It was such a cute space and we got our drinks rather quickly. However everything was just okay. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't spectacular. Would I go back? Yeah for sure, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get it! The plus side was that the people in the front were exceptionally nice! read more

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Sipping hooray... Not sure if it's a tea or snack shop as I didn't even expect to see the second half of the shop as I browsed while I wait for my drink to be made lol! Located in City Square Shopping Center which has lots of free parking as it's home to many other tenants as well make it an easy stop to pick up a sip which is what I was craving after a long day of errands. Walking in as many of their other locations to see snacks galore is fun and tempting to pair with your tea I just focused on their menu and decided on a Black Lemon Tea plain lightly sweeten is just my refreshing vibe, and the staff was nice and got it started so I decided to browse around and noticed the other section of the shop and was so shocked to see the selection they have though thankfully my tea was ready and I just head out while I can lol! Lovely shop though no place to sit and enjoy and just took it and got on my way. Thank you! read more

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Been coming here for so long now, even before the shop has extended to have the side that sells Asian snacks and cooking spices/seasoning. LOCATION -- It is conveniently located in Dillingham's City Square Shopping Center. It is a few doors down from the marketplace, so this is a great spot to grab drinks after doing your fruit/meat/fish groceries. Lots of parking! The only downside is the perpetual road construction along Dillingham that makes it difficult to navigate yourself in and out of the shopping center itself. FOOD -- I've tried many drinks from this establishment over the years, including: cantaloupe milk, strawberry, strawberry milk, honeydew, papaya milk, and pina colada. My non-negotiable for fruit smoothies is that the fruit has to be FRESH and not powder... and this place always delivers with the freshness and quality of the fruit smoothies. Perfectly sweet too! My personal favorite has consistently been the strawberry milk. SERVICE -- Workers are friendly and efficient. If the drinks ever took a while to make, I probably didn't notice because I'd be preoccupied with browsing through their snack aisles, which I think is such a genius strategy. AMBIANCE -- This place is painted in a bright neon green ever since their expansion (or at least I was aware of) and the lights are bright, so the ambiance feels happy. read more

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Located on the mauka end of City Square Shopping Center, Shaka Shaka Tea Express has been here for years. I've visited twice in the last couple of weeks since a hiatus - I believe my first visit was just prior to the pandemic. I requested the pineaple and mango fruit smoothie...and it was very refreshing. Fresh and sweet. Previously, I got the watermelon smoothie with boba and it was very good. Adjacent is a space for various food items, mostly Asian foods. read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - Pineapple Mango Smoothie. - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Been going to Shaka Shaka since I was in high school and always ordered one drink only- Avocado Taro Smoothie. After ordering, I always like to browse at their snacks around the store just to see what they have. They got some of my fav childhood snacks! There's also ample parking around, typically you're in and out within 5 mins. Tip: you can also make a phone order, so when you arrive it'll be ready! Don't forget the stamp card to! read more

Have you ever shop at the open market in Dillingham? If you have, then you'll know where to find Shaka Shaka Tea Express. It's literally right next to the open market. I like to buy my produce and other groceries first and end it with a nice and cold smoothie drink. Today, we got green smoothie with boba and avocado milk smoothie with boba. It's the perfect way to cool off on a hot, feels like summer but not summer days. You can also find other snacks worth trying. read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - Green smoothie with boba and avocado milk smoothie with boba - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I've tried two different shaka shaka tea stores and the consistency and ingredients are a bit different. This store adds milk to their watermelon green tea and blends it so well, that the jasmine tea taste is subtle to taste, but I could also not taste or feel the texture of the chunks of watermelon I am used to at the salt lake shaka shaka store. I like the taste more since the jasmine tea taste isn't as strong, but tasted like there were no watermelon in it, or it was watered down. When I drank the jasmine milk tea here, they added more milk that I wasn't able to taste the jasmine tea flavor, so I didn't enjoy it as much. Their teas don't have much of a strong fruit or tea flavor as it used to when I tasted it several years ago. Prices have gone up a dollar, so expect to pay about $7 for a medium or $8 for a large smoothie or fruit tea. This store is constantly busy, and the cashier is nice. This store is much bigger and has another room named shaka shaka farms, full of goodies to buy. Lots of parking since it is in the Waikamilo center, right next to the farmer's market. read more

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Delicious, I always try a different flavor with no disappointments. Fresh Ingredients and yummy jellys to add. Service is fast and pretty laid back settings. read more

While the all natural fruit smoothies are delicious the service is a negative, cashier that took my order and my money could not be more unfriendly. Get rid of the scowl buddy, you look so angry? read more

Excellent service. Very large selection of a multitude of snacks and other products. Extremely tasty drinks. A must stop.

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this location yet!!! I have been a customer for over 5 years and Shaka Shaka is hands down my favorites place for fruit smoothies, bobas and now they offer Asian snacks!!! I haven't tried too many of the snacks but I have literally had every fruit smoothie they offer and I haven't found anything like it anywhere else. read more

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First time trying this place. Was pleasantly pleased with the drink and service. Will come back.

Ordered two boba drinks and the straw broke when I poked it through the hole. I tries to use it and it cut my lips and almost my tongue. Will just stick to my usual boba place on the other side of the complex. read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Nice and refreshing!!!! Thats the feeling I felt when I took my first sip of my coconut taro smoothie with light boba. I tasted the coconut, the taro too. It was a good combo where both flavors were easily identified. Also on their popular flavors list, and I could totally see why. Next door to this place is Shaka Shaka farms, they sell lots and lots of snacks, food and basically a mini grocery store. Its pretty awesome! They also sell fresh fruits in the fridge on the right side of the cash register. The cashier was nice, very friendly and helped with recommendations. She also explained to me some other popular drinks that wasn't on the popular menu. I appreciated that! Their drinks seems to be made with fresh fruits and not soo much powder! Awesome! read more

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Shaka Shaka regular customer here since day one. I love Shaka Shaka so much, I've never encounter a rude employee before, but this time it's so hot so decided to go Shaka Shaka and get some drink. They gave me a wrong drink and blame me for getting a wrong drink, which is not and gives me attitude. The cashier don't pay attention, she using her phone while working? Like c'mom! I hope management don't tolerate this kind of employee. Even tho I love their drink, I will never come back here again! read more

I ordered a honey dew boba tea. But the straw was so FLIMSY it broke into slivers and I could not get any boba, much less tea! WHY do you use such cheap straws for a $7 drink! Had to come home and pour it into a cup and use a spoon. NEVER going back! read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - shattered straw. No liquid could be drunk. NO boba either. - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

This is one of the best places to get Boba Tea, I am writing this review with my Pinã Colada in hand. There was amazing customer service and next time in in downtown Honolulu, I'll be visiting. 10/10 would recommend read more

I used to love Shaka Shaka. I've been going here for years getting various smoothies and my go-to: black milk tea with boba. For the past year or so, I've noticed that this location does not taste like how it used to. Super watery milk teas and an increase in price. I understand inflation and don't mind paying more, but not when the quality has decreased. I've recently been to the Salt Lake location, and their milk tea tastes as good as I remember. University also tastes watery unfortunately. read more

I came here with my parents because we were in the area. I was lured into the store when I saw all the cute Asian snacks when I walked by their entrance. I saw some Japanese Kit Kat and Japanese gummies. I had to grab them to try it out! The Kit Kat flavors I picked up were raspberry and the other was green tea. The two gummies I picked were milk and lychee. The prices are pretty reasonable. Kit Kats are $5.99 and the gummies are $3.99, if I'm not mistaken. Then I walked over to the cashier to pay and saw that they also sell boba drinks! Yes, two of my favorite things in one store! I had to also grab a drink before I left. It was pretty busy when I came in the afternoon, so I just waited my turn. I liked how the floor had tape to mark 6 feet (social distancing) during these COVID times. This made me feel very safe. I really liked how the young male cashier was helping all the customers with their questions, made the line move quickly and offering to stick the straw in their drinks when the customers received it. That was really something special that no other boba place I've been to does that. The drink I got was the pineapple and lilikoi (passionfruit) smoothie mix with 50% (regular) sweetness and boba. This drink alone, 5 stars! It was a little too sweet, so maybe next time, I would cut it down to 25% sweet. I also enjoyed how there were pieces of fresh pineapple and lilikoi seeds, so you know this is the real deal and not powder. Overall, this place is awesome! Will highly recommend to anyone in the area who wants to grab both drinks and Asian snacks in one trip in Kalihi. read more

Papaya milk smoothie with boba was refreshing, especially when you're biking around on a hot day. Tasted like real papaya and not like those artificial fruit syrups most places use to make smoothies. I actually liked their boba a lot, even though it was on the harder side. Boba was chewy, much wow. read more

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Fresh fruit boba. None of that fake kine stuff here. The nature of fresh fruit boba is for the boba to freeze quickly but they're smart. They scoop the fresh boba on top so it stays nice and chewy. Orders are ready in no time and are easy to place over the phone or BiteSquad. -1 star from what would otherwise be a 5 because - not the friendliest service - transporting multiple drinks is a pain. They gave me a flat box and the drinks toppled over during the car drive back to work. Thankfully, the lids are leakproof. - ordering off the website, esp mobile is confusing - waters down quickly Will have to do a comparison against Thang's soon. They also do fresh fruit boba. read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - a variety of drinks - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I like how you can adjust sweetness. Regular is 100%. We liked 50% which cam out perfect. The drink of choice was a pappya milk smoothie with boba 50%. Nice smooth and healthy. If you have young one's you can get them off all the high fructose corn syrup and into natural sugars in fruits. They have not artificial flavors and use "handmade sugar" read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - Nice vibrant space for young people to hang out - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Love this place so much! They use real and fresh fruit all the time to make their smoothies. Some choices are only sold during season like mountain apple! You can get milk tea here as well long with light snacks. My top menu choices are watermelon and lychee. Parking available in the lot. They are doing grab and go during the pandemic, no seating available. What's nice about this location is that you're next to Kam Bakery and UBAE! read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - Large lychee fruit smoothie with boba - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Perfect spot to grab your Asian snacks! I was able to pick up some treats that they don't generally have on the mainland. The prices are pretty fair too and there are so many options to choose from! read more

I didn't want to share but this place is great.... I avoid coming here cause really thangs is on the other end...... But thangs closed early and they open late UGH! I parked in front of thangs (dillingham city square) walked to dmv side just cause I wanted a drink. I've had shaka shaka before... and the first time was pineapple green tea with pineapple chunks omg it was sooo good!! Then at work people liked this place too we ordered from the King st location and they deliver!!! Woot! Today I got soursop..... let's be honest their soursop doesn't have as much ice blended it's more watery... It wasn't bad but not a smoothie, I guess that meant they use real fruits... 3 stars because it's ok but expensive! Smoothies are $6.99 for a large and $5.99 for small... Teas are a dollar cheaper.. The teas actually taste a lot better dk why I didn't get my usual pineapple green tea with pineapple chunks..... Gonna stick to that! read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - menu 3.19.17 - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I've officially lost count how many times I have been here, sometimes I forget to check-in because how I'm excited I am about my bubble drink that I'll be able to enjoy over the car ride back home! It's safe to say this is easily my favorite place to grab boba. I always get the Watermelon Smoothie, Regular Sweet with Boba! You can adjust the sweetness but personally their regular sweet is enough for me because they use real fruit! Yes real fruit!! most boba places use powder & call that "boba". In my opinion Boba is using the freshest & best quality ingredients for tasty success! *The minimum to use C.C is $5. *They have stamp Cards! Ask for one so eventually you'll get a free Medium sized Boba. They do phone orders, also for big groups sometimes they will ask you to text your order if you call their store to ensure that they're get the right order! Awesome right? The ladies who run the front are always so nice & fast. They do offer to open the drink for you which is nice. You won't regret visiting them! Three years of living here, if I'm craving boba it's because I want this place! read more

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I love this location! The staff is great! Drinks are good! My favorite is the watermelon "Smoothie". It's like eating / drinking a fresh watermelon... imagine a straw through a watermelon. Choice of boba or mini boba. I choose neither, I like mine plain. :-) read more

Bought mango smoothie and taste so bland. Literally taste like water with sugar, no touch of mango flavor. Never go back again. read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

My favorite place to come for smoothies. Love that they have a sweetness chart that you can choose. They also have a stamp card. I always forget mines though. They have small baked goods and free wifi ask them for the password or it should be on one of their white boards. They also validate their parking. Good place to study and chill or go on a first date. Nanea Approved. read more

I love coming here for their Mango Smoothie with Pearl! They have the BEST mango smoothie + BEST tapioca (boba) and they have couple locations throughout the island of O'ahu. I haven't really tried the other flavors because I've been so in-love with their mango smoothie. read more

Working Night Shift (11pm - 7am) leaves me in a Zombie-like state most of the time. I cannot understand how people expect me to cook. Like, really? You want a sleep-deprived person to handle a knife or other kitchen appliances? I'd rather sleep than eat sometimes! Forget about driving to the grocery store and buying produce. Then you want me to wash, peel, chop, cook, chew, and swallow - AND wash dishes? Too much work! I'll take a smoothie any time! That's what I like about Shaka Shaka Tea Express - Maggie (the owner) makes eating a more pleasant experience (rather than a chore for me). Especially this week - I knew I had to give blood, so I needed extra nutrition. I chose a Watermelon smoothie since it should have more iron - yes! I was able to donate blood! I had also prepped for my donation with an avocado taro smoothie and a fresh coconut smoothie - both were thick, rich & creamy. The blueberry banana smoothie and Red Grape flavors were packed with antioxidants and helped me recover faster! Every one of them were tasty! I really like the fact that you can adjust the sweetness: 25, 50, 75, or 100 percent. I also appreciate the owner (Maggie) who is the most enthusiastic and helpful shop owner I have ever met! She showed me photos of the boxes of boba that she imports and explained how they boil them to make them soft. She talked about the fruits: the search for them and how fresh they are. If they are poor quality, they get thrown out. If ingredients are not used by the end of the day, they go in the trash. Maggie explained the difference between powdered drinks vs. ones made with quality fresh fruit - you get what you pay for!! This week, I went 4 times to Shaka Shaka, and each time, she remembered what I had ordered, made great suggestions on what to try next, treated my friends well, and even hugged my mom! I'm looking forward to my next visit and my next boba treat!! The location is convenient: City Square - the shopping area with Chuck E. Cheese and Satellite City Hall. There's a lot of free parking and many restaurants in the same lot (Utage, Sugoi, Kamehameha Bakery, Pancake & Waffles, etc.). There are many seats so you and your friends can hang out. The place is bright, spacious, and nicely decorated with Asian good luck items. Go try it! Which one will you have first? Big decision!! Remember to get the stamp card - after 8 drinks, you get a FREE one!! Enjoy! read more

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Ambiance: Fresh Love the neon colors in the store: lime green painted walls, orange and green plastic chairs surrounding short white tables. They also have a lot of gorgeous bamboo plants on the tables and counters. A flat screen TV behind the counter to the left displays their drinks, pictures and nutritional information. To the right of the counter is a fridge that displays their fresh fruits. Products: Natural According to the employee, they only use fresh fruits for their drinks, no powder. My drink (pineapple lemon tea) came with a lemon slice and fresh pineapple chunks along with the tapioca. In addition to their drinks, they sell other random products like potato chips, dried mango, tea egg, Chinese pancake, dumplings and cold noodles. Customer Service: Friendly and Warm I was greeted by a really sweet lady standing behind the counter. She asked me if it was my first time there and when I told her it was, she explained how they make their drinks using only fresh fruit. I also ordered their most popular dink and she showed me in a little booklet how they cut the fresh pineapple. She continued to be very polite and chatted with me while I was waiting for my drink (it wasn't a long wait by the way). Price: Reasonable Their prices pretty darn good for only using fresh fruits and they offer two sizes: medium and large. The medium drinks run from $2.50-$4.30 and the large drinks run from $4.30-$5.00. Another awesome thing they have is a stamp card. If you buy 8 drinks, you get 1 free. There's a note on the bottom of the card that says if you fill up 5 stamp cards, you get a VIP card. I'll have to inquire about the VIP card the next time I'm there. Another plus is that they accept cards! It's rare to find a good bubble drink or tea shop that doesn't accept cash only; this definitely made my day. Verdict: Great new addition to the area! I like that I now have two options for bubble drinks in this area and they will definitely give Fresh Cafe/Thang II some good competition! I'll be returning to Shaka Shaka Tea Express for sure. Give 'em a try if you're in the area! read more

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I had my first taste last week and I'm hooked! My boyfriend and I originally went into the place next door to Shaka Shaka but there was a line and I said to my boyfriend, lets go next door and take a look at their menu. I'm so glad we did! I saw on their window that they use fresh ingredients and no powders and stuff. Ohhhh, that's a pretty bold statement to make. There were a few people waiting for their drinks but no one ordering. The girl behind the register told me that their "FRESH" drinks were all from fresh fruit. I'm glad we ordered when we did bcs there was a huge line after we ordered. My boyfriend got the large strawberry and banana with no bubble and I got the medium taro with bubble. They also have Taiwanese tea eggs, dumplings, cold noodles and different mochi favors. As we were sitting there, there's a slideshow playing on the wall mounted TV. It showed different drinks, someone cutting a fresh pineapple and a pic staying that they only use organic cane sugar (or was it syrup? can't remember now). I was impressed since it's a healthier alternative to refined white sugar. Our drinks came out and the bf enjoyed his smoothie while I enjoyed mine. They used real taro and it wasn't overly sweet. Now the boba was the one that stole the show bcs it was cooked to perfection and it had a nice light sweetness to it. Now here's the difference between Taiwanese boba and the rest... Taiwanese boba will always have a touch of sweetness to it. That's what makes it sooooo good! So there was no bitterness or aftertaste to the boba and that's what I like and am use to. Call me a boba snob, I'm cool with that, because I know what good boba tastes like. read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - Fresh taro smoothie - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Shaka Shaka Tea Express makes fresh smoothies, flavored teas, and juices with real fruit, not artificial flavors. Yes, you can get a good milk tea with soft boba or a refreshing pineapple tea with crushed pineapple, but I suggest going for the fresh watermelon juice or grape juice when they have them, these juices are so much better fresh! Their smoothies are also yummy. Try a combo of flavors like strawberry and coconut or mango and banana. On a hot day, Shaka Shaka is a great place to pop in to cool off. read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - Avocado Smoothie, Milk Tea, and Mango Smoithie - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

YELP 365 CHALLENGE 2014-(226/365) "Bomb Ass Beverages Sold Here!" We stumbled on this place by accident! As soon as we entered, I had a feeling that I was gonna love it here. A couple of good signs were that there was a huge crowd of people up front placing orders and enjoying their drinks up front and on the tables. There was also a huge refrigerator on the side and a rack full of fresh fruit! The ladies up front were so nice and helpful,, offering us suggestions, answering any questions we may have had, and simply said "Just Trust Us, and ENJOY!" (Their motto) We tried a Pineapple Jasmine Green Tea, and since my favorite flavors are Taro and Avocado, I requested a Taro-Avocado Boba Smoothie. Perusing the menu, they also have Taiwanese snacks like Dumplings, Tea Eggs, Green Onion Pancakes and Egg Puffs which they tend to run out of later in the afternoon because of the limited quantities they make in order to keep everything fresh. Our drinks arrive and let me tell you that the pineapple tea was SO REFRESHING, and I like that they cook down their pineapple in a syrup then use it to flavor their teas. very interesting and very flavorful! Shaka Shaka also puts the SMOOTH in Smoothie! My Taro-Avocado Boba was super smooth like a baby's butt...well, very close to that, using cooked real taro root and local Butter Avocados. Probably THE BEST smoothie I've had without being icy, gritty, or stringy and the boba was cooked perfectly with a nice hint of sweetness. I did trust them, and I did enjoy my drink. No powders, all fresh fruits....definitely a winner! ALOHA!!! Shaka Meter: \uuu/ \uuu/ \uuu/ \uuu/ \uuu/ 5 5 BIG shakas for Shaka Shaka Tea Express! read more

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1 star-It's located in the same area as Dillingham DMV. Free & ample parking available. 2 star-good service and cute green place with interesting table centerpiece such as live guppies. Neat idea. Here fish fish... 3 star-I ordered green milk tea. It had good flavor but more on the creamy side. I could taste little bit of evaporated milk which was nice and smooth. It came with a wrapped straw. 4 star-free wifi. That's makes it a fun place to hangout with friends. Passcode was right there on the table. Convenience. 5 star-$4 something for a medium drink. That's a reasonable price. I would definitely stop here when I'm around this area. They do offer a stamp card for frequent drinkers. read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - Live center piece. - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Straw in? The last words spoken just before your smoothie is handed over to you. Yes, please! So, they'll shake it up for you to get the bubbles (boba) disbursed throughout. I guess some people don't want the straw in because they're ordering for others and need to safely transport the smoothie goodness to their friends. Sounds good to me! My ULTIMATE FAVORITE flavor here is the Avocado Smoothie. I also like that you can adjust the sweetness level by asking for 25%, 50%, 75% or 100%, which is what Regular is. But the flavor really speaks natural, creamy, and ice cold. The girls at the counter are always adorable, friendly and patient. You can't see any smoothie making action behind the wall or through the small window, but you can hear it! As long as the order on your cup is clearly written, you shouldn't have any problem with your drink. Take advantage of the stamp card! Buy 8 drinks, next one is free (a value of $3.99 or less). Parking is free and plentiful, but the stalls are kinda compact. Also, it can get reallllly busy at this center because there's the DMV, Chuck E Cheese, and Chinatown Marketplace just to name a few. read more

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I refer to this place as 'Shaka Laka Boba' just because it's fun to say and it makes me want to go there even more. Hehe. But on a serious note, this is my go-to boba joint! The fruits are definitely fresh. You can see the refridgerator to the right of the store with almost everything in there. Plus! You can taste it in your drink. Sooo refreshing after a nice day of paddling. They even like to explain what's in your drink. I tried the coconut milk smoothie and it was derrricious. The nice, young lady said they use whole milk (as a heads up). Oh, and there's a fish bowl, with actual fishies, at the center of one of the tables! So different, but pretty awesome! The only negative thing I can say is that it gets waaayy too cold in there sometimes. My friends and I sat outside. My suggestion is, even though there are a lot of boba places on this island, try Shaka Laka Boba out at least once. read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - Took a picture of a friend taking a picture of the place. Mainlanders, ya. Hehe. - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Just hanging out with some friends for afternoon tea. It's a newly opened tea shop. When we went in the owner explained their tea origination. Interesting it all came from Taiwan. Fresh and amazing! I ordered the jasmine black milk tea. It was good. I requested less sugar and they were fine with that. Not too sweet. I can really taste the tea and not just milk. Reasonable price. Good service. Great drinks! read more

Shaka Shaka Tea Express - Bubble Tea Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

First time coming to Shaka shaka tea express (located in Dillingham, same area as Chuck E. Cheese) and what really drawn me to this boba place was because they emphasized on using fresh fruit and not powder. I LOVE Boba places that uses fresh ingredients, and will only go to places that uses fresh fruits. My fiancé got their Honey Dew boba and I got their Lychee. Mines was pretty sweet, but I liked their Honey Dew one best. My fiancé ended up liking my Lychee one best. The price was pretty reasonable, I just think it was a little too sweet, maybe I should get a tad bit less sweeter than the one I got. They also carry a bunch of snacks for sale, from Jerky chips to sweet Lychee from Big Island. Can't wait to come back and try other flavored bobas. read more

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