The Enigma of Old Tea House

Old Tea House.
How should I describe this place so familiar to UC Davis students and their friends and families who visit Davis? Instead of using sentences, let me try a string of keywords.

Asian. Bubble milk tea. Chinese MTV. Popcorn chicken. Tapioca. Jay Chou. MSG. Air-conditioning. Inconsistent quality. Parkson (sometimes Richard). Baked dishes.


K, I think you get the idea.

Old Tea House is without doubt one of the busiest restaurants in Davis. Its patrons are usually students but I have often seen families enjoying their lunches there too.

The enigma is...WHY?

It's an enigma because
1. the food sucks big time
2. the food is loaded with MSG
3. I can only eat 1/3 of the food each time before having to stop due to MSG/flavoring overload
4. Their drinks were the only recommendable section of their menu, and yet the quality consistency makes a roller-coaster pales in comparison
5. the food sucks big time
6. serving time can be VERY long
7. the tables are often dirty (small food scraps or stains)
8. Queues can be awfully long, especially when you are really tired and want some food fast (e.g., exam time)

In contrast, just a few steps down we have Subway, the healthy sandwich place we can all call home! Subway's business is doing okay too, but nothing compared to Old Tea House'. I would say that this Subway has none of the 8 (okay, 7) killer flaws above, yet people (students!) flock to OTH, queue for 30 minutes even if Subway has a customer queue of zero.

Why then, does Old Tea House attract so many of us?
Yes, I am very much guilty of being one of them loyal customers. My stomach has never gone without OTH tapioca for >3 days (slight exaggeration), and I have read almost all of OTH's magazines...twice.

It used to be that their food was cheap, but I have discovered that many other restaurants cost similar for better food.
I used to like reading their HongKong tabloids, but their restock rates have dropped to unforgivable levels.
Their drinks were once awesome and the answer to my BubbleMilkTea addiction, but their Taro Milk Black Tea hasn't tasted like taro (or milk black tea even) for many months now.
Nevertheless, I still return there for my 48-hourly dose of Taro Milk Black Tea...why?

As absurd as it may sound, some people actually love OTH's food. These people...I can't understand and thus I won't bother to analyse their addiction to OTH.
Many of us enjoy the convenience of eating out (fast and relatively cheap) at a place so close to our apartments (there are literally hundreds of students living next to OTH). Convenience, check.
Many of us enjoy the ambience in OTH. It's cool, it's noisy, it's always playing some Asian pop song or movie (from suspiciously looking DVDs) in the background, and there are always young (and good looking) Asians in the restaurant. Checking out hot people, check.
And I think for me...what draws me back again and again is a sense of nostalgia. I have spent much time here with my friends, sharing as many outrageous laughter as sensitive counseling. Apparently people who have left Davis will miss OTH. I think they miss the people more than the place itself. Nostalgia, check.

I am sure I will miss OTH too after I have left Davis.
Hmm.
I meant I will miss the times I had in OTH with my friends.
And that one time a guy next to my table tried to flirt with me. It was the most flattering moment ever!

Thanks Old Tea House!!
Banzai~~

Handsome, Seraina & Big-mouth. See how happy we were in OTH? And for whatever weird reasons, I couldn't find pictures of my friends and me in OTH. Hmmm...