I had mapo tofu with meat. It was fine. The fried chicken was not my favorite. Very tough and…read morechewy. My least favorite was shumai. They are much smaller and very dull.

Hahaha I've never been so fawned over at a restaurant. It's got like 4 tables but man, the owners…read morewant to treat you right! I had the spicy fish and a couple other dishes. It is legit, authentic Chinese food. I can handle my spice, but the fish had my crying at the end. And then they gave me a raffle for an extra 10% off next time. Wish I had my crown and cape that day cuz that's how I felt.

I will just mention one thing. I ordered a sandwich and 2…read morecups of drinks (all for my self to enjoy). They kindly cut the sandwich into 2 halves just in case there are two of us sharing. I used to work in a bubble tea store, I know how busy and fast paced there are. Only people who really care for their customers can pay attention to such small details like they do. Try their Vietnam Style sandwich with a cup of coffee. You won't regret it.

The Ding Tea in Kirkland is paired up with 36 Streets for specialty coffee and waffles. I have…read morevisited twice now. Service is friendly taking my order (first time) but also can be distracted-hectic (second time). The interior is basic. I didn't stay. Both visits were to-go. Be aware that parts of this Juanita area, including the streets, are part of the development and is NOT regular city-parking. They are notorious for ferocious private parking meter-readers (not part of the city). Be sure to read the sign before leaving the vehicle. The Drinks and Food: Chocolate Oolong Milk Tea, $6.75(L) - 3.5 Stars The cashier said this is their most popular drinks. It still tasted quite sweet at 30% sweetness. Hubby said it tastes more like a chocolate milk. Ding it, he's right. (See what I did there.) Egg Coffee, $6.25 - 4 Stars Egg coffee is a northern Vietnamese specialty. Being in a paper cup takes away some of the charm, but such as is the U.S. lifestyle. It tasted as expected, a stronger, more roasted Viet coffee flavor. Mango Ice Tea, $6.75 - 3.5 Stars This is more of a mango drink with some tea taste - very fruity tea. Pandan Bubble Waffle, $7 - 4 Stars I came the second time mostly for this waffle. Served with whip cream and toasted coconut flake, the cashier looked at me like I grew an extra eye when I said whip cream only, no coconut. She literally didn't know how to respond to me. I am guessing they pre-pack the cream with the coconut already in it, and she didn't have time to pack another one. She handed us the bag with what we didn't want and left. I should lower the rating more, but I do like this waffle.

My favorite is the dancong milktea. I always come back to get this. I make a trip here just to get…read moreit. I try other flavors as well

We like it so much that makes us order repeatedly. The…read moretaste n the sweet just perfect

We visited LizzyKate as we were interested in taking one of their tea classes. We had seen several…read morepop up in the past, but hadn't seen anything interesting in the past few months, so we dropped in to ask about them. Apparently rather than being prescheduled most of the time, they are held on demand. We asked for an Oolong tasting session and was able to get one penciled in a couple of weeks later. The store itself is appropriately decorated for a modern and trendy tea shop. There's a bit of an overpowering perfume that lingers throughout the store. It's not the best setting for a tea tasting, especially when trying to differentiate tasting notes when the olfactory glands are already completely saturated with perfume. LizzyKate has a decent selection of true tea, nothing super unique or rare, but I think they lean towards the more accessible blends and tisanes in the first place. Oolong Tasting Class ($35/per person) - Tasting sessions are held in the bar area, brewed mostly using gaiwan with carefully measured water temperature and volume. The class provides some educational material including laminated papers describing the tea production process, growing regions, anatomy, etc. More importantly, unlike some other tasting sessions I've attended, they actually provide pencil and paper, along with brewing instructions, to write down cupping and tasting notes. It certainly beats taking notes on my phone as I usually do. For this course, we tasted a white tea and four different oolongs. My personal tasting notes as follows (for future reference for myself): Bai Mu Dan - Mild, mellow, sweet and slightly astringent flavor with notes of honey and hay. Light golden liquid that's very easy to drink. Tie Guan Yin - Caramelized sweetness, vegetal leafy with a tiny earthy element. Darker golden color with more astringency and round lingering taste. The leaves smell smoky and roasted. Baihao - The smell is distinctively roasty and earthy, approaching the fermented smell of puerh. It has a brownish color and tastes smoky and earthy like peat. Formosa Oolong - It tastes of malt and molasses, with a certain oxidized toastiness. The color is more dark brown although it's not very astringent given the color. Osmanthus Oolong - This smells more malty and surprisingly not that flowery in aroma. The mouthfeel is extremely creamy and silky, almost like milk with the balanced taste of barley and hops with only a slight osmanthus flowery taste in the background. I think the base used is Jin Xuan given the milkiness. With the tasting also comes some treats including mini muffins and some tea infused bars from a chocolatier in Singapore, Fossa Chocolate. I think LizzyKate is more geared towards people who don't have much experience with tea and want a place that's extremely welcoming and modern. They have lattes and plenty of herbal and fruity infusions to help beginners ease into the complexities of tea, While this shop isn't for me, more tea shops are always welcome in the area. I'd definitely recommend it to my friends who want to dip their toes into the world of tea. Bathrooms - Single unisex room.

This is a very accessible and friendly place if you're a tea beginner to expert levels. They sell…read moreteas and tea accessories, as well as loose leaf teas and ready to drink hot/cold teas, lattes, etc. I attended one of the tea classes and I think it was a good experience for beginners. We got to sample five teas and several pieces of chocolate, as well as snacks to clear the palate between teas. We learned about tea and how its harvested, as well as the processing of tea. We also learned about the tea flavor wheel and identified tea tasting notes in the sampled teas. I do wish there was more of a compare and contrast between the teas - it would have been cool to try the same teas but early vs late season, or tea processed similarly but from different regions. If you're new to tea though, the classes are perfect for you!

Bobae has the best boba tea in town. Over the Rainbow in Renton on 4th (ONLY - the others suck) is…read morethe only place that compares. Service is slow friendly and taste is good so I'll be back

Bobae is a very cute boba shop located on Lake St in downtown Kirkland. It's right across the lake…read moreso people can buy their drinks and soft serve ice cream here and walk across to the park to people watch and enjoy the sunset. I tried the mango and matcha swirl with mango pearls. The yogurt was nicely balanced between sweet, sour and earthy. The mango pearls pop in your mouth and release a refreshing mango flavor. Apparently, bobae has other locations and has been voted Best in the PNW in 2024.

CHICHA San Chen delivers a premium tea experience, but it comes with a premium price tag! It's…read morebasically $10 for a drink, and they only offer one size, which is the smaller size of a usual tea place's volume. BUT they are remarkably consistent, with perfectly chewy pearls and high quality teas. So, even though I'm paying a lot, I know it's going to be good. I got the Dong Ding Oolong with cream, perfect sweet and less ice with boba. The Dong Ding oolong is a high mountain oolong with a strong malty, nutty, roasty taste. It perfectly complements the cream. I prefer cream as opposed to milk since I think the cream gives the drink a thicker, more velvety mouthfeel if you mix it into the tea, plus before mixing you can sip on the cream and the tea separately, so it's like you can enjoy two drinks in one cup!

Since Chicha San Chen opened its Bellevue Square location, I have stopped by a couple times. While…read morethey serve some of the best boba, the tea flavor tastes a bit diluted compared to what I noted in my previous review. Because they brew each cup on order, I expected the tea to be more apparent, but in every drink I've tried it takes a backseat to other flavors. + DONG DING OOLONG TEA LATTE: I opted for light sugar and light ice. Despite being one of the most popular drinks, the tea flavor was weak and the cream dominated. It had a smooth consistency with subtle caramel notes, so it still tasted good, but I would have loved for the tea to shine more. At least the $1 addition of boba is pretty generous and I had enough for every sip! It was perfectly cooked with that nice chewy bounce. Since the boba itself is sweetened, going to 0% sweetness would probably be just sweet enough for me. + OSMANTHUS TEA w/ PASSIONFRUIT: Again, this leaned heavily toward the passionfruit rather than delivering a distinct tea flavor. (Side note: At the register, I received a sample of the High Mountain Pouchong Tea with Mango. This was sweet, super fruity and reminded me of mango nectar. It's really delicious, but only had a tiny hint of green tea.) + OSMANTHUS OOLONG HONEY TEA: I selected light sugar and light ice without toppings, hoping to taste the pure tea. I picked up the floral notes of the Osmanthus and the tea flavor came through a wee bit more than the other drinks, though still wasn't the dominant flavor. The amount of honey was on the verge of being too sweet, but the drink overall was refreshing and crisp. The new location in Bellevue Square is very clean with a few tables for two along the wall. It is consistently busy, so just be prepared for a wait. However, there are multiple employees preparing the drinks, so while the line appears long, they churn out orders pretty quickly without getting flustered. It's impressive! Given the steep pricing for the cup size and the weak tea flavor, Chicha San Chen wouldn't be my go-to spot considering all the other boba tea options in Bellevue.

I first heard of this through the YouTube family vloggers I watch. So when I knew I'd be heading up…read morenorth, I had to stop here. There were sooo many options! It was a bit overwhelming. I ended up going with the peach mango slush & my bf got the chamoy slush. Both were so refreshing for a hot sunny day. They weren't watered down, the perfect flavor. Boba was cooked perfectly. My boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed his drink as well. So glad we stopped here,it was so worth it! Definitely go check them out.

Both teas were deliciou! In addition of being pretty quick and a beautiful place…read more I'll definitely be back!

A quick update to my original review. Two updates: 1. The…read moreRose Milk Tea is on hiatus. Apparently, someone(s?) was sensitive to it. They are pulling it off the menu for now. Bummer for the rest of us. 2. They added four premium tea items to the menu, and one of them has become a favorite - Premium Da Hong Pao (second on their list). This STRONG, earthy, dark tea goes very well with the milk and sugar to become a rich, potent milk tea. I take it at 25% sugar. The recommended is 50% or higher. This drink can not be made into a hot tea. The staff is still friendly and easy-going. The restaurant is still holding up well, 4.5 years since my original review.

Great variety of drinks! I had the lavender milk tea with golden honey pearls at 50% sweetness. It…read morewas the perfect level of sweetness and all the flavors balanced well. My friend had the tiramisu drink with cheese foam and brown sugar boba pearls. Also a delicious drink! The cheese foam is similar to a cold foam but saltier. The drinks were pretty average price wise but very tasty flavor wise! They were out of bubble waffles, so that's the reason for the 4 star rating versus a five. They have two ways to order, which was efficient. They also have a large seating area. If you're in the mood for boba, check out "Don't Yell at Me!"

This location is just a walk up, order, and be on your way type of situation. Super small and…read morerather tight. It's located within The Bravern, so be sure to get your parking validated! We tried out the Kale Boost Tea which so many people have been raving about! They market it as a "superfood in a cup" featuring kale juice, chia seeds, various fruits, and jasmine green tea as a base. Yes, it was quite good, but no, I would not order it at Heytea. I think so many of their other fruit drinks are just far better! Definitely cool to have healthier option on the menu, but it's not the reason I'd be going to Heytea.

This Heytea location is inside Bellevue Bravern, which is a bougie outdoor mall with luxury brands…read moreI've never heard of and will probably never be able to step foot in. The interior is small with no seating and is mainly meant for pick up. Fortunately, my friend and I were able to order through the Heytea app since it can get pretty busy. KALE BOOST TEA - 7.99 Pretty refreshing and not too sweet since I requested minimal sugar. We enjoyed the blend of kale, apple, and grapes. It felt healthy, even if it might not actually be. We enjoyed our drinks at one of the outdoor tables nearby on a cool July evening. This Heytea is pretty reliable as long as you don't mind drinking your drink elsewhere.