When my friends and I were making plans for our Friday off school, one was persistent in recommending that we go to Corner 17.  I had heard good things about it and seen photos on Facebook of friends celebrating there, but I was skeptical because I didn’t like bubble tea.  Still, though, we worked out a time and decided to go.

We met at about three in the afternoon, an awkward time to eat.  I had only eaten a pop tart after a grueling cross-country practice in the morning.  The six of us, two of whom had just eaten lunch, ordered the beef noodles, chicken fried rice, shrimp pan-stirred noodles, and the cumin lamb combo.  We also got the Corner 17 milk tea, a leechee fruity tea, mango slushee, taro bubble tea, and vanilla and peach bubble tea.

We didn’t have to wait too long for the food, and spent a lot of the time watching a woman stretch dough to make noodles by hand.  A few of the young people started singing along to Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You” when it came on.

The beef noodles were heavenly.  After the first hot slurp of noodles, I sighed and crammed my mouth full.  The bowl was passed around the table; when it returned to me, it was half empty.  The noodles were fresh and chewy, the broth savory and slightly aromatic of cilantro, and the beef chunks seemed high-quality.

The shrimp pan-stirred noodles and chicken fried rice all disappeared quickly as well.  The shrimp was well-seasoned and the noodles tasted like a typical lo mein, but better.  The cumin lamb was incredibly spicy and was on a bed of spicy peppers, cilantro, and carrots, which we didn’t want to eat, and there was a fair bit of white rice left after we had finished all the meat.  I accidentally mistook a pepper for a piece of meat and shoved it into my mouth, which was a mistake I regretted for a full five minutes after.

I tried a friend’s taro bubble tea to try and quench the flame in my throat, and it was surprisingly delicious.  The taro, which was purple, tasted a bit like buttered popcorn flavored jelly beans, with a bright sweetness and a slightly savoury aftertaste that complemented the boba.  I was under the impression that I didn’t like bubble tea, but after trying the taro, I was hooked.  The original Corner 17 milk bubble tea was also nice, but I did not like it as much as the taro.

We kept stealing the mango slushee from the person who ordered it, because it was large and refreshing, with chunks of mango swirled in.  The leechee fruity tea was herbal but sweet, with lychee jelly pieces at the bottom.  After finishing all the food, we ordered a large strawberry fluffy ice, which had a soft, snowy texture with condensed milk and a flavor almost like strawberry frozen yogurt.

Overall, the place had delicious food, and a relaxing and friendly atmosphere.