TARO-FIC

Soothing Chinese tea shop bubbles up in Castle Hills

Feng Cha is opening its first San Antonio shop.

Feng Cha Teahouse San Antonio/ Faceboook

One of mainland China’s largest dessert franchises is crossing the pond to San Antonio. According to a release, Feng Cha will open its first Alamo City store at 8055 West Ave #100 in the Castle Oaks Village shopping center on May 20.

Although the brand has only been in operation since 2016, it has become a global goliath with more than 1,000 locations scattered across Asia, Canada, the United Kingdom, New York, California, and Minneapolis. It has a significant presence in Texas, with shops in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and Houston metropolitan areas.

Feng Cha specializes in customizable tea drinks brewed from real tea leaves. Toppings include boba, a variety of jellies, aloe vera, and milk foams in five profiles ranging from sea salt to cheese. It also serves various fruit refreshers in flavors like dragon fruit, summer melon, and kiwi basil. They couldn’t be more welcome as San Antonio prepares for hellish temps.

On the dessert side, Feng Cha specializes in cheesecakes. The mini delights cover all bases, offering American toppings like Oreos or strawberries and Asian favorites like matcha and taro.

Feng Cha Teahouse offers a menu of tea drinks brewed from real tea leaves, including a large array of fresh fruit teas made with real fruit. Their customizable milk foam menu includes over 12 tea bases and five milk foam varieties.

Though some of their offerings are similar, Feng Cha has a very different look than most of its stateside competitors. Instead of a bright poppy look, the brand’s interiors are typically bathed in neutrals with pale color accents and natural woods.

The soothing palette will form a suitable backdrop to an explosion of colors during the shop’s grand opening celebration on May 20. Among the attractions will be a traditional Vietnamese lion dance, karate demonstrations from Retro Sport Karate Group, and gift card giveaways.

Shed old skin

5 lucky and tasty ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year in San Antonio

Photo courtesy of Best Quality Daughter

Lunar New Year specialty drinks at Best Quality Daughter.

Per the lunar calendar, 2025 is the Year of the Wood Snake: emblematic of rebirth and evolution, the snake is also revered for wisdom, prosperity, keen intuition and good luck.

Falling on Wednesday, January 29, the upcoming Lunar New Year is the continuation of an ancient tradition in countless cultures marking winter's end and the start of a new year. It's time for shedding old skin, if you will. San Antonians can do that at local restaurants, a trail run, or a traditional dragon parade.

Check out these five ways to ring in the Lunar New Year with style.

Best Quality Daughter
602 Avenue A
Available from Friday, January 24, through Sunday, February 2, Best Quality Daughter's Lunar New Year menu features three special menu items and exclusive cocktails.

Hearty entrees call for equally strong cocktails to match. Pair the crispy duck leg confit khao sol curry with the Punch of the Fanged Snake cocktail. Utilizing oolong tea, the spiced and milk-clarified drink relies on a house rum blend with additional fruit juices for the ideal balance.

For the guests hoping to embrace the wood snake's penchant for prosperity, opt for the Hope You Get Rich cocktail. With gin, apricot, and a kumquat osmanthus cordial, it's impossible not to walk away a winner.

Rounding out Best Quality Daughter's special menu: a sweet and savory sticky eggplant dish, a special black sesame ice cream sandwich from local ice cream company Dorp Creamery, and Snake in the Grass and Happiness & Prosperi-Tea drinks.

Ming's
17022 Fiesta Texas Drive, #104, and 914 E Elmira St.
There's plenty of ways to celebrate Lunar New Year at both Ming's locations from Tuesday, January 28, through Sunday, February 2. Guests born in the Year of the Snake (1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, and 2013) can enjoy a complimentary order of loaded sloppy fries or loaded bulgogi fries for their table.

Specials unique to Ming's at Midtown include firecracker wings, Zhong dumplings and a vegan/gluten-free Mushroom Mogu soup. Wash it all down with a Sapporo beer, on special all week for $3.88.

Zhong dumplings and firecracker wings will also be available as Lunar New Year specials at Ming's La Cantera location. The second Ming's restaurant will also have several Lunar New Year cocktails available for enjoyment, including the gin-based Orange Blossom.

Keep your eyes peeled on the Ming's Instagram account this weekend. Kicking off the Lunar New Year festivities a bit early, the restaurant plans of digital red envelope giveaways. Lucky winners can redeem their prizes in-person or via online orders next week.

Hot Joy
1101 Broadway, #140
New year, new Hot Joy! Amid the rousing success of their new River North location, the masterminds behind Hot Joy's crave-able Asian-fusion menu have something special planned for their Lunar New Year specials.

Per an Empty Stomach Hospitality Group representative, Hot Joy's Lunar New Year menu will be exclusively available from 4 pm until midnight on Monday, February 3. Details about the menu were not available by press time, but will be revealed soon on the official Hot Joy Instagram account.

Lunar New Year Fortune Run
3100 Hiawatha St.
Enjoyed too many firecracker wings at Ming's? Get some fresh air and miles in at the Lunar New Year Fortune Run on the Lady Bird Johnson trail on Saturday, February 1. Eager runners can sign up for a 5K, a 10K, or a half-marathon. (A half-marathon is 13.1 miles!)

Mini lanterns will be available at the finish line, in addition to other Lunar New Year medal for all participants. Register here.

Lunar New Year at the Pearl
312 Pearl Pkwy
Enjoy a traditional dragon parade, live performances, red lanterns, and other Lunar New Year traditions at the Park at Pearl on Sunday, February 2.

Free and open to the public, the Pearl's Lunar New Year celebration will also feature live performances from local groups to pay homage to the Year of the Wood Snake.