‘Halo halo’ to expanded bubble tea, dessert shop Bubbles N Froth in North Ward

A well-known Townsville woman has expanded into the wild world of bubble tea with the purchase of North Ward’s ‘Bubbles N Froth’.

Daneka Hill

@DanekaHill

less than 2 min read

October 23, 2024 - 5:34PM

Townsville Bulletin

Bubbles N Froth: the menu includes milk shakes, banana splits, frappés, bubble teas, hola hola, smoothies and milkshakes.

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A well-known Townsville woman has expanded into the wild world of bubble teas with the purchase of North Ward’s ‘Bubbles N Froth’.

Kylie Johnson is a long-time Red Rooster franchisee in Townsville, but decided to branch out into something “a little bit different” when the shop formerly known as the Bubble Shack went up for sale.

“I took over in May,” Ms Johnson said.

“I was looking for something different and I’m enjoying it, coming from a franchise where you’re told what everything needs to be, it’s been nice to be able to change the menu and come up with my own drinks.”

Ms Johnson said the shop uses “mini” popping pearls instead of tapioca balls, which have been getting great reviews.

Bubbles N Froth: a new owner and a new name for North Ward's only dedicated bubble tea and dessert destination.

“Tapioca balls are the traditional popping pearls they put in bubble tea,” she said.

“Bubble tea is essentially a base of green or black tea, with sugar and your choice of popping pearl flavour.

“We have mango, green apple, rainbow jelly flavour, coconut, watermelon, a whole lot.”

The first thing to change was the name, going from the Bubble Shack to Bubble N Froth, and next was the removal of the old coconut palm frond roofing.

Next up is the addition of a new store mural - watch this space.

A new mural is on the way for the wall inside Bubble N Froth.

Ms Johnson said the super-colourful and sugary world of bubble teas is most popular among teens and people from Asia, where the boba food culture originates from.

“I had these older ladies come in, they used to work as nurses at the old hospital and were here for a reunion.

“They were all Filipino and they were excited and said they couldn’t believe we had halo-halo.”

Halo Halo is a popular cold Filipino dessert which involves mixing crushed ice, evaporated milk and side dishes.

A hola hola - made from popping pearls, egg pudding, rainbow jelly, crushed ice, evaporated milk, taro pudding, palm seeds, jack fruit, grass jelly, strawberry syrup, coconut jelly and your choice of ice cream topping. A big stomach is needed to tackle the $15 dessert.

The store also sells 3L buckets of bubble tea, which are occasionally bought by groups of young friends, Ingham residents looking to stock up for their drive north, and extreme food challenge content creators like local man Jimmy Judge.