Kat's 9 Lives

For some reason it is really hard to find a great milk tea place in the Bay Area.  There have been a few new places that opened up in San Mateo that have been getting a lot of attention.  Of course I had to try the two new popular places on the same night! =)  ShareTea is a Taiwanese brand that started in 1992 and opened up shop in San Mateo.  They offer an assortment of tea drinks and drinks made with Yakult! I personally love Yakult drinks and am glad to see that the US has a tea store that will be made with the real thing versus some yogurt substitute.  In Taiwan many places use the real thing and guarantee at least two Yakults in each tea.  The dream! lol
They offer the Green Tea with Yakult that's refreshing, but I really enjoy their Taro Milk Tea.  It is made with real taro bits and has that velvety texture to boot.  I prefer my drinks a little bit sweeter so I would ask for it to be a little sweeter.
All in all this place is refreshing and my new fave place to get milk tea in the Bay Area.  Whenever I visit for a long time, I go through withdrawals from my yummy milk tea in So Cal.  At least now I have some place to go to tide me over.  =) They also offer a rewards card called Belly, which is similar to Five Star.

ShareTea
60 E 3rd Avenue 
San Mateo, CA, 94401
415-813-8296

The food in Vegas keeps on getting better and better.  To really enjoy Vegas, you have to go off The Strip.  Don't get me wrong, I like fine dining but to experience the real culture and fun of Vegas you have to explore! I always have a car so I can stay off The Strip and go to my favorite eats and to find new ones.  The Goodwich was recommended by another store owner nearby and I have been wanting to try this place for a while.
They use to have foie gras sandwiches that I would have died for! What you have to love is that you can add crispy chicken skin into the sandwiches.  Drool drool!! They had me at that ingredient.  If you are a health nut and don't enjoy the wonders of crispy chicken skin, then this place is definitely not for you.  Also... you are missing out!! The skin is one of the best parts and if you won't eat it, I will happily do it for you! =D
The Goodwich is a small stall on the corner of Dino's parking lot.  You can park, order, and they will kindly bring the food to your car as well.  There is limited seating and depending on what time of the year you go, it may be too hot or cold to sit outside.  Ms. Lin Guide and I immediately began munching on our tasty sandwiches.  Best to eat fresh and hot!
Their menu often changes but there are always intriguing concoctions and tantalizing choices.  For our first time, we decided to get the Patty on rye.  Inside was ground beef, smoked cream cheese, onion, and pepper jack.  Of course we added the crispy chicken skin for the extra Oooooomph! The rye was beautifully colored and nicely grilled.  I love the crisp outer texture combined with all the rich flavors of the sandwich and delicious crispy chicken skin.  The bread was so full of butter that it basically melted in your mouth.  I think I am beginning to drool onto the computer! lol
We were split on the 2nd sandwich as they didn't offer the foie gras at this time.  Ms. Lin Guide decided on the Cuban-esque on white, since we had rye on the other sandwich.  Inside was pork butt & belly, ham, swiss, and pickle maystard.  The flavors were good and a slightly different take on your typical Cuban sandwich.  Of course we added the crispy chicken skin for an extra kick.  For me, this was solid but it didn't really blow my mind away as the Patty did.
All in all I really enjoyed their sandwiches and the owner was very nice.  I'd definitely go back for a quick bite and to see what new sandwiches they have concocted.

The Goodwich
1516 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 910-8681

I will admit that this has been on my back burner and I never posted about it because it wasn't that memorable.  It seems the location in San Mateo has been moved and not surprising at all.  I still want to post about it because this is a chain and I am sure the other stores are about the same.  The concept sounded fun and possibly had promise but the execution failed.
 First you choose the size of your drink and if it is hot or cold.  Then comes the added flavors and type of tea.  Do you want milk and how sweet you would like your drink?  Last comes any toppings.  This is a very common new trend of building your own drinks and dishes.  I would say skip the boba because it was not good at all.
The drink did not taste like tea at all.  It was a weird milky consistency and you need to be careful on which flavors you choose as it can turn out pretty bad... Both drinks looked very similar but did not taste alike at all.  This location was very small and kind of run down in my opinion.  It was like a hole in the wall location.  When I went it was still sort of popular but they were soon beat out by other popular locations
All in all, I am not surprised this place didn't survive as the drink was only so-so and the location was run down.  Being that there are always new and probably better places popping up, they definitely couldn't compete.  Honestly, I wouldn't try any of their other chains so that is why I decided that I should write about it as a warning to other fellow milk tea lovers.

Tpumps
106 S B St 
San Mateo, CA 94401 
(650) 548-1085