Food news: Asian treats arrive in Asheville, new ways to dine with Asheville chefs

ASHEVILLE - A new, local hangout opens in May, a local chef plans to take diners on an international excursion, and a downtown restaurant takes its culinary show on the road.

Popping up on Merrimon Avenue

Double the flavors, double the fun is coming to a Merrimon Square Shopping Center.

Pop Bubble Tea announced its opening date will be May 20, inside The Hop Ice Cream Café at 640 Merrimon Ave. The hours will be 12-8 p.m. Thursday-Monday.

“I want people to come here just like they go to The Hop,” co-owner Eva Peterson said. “It’s a fun place, family-friendly — come enjoy the drink.”

Peterson partnered with The Hop’s co-owner Ashley Garrison on crafting the recipes and launching the business.

“It’s exciting and a little bit nervous for me because this is my first time to start a new business,” Peterson said. “I really want to bring our traditional and authentic drink to town. I want people to not just drink it. … We want people to know more about the drink culture. … We want to bring our culture here, and then people enjoy the drink and then know more about Asian culture.”

Peterson grew up drinking bubble teas in Hong Kong, where it’s common to find several bubble tea shops on one block, she said. Pop Bubble Tea is a way for her to share the joyful memories of adolescence with families in Asheville.

The partners have set a “high standard” and “high expectation” for the product, Peterson said. They’ve tested hundreds of recipes, visited bubble teas across the U.S. and Asia, and high-quality tea leaves sourced directly from Taiwan.

The menu will feature traditional, authentic varieties of bubble teas that can be custom-built.

Guests have the option of a classic hot or iced tea made with Assam black, jasmine green or oolong loose tea leave. The fruit teas are paired with real fruit flavors with choices including lychee, peach, passionfruit and hibiscus lemonade.

Previous: The Hop announces new partnership with Pop Bubble Tea, opening in Asheville

The milk tea is a combination of tea and milk and options include honeydew, ginger and chai. Mango, peach and strawberry are the flavor choices for the slushes.

The matcha series offers various styles of lattes, including matcha brown sugar and matcha strawberry latte.

Toppings include traditional tapioca, egg pudding, various jelly flavors from aiyu to lychee star, and an assortment of flavored poppings that deliver a burst of fruit juice.

Several signature non-caffeinated drinks are listed under the category “Poppy’s special-teas” — named for the otter mascot, Poppy. The Northern Lights is a traditional Taiwanese honey lemonade with aiyu jelly and butterfly pea.

Some drinks may be made caffeine, dairy or gluten-free.

Bubble tea may be familiar to some guests, but Peter welcomes the opportunity to introduce customers and walk them through the creation process. Also, a step-by-step display on how to create a tea will serve as a guide.

Pop Bubble Tea merchandise and Asian snacks will be available for purchase, too.

For more details, visit https://www.popbubbleteanc.com/, or follow on Facebook facebook.com/PopBubbleTeaNC or on Instagram @popbubbleteanc.

Chef-led adventures

After bringing a taste of Mexico to Asheville, a local chef is ready to take diners straight to the source.

Chef Luis Martinez is launching a culinary trip series through his company, Tequio Foods, that takes travelers on an authentic tour through the neighborhoods of Oaxaca, Mexico.

“We will focus a lot on indigenous ingredients but also mezcal,” Martinez said. “People will have a better understanding of what Oaxacan food and Oaxacan traditions mean to people down.”

Four different trip experiences, each with a duration of five days, are planned for July through September, he said. The first dates are scheduled for July 5-10 and Aug. 2-7.

Martinez intends to create a unique and honest experience, as opposed to the typical touristy experiences he’s seen foreign companies offer in the city, he said. Martinez will lead his intimate groups of travelers into the Oaxacan neighborhoods where they can meet and directly support the local businesses and residents.

“We’re focusing more than anything on helping the locals down there because there’s a huge problem right now with a lot of people buying sections of downtown and gentrifying everything, so a lot of the locals don’t get the money,” Martinez said.

Martinez's trip series will be in partnership with an Oaxacan travel agency and directly support the residents, he said.

“More than anything, the money stays in the pockets of the local population, and also everything is owned or run by the indigenous community and people," he said.

The cost will vary per trip but is estimated at $3,500-$4,000, which will include hotel, transportation and two meals/day. The local government's COVID-19 pandemic guidelines will be followed. Travelers will be required to provide a record of COVID-19 vaccination and test negative for COVID-19 two days prior to the trip.

More details and booking will be available soon at tequiofoods.com.

Boatload of fun

Elevate your next social event with a live oyster shucking.

The Lobster Trap is debuting a catering service that offers an oyster station with oyster shucking to order at the location.

“It’s just us, a lot of fun and a boatload of oysters,” said chef/co-owner Mike McCarty.

The service is ideal for parties of wide-ranging sizes and for occasions from wedding cocktail hours to at-home hangouts with family and friends.

“If you have six people in your backyard and you want a private oyster shucker, we’ll do that. All the way up to a 200-person wedding,” McCarty said.

Shrimp may be requested, too.

Lobster tales: Explaining the lobster roll boom in Asheville seafood restaurants

The seafood restaurant hasn’t offered event catering before, but reconsidered, due to popular demand.

“It’s something we get calls about a lot and we’re finally breaking into the market,” McCarty said.

The Lobster Trap is accepting requests for parties of various small gatherings to larger events, such as weddings.

Catering services will begin in early June. To request a booking, call or email the The Lobster Trap at 828-350-0505 or info@thelobstertrap.biz. More details will be available on the website soon at thelobstertrap.biz.

Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Food news: Pop Bubble Tea to open, chef-led trips, oyster party