One of the things that Surabayans love more than just walking and lunching out at the mall is bubble or boba tea. They do love their boba in Surabaya, and it's no secret that people can sometimes be willing to wait for these sweet beverages for hours, especially when it comes to newly opened boba stores in town.
 
From brown sugar drinks to burnt cheese toppings and honey boba, here are the top three boba stores in Surabaya.

Dirty Boba

In Surabaya, Dirty Boba is originally only located at Tunjungan Plaza, but it has many stores now. Its namesake drink features tapioca pearls (boba) coated and cooked in brown sugar. After the pearls are added to a cup of fresh milk or tea, the drink is topped with milk cheese foam and creme brulee. 

The "dirty" moniker comes from its use of brown sugar, which gives such an impression after the drink is finished.

Kokumi

Founded by Jacqueline Karina, Kokumi is known for its unicorn logo design and colorful drinks. It has built its reputation since 2018 to be one of the best boba drinks in Surabaya, owing to its signature Okinawa Brown Sugar Boba. Almost every mall in Surabaya has Kokumi outlets now, and couples, friends, as well as families can take instagrammable pictures at their unicorn-themed stores. 

"The concept unicorn is like the beauty that can be seen and felt by 'virgins' or [in this case] millennials," said the founder Jacqueline about Kokumi's mascot, and perhaps by extension, the beverages that the store offer. Whether you agree with her take, Kokumi does offer one of the freshest boba in town. 

Fat Straw

Fat Straw is a Taiwan-based boba store. It is unique in the way that it uses pure honey as its sweetener. It was said that before its first store was opened, the founder had always wanted to open a boba store but found the use of processed sugar objectionable due to health reasons — which is why they opted for honey.

Fat Straw stores are cozily designed so people can relax while enjoying their boba drinks and light delights the store offers, such as popcorn chicken, brick toast matcha cream, and fat rice. 

Its signature drink is Ice Milk Drink with Honey Boba, but the White Rabbit Boba is the famous one in Surabaya. Its only Surabaya store, which has been open since 2013, is located at Ruko Puncak Bukit Golf.