Located on the edge of Chinatown, Modern China Tea Shop has a great looking shop but the drinks could use more work. Stopped in for a boba and was drawn in by the clean look and modern decor. Drinks and desserts were on the menu and they even have costumes you can try on for pictures. Unfortunately, the boba milk tea and strawberry smoothie needed some work. Both were overly sweetened and had artifical flavoring taste. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Interior - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This one gets many stars for the ambience and creative decor! So fun and whimsical. Must see!!! They hold the corner spot in a very busy area on Wentworth in Chinatown. You can sit outside or Inside. Take pics in the free to use in store costumes. Check out the dragon heads! So Fun!! The menu is packed with many treats. Rolled ice cream, how fun. It's definitely a large portion, and it is rolled ice cream. It's art & food Together , $7.99. Oreo was topped with cookies, whip cream and a few fruit loops cereal pieces. For me the taste was different. Maybe a slight miss on my selection, I thought, "ice cream, cookies and cereal, now that's a kids dream meal " . Easily for More than one person. If you wait a few minutes; it's easier to use your spoon. Thank me later . Super busy area . Legends next door was also super busy. There is a Marriott down the street , and many Peking Duck and other wonderful restaurants and shopping nearby. Beautiful library north of this location. Off the Red Line Chinatown exit. Park Chicago App for parking. Visitor Center is North as well for additional parking read more

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Can order with a kiosk, teas and ice cream. Cute shop, plenty of seating, and really clean. Menu is pictures, so you really have a good idea what you are ordering, just in case you aren't familiar. Service was super nice and very quick. Products looks like the pictures, so that is really fun. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I came here with my kids on a Saturday evening after dinner. Most of the crowds had thinned out by this time except for a few groups. We had to wait a few minutes to order at the kiosk, but that gave us time to review the menu. As it was our first time we opted for drinks instead of the rolled ice cream. It only took a few minutes for our order to be ready. Both my kids liked their drinks - the lichi and strawberry cheesecake. We will be back and look forward to trying other items on the menu. read more

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Nice bustling place but service was esp slow during our visit! Took 30mins just to have 1 order of bubble waffle! read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

When you optimize for Instagramability and freneticism, you get the insufferable and uncalled for sensory overload which is Oriental Tea. If it weren't for noise canceling headphones, I would have enthusiastically run out. A place is popular, crowded, and bustling? Good for them. Order numbers are announced loudly? Fantastic, sounding off is a lost art form, too many folks announce orders like they're in a perpetual audition for A Quiet Place. All that in mind, who in their right mind put together the barbarous playlist? A mishmash of neo-orchestral, high energy Asian pop, and old-school rock and roll? Sure, why the heck not. What did me in was the song, if it may so be named, that sounded like the forest decided to host a rave. A composition with little musical quality and a lot of animalistic sounds (think bird calls and the likes), at unreasonable volumes. Yes, yes, we get it, you wanted to substitute ice picks for earplugs so you wouldn't have to deal with it. But how was the food? The ice cream dish I ordered didn't work for me. What I liked is that the ice cream was neither overly chocolatey, nor was it over-sweetened. I would have been happier if it were more silky and creamy, but I'll take it. Problem is, the consistency and temperature made it extremely difficult to enjoy as given without going on an arctic expedition with a plastic spoon. I wish it were as simple as waiting five minutes as I do with desserts fresh out of the freezer, this confection was ROBUST. As for the other toppings, they didn't do much, and in the case of the M&M's the sub-subzero temperatures meant these were hard as rocks. Good news: the rolls look pretty on Instagram? I wouldn't know, my social media usage is limited to photos with friends, and endless cat pictures. I wish more focus was given to making a product enjoyable for the one actually eating it with their mouth, not vicariously with their eyes. Some rapid-fire notes before I tie everything up with a final verdict: I want to give credit to the service, which was quicker than I expected. In terms of the value, given the portion size, I felt that $7.99 after tax wasn't too bad, though I wish there was a small/medium/large as opposed to a one size for all. Music aside, the overall atmosphere is semi-cohesive, but feels like it has a lot going on. This also extends to an abnormally large selection of keychains, phone cases, and Labubus(?). Final verdict: a lot like their six-word-plus-punctuation name, MCTS: OT struggles from "too much." This goes for the vibe, the noise, and their efforts to stay relevant to people on the internet, rather than those physically in their store. read more

I came back here for the rolled ice cream because the ice cream shop next door had a long line. If you do not want to wait, this place is probably a good choice. This time, we ordered the chocolate and cookies and cream rolled ice cream. The line was much shorter, and we received our order after about a 10 minute wait. When we arrived around 9:00 PM, there were a few groups already there, and it was somewhat difficult to find seating. Luckily, we managed to get a table. The environment was a bit loud, with people talking energetically. If you are looking for a romantic or quiet atmosphere, this may not be the best option. The ice cream was enjoyable, and each flavor came with a variety of toppings that matched the theme. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

DELIGHTFULLY MAGICAL SWEET TREAT YOU CAN'T MISS! Love this place! The decor is colorful, joyful, and full of natural bright lighT. Everyone that comes in has a smile as they look around all the bright colors and the delicious treats before their eyes. TIRAMISU TO DIE FOR! Ordinarily, I don't like the mushiness of tiramisu, but the ones they have here is the perfect texture. Not too sweet, a bit of coffee/expresso taste, and the cream is slightly frozen, but melts in your mouth. Not soggy at all. LOVE IT. THEY HAVE EVERY SINGLE FLAVOR AND FRUIT YOU CAN IMAGINE to make the hand-rolled ice cream. Their milk tea has scrumptious flavors - I loved the Oreo ice cream chocolate milk, #8! They also have some savory snacks like spicy chicken, wings, popcorn, chicken, and fried Oreos! WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE/FRIENDLY. WIDE DOUBLE DOOR ENTRYWAY. read more

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I was thirsty and was looking for a fruit bubble tea. I came across this place. The drink was delicous and refreshing. The Pear Dragon fruit Kanten tea fruit tea had fruity flavor bubbles made it taste even better. I was able to easily drink and walk around the Chinatown area. I was so impressed with this tea I will make time to get back and have it again. The staff was also very friendly and quick at making the drinks. read more

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A cute little shop. We tried the Thai Ice cream, 5/10, nothing crazy, but still good. read more

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Limited seating, but adorable decor and relatively quick service despite the line. Ordering kiosks and face to face ordering are both available; on the kiosk there were options to customize your sweetness level, boba type etc. and to add toppings to ice cream. There are pictures of all of the menu items and they actually matched the food. Ice cream was very firm, but I suppose that's a natural side effect of the style? Boba was a bit firmer than I prefer but still very chewy. Drinks had a good milk to flavor balance and came still visibly layered, which is always fun. I would try it again, maybe with a lower sugar level in my drink -- at 80% it was sweet enough to give me a headache. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - 32.Taro Pie - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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My bf love ice cream so we stopped here for a strawberry Sunday. I am not a dessert person however he loved it very much. The staff was very nice and the place was extremely clean. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I stopped by and tried Pork Floss Bubble Waffle, which I paired with their refreshing Dragon Fruit Tea. Upon entering, I was immediately taken by the shop's charming interior. They had lights that reminded me of taiyaki which they offer on the menu. Also had a wide selection of teas available. The service was okay, I liked how they had the kiosk to order too. Although there was a generous amount of seating, they were taken often. As for the Pork Floss Bubble Waffle, it was delightfully sweet and salty, and while it was served perfectly warm with a crispy exterior that I thoroughly enjoyed, I did wish that the pork floss was distributed a bit more uniformly. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Super cute little tea shop in Chinatown! We stopped in after dinner for some boba tea. We chose the watermelon orange apple tea, as well as dragon fruit tea with crystal boba. Both were delicious. Aesthetically, this shop is beautiful. I loved the decor - from the hanging umbrellas to the fish pendant lights. Great place to stop in if you're in Chinatown. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I think one of the biggest things to notice about this 'rolled ice cream / bubble tea / milk tea' shops is that it is next door to another, super-similar 'rolled ice cream / bubble tea / milk tea' shops (i.e. Legend Tasty House). Both stores are often very crowded, especially on hot evenings, but this adjacent shop seems to always be a little bit extra with people so Modern China is a great choice when you don't want to wait for Legend. The look and layout and menus are pretty similar, even though Legend seems to have a bigger marketing vibe. There are three touchscreens where you can order and the workers move pretty quickly. The touchscreen are great cause you can discover more toppings and combinations for your order. The prices are fair (it is comparable to a large Starbucks drink) but definitely fancier (insta-ready, or perhaps Yelp-ready) and more substantial. It's fun for the grown ups and the kids! read more

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Had some tiramisu here as we wanted to have a seat on their cute little patio and enjoy the weather. The place is very quaint. The tiramisu itself was quite tasty. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Tiramisu - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The eye-catching signs outside Oriental Tea drew me in, especially since I had never seen rolled ice cream before (at first, I didn't even realize they were ice cream rolls!). I ordered the #38 Vanilla Oreo, and watching it being made was definitely a fun experience. While the taste was okay--I've had better ice cream--the presentation and uniqueness made it worth trying. The interior was beautifully decorated, creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere. One cool touch was the traditional oriental clothing available for customers to try on and take pictures with, adding to the overall experience. It's a nice spot to stop by for dessert after dinner, especially if you're looking for something a little different! read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - #38 Vanilla Oreo - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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It took an hour to get the order that wasn't even good. very unorganized. do not go when it's crowded

Cute little tea shop with lots of different options than other places I've seen. The taiyaki was yummy (I got pineapple). The peanut butter explosion honestly tastes like a Costco dessert or something, not bad at all, but nothing spectacular that you have to try. Get another drink instead, the drink was so refreshing and fruity! I would have gotten another had the place not been closing. Definitely worth a try! read more

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Very cute shop. Love the different desserts they have. They have a gift shop. They also have drinks. We only got the rolling ice cream. Dragon fruit rolling ice cream 3/5 Dragon fruit was bland itself. The ice cream itself was very light. More cream based than we wanted. We barely tasted the dragon fruit in the ice cream. The topping was good. Mango rolling ice cream 3/5 Mango was similar to the dragon fruit taste very milk base and less mango. read more

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It's a pretty good place to get a refreshing drink when in the Chinatown area. This place had both the rolled ice cream and boba drinks. The decor is pretty inviting and they also have the robes you can wear and take a picture in, if you wanted. My drink was made well and not too sweet at all. read more

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What a true gem! A cosplay tea shop! I visited Chicago Chinatown after moved away 34 years ago. It's a hot summer day and this place looked interesting. This is not your average tea shop. There is a lit sign in the middle of the store, "夢回大唐" means "dreaming of returning to the grand Tang Dynasty". On the back wall there are 4 beautiful cosplay outfits, male and female, for you to put on and take photos for free. The outfits are the sorts you will find in Chinese fantasy TV series and are quite nice. The entire store is beautifully lit for photography. The painting and decorations are all imitating Tang period in China. It's sad most customers are quite clueless about this. How about the tea? I ordered lychee and strawberry. Absolutely delicious. If you are a photographer, for sure drop in. And I suppose the influencers too. And people who just want to have a little fun! read more

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It gets packed from time to time which is great for their business but it is hard to find seats since it's limited. The interior is gorgeous and I love the theme. I felt I was in Japan for a second due to the beautiful interior design. The roll ice cream, green tea bubble waffle, and the strawberry bubble tea was okay. The bubble waffle was pretty disappointing, texture wise but the flavor was good. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This place is so cute, but my experience was not up to my expectations. This place is not that big but inside there was a long line of people waiting to order at a kiosk. There were more than 10 people in the line. There was one machine. This place was so busy, space packed with people and staff constantly yelling loud the order numbers. Definitely not somewhere you can sit down, relax and enjoy their ice cream or tea if you go there at busy time. We ordered an ice cream and a bubble tea, for which we waited about 20 minutes. There was not much space for people waiting for orders because there were more waiting in line to order. If they invest in a screen to show order numbers ready for pick up, maybe it makes the place quiet and also makes it easy for the customers. The ice cream and bubble tea were good. The prices were reasonable too. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Only got the rolled ice cream so may not be the best to review the overall experience. The location is super cute with little umbrellas hanging from the ceiling and cute art. We got strawberry rolled ice cream for 7 dollars and it didn't taste any better than something you'd get at the grocery store. Not sure how the boba is and there are lots of options. The service was not bad, but nothing special. We tried to do a custom made order and they don't allow it. I've had better rolled ice cream other places. read more

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My friends and I saw pictures of taiyaki ice cream on the side of the building, so we thought there was taiyaki ice cream here... but there's just normal taiyaki. The taiyaki and filling were delicious. The brown sugar milk tea boba was good and the boba was nice and chewy. The decor in the shop is really nice. Aesthetic and perfect for that cute Instagram pic. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - 1. Brown Sugar Boba Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Modern China Tea Shop is in the heart of Chinatown, Chicago. The staff we encountered were friendly and pleasant. The menu offered a wide variety of dessert and drink options. The interior was well decorated, clean and had ample seating. We ordered a Brown Sugar Boba Tea, Original Bubble Waffle and cups of Rolled Ice Cream (Oreo Monster and Strawberry Mango). Everything was delicious and very sweet. The Ice Cream was topped nicely - one with Oreos, Whipped Cream and Chocolate Drizzle, and the other with Fresh Fruit and Whipped Cream. The Waffle was incredible and tasted great! Modern China Tea Shop is a great place if you're in the mood for something sweet! read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Brown Sugar Boba Tea, Oreo Monster and Strawberry Mango - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Amazing place was visiting for the summer and had great matcha boba! Looking forward to coming back! read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - My friend and I ! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The ambience of this shop is wonderful-- the interior is beautifully decorated and the seating arrangement is great for both intimate hangouts and larger group gatherings. However, the tea is just okay and quite overpriced, even compared to other similar bubble tea shops in the area. I wouldn't necessarily come here solely for the tea / food, but more primarily as a nice spot to hangout with friends, with the tea / food being an add-on item. -- Price (relative to peers): 3/5 Food: 4/5 Ambience: 5/5 Service: N/A Overall Value: 3.5/5 read more

We found this super cute tea shop in Chinatown and were so blown away by the menu options and aesthetic that we had to try it. They also offer rolled ice cream, cakes and taiyaki. I got the Dragonfruit Pear Tea with Kanten Jelly which was super refreshing and had chunks of dragon fruit and pear in a jasmine tea. the kanten jelly had a different texture than regular boba which i actually enjoyed more. the Mango Coconut Smoothie with kanten jelly was also super tasty - i couldn't taste the coconut but the mango was very very prominent with real chunks of mango. the taiyaki was a bit too fluffy and bready for my liking, and i think they could've added more azuki, but i liked that it wasn't overly sweet and didn't leave a gritty taste that the frozen ones you get at the supermarket have. they have ample seating but i heard it gets very busy so finding a table might be tough. read more

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Good location. Great taste and quantity. I got chocolate party. Cool machine to pay and awesome wirkers read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I enjoyed a couple of desserts here such as the fish-shaped waffle cone ice cream with your choice of toppings and a mango coconut smoothie. There were a long line but that is expected as the drinks take time to prepare. What was interesting about this place is I ordered the mango smoothie with 30% less sugar and I watched the person make my drink, he actually take tested the batch and made a second batch ( I guess the first was too sweet). He crushed the mango and my drink was actually perfect, just how I liked it not too sweet and enjoyable. Price is reasonable which I will definitely come back for more. There is plenty of street metered parking. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We stopped by because we had heard that the tea shop was very cute, and it did not disappoint! There were lots of decorations, and the atmosphere was very lively. There were also some Chinese clothes hanging on the wall for people to take pictures with. The cushions were a little dirty, but we really liked the aesthetic of the tea shop! We got 3 different drinks, which were varying degrees of good. Our least favorite was the pear and dragon fruit kanten tea because there was a weird texture at the bottom. We liked the mango coconut boba smoothie, but the boba felt weird in such a rich drink. Our favorite was the lychee strawberry kanten tea! It was very fresh, and the kanten jelly was a delightful texture. As a note, the kanten teas were pretty sweet (which I didn't mind), and when we ordered on the kiosk, there wasn't an option to change the sweetness level. Overall, we liked the ambience, and the lychee strawberry kanten tea was delicious! read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - 3. Mango Coconut Boba Smoothie,14. Lychee Strawberry Kanten Tea, 15. Pear Dragon Fruit Kanten Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Hubby and I got their black sesame egg waffle, Jinlan black tea and osmanthus milk tea through Chowbus delivery. We really liked how the food and drinks were packed! Our expectations for the drinks were high since we've been to the original shop in China. The tastes of the milk tea here were above average compared to other authentic boba places that we have been to, but not the most amazing. We recommend to try these two drinks that kind of represent who they are. And actually for all the drinks - get less sugar and really focus on the tea and the milk. The black sesame egg waffle came in decently big portion size and had chewy texture and pretty sweet taste. Not bad! We recommend to eat them when they are fresh and hot - if you wait - the texture becomes kind of dense. read more

I got an egg waffle for $5 (original egg bubble waffle). It was fine, not very crispy. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Original egg waffle ($5). - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Great location in Chinatown. Neat atmosphere with a variety of drinks and food to choose from! I ordered the brown sugar bubble tea and it was good, but I felt like $7 for a bubble tea was a bit outrageous. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Overall: I'm from Southern California, home of milk tea, and this is my favorite drink shop. Disclaimer: I don't really like milk tea and prefer fruit teas, which is what I tried at this tea shop. Drinks: 5 * Names are not exact because I can't find the menu for reference * Strawberry Lychee Kanten Tea: Usually when I order fruit teas, I know that there is very little real fruit, if any. BUT this tea shop uses REAL FRUIT. You can visually see the blended strawberry and taste the fruit in the drink. The kanten is a jelly, and I appreciate the generous serving. There was enough kanten until the very last sip. Watermelon Kanten Tea: This was 50% sweet, which is a good level for anyone that hates super sweet drinks. Much like the other drink, there is real watermelon blended into the drink, creating a sort of melted slushy. Service: 5 The workers were very patient while we decided on our orders and the drinks came out fairly fast even though they were very busy. Ambiance: 5 This tea shop is super cute and the perfect spot for Instagram photos. In fact, they encourage it with little backdrops and costumes for customers to try on. read more

The rolled ice cream was really good with very big portions (my partner and I probably should have shared one). The decor is really pretty, and there are Chinese silk robes in the back that guests can try on to take pics. read more

Love their selection of boba... every thing was delicious..Thankyou guys for providing another great place for me to get drinks.

Great boba shop in Chinatown! Cute interior with tasty drinks! Seriously loved the tea shop vibe with the cherry blossom decor. You can order through the kiosk which makes it nice and easy. They also have lots of other dessert options other than tea such as ice cream and bubble waffles. read more

Modern China Tea Shop: Oriental Tea - 2. Matcha Boba Tea 14. Lychee Strawberry Kanten Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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