Thankfully, Lucky Cat Boba Tea and Taiyaki is here to help. Lucky Cat Boba Tea and Taiyaki is a new boba tea and sweets café located in the Primrose Marketplace, specifically at 3424 S. Glenstone Ave., specializing in bubble tea and taiyaki. Taiyaki is a fish-shaped cake sold primarily as street food in Japan, commonly filled with red bean paste, chocolate or custard. The shop also has other popular Japanese bakery items– not just taiyaki. However, I was there for one thing: the boba. 

  Walking in was a slight surprise. I was on stand-by for months waiting for this place to open up. As an avid boba tea enjoyer, I was excited. All of the boba shops around Springfield are a considerably long drive away from Nixa, so to get one relatively close is exciting. Eager to try, I drove myself over to the Primrose Marketplace and parked my car. I visited rather late, around 8 p.m. I walked in and it was packed. I was shocked that it was so busy so late at night, especially since this was one of their first days open. The line was almost out the door, but it moved quickly. My mouth started to water at the thought of my drink. It was late in the evening and they had had a busy day, so some of their toppings for the milk teas were out of stock. Thankfully, I typically stick to the generic black tapioca pearls, so that wasn’t a problem. Their sweetness ranges from quarter, half, three-quarters, one and one and a quarter. I knew exactly what I was going to get and it was time to order. 

   When I got to the counter, the employee was incredibly patient and friendly. From what I can imagine, their business has been busy all day and to keep a good attitude throughout that time can be tiresome. The prices were average compared to the numerous other boba shops I have visited. I ordered a half sweet lavender milk tea with black tapioca pearls, which cost  about $5 for a medium drink. Now that the order was placed and paid for, all I had to do was wait. 

   While the place was fairly packed, I was still able to snag a spot to sit in while I waited for my drink. The inside was cute and warm–physically and emotionally. The walls were painted pink and held a lot of wall art. Not only is this business a boba tea shop, it is also a store. To the side of the register contained a wide variety of action figures, notebooks, pens and pencils to purchase. All of the products are reasonably priced, but none of the products tickled my fancy so I just moved along. The wait time was short compared to the amount of people waiting for their orders. While I would’ve loved to stay and enjoy the atmosphere, it was a little too crowded and a little too warm for my taste. I collected my drink and headed out to the car. I couldn’t even wait to get to the car to try mine. 

   Walking out of the café, I took a big drink and was immediately filled with joy. There was a perfect ratio of milk tea to sweetness to tapioca pearls. I could not have had a better drink. For this being a brand new business, I was impressed that they were right on the money first try. My drink was gone within ten minutes–I couldn’t put it down. The lavender flavor wasn’t overbearing, with perfect hints of sweetness. This will forever be my go-to order. I went straight home to buy reusable boba straws on Amazon because I know that I will definitely be there frequently.