By Chris Murphy
T Cups Café
By Chris Murphy
From Saigon to downtown Modesto, Bubble Tea has never tasted so good.
Bubble tea is very important to Thanh “Joe” Dong. This was one of his favorite things growing up, and when he was trying hard to woo his eventual wife, Lucia Tran, he would travel to the Bay Area to get the exact bubble tea she liked.
Joe moved to the USA when he was 10 with his grandparents. He lived and worked in the Bay Area in the tech industry. When he moved to Modesto, he was doing the commute thing and it was wearing him out. Working with his church youth group, he met his future wife and 12 years ago they were married.
After his 2nd child was born, he knew that the commute wasn’t going to work and he and Lucia decided that they could start a café that served the traditional food of his country, and also the amazing tastes he enjoys so much in the USA.
First things first.
T Cups is so much more than a “tea shop”. Their signature “Bubble” teas are just the start, and there are so many to choose from. But what you really need to know, is that you can get fair food, yes friends, the food you love at the Stanislaus County Fair all year long. We’re talking funnel cakes, crepes, and the unreal T-Pop chicken bites. They have fresh fruit cut daily for their crepes, cakes and drinks and no funnel cake or crepe is complete with out a good dose of whipped cream. You can get sweet or savory crepes with just about any sweet flavor, you have to have Nutella in there somehow, or some ham, cheese and pineapple. Are you hungry yet?
Their crepes and cakes are all fresh made, the vegetables are fresh cut and there is something for everyone. I am a regular for their crepes both sweet and savory and I have come to learn to love the Bubble tea flavors. One of my favorite crepes is the banana, strawberry and kiwi crepe topped with whipped cream and green tea ice cream. Amazing.
Something you have heard about and may not have tried is a Bahn Mi sandwich. I have one word for the T-Cups Bahn Mi, “WOW”! This sandwich us the perfect blend of savory, with a blend of pickled carrots, daikon radish, cilantro and Vietnamese cold cuts all served on a baguette roll. Once you have one of these, this will be a regular lunch or dinner staple at your house. There are a couple of other amazing things like the T Pop chicken that will keep you coming back, and there are a variety of fish balls and even traditional coconut pancakes.
If Bobo or Pearl tea is not your thing, they have a full espresso bar for cold and hot drinks and you can choose from a variety of hand made Italian sodas. For lunch and dinner you can even get beer and wine with your sandwiches and sides.
T-cups is a great place to hang out. They have games and nice seating area as well as an outdoor patio right there in 10th St Plaza. You feel like you are part of the downtown action when you are dining there and this is a great place to go before or after a show or movie at the Brenden Theatre next door. They are open late for a after movie snack too and it’s a good place to listen to Music in the Plaza on Friday nights.
The Vietnamese community in our area have been very supportive of T-Cups and they get ew fans daily that discover some of these traditional treats and cure their jones for a funnel cake. Even though there are more bubble tea places in Modesto, the tastes at T-Cups are tops. Joe has been very supportive of our May the 4th , Music in the Plaza on Fridays and Rockin’ Holiday projects. He was our intrepid look out a few years ago when the wind tore apart the Rockin’ Tree.
Do yourself a favor and check out T Cups Café. You will find something you love and will become a regular quickly and make sure to say Hi to Joe.
T Cups Café
1021 10th St Ste A Modesto, CA 95354
(209) 300-7473
@tcupscafe
M – Sat: 8am – 5 pm
Friday open till 9
Sunday: Closed
