In the time since I graduated, food options at universities have improved dramatically. Gone are the cafeteria style setting and no-name joints in their food courts and in their place are ‘express’ versions of established restaurants and beverage shops. The new food court inside the recently opened UTS Central is no exception.
2019
But there are two points of difference: 1) it’s also one of the few, if not the first, plastic-free food courts and serves all food in biodegradable containers, and more critically, 2) it’s home to a PappaRich Express that is the only location in NSW that has the Teh Tarik Soft Serve ($3.90) on the menu (the other location is in Melbourne, inside Monash University). At such an affordable price, it’s off I went…
The soft serve is ready for customers around 11 am, a good hour after they open. It has a prominent teh tarik flavour with black tea notes coming through that are balanced well by the sweetness of the condensed milk. The upside to a teh tarik soft serve is the chilled temperature keeps it from being overwhelmingly sweet. The pearls were clumped together — they’ll probably iron out that kink in time as I visited on its second day of business — but they retained their soft and chewy texture, while the egg roll was surprisingly enjoyable with its crisper crunch than a wafer stick. The overall experience is comparable to the milk tea soft serve from HeetTea, but the serving size and price is more manageable for a single serving at this more conveniently located Papparich.
2023
PappaRich has been commemorating Malaysia’s Independence Day in recent years by presenting a special promotion of $10.00 nasi lemak across a span of two days. The convenient presence of their Papparich Express outlet within UTS made it easily to enjoy the promotion.
Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken ($10.00).
The chicken skin had a satisfying crispness, and the meat retained its juiciness admirably. However, the coconut rice leaned towards a pronounced coconut flavour, and its texture was slightly wetter than preferable. Fortunately, the sambal offered a well-needed burst of flavour that effectively complemented the fried chicken while countering the predominant coconut in the rice. The audible crunch of the fried peanuts and the umami depth contributed by the fried anchovies were notable highlights. At $10.00, the dish provided an enjoyable experience, although its regular price of $21.00 might warrant second thoughts.
Teh Tarik Soft Serve with Tapioca Pearls ($4.90). The ice cream, unfortunately, lacked a robust teh tarik tea flavour, as it was barely discernible. The tapioca pearls offered an agreeable chewiness throughout, though a simmer in brown sugar could have amplified their flavour contribution to the ice cream, which, in its entirety, leaned towards blandness. On a positive note, the satisfying crunch of the wafer stick provided an enjoyable contrast to the texture. In comparison to the 2019 order when they initially launched, this experience left much to be desired. Not only had the price risen (from $3.90), but the cup size and consequently, the quantity of soft serve had halved. The dilution of the tea flavour was noticeable, and there was also a significant reduction in the quantity of pearls included.
Papparich consistently offers satisfactory mains, but the prices charged do not align well with the quality or portion sizes of their offerings. Our future visits will likely continue to be motivated by promotional offers rather than the regular menu.
Papparich Express is located at Shop F&B 4, Level 3, UTS Central (Building 2), 61 Broadway, Ultimo NSW 2007.