My husband kissed me for the first time at a Japanese cultural festival. It was the perfect venue for our fledgling romance; I had lived in Japan and was eager to impress him with my Japanese skills. He had never been to Japan but was eager to please me.
I honestly can’t remember what we ate that day (most likely yakisoba), but it was the shared cup of bubble tea that has become immortalized in our Ayer family history. Believe it or not, it was my first encounter with bubble tea. Despite its current ubiquitousness, bubble tea just simply wasn’t a thing in the early 2000s when I lived in Japan. And so it was, that on a sunny Saturday in May, I found myself gazing into my husband’s chestnut-colored eyes over a cup of bubble tea and, well, the rest is history.
(Produce stands on Road 233 stock Asian vegetables)
We vowed to commemorate our origin story by having bubble tea every year on 22 September for our anniversary. This wasn’t a problem in Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia, but when we moved to Egypt it looked as though our family tradition would have to be suspended. Surely, I thought, one cannot find bubble tea in Egypt.
(Road 233 is chock-full of great shops, including this lovely nut roastery)
Well, I was wrong. Delightfully and thankfully wrong. It was in our second year in Egypt when I heard of an Asian grocery store located on Road 233 in Maadi. I was in search of seaweed and other Japanese cooking necessities. Listen: I love Egyptian food more than your average person, but sometimes a girl needs a little homemade sushi.
(Need a mysterious ingredient for an Asian dish? Find it on Road 233!)
What I found that day while combing Road 233 was one dimly-lit and poorly-stocked Asian grocery store. Seaweed? Yes! But glutinous rice flour to make mochi? Sadly, no.
That was then. Today, Asian groceries and restaurants are as common on Road 256 as a fortune cookie with an order of sweet and sour chicken. The three we like best are New Bailan Company, Park N Shop, and Luya.
(Ginger – okay, but I challenge you to name that vegetable on the lower right!)
You should know that the employees at these grocery stores do not speak English. Strangely enough, we communicate mainly in Arabic. I recommend you come prepared with a photo of what you want on your phone.
(Craving bulgogi? You’re in luck on Road 233!)
But wait. Weren’t we commiserating over the lack of bubble tea in Egypt? Come on. This is a rom com, not a tear-jerker. It took a couple of years to find not one, but two bubble tea cafes, both on Road 233. Our favorite is Feng Cha.
(Homemade tempura, thanks to panko bread crumbs found on Road 233)
So when 22 September comes around again, and if you find yourself a little thirsty, come on over to Road 233 for some bubble tea. Don’t be surprised if you leave with ingredients to make pad thai, gyoza, or pho. I’ll see you there!
