Tapioca Express

good food, pricy for quality of food delivered. no service and poor staff attitude. will not recommed this place at all. Bubble world nearby is much much better. why pay the same price for an inferior restaurant?

Over the last two years, this place has gone downhill for some reason.
This used to be the go-​to spot for authentic Taiwanese bubble tea, but during my visit to Richmond this winter, I can see why the place was empty when I walked in.
The bubble tea was not bad, but not amazing. The tapioca (mini/​large mixed) was cooked just right, but it took 30 minutes to make.
With one person acting as the cashier and drink maker, they probably need to hire more staff.
Summary: Average bubble tea with ridiculous wait time.

We came here on a late Friday night after making our way back from a Seattle day trip. Place was packed with tons of young teenagers/​students hanging out outside and inside playing cards.
Some of my friends were hungry so they ordered and shared between them:
— Hot pot with seafood and veggies (this smelled awesome. Came with rice)
— Noodle soup with crispy pepper chicken (ate half of this as my friend couldn’t finish it. The chicken was good while the soup was just average)
— Spicy noodle soup (nice amount of heat to it according to my friend who ate it)
I wasn’t that hungry so I tried one of their large milk bubble tea’s (passion fruit with lychee pieces). It was $ 5 for a large. I liked it. Had enough flavor that you could tell it was passion fruit. Apparently, there are other better BBT places nearby but this one did the job for us. Cheap prices and open late.

Like any typical bbt place in Richmond, at least it’s got higher ceilings, a bit spacious but typical tough parking plaza, it’s always busy here.
prices as expected.
Don’t like how straws aren’t wrapped and just exposed in the air…

The restaurant itself was very spacious and the staff friendly. Seeing a fully decorated christmas tree in the mid of March was either a really funky idea or just lazy housekeeping. We tried «shaved iced» with read bean and condensed milk and it was very refreshing! I’d want to come back to try the hot meals for the full experience.

Tapioca Express was a huge hit when it first opened — for my brother and I at least.
There’s a unique flavour associated with their plain milk tea and their selections of pearls and jelly displayed in miniature jars can sometimes leave you indecisive. However, like most ‘bubble tea’ places, the drinks are extremely sweet and overpriced. Difference between Tapioca Express and their competitors is that their tea sizes come in a regular or large. Only their regular is smaller than the average ‘bubble tea’, but just as expensive.
Their food and drink selections are displayed on a huge menu board (visible as you walk in), but in terms of flavour and quality. well, let’s just say you shouldn’t set the bar too high. It’s good but it’s nothing that’ll blow your taste buds away.
Personally, I think they’ve lowered their standards which is bad for business because there’s never enough ‘bubble tea’ places in Richmond.

2 or 3 or 4 stars? I couldn’t decide.

I’d been here a year or two before, but didn’t remember it being anything special, and never bothered going back. After hearing about this place being popular with many Taiwanese, we decided to give it a go.
Parking can be a bit crowded at time in this strip mall (usually occupied by guests of the nearby Richmond Sushi), but maybe because of the cold weather, there was plenty of space.
The inside is nice and bright. The other tables were filled with college-​level kids, with many playing cards. There are a couple of large round tables (for 6 – 8 people) here as well.
Instead of physical menus, all of the food and drink items are shown on a large menu board on a side wall. It might save the restaurant a few bucks, but it was annoying as we all had to leave our tables to get up and look at the board, instead of being able to decide what we want.
One thing that was nice is that they use remote pucks with the lights and music (what are these things called?) to call you when your order is complete. Somewhat nicer than the waitress hollering your number across the room.
I tried my usual Taiwanese benchmark dish — salty peppery chicken. Anything deep-​fried here comes with 5 levels of spiciness. I went all out and got Level 5 (Extra Spicy). This is probably the worst SPC I have ever had. It was bland, and so was the batter which was also extra thin. By «extra spicy» they really meant «sprinkle chili powder on top after the deep-​frying». The worst part is, it didn’t even come with any dipping sauce! Not trying this one again.
One redeeming factor was their deep-​fried chicken hearts. If you don’t want to think about chicken death, don’t order this one. There’s just something when a whole pile (I’m thinking 30 – 40) of hearts stares back at you and your friends. Interestingly enough, the same thin batter I was complaining about earlier works really well on this dish.
Maybe the other food items (they had noodles in soup and fried rice, for example) are better. Next time.

Not bad. I like the take out style counter which it’s great for picking up to go. It does take a long time though especially when they are busy. The bubble teas are only okay but they offer mini pearls which I love. I usually come here for take-​out when Peanut at Richmond Public Market is closed for the night.
Tip: always ask for half sweet!

This is my favourite bubble tea place in Richmond. I am always down to go and get milk tea and they make it the best. I really dislike a really sugary drink. They don’t put as much sugar in their drinks… this makes me really happy.
We’ve really never come here for the food. Every time I’m here I see and smell the food… need to try. It never pops into my mind to go here when hungry. Soon enough, though, it will get through my thick head to head here for the food.
WARNING…if you are in a hurry, don’t stop by. Normally, it takes forever to get a drink. I really don’t know why… I would expect a dozen people ahead of me for the amount of time it takes to get something. But, overall… the milk tea wins.

The food here is BOMB. I honestly can’t understand why anyone would complain abou the quality or flavour of their bubble tea or food menu because I have been here quite a number of times, have tried quite a variety of eats, and everything is generally consistent. Granted, some items on the items on the food menu such as the hotpot items are more «okay» than «outstanding,» but that’s kind of what I’d expect from a place with such a varied menu…
Their bubble tea is great. Not too sweet, comes in a smaller size than most joints offer, and they have a wide variety of «additives,» including the smaller sized bubbles, grass jelly, pudding, etc. My personal fave is the almond milk tea with pudding. Served up with a side of deep-​fried chicken skins and garlic pork. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it.
However, tapioca express only gets three stars because their staff is incredibly incompetent. It takes at least 3 times as long as it should to order your food because the staff is sooooo slow. And I don’t think it’s a language barrier thing either because the same thing happens no matter what language you order in.
However, I can’t complain fully about tapioca express because despite this, they are still hands down one of the best bbt joints with food in the gvrd.

This place should get 4 stars for food and drink and –1 in service and sit down restaurant appeal.
The food is primarily Taiwanese fashioned food and the famous dishes are its fried chicken and popcorn chicken. The spices are uniquely Taiwanese and you can choose from not spicy to Chinese inferno. They also have fried, yes FRIED, basil as an appetizer as well as fried chicken skin which is crunchier and tastier than any KFC or Church’s chicken. The bubble tea is also delicious and the pudding is a one of a kind thing that needs to be tried by first-​timers. They also have a pretty wide selection of jelly and bubbles to add to your drink.
All food and drinks are super affordable, if not outright a steal, even for the bubble tea world. So go and rob this place of its food with your money asap if you like the Taiwanese fast food/​bubble tea scene!
This place however loses in EVERYTHING else that involves sitting down or dealing with people. They are amazingly overstaffed… with about 8 people working behind a counter with ONE till and a grandma in the back that either washes dishes or cooks with a shower cap and a company apron on. you be the judge. The staff, while not being discriminatory, don’t speak very fluent English, are completely aloof and to be honest, lazy as hell. When you order food, there is usually going to be mix up with your order after repeating it several times, one verbal gush slower than the other. The place never has more than 10 – 15 customers at a time, but the place is massive, almost giving itself no excuse other than laziness when the food you ordered with is usually fried and can be served in under 10 minutes, gets to you in the record F1 speed of 20 – 30 minutes.
Lazy people holding down good cheap food… where’s the justice?

Yet another bubble joint in Richmond, what sets it apart is the counter/​cafeteria/​food court style service. Unfortunately, that’s about it.
Walked in here and expected to be seated from the staff behind the counter. After a few moments, I noticed the huge menu on the wall and realized that you order from the counter before grabbing a seat. I already find it difficult to choose from the menu at your typical bubble joint, and this place probably has the biggest menu I’ve seen. Assorted teas, milk tea, blends, slushes, coffee and juices… hot or cold… large or small size… pick from 4 types of jellies… large or small pearls… choice of mixing your toppings… or pair with a food combo. My brain hurt — I wonder many ‘unique’ combinations one can have with the huge list of options.
So we ordered at the counter and had a seat on the waiting bench after the server fumbled with the cash register. Got a small taro slush and a large coffee milk tea with pearls and it came to $ 9.25 after taxes. They gave us a little flashing/​beeping pager to let us know when our order was up — a little odd since my friend and I were the only people in the waiting area. However, makes sense if you’ll be sitting in the dining area. There’s also free WiFi so I noticed tons of Asian kids on their laptops — like an all-​Chinese version of Waves or Blenz. I entertained myself by reading their sign about their low-​calorie pearls and trying to guesstimate the combinations of drinks you can have.
Walking out back to my car, I took a sip of my coffee milk tea — and it tasted a bit odd. I know next to nothing about ‘good’ bubble tea and I can’t quite put my finger on it — it wasn’t quite oversweetened, but the sweetness tasted like it was masking something unpleasant — if that makes any sense.
Overall, it does make sense to serve up all items with no waiter service, cafeteria-​style (which I prefer) — but was pretty put-​off by my funky tasting coffee milk tea.

3.5~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don’t know why I felt uncomfortable being here … OH i know! (just realized about this) They don’t have any of the staff greets/​seats you. I walked in there… expecting to be seated but no one walked over or said anything. Only to have a girl at the till staring at me… I quickly realized I had to order first. Being overwhelmed by their huge menu highly placed on the wall with… I don’t know how many selections they’ve got there that i had to read through. After 10 – 15 mins I finally decided and placed my order. I just stood there with confused face, the girl at the counter told me to find myself a seat and wait for my number. «Number? wut’s my number?», I asked. «Oh, it’s right here (*pointing on my receipt*). The guy behind me (*pointing at him*) will call ur number when ur food is ready,» she explained. «Oh, thanx», I nodded.
Man. finding myself a table/​seat was… awkward. I walked over there with 17 – 25 people’s faces suddenly turned to me. Gazing at me while I was looking for an empty spot… as if everyone was interested and wanted to know which seat I would pick. With the hints of my eyebrows and follow my eye sight, I bet it was an easy guessing game for them.
About 20 minutes, they finally called my number. Good thing I wasn’t there by myself so I didn’t have to worry about my belongings or anyone gonna take my seat/​table if i left it empty seated (I sure dont wanna play that game again).
Food was great, love everything about it. You can check out the pix i’ve uploaded. The drink… hmm… not bad~ With the price like that, I think I prefer Pearl House Restaurant (
) or Estea Beverage Club (
) in Burnaby.

* Another Canadian location of this US boba chain *
Ok, I keep stumbling onto Tapioca Express spots in the area now after my first stumble into the one on Fraser in Vancouver:
After randomly spotting this one in Richmond I figured I would give it a try, to see if it was any different.
This one has much more of a corporate feel, with a larger seating area, and no handwritten menus like in the small Fraser street one. I guess the franchise is «flexible.»
It also seemed to have a slightly larger variety on the drinks and slightly smaller variety on the food.
One thing I did appreciate is that they had a sign saying you could have your drinks modified to have more or less sugar. This is always possible if you ask, but it is nice that they suggest it. They also let you mix the boba size if you’d like.
I tried the taro milk tea with boba with less sugar and mixed size boba. The taro drink had a very powdery taste to it. I’ve had much better. The boba were the perfect consistency though. They do boba right.
But overall between the slightly corporate feel and the powdery taste to the drink, I don’t see myself returning anytime soon.
I much prefer the small hole in the wall feel of Green Leaf: