R2 Ray Ray Express

I don’t know if it was just today, but the service today was not good at all. The woman didn’t even know what she was saying. She had to call someone to assist her while I ordered food. In the end, the taro milk tea I ordered turned out to be a smoothie that tasted like water. The popcorn chicken I got was half the box and the sauce cup occupied most of the space.

I always go to Ray Ray in El Monte. Good Drinks & Foods!!! I was calling Ray Ray Express to put in my orders @ 12:20 pm 3÷28÷16. No answer at all. WTH. (answering machine… Pls text this blah blah blah…) So F it. I drove over there and find out that the front & back door is lock (Only one older lady inside (Cook?!?). So I called the El Monte Ray Ray. & Some guy said they might be closed for Easter! Waste of time!
Front was lock, so I walk to the kitchen side because that’s where I parked my vehicle. Some older dude with the Camry drop stuff off and left. So I couldn’t ask him what was going on…
This review is not based on the food quality.

This place is aight, waited foorehvherrr only to find out at the end the deep fryer was broken. The food that we ordered that wasn’t fried, wasn’t really that bad, wasn’t that good either. Got a free green tea that was the highlight of this dreary experience. This place left this reviewer cold.

this place is rather small and the entrance is acutally in the back. i came here for a regular bo milk tea, it was good. I checked in cuz the’ll give me 10% off, but you can’t combine it with the stamp card tho.

Ray Ray is the best. They always respond to me on Instagram and make me feel beloved as a customer. This particular RR is across the street from my house. As noted the prices are a bit high for the drinks, but HOLY COW they are good. Seriously the boba is pretty ideal. A perfect texture, firmness, lightly sweetened with honey.
Not too small like Coco which you end up swallowing on accident and almost choking on. The best drink, in my not humble opinion is the chrysanthemum tea with boba. Becuase the honey is in the boba, its just heavenly. The tea is not overly sweet and they fresh steep it right in the shop. The women who work there who helped me were incredibly sweet. They do take a while for drinks, so plan ahead.
That is because the tea is so fresh. And tasty. And good. I love you RR Express… And I love you Ray who will probably respond to this because you care about your fans. How amazing is that?!
I would like it if this RR was open maybe one or two hours later, because I generally get boba on the week days (almost every day) but I work 9 – 5, so I would like to be able to stop by at 5:45 and grab a drink for the evening. That would be amazing. I realize they cater to the school kids who attended classes above the shop (I think) but I have gone a few times to find they were closed and only just got to experience the majesty of their chrysanthemum tea with boba. But I also dont want to ask the amazing staff there to have to work later, so its a catch 22. :D
*heart**heart*

This place is good. The price is a bit high for milk tea, but the quality is good. The lunch specials are a good value ($ 7.62 for a chicken and rice with milk tea upgrade after tax!) And its a convenient place to go, order, grocery shop at ralphs, and hop back. The lady who is always here works her butt off, and is so nice! They have a small outfit going here, so it can be slightly slow (grocery shopping helps!) But it’s worth the wait and I come away satisfied every time.

Used to always come here before Elite classes in the summer to hang out and eat. I like the service and atmosphere at this location more than the El Monte one. The customers are usually either normal teenagers or Elite students whereas I always see older people at the El Monte one and customers smoking outside (no Bueno). The service is also quicker than the El Monte one.
I always order the caramel milk tea (very good if you like sweet milky drinks). They have free wifi which is always great and make the drinks pretty quickly if it’s not packed. When it’s busy, the inside can get pretty stuffy because there’s so many people trying to squeeze into a little room with barely enough space to sit. The interior is really small with only a couple of tables to seat people.
They were always nice and let me sit there for as long as I wanted to study and what not for like 1 or 2 hours even on days when I didn’t order drinks. (A++ thanks for not kicking me out)

Never even knew this location existed until my brother gave me a gift card to here for Christmas.
Got the 24oz Green Monster (apple kiwi lemonade) with honey boba — total $ 4.85. Sweet, tangy and delicious! The boba were the right amount of chewiness, lol! Get the cold version for your money’s worth of 24oz cuz the hot version is only 16oz.
Just what I needed for my 3pm pick me up and it’s pretty warn today too :-) Looking forward to trying out their other concoctions in the future.

We’ve been to Grandpa’s Teahouse before it became R2 Ray Ray Express. Not much has changed in terms of décor.
The service on the other hand has gotten worse. We arrived a 10 minutes before they opened, waited and waited until 11am on a Saturday morning, but they were really slow to set up. When we finally got in, the owner spoke to the employee in annoyance that there were actual customers inside.
The spam masubi was ok, but had a lot of rice (nothing to write home about). The coffee/​almond milk tea was super strong (ruined our appetite for lunch a few hours later).
Based on our experience this last visit, we probably won’t return.
Unilocal 100 Challenge — 27 of 100

Wish I could give this place more stars.
The Good: the kids really like the Vanilla Frap and the boba milk tea is quite tasty.
The Bad: The gal behind the counter needs a course in hospitality. Seriously.
The Ugly: popcorn chicken at $ 3.99 has literally 20 itty bitty pieces and is totally NOT worth the price. They put a container of sauce in the chicken to make it look plentiful but remove the sauce and the truth comes out.
One final note: you want the student lunch special, you have to order it from 11 – 1 by phone and the shop opens at noon.
If you check on on Unilocal and post a photo you get a15% discount. They won’t tell you. You find it on the receipt AFTER you pay.

Not my favorite boba stop but at least they were kinda creative.
Ask for their Blockbuster Drinks — not written on the menu.
Been meaning to try then since 626 but that was before I found out how small it was. There’s room for about 10 people split into tables of 2 throughout the entire place. No outside seating. So plan to take it to go.
Not the best service with all of the noise going on. Cashier was kinda distracted by the several friends of hers who took all the seats in the place.
Drinks were too sweet for my taste. I ended up ordering the Ironman. I don’t usually get slushies but those seem like their specialties.
Lychee jelly wasn’t bad. Boba was not good. Way too soft and didn’t taste great
Blockbusters:
Dark knight
Despicable me
Wolverine
Ironman
Etc

This was a fantastic find! Sammy our waitress made it a great experience. Tips: the menu is extensive, do definitely ask for recommendations. We tried the popcorn chicken, wings, fries with curry and fried rice. This was a very fun place, clean and no matter if you are 1 – 100 years old, you will find something to eat or drink! Plus, we were allowed to have our puppy on the patio so our doggie definitely gives R2 two paws up!

This has got to be one of the smallest boba places I’ve ever seen, and the least visible. There are only 5 small tables and the front door is tucked away near the corner of Ralph’s parking lot.
They not only sell boba drinks. Fact is, their list of drinks goes on & on (slushies, iced or hot tea, black or green tea, yogurt drinks… smoothies, a few coffee drinks and of course, boba milk teas.)
We went here around 2:30, right before a swarm of students from nearby schools flooded this tiny little hideout. Once school lets out, the lines form and tables scarce.
We ordered a Thai tea slushie (just like thai iced tea, but frozen like an Icee)
The lychee iced green tea was perfect for this hot weather (sweet, unmistakable lychee flavor and refreshing.)
Peanut butter toast, covered w/​peanut butter but more like a sauce than a spread, drizzled w/​strawberry sauce w/​whip cream on the side.
Popcorn chicken is just like any other place, but smaller portions than what I’ve experienced. I ordered medium spicy, but wasn’t spicy at all. Still, tasty!
All foods were served in foam to-​go containers. Service is attentive when they’re slow, but become a bit disoriented when they get busy. Other than that… it’s just like another one of those drink places, but much smaller. But I will go back for more lychee iced tea and maybe some other snacks else on their menu.
notes: Free wifi, ask them for password
Go early, during school hours to avoid mad rush.
Easy parking, huge lot
Try the lychee iced tea & let me know how you like it.

Living Social deal: $ 6 for $ 12 worth of food
I’m always up for trying a new milk tea place. The only problem is that since I work regular office hours, it has been a challenge to try new places since the caffeine from milk teas keep me up way past my bed time. Knowing R2 Express also served food, I came here with my friend for a light dinner.
This place is SUPER small. Very claustrophobic. Not a place where I could sit comfortably for hours on end. But it’s good enough if you just want to do a quick dinner and drinks.
I tried their Kobe burger (~$ 5) which is a pretty good deal considering the size & you get fries! Taste-​wise was ok, better than your McD burger but not as good as your specialty burger place. We also got popcorn chicken which was also average in portion size and tastes. Friend got the G-​Peach tea ($ 3.75) which has a really nice peach taste to it and not super sweet. I got the Red bean coconut milk (~$ 4?) since that had no caffeine and it tasted exactly like a red bean icee that you get at HK cafes. That drink was pretty heavy (w/​coconut milk & all) and I didn’t like how a lot of the red bean was trapped under all the ice they put into the drink.
Looks like they have a spicy chicken/​spam musubi challenge where you pay $ 6 upfront and if you can eat everything in less than 3 minutes, you get a $ 10GC and a picture on the wall of fame! Doesn’t look like they have too many people who’ve accomplished it so the challenge must be trickier than presented.
— free wifi (pw is their phone number, no spaces)
— park in the back (front is only for to go orders); plenty of parking
— same lot as Ralphs
— closes at 8pm! (early!!)

3.5 stars as of now
VERY small location, but they serve a variety of delicious snacks for great prices. Nearly everything on their menu is around $ 5, give or take a dollar. I am already a solid fan of the original location in El Monte, but I decided to check out this one as well. As I said, the location is VERY small, so it can get crowded very quickly, especially by the high school kids that tend to congregate there during their breaks.
The employees are professional and friendly, and they really make the effort to tell you an estimated time of when you’ll get your food, and any complications they may have (ex: my tea would take 7 minutes… okay, thank you for letting me know! :)) We ordered sparingly this time; just a simple meal and 2 drinks:
Green monster: Compared to El Monte’s location, this was less sweet (which I actually prefer) and the kiwi flavor is much stronger. I actually like this more than at the other location.
Empress tea (no sugar) with almond jelly: The Empress tea was more diluted than the other location, though perhaps it was not steeped as long as it should have? Instead of almond jelly, they misheard me and gave me aloe. Not complaining, per se, but I would have preferred my almond jelly to add some extra flavor to my drink.
Kobe beef burger: For the price you pay, the burger is wonderfully seasoned and their patty mix is delish. The fries are seasoned with BBQ powder, though they were a bit soggy… maybe from being cooped up in the to go box?
Overall, drinks are less sweet than El Monte Ray Ray, and the food selection is different. I can’t say which is better, as they both have a different menu and are equally delicious. I prefer the longer-​to-​make drinks at El Monte Ray Ray (ex: Empress), but the specialty drinks are more defined in their flavors here (ex: Green Monster). I’ll have to come back and give it another go before I make a final verdict… my bf is interested in trying their Short Fries (burger patty with all the works over fries!)

Came here for a quick drink on the go. The name describes this place already. Ray Ray R2 Express. Quick grab and go drink service. You can phone in advance and pick up at the door that faces Huntington drive or you can just go through the back door to order where they have a few seats. Limited seating but there are a few out door tables. This location has the spicy popcorn or the spam masubi challenge. If you can eat everything in 3 mins without drinking anything you will get a 10 dollar gift card to the place and a picture taken to be put on the wall of fame. This challenge only cost 6 dollars. Well worth it if you can do it. I might want to come back to try it just so I can at least be famous somewhere =).
I ordered the usual Big daddy and tried their Jim Masubi. Drink is perfect every time, and the Jim Masubi was tasty, but I gotta try it in spicy next time.

Came here to redeem a living social offer. This place is pretty tiny. The main entrance is in the back, not the one you see right off of Huntington Drive. It has a pretty hole in the wall feel to it. Only a handful of tables, so not really conducive to enjoying your food or drinks here. Best to take it to go.
We tried the mango smoothie and the thai tea slush with boba. Both drinks were really good. Not overly sweet, just sweet enough. The boba, however, was a little chewy for my liking.
As far as food, had the short fries and popcorn chicken. Both were just ok. Not bad, but not great either.
Would definitely come back here for their drinks but will probably pass on their food.

We came on a Tuesday evening and ordered popcorn chicken, kobe burger with fries, and a rose green tea boba for $ 2 (Used the LivingSocial $ 6 for $ 12)
— Closes at 8pm. We came at 730pm and they’re CLOSED sign was up. I knocked and went in. the cashier said opps, human error! yea right…
— Apparently last call is 745pm. Can’t order anything. Seemed like they did not want to take our order.
— Kobe burger like a whopper jr. I shoulda just went to Burger King.
— Fries have seasoning salt. Soggy, but not like good McDonald’s soggy. haha.
— Popcorn chicken was good. Hard to mess this up.
— Rose tea drink was good. I’d recommend that.
— Chewy boba. Like half and half.
— Can’t use stamp card with living social. «it says so there» haha.
— We couldn’t eat here because they were closing. Not even outside. «just go home»
— Uninviting.
— Just go to B-Man’s and Half and Half on San Gabriel Blvd for a better experience.

Hubby wen to the bank and I went to get boba for me and him!
SERVICE:
Helpful. I asked for recommendations and they gave me some. Great recommendations too!
DRINKS:
The Dougie — peach tea with strawberry bits
Big Daddy — passionfruit with orange bits and other stuff forgot
I loved the drinks! Really good! :D
PARKING:
Tons of parking
OVERALL:
Didn’t try the food, drinks were good!

**************** Darn Good Burger Plus Solid Milk Tea *****************
Ray Ray R2 Express is the former Grandpa’s Tea House, who also own the popular R2 Ray-​Ray in El Monte. They remodel this place.
[DECOR] ³⁄₅
…
Pretty simple a bit wall in a hole feeling, despite small place it got couple of tables, idea for party of 4 or less. The restroom is quite small. Tablet and chair is wood and clean.
[FOOD] ⁴⁄₅
Their know for their Kobe Beef Burger with fries
The burger, oh man oh man. Never though an Asian place can make such delicious burger. Toasted bread, lettuce, tomato melting cheese and kobe meat. The meat is more like medium rare cook. This burger can put many other so called burger specialty place to shame. Their fries look real good with seasoning, but it was with cinnamon… was too much. Make the fries a bit sweet, probably would do better with sweet potato than regular one.
The Boba Milk Tea
Now that’s some boba unlike the Ten Ren I got last week, which tasted too much like regular tea. Right amount of sugar and milk. Too bad is still too much Ice just like the other Ray Ray.
[SERVICE] 4.25÷5
Friendly staff that would greet you which you won’t find that in the El Monte one. Food came out in short amount of time. They offer express take out if you want to do mass orders.
[VALUE] 4.5÷5
This place offer more western friendly dish, also few traditional one. But the El Monte got a lot more entrée choice but they are more costly, while the drink cost the same both location. I think the drink taste better here because El Monte tap water just isn’t as good. to be honest. Noticeable better service but décor ain’t as good lack of tv and a lot smaller. Their kobe burger and fries just for $ 5 which is head turning.
TIPS
* Same drink menu as the El Monte Location
* Parking in the back if you wanted to dine here, front is for take out only.
* Credit Card for purchased over $ 10
MY 2 CENTS
This is solid place for those who grave milk tea or burgers. Which that would be suitable for most people. Why they don’t offer this burger in El Monte one is beyond me.