Average desserts. Service was good however. Friend ordered plain dumplings but was not sweet. When asked about the sweetness, they said we suppose to add it ourselves. But they didn't even give us the sweetener. Friend didn't know the nature of the dessert and thus thought it was suppose to be bland. She ate a bit and decided to order something else. Other dessert places would have already had the sweetener placed in it. This place could have at least have the courtesy of letting us know that we had to add th sweetener. read more

For photos please go to: http://chopstix2steaknives.blogspot.com/2011/04/candy-cafe-chinatown-give-me-some-good.html While searching around for bubble tea spots, I chanced upon Candy Cafe which not only serve bubble tea but Kaya toast too! I was understandably excited as there is nothing quite like having Kaya toast. It can be eaten anytime of the day, having it for breakfast with coffee or as afternoon tea or even for supper. Kaya is essentially a spread or jam that is made of eggs, sugar, coconut milk and pandan. It is decadently rich and aromatic with a slightly grainy texture. After watching a musical at the West End, I went with a couple of friends for some post theatre snack. For a cafe that is discreetly nestled between Rasa Sayang and Leongs Legend with only a tiny entrance signifying it's existence, there was quite a queue and we had to wait for about 20 minutes. The vibe was pretty much of a vibrant youth setting much like a student haunt with music videos being played on a tv in the background. It seems like a perfect place as it offers snacks and drinks for those who are less peckish and slightly heavier meals for those who have not had anything to eat. Bubble tea was ordered by a number of us of course along with a Lychee Mint Tea and Strawberry Yogurt Tea. The bubble or pearls itself was good with a bouncy and glutinous chewy texture. The tea itself was a little lacking though, it was slightly too diluted and milky that you lose that richness in depth and aroma that tea brings into the equation. In comparison, Boba Jam is still the winner for me. The other two drinks were light, sweet sugary drinks that will appeal to those who like them like that. Kaya Toast (single £1.35 double £2.15) Kaya Peanut Butter Toast (single £1.55 double £2.35) A mixture of Kaya Toast were ordered by the table such that we have Kaya Toast on brown and white bread as well as a peanut butter and Kaya combo. My excitement quickly dissipated when it arrives and even furthermore after I took a bite. The toast itself was good, crunchy and toasty but the same can't be said of the Kaya filling, or should I say the lack of it. It was such a stingy serving of Kaya that you have to focus to taste it from the overwhelming abundance of bread. All I could eat and taste was bread. It was so disappointing, this isn't hard to make at all and they couldn't even get the proportion of Kaya and butter and toast right. A friend of mine ordered the spicy Nissin noodles which thankfully did not greet us with the same fate. It was decent and of the standard that you would expect from a snack cafe. Given the lack of options available when one craves some SE Asian desserts, Candy cafe will suffice and I'll be coming back to try other stuff, just not the Kaya Toast! read more

Authentic HK desserts, nice Matcha. Everything we tried has lived up to our expectation! Nice price too! read more

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The bubble tea is just about okay, average , I do recommend the deserts here. Really nice mocha and red bean ice dessert! And don't forget you can to get your student discount if possible! read more

Candy Café - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

Coming from someone who's drank bubble tea since I've been able to walk, the bubble tea here was terrible. Bubbles/Tapiocas were hard, not chewy. The matcha milk green tea was gritty. Overall just did not taste good. Maybe it was because I got it as takeaway. My friends agree that their bubble tea was bad too, and they got different flavors. Rating not for other desserts in the shop since I did not try any of the other desserts or food. read more

I chowed down on a lot of weird shit in China. Like, really weird. Congealed pig's blood, silkworm larvae, turtle flipper, deep-fried scorpion: I ate 'em all. It wasn't pleasant. They make nice stuff too though. Like puddings. Most people don't really think of China as being the place for puddings, but then most people are usually wrong. Which is good because it means that places like Candy Cafe remain unpatronised by anyone other than those in the know. Like me, baby. I'm in the know. To be fair, Chinese puddings are still a bit weird, depending on your perspective, but when your perspective is from a fish's eyeball (having just eaten it), they're marvellous. My favourite used to be sticky rice flour balls filled with chopped peanuts or sesame seed paste in sweet milky water. They're so doughy that it is a bit like having a mouthful of wallpaper paste, but sweet wallpaper paste, and in a good way. I'd not eaten it for eight years - eight years! - but Candy Cafe had it on the menu, and my god with the first tooth-gluing bite it was like I'd been transported back across the continents and the better part of a decade and there I was in Jiangmen in my old pudding cafe, sealing my mouth together with peanut sticky rice balls, sweating in the sub-tropical heat, dreading my afternoon classes, swatting away mosquitoes, counting cockroaches. Ah, memories. The nostalgia continued with the milk/bubble/boba tea, which - having selected the original Taiwanese version - is by far the most authentic I've had in London (Bubbleology comes a relatively close second). The whole faithful experience was topped off by a laminated menu in Chinese with poorly-translated English, weird photos, and a surly waitress who wouldn't let two of us share a single dish and demanded that we each order at least one item lest we be bodily thrown from the premises (slight exaggeration; same outcome). I don't care about the grumpiness or the rules which inevitably make no logical sense. That's what makes it so real. I'm scared of Chinese restaurants with friendly waitresses who speak perfect English - that's just not the Middle Kingdom I know and love. Candy Cafe takes me back, with its cramped tables, suspect stains, noisy kitchen and narrow staircase. It probably won't be the destination of choice for those who haven't lived in Asia, but if you have, and fancy a taste of the old life, this is the place to go for a sugar hit and heady thump of nostalgia . . . be it painful or otherwise. read more

I used to frequent Candy cafe before I visit Boba Jam. Little did I know, both Boba Jam and Candy cafe share the same boss. They have the same rule. Every dine in customer must order, which can be annoying at times. Once, I purchased the mango sago dessert from Candy cafe and added £0.80 for extra glutinous balls . To my dismay, they are hard and tasted like flour in the middle. It was such a huge disappointment and I now frequent Bobajam. read more

I can only confirm what other more positive reviews have said about the variety and quality of the deserts served here. It is just fantastic. What I don't necessarily agree with is that the staff would be unfriendly. They may not smile but they are still very accommodating. Personally, I prefer to be treated nicely by somebody who isn't smiling than be treated rudely by somebody who is. And I found them generally very friendly. Aside from maybe when my friend and I wanted to pay separately and the guy just said: "Well... here's the bill". We obviously were supposed to divide it up in our heads ourselves. After we started to do that though, he did end up actually doing it for us... maybe we weren't fast enough, haha. One thing I did not appreciate though and I am subtracting a star for is both the general comfort of the place. I don't necessarily mind that it's really cramped but the minimalistic wood seating was a bit of a pain in the butt. Pun intended. Also, I don't think I've ever been to any place (restaurant, cafe, pub or otherwise) where people ate sitting down and they served EVERYTHING on plastic dishes (even the glasses were plastic). Although... I AM new to London and maybe that's something common at Asian places where they serve average priced food around here? Still, I found it a bit bizarre and this is more of a reason to subtract that star than the uncomfortable seating. read more

Best bubble tea in London, hands down. The boba is the perfect texture (not stale like all the other bubble tea chains nearby), the milk tea tastes fresh, and the cafe itself is super cute and nice to hangout in. Because this place is somewhat hidden, it's never crowded. Also, there's free wifi! read more

The only show in Chinatown if you want Canto dessert. That is the only reason for the second star. The food is terrible, full stop. The desert is ok but not nearly as good as places in the US or in Asia. Not by a long shot . read more

Compared to Vancouver where there is a larger Chinese population with a lot of cafes and dessert specialty houses in Richmond, this was comparable. It was decent but given the cultural circumstances it was still good enough for us to give a decent review of this place. We had the mango crepes and some tea. We found this place by accident as we followed some people in Chinatown who were going in for dessert and heard our conversation about dessert. If we didn't follow these people we wouldn't have known that it was here. Good prices. read more

- Review on Bubble Tea only - I came here hoping to get some authentic bubble tea (something I've been unable to find in London so far) but sadly I did not find what I wanted. The quality of the tea is definitely good but the tapioca balls were way too soft to meet my standards. Not sure if it was just bad that day or if it's a consistent thing they have going on. I would come back here for the tea and perhaps other specialty drinks, but not for the bubble tea. read more

Ok so, the bubble tea is only okay, but the herbal eggs are delicious, the staff are LOVELY and the atmosphere is fun. My main problem is the bubble tea glasses. I don't like drinking bubble tea from a fancy glass. It's personal preference and next time I go I'll find out if I can get my tea in a plastic cup with a lid AND I'm going to try some shaved ice desserts! read more

Nice little place- it's easy to miss, so watch out for the sign. Besides bubble tea (which is pretty good) they've got other desserts, some snack options, and coffee for the unadventurous. You will, however, be bombarded with weird karaoke videos playing in the background. read more

Fully enjoyed my visit at the candy cafe with my husband. We ordered a lychee juice tea and banana sweet soup that made our visit last almost two hours because we ordered the same thing over and over again. The tea was very refreshing with the shaved ice on top and the boba was chewy to perfection. I highly recommend this place to anyone craving boba in china town, this place was a hidden gem. read more

It's hard to find authentic Hong Kong dessert nowadays with fresh ingredients and traditional dishes. Candy Cafe is as close as it comes. It has a good blend of modern and traditional desserts such as shaved ice and sesame mochi. I ordered the red bean float and a mango shaved ice with fresh mangos, green tea ice cream, and some tapioca and it felt like I was in Causeway Bay in Hong Kong. The wife got a mango pomelo both times because she is repetitive but appreciates the authentic taste of a tradition mango pomelo. The two of us each got a dessert and it came out to around 8 pounds, which is not bad for Central London. Overall, if you are looking for a Chinese dessert spot, this is the place to be. read more

Absolutely terrible. The waffles are basically straight out of the grocery store and taste like cardboard. Although they're dressed up with toppings to look photogenic, it was honestly the most awful waffle I've had in my life. Unnecessary charges for TAP water and a bunch of hidden fees for service. read more

Great little place! The food is awesome and colorful. It's open late, so it's great for a late night snack. The sweet banana soup was incredible!! Will be coming back for breakfast in the morning! read more

mango coconut pearl deliciousness and shave ice with taro (yum), mango, and not too sweet as instead of condensed milk, it was evaporated milk. totally affordable, really nice people who own/work there, and asian pop videos in the background. read more

I am on my quest to satisfy my boba craze in London and though I am not really impressed by the boba here, it will do for now. This place is not so easy to find in London Chinatown. You will likely to find out about it only if you read reviews or know somebody who hangs out here. The store sign is somewhat visible outside and you have to take the tiny stairs to go up to it. The store itself is small and narrow like many stores in London. I am pretty happy that the have tables available to sit for eating in or waiting for your order. The selection of drink is actually more comparable to boba jam but this is a tad better. The boba itself is chewy, sweet and cooked right but not up to my standards. I definitely had much better tasting one elsewhere.I do like that they have the loyalty scheme going especially since I am one who enjoys boba drink quite regularly. Like I previously said this is for now my go to boba place in London. read more

This is my place to go for dessert when in central. It has dessert for all, sweet tooth or non sweet tooth lovers. Yes its a bit small but the service and food is great. I've had the crepes, boba teas, mango sago puddings etc. You can always call in advance to make a reservation when your a group 4+. Definitely worth a visit read more

Was absolutely disgusting, the waffles tasted like dried mcvities waffles which you can get for a pound in Tesco, considering the fact that the place only had 2 people and I knew it was a bad idea but went along with it anyway read more

Decent bubble tea and generally a nice quiet place to go during the day. I will be back.