FEATURES: Guppy Tea House

Offerings from the Guppy Tea House/ Photo by Mindy Simmons

By Mindy Simmons and Codie Walsh
Staff Writers

We’ll be the first to admit that we will happily go completely out of our way for a good meal. This past Wednesday was no exception. The drug of choice: Guppy Tea House. The location: Long Beach. If you’re going northbound on highway 605, don’t hesitate to exit off South Street and let the savory scent of popcorn chicken lure you to Pioneer Street.

Upon arrival we were greeted by a friendly host who gave us the option of dining in or out. We chose to sit inside to see the décor. To be honest, that is what initially sold us.  It’s over decorated, but luckily we feel the same way about decor as we do in women’s fashion. You know when you see a girl walking around campus with ten different necklaces on and extremely loud attire; you can’t help but to look, right? Sure it might be a bit tacky, but it’s fun, young and creative, which is exactly what Guppy Tea House is.

 I ordered a popcorn chicken salad, number 112 off the menu. You get the option of ordering different heat intensity for your popcorn chicken, ranging from mild to extra hot. I’m a wimp when it comes to heat tolerance, so I ordered medium and that worked just fine for me. These things are finger-licking good. The salad was an organic spring mix with homemade thousand island dressing. My favorite part of the salad was the incredibly fresh fruit sprinkled throughout. It’s a perfect play on sweet and spicy.

While Codie ordered number 118, popcorn chicken with rice. This came with their signature popcorn chicken, potato salad, rice, pickled cucumber, corn, and their sweet and sour sauce. The popcorn chicken was fried to perfection, but you are warned when they say “hot”, they mean hot. I survived medium, but barely. For deliciousness, rice was the runner up. They topped the steamed white rice with Asain inspired melt-in-your-mouth beef.

Another sample from the
Guppy Tea House/ Photo by Mindy Simmons

If we were students at one of the neighboring colleges, we would undoubtedly be there every weekend. The trademark item on their menu is their trio of massiveness, which is actually called their small or large Guppy Special. It comes with a mountain of shaved ice, topped with their freshest fruit, a brick of butter coconut toast, and a huge platter of popcorn chicken. We can just imagine going there with a group of friends to get our “study” on. And by “study” we all know we mean everything but study. It’s a young, hip and eclectic place to be with a young crowd and great music.

Although we didn’t try the trio of massiveness, we couldn’t pass up the shaved ice. When our server Joey realized it was our first time he told us, “I’ll hook it up” and gave us a discount.  The shaved ice is a super simple concept consisting of only shaved ice, condensed milk and fresh fruit, and yet, so delicious. It was creamy, sweet and cool; perfect for the hot day in Long Beach. Be prepared for the large sizes it comes in. As one happy Guppy Tea customer said, “If you can actually finish it yourself, I bow to you.” We got the smallest size and were still unable to finish it; so, using our intelligence, we got a to-go box. That’s right; we took ice to-go. “Surprisingly,” it melted and we were left with very cold water and fruit. Learn from us: finish the shaved ice, enjoy it and do not take it home.