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My husband and I had a craving for some pho. The options are somewhat limited in the West Valley though. I got the beef pho with rice noodles (#11) and my husband got the pork and wonton soup with egg noodles. Both dishes were decent but nothing special. My dish was described as having beef, medium fat beef and tripe (tendon crossed out which is one of my favorites). I’m not sure what medium fat beef is but what was actually in my pho was a meatball. The beef and tripe were cooked well and tender. The broth was very mild; mostly salted without much umami. The portion sizes were good though. Service was great and everything brought on time including refills. The restaurant is kind of cute also. Not amazingly clean but decorated. They advertise shaved snow on the menu but after we ordered (half the toppings weren’t available) someone else came out and said they don’t offer it anymore. We got a green milk tea with boba and a mango smoothie with boba. The green milk tea was very low quality, tasted like powdered milk, and the boba was over cooked. My first sign should have been the excessive froth on top. The mango smoothie was also low quality. It tasted like watered down Hi-C, very artificial and the boba was overcooked into a clump at the bottom of the cup. We’d much rather drive further and go to a better pho place like Unphogetable. Absolute worst boba drinks we have ever had. Will definitely not order those again. In all honesty, we probably won’t come back anyway.

• It’s Boba Time – Menu with Prices – 136 S Brand Blvd, Glendale
• Lucky Koi Bubble Tea – Menu with Prices – 3216 Main St, Buffalo
• Boba Heaven – Menu with Prices – 3112 N Jupiter Rd suite 311, Garland
• Black Pearls Tea Bar Menu with Prices 2630 S Parker Rd, Aurora
• Fruitea Boba – Menu with Prices – 146 S Main St Unit L, Orange
• Marshall Donuts & Ice Cream – Menu with Prices – 3144 N E St, San Bernardino
• Milk Tea Lab – Menu with Prices – 1601 Branham Ln, San Jose
• Hanaya Poke Southside (formerly named Hana Poke) – Menu with Prices – 6113 Saratoga Blvd Suite A, Corpus Christi
• Chatime Ann Arbor Menu with Prices 340 Maynard St, Ann Arbor
• Around the World Cafe – Menu with Prices – 5110 Park Rd 1-K, Charlotte
• Mantra Leaf Cafe – Menu with Prices – 819 W Arapaho Rd # 56, Richardson
• Jie Boba & Tea – Menu with Prices – 1014 E Bastanchury Rd, Fullerton

It’s Boba Time – Menu with Prices – 136 S Brand Blvd, Glendale

We were craving boba and happened to be in the area we decided to stop by Boba Time for a couple drinks. The line was extremely long but we decided to wait it out. We ordered the Strawberry Matcha & Mango Peach Smoothie. My Strawberry Matcha drink wasn’t good, it tasted very watered down, not sweet enough, and barely had any strawberry flavor once it was all mixed together. Definitely not comparable to Boba Guys’ Strawberry Matcha Latte if you’ve ever had it. I would say the boba helped add sweetness to the drink, otherwise it would’ve been very bland and not much of a pleasure to drink. I would probably try a different drink next time if I was in the area and wanted boba again. The Mango Peach Smoothie tasted like your average Mango Peach Smoothie at other boba spots. Nothing too special about it but it tasted way better than the Strawberry Matcha.

Lucky Koi Bubble Tea – Menu with Prices – 3216 Main St, Buffalo

I love that there’s a bubble tea spot closer to where I live now! It’s a cute little spot located near UB South. The decor is modern, clean, and cute. Service is good and pricing is average. You can only order 1 size. You can pick from 4 different tea types: white, green, oolong, and black. Unfortunately there are no nondairy milk options ? hopefully in the future they can accommodate by adding coconut milk, almond milk, or soybean milk as an option. But for now, lactose intolerants have to get the fruit teas. I got a mangosteen fruit tea. Mangosteen is my favorite fruit so I had high expectations but unfortunately it did not meet it. The flavor was ok, didnt taste like it to me. Maybe because there wasn’t much flavor or syrup in it. It kinda tasted like it’s watered down. My husband got a taro coconut smoothie. He said flavor was good but the smoothie was not blended well. It was still icey/chunky. My friend got a mango dragon fruit smoothie and hers was probably the best tasting one! Perfect amount of sweetness. Also, the actual bobas were a bit chewy, they could have been cooked a little longer. But they had a great taste that most bobas normally don’t. It kinda tasted like sweet caramel! They definitely have potential so I’m looking forward to trying it again if they fix these little details. But they make all the difference between other cafes!

Boba Heaven – Menu with Prices – 3112 N Jupiter Rd suite 311, Garland

I love me some bubble tea! I’ve always passed by this particular boba store so I thought today was the day to try it out and I am glad I did. I got my usual Thai milk tea with boba no ice. There was a good boba to tea ratio for a large. The Thai tea flavor wasn’t as strong as I’ve had it at other bubble tea places so that was a bit of a let down because I like it to be more strong, it wasn’t overly creamy, however wasn’t watery either. I would preferred it to be a little bit more creamy but the level it was at was average. What I absolutely loved was the sugar level, I absolutely HATE it when my tea is too sweet to the point where you can’t even taste the tea, but this had the perfect amount without me even asking to lower the sugar level! The boba itself was a let down, I felt like half of them were nicely cooked and chewy while the other half was undercooked and had a stale center. Overall the tea was nice to drink, but the some of the partly uncooked/stake boba was not pleasant. I got the coconut smoothie for my mom, We had asked for the avocado but sadly they were out, why not branch out she thought. I had a couple of sips to try it out. There was a very very faint taste of coconut, it almost tasted like having a very watered down coconut water. Yes I know it was in a smoothie so a solid 90% of it is pure ice but it would’ve been a lot better if it had a stronger coconut flavor. That being said the flavor that was there didn’t have an artificial/syrupy coconut flavor to it, it tasted pretty clean which was a redeeming quality. I personally thought it should’ve been a little bit more sweet, but my mom seemed to enjoy the sugar level as it was. It also had a lot of dried coconut shaving bits, we both were a bit annoyed by that since it felt rough and grainy, if the shavings were larger and more chewable the experience would’ve been better. The boba had similar consistency to the one in the Thai tea. Overall this is not drink I would get again. I would probably come back to this bubble tea shop just to tryout other drinks (one being the avocado smoothie) to see if I find anything particularly amazing. **sadly did not remember to take a pic of the coconut smoothie, but to describe it I would say it was 100% artic white with boba on the bottom, with an icy consistency **

Black Pearls Tea Bar Menu with Prices 2630 S Parker Rd, Aurora

I have visited this boba place multiple times since it has first opened. Initially it was very good, they have a multitude of different drinks and have recently expanded their food menu as well as finally fixing their ice cream machine. My usual drink was the Taro Milk Tea with boba and after my visit today with my friend, I will never go here again. After a very long wait, my order was called and they had messed up my order. Instead of a Taro milk tea, which the person who took my order repeated after me confirming what I had ordered, instead when I got my drink it said on the receipt Thai milk tea. I informed them that they had gotten my order wrong and when they remade my drink it was absolutely disgusting. Taro at Black Pearl is a powdered tea that requires shaking, the person who had made it did not leave it on the machine long enough because when I started drinking it, the milk and powder began to separate almost as soon as I walked out of the door. Usually the boba at this place is pretty good quality, but today it was undercooked, making it inedible. And for the final straw, I was drinking my Taro Milk Tea with Boba when I bit down on something much harder than boba. Spitting it out, it was some sort of disgusting NOT FOOD item that was like black char/paint mixed in with the boba. Looking closer at my drink I realized that there were black flecks floating in with the drink and around the straw. Sad to say their quality and service have gotten this low. Definitely avoid this place!

Fruitea Boba – Menu with Prices – 146 S Main St Unit L, Orange

Been trying to watch how much boba tea I’ve been drinking, so for a Friday night was trying to find a place that sells good fruit tea. When I saw the Fruitea Boba sign after driving around the area near Round 1, I thought it would be perfect to quench my tea craving while also staying “healthy.” Big mistake. It sucks because the decor and interior is cute and the owner (I think) is very kind. Giving out samples to people and just a very nice person. However, I am very disappointed in the quality and taste of their fruit teas. Which is ironic because with this name for a tea shop, you would expect them to serve very good fruit teas. We ordered the: -Strawberry Guava: I tasted mostly strawberry with guava as an after taste. The flavor is made from syrup and there is no fresh fruit inside. The tea is brewed very weak so the drink ends up tasting like a Capri sun. -Milk tea (we got the buy two, get one free so decided to add in a milk tea last minute): Watery and again weak tea. Has little to no flavor besides the taste of milk. -Peachy Lychee: This is the one I was most looking forward too. The tea is again weak and not aromatic. There isn’t a strong peach or lychee flavor. Just an overall flavor of syrup. Boba: Their boba is amazing though. The perfect qq texture. Not too hard and not too soft. It is sweetened. If only they had good drinks to pair with their delicious boba. They have an Instagram backdrop area. But the sign is really long so you get photos that either cut off the whole sign or if you get the whole sign in the photo, the composition is awkward. It’s located oddly down the hall near their bathrooms. Overall: Disappointed. I’ve had better fruit tea elsewhere and I think they could benefit by putting actual fruit pieces in their teas. I like the whole Hawaiian/island theme and vibe, but overall not what a boba shop should be prioritizing over the quality of the drinks.

Marshall Donuts & Ice Cream – Menu with Prices – 3144 N E St, San Bernardino

I always go here for the Thai Iced Tea with Boba. Super yummy. The boba is always soft and chewy and never hard. It kind of almost feels like it melts in your mouth. The Thai iced tea is always sweet but not too sweet. Honestly the best Thai iced tea I’ve ever had like nothing can compare. Showed my family this place and they love it as well. Honestly, I’ve never tried anything else from this place except the green tea smoothie and the strawberry and banana smoothie. I’ve only tried the green tea smoothie once and I did not like it. I just felt like it didn’t have any flavor like it wasn’t sweet at all. Maybe it was just that time I don’t know. The strawberry banana smoothie is also suppppppper yummy.

Milk Tea Lab – Menu with Prices – 1601 Branham Ln, San Jose

Rundown: I’m not sure exactly how to review “The Lab” AKA Milk Tea Lab (MTL), but I will try my best here. I sense that people in the bay area are picky how they get their boba served and itemized. I have probably only tried 3 other Boba places in a 10 year span; coming from an amatuer POV, I feel like the prices here are fair for quality and size. The people here are out-going, attentive and pay extra attention to detail. I am a basic tea drinker, normally I don’t have any special/extra requests for my tea. I got a Sm. Mango green tea @ 100% sugar and 100% Ice? Not sure I could definitely taste Mango, Green tea and sugar fusion in my drink. It was pretty sweet and lightly tart, but I liked the taste. Most of my Boba experience have been careless, so this was different. Next time I will request lower sugar levels! Ahhhhh! :+)’ My mom got a Sm Peach green tea: 100% sugar 100% ice and she also liked her drink, I think my mom like’s boba more than I do. She likes sweet things, cuz she’s a sweet and beautiful person. Good match! hahaha! The space is really BIG and reminds me of like a big A** toddler play room/daycare or something, they have few tables and some armchairs. The atmosphere is really laid-back and casual lots of SPACE and lots of pastel going on here. Reminds me of my nieces old bed room! Some kind of DJ set up in the back too, I’m assuming for local talent show’s. They also have some kind of periodic table for tea recommendations for geeks too and board games too! Fun place for 1 on 1’S and family time! Enso#84 The Lab#24 Yr#26 _Let’s smile and have some fun today.

Hanaya Poke Southside (formerly named Hana Poke) – Menu with Prices – 6113 Saratoga Blvd Suite A, Corpus Christi

REVIEW BASED ON THE DRINKS AND NOT THE FOOD: Did I like the bubble tea? Ha na… not really. I got the milk tea based on the fact that when we asked they said it wasn’t powder. Also, because it was only 3$ and that’s cheap for milk tea. But the milk tea was not gooooood. I ended up getting something else which was the lychee one. I wasn’t very exhilarated with that one either… my sisters passion mango wasn’t that bad. Hm idk I guess the flavors tasted off or something. The milk tea tasted sour and my group agreed. They proclaimed, “No wonder why it’s so cheap.” I mean they were mocking it but we’re not mean people. Just wasn’t for us if that’s how they make it, and how it’s supposed to be. The lychee was just too much chewing I guess lol. Same with the passion mango. But the passion mango actually tasted like something I’d get again if I was to ever come back.

Chatime Ann Arbor Menu with Prices 340 Maynard St, Ann Arbor

Coming from the Bay Area (NorCal), I’m pretty spoiled with having an authentic Bubble Tea experience. We take this pretty seriously! When I first moved to MI, Ann Arbor had a very low presence of a legit bubble tea bar. It was pretty much localized in mom-pop stores which still tasted great, but lacked the variety of tea and toppings I’m used to. There are a couple of options like Coco, Sweeting, or Bubble Island, all served mediocre bubble tea at best. To me, their drinks overall lacked personality. It’s inconsistent, where at times the drinks are too bland, or too syrupy, or the boba is still in its powdery form (ew). When Chatime opened it reminded me A LOT of the bubble tea cafes in CA. It almost has the same feeling as walking into a Gong Cha, or a Quickly, or a Share Tea (if you know, YOU KNOW). It is Taiwan-based, so you know it’s going to be good. I was very excited and had a lot of expectations. Their menu (10/10) showcased variety and creativity. I am VERY happy they have both the mustache and the QQ series. You can tell a modern bubble tea cafe from an old one based on the presence of these two series. There’s pretty much two drinks that I order to baseline how well a bubble tea cafe is ran: Jasmine Green Milk Tea (JGMT) and Passion Fruit (Black or Green) Tea. I ordered the JGMT with boba and foam (the mustache) with normal sugar and 50% ice. The mustache was awesome (it has a salty, cheesy, sweet combination) and goes very well with milk teas. The boba was classic, not too sweet, not too bland, BUT FULLY COOKED. I’m not exactly sure if they serve honey boba, I couldn’t really tell. They give you a generous amount of boba, and they still have a good supply available even when you come near closing time. A lot of CA bubble tea places don’t do this! Appreciate! The quality of the tea is great. What I did notice after coming several times, is the consistency of how the drink is made. The “normal” sugar option varied immensely per order of the SAME DRINK. I’ll let it go and hopefully it’ll improve over time with more practice. I mean this is AA’s first legit boba cafe after all. The Passion Fruit Black Tea with rainbow jelly is what got us hooked. Not gonna spoil it for you, just try it. My favorite would be the Mango Slushie with boba. My favorite version of this drink is served by Gong Cha. ChaTime came really close to making this drink to perfection. My only slight complaint is that whenever I order the Mango Slushie, they freak out and put a dome lid. The sealed film actually still works for slushies. I prefer it since I like to mix my boba throughout the drink before enjoying it. Eh, it’s the small things. Overall, I’m satisfied with the place. Consistency with the drink-preps can be better. The prices are decent and inexpensive. This place has potential with a lot of improvements. BUT it’s hella better than the ones on South U. I give ChaTime a 3.8/5.

Around the World Cafe – Menu with Prices – 5110 Park Rd 1-K, Charlotte

We stopped by this little shop for some boba tea and was pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of both the teas and ice creams. We ordered 2 Thai Milk Teas with Boba, Strawberry Milk with Boba, Milk Tea with Boba, and Hazel Nana ice cream. The Thai Milk Tea was super refreshing and the Strawberry Milk reminded me is my new favorite drink! I wish they served something similar at boba chains that are closer to me since this cafe is more local and probably isn’t a chain. The Milk Tea was also very delicious. The Hazel Nana ice cream was spectacular!! It was the best ice cream I’ve had in a while and it’s been a few days and I’m still thinking about it. It’s the best banana hazelnut flavored ice cream I’ve had in a while. Our server was also super nice and friendly while explaining menu items. The only minor complaint I have is that some of the drink menu items don’t have prices on them but their menu is written with chalk so I’m sure they could easily add the prices. Most drinks are between $3-$5 depending on the size and the drink (the pricing is similar to Starbucks). If I’m ever in the area I’m definitely stopping by again!

Mantra Leaf Cafe – Menu with Prices – 819 W Arapaho Rd # 56, Richardson

I got really hungry exploring Dallas with my friend, and came across this place on Yelp. I wanted to give it a try, because I’m a typical Asian that loves boba, and I went mainly for their Banh Mi. It’s nice to have best of both worlds at times. I actually underestimated this place, because I’m used to getting “not so good” Banh Mi in most restaurants. Oh God! I was so wrong. Their Grilled Pork Banh Mi is smaller than the regular size, but it’s so bomb. I requested to add more pickled radishes, and extra cilantro. It made everything taste even better. The French bread was really soft, and the most important part of the sandwich is the perfectly seasoned thin cut grill pork. It blew me away after the first bite. I felt like I was in heaven, and imagined the clouds are made of Banh Mi. It really hit my sweet spot. On top that, my Jasmine Milk Green Tea was so good, I haven’t had a nice cup of Jasmine Milk Tea for a long time. It was more than satisfying. I was stunned by the strong aroma from the flower. I have never experienced that kind of flavor anywhere. I must go back again even if I have to travel for more than 4 hrs. Next, I want to mention 2 employees that made my day. It’s Lynn and Yesenia. Lynn great us with a very warm welcome, and seem very friendly when she was taking our orders. She helped me customized my drink with medium sweet, and it was made perfect. My friend ordered a mango smoothie, and he was surprised that it was made with real mango. He couldn’t stop complimenting. Yesenia( I may have misspelled her name), she is such a sweety heart, with a great smile. She was more than willing to give us extra veggies for our Banh Mi upon our request. Thanks! I’m really happy to recieved such kind customer service from both, and I would like to leave my gratitude here. Thank you very much ladies. I had a great time!

Jie Boba & Tea – Menu with Prices – 1014 E Bastanchury Rd, Fullerton

The lady and service was very nice and professional. They are a new location and this was our first visit. She patiently answered all questions about items on the menu. We got the puffy waffle, a Matcha milk tea, and a coffee smoothie with Boba. The puffy waffle is like a cross between a waffle and pancake. Itâ??s not crunchy like a traditional waffle, the puffs are not dense, but theyâ??re not light and fluffy; they are somewhere in between. The pancake was kind of plain with not much flavor but they have added fresh banana and strawberries with whip cream and chocolate syrup. Overall we really liked it. The coffee smoothie was really sweet but good The Matcha milk tea is one of the 2 best Iâ??ve had. This will be my new go to place for matcha milk tea in this area.