Kung Fu Tea

Note: CASH ONLY HERE!
Kung Fu Tea offers standard fare of boba and in my opinion is better than Joy Yee but not by much. This location is located pretty far north in the Argyle area next to a bunch of Vietnamese restaurants and grocery stores, making it the perfect dessert option.
There’s not much seating in the place, but the décor is very nice and modern.
Although they give you the extra sweet, regular, less sweet, and no sweet option, the employees aren’t very good at distinguishing them. My friends and I got the same order and I ordered less sweet while they ordered regular but for some reason they taste the same. Call me crazy but I think the employees did not give a damn about our orders and just made them all in the same batch for convenience’s sake. Be warned!

Best milk tea I have ever tried, period.
Yes, it’s cash only, which is a pain. But it is SO FREAKING GOOD. I don’t know what makes it so creamy and delicious but the milk tea is fantastic. Love love love the black tea taro and the oolong milk tea. I also tried one of the non-​milks (I think passionfruit green tea maybe?) Super delicious and refreshing.
Boba is always chewy and sweet, never feels hard or old. Lots of add-​ins (several jellies, pudding (yum!), etc). If it was closer I’d probably be here 3x a week.

Coffee latte is terrible, in no way a proper latte (which would be half milk half foam and espresso, so you still get the strong espresso flavor). What they gave was a cup full of lukewarm sweet milk with hardly enough espresso to give it flavor. Ruined. It’s basically crap.
With the amount of machinery they have, the equipment is there to do it properly. Perhaps it is wilful ignorance or not giving a crap what they provide.
Also the size is misleading as the cup sizes in front on display for what they call ‘hot’ size is large, what they give you is small (half the size). They had an answer prepared (they both said it at the same time), which was there’s only one size for latte and what they gave is it. So I’m sure they’ve been repeatedly questioned on this, but they do not remedy it as they’ve decided to deliberately deceive people.
I never care for pretentious friendly service. I rather people be normal or even miserable (reality is more interesting & has room for empathy than delusion). But I at least expect a slight concern since a service and product is being paid for. Not the case here.
If the manager has instructed the employees to be this way, they need to fire the manager.
The other drinks have been decent. They are using a powder. This is common.
Their low rating on Unilocal is deserved.

Very slow service, however tea is as good as the other kungfu located in chinatown. Good amount of toppings is also provided in the drinks

I walked in with my family to find this place empty. we ordered 2 milk tea drinks and a taro slush. There was a gentleman and lady making our drinks. I noticed the lady making a mango slush. to only find her drinking it! Aren’t they supposed to make the drinks for the customers and serve themselves later (especially when they had nothing to do given the place was empty)? Waited 20 minutes for our drinks. Very rude and bad service.

Great place and friendly staff. The Ginger Milk and the Passion Fruit Green Tea are my absolute favourites. Our go-​to place after getting some delicious Phở next door. Only gripes are «Cash Only» (It’s 2016?!) and the front door is in need of desperate repair. It’s not safe for unknowing patrons about to enter.
What I like is they give you recommendations if you choose a drink and you’re not sure of it. They will ask you what you like and if you prefer one flavour over the other. It’s a nice touch and a one-​up to your competitor that is slowly losing ground (Ahem Joy Yee). It’s generally less crowded here which is a major plus. They ran out of tapioca on a couple visits and the last time we went we were only given like 10 pearls in each cup, but we tend to go towards the end of the night to it is understandable, you never know how many pearls you need to run a business. You guys are still great and we will keep going because of your friendly staff and delicious tea.
Be careful of the bench at the table closest to the counter. It will tilt over if you sit at either edge.

This location is so much better than the Chinatown one. First of all, it is a lot less crowded and much more clean. You can actually come here to study, whereas the Chinatown location is a joke if you try to bring a book or a computer in there.
Location has Wifi, and more the most part, people who work here are courteous, which is saying a lot compared to most establishments in the Viet Town area.
They would actually give you recommendations. The plus is that there is even a Divvy station right outside of the store. After a long afternoon bike right, nothing is more refreshing than coming here for some good olé bubble tea.
Here is a hint, they add a lot of ice, so if you want your drinks to be less diluted if you happen to be a slow drinker, ask them for «no ice», the bubble tea drinks are still coldish-​cool even with no ice.
Enjoy! Great teas, but probably a bit overpriced. All Kung Fu Tea locations only accept cash. But you can’t blame them, they can’t possible accept credit card when 95% of their orders are under $ 5.

Better than its Chinatown counterpart.
Maybe it’s the absence of the crazy crowds that the Chinatown Kung Fu Tea can get, but this one just taste better — the boba seemed fresher, and it’s just less hectic.
Cash only.
As for the seating, there’s less seating for 2+ people here than the other location. But they do have board games and connect 4. Good place to just kick it for a few minutes on the weekend !

Got to stop by this second location up in Argyle. I gotta say that I’m a bigger fan of this location than the Chinatown one. In my opinion, the drinks here taste better and you won’t end up waiting in as long of a line. Double bonus! Similar to it’s other location, CASH ONLY! So bring them dolla dolla billz y’all.
On my visit here, I went for my usual coffee milk tea with boba. SOLID! I also got to try the grapefruit yogurt juice, which was surprisingly pretty good. Reminds me of those yakult drinks. Not bad.
Anyways, I’m sure I’ll be back through the next time I’m up in the area for lunch or groceries. If you’re able to get one of the bigger tables they do have an assortment of games you can play to kill some time. Connect four anybody?
‘Til next time, cheers!

The oolong milk tea with tapioca is AMAZING here (and at the Chinatown location as well). The drink has just the right amount of sweetness and the tapioca is flavorful and chewy. I like this location better than the one in Chinatown because it’s less crowded and has more of a modern feel.

I like the different flavors and the different styles of boba tea they have offered! Many I am very intrigued by like their yogurt drinks. And the how much sugar and ice is a huge plus for me. Too bad I do not live near at all

I came here on a Tuesday afternoon and had the honey black tea with bubbles. It was delicious, and the staff were courteous and patient. I took my time getting my order ready, and I didn’t feel rushed in the slightest.
I also used the restroom at this location, and it was impeccably clean (and well decorated!), which is a huge plus in my book.
There are some basic board games available for play as well, including jenga, rummikub, and connect four. While not my favorites (and I’ve never seen anyone play here), I appreciate an establishment that thinks about more than its product and tries to provide some extra fun.

Love this place!!! So happy they expanded in Argyle so I don’t have to drive all the way to Chinatown! I just hate it that they only accept cash but who cares when their drinks are so yummy! I always get the milk teas but lately I have been ordering the slushes! The taro, red bean and mango slushes are super delicious! In my opinion, Kung Fu tea has the best tasting tapioca bubbles because their texture is always consistent and the size is perfect. I have had other tapioca from other places and they are either too hard or soft but here, it is always perfect. I will always be a loyal customer here. Ps– they also have games and nice music if you want to hang out for awhile.

My favorite go to place for bubble tea. It’s really quick service here. It’s really helpful how they have their menus set out above the cashiers and at the counter with the cashier. The menus are in Chinese as well as English. Really nicely done. This place is clean and very upbeat I’d say. You can play games here. They have board games and other interactive games with your friends. It’s a nice place to hang out with friends. My favorite boba here would have to be Almond Milk Tea with bubble– they call it that. I enjoy playing Jenga here when I have time with my friends to just have fun all together.

The bf and I headed over here for dessert after dinner at lao sze chuan. We ordered a green tea yogurt (tasted like yakult with a hint of green tea) and strawberry milk slush, $ 11ish after tax. Both were enjoyed with chewy boba. I like that they offer custom sweetness and ice lvls. Service was okay, not bad, but not great. Would be better if they had more fresh fruit drink selection.

Kung Fu Tea has the BEST MILK TEA in Chicago! They have 3 locations in the Chicagoland area, with the original one in Chinatown — so you know they’re legit! I get milk tea from them pretty much every week. My regular order is the Kung Fu Milk Green Tea with half sugar (half ice with red bean in the summer and hot in the winter). It is SOOOO good! And it’s great to be able to customize your drink (sugar and ice level; toppings like boba and jelly). My friends also really like the Kung Fu Milk Oolong Tea and the Grapefruit yogurt drink (if you don’t want caffeine late at night).
This newest location is also very accessible by El (close to Argyle stop on the red line) or car (pay for parking along Broadway). There’s always plenty of seating inside and the staff is pretty friendly. The Chinese music in the store is also nice. Like the location in Chinatown, this place is CASH ONLY, so be sure to bring enough greens (~$ 4 – 5 per drink). The Evanston location actually accepts credit cards for order over $ 8.

Love kung fu tea for their yogurt and milk teas. Snacks like takoyaki are also good if you want a small bite to eat.
Only downside is the cash only part. I normally go to the Evanston where do they do take card.

CASH ONLY!
We stopped in yesterday for a peach oolong bubble tea and a honey lemonade.
The Peach Oolong was delicious! I was expecting peach flavored tea, but it had actual bits of peach in it, which went well with the perfectly gummy sweet tapioca pearls. Heavenly! The honey lemonade was great too.
They’ve got this cool machine that seals a top on the drinks, which makes it perfect for if you have to transport a few of them. Just punch the straw through the top when ready!

(Public announcement)
ATTENTION: Kung Fu Tea in the Uptown location only accepts the heads of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Hamilton, and Andrew Jackson. If you have the Jimmy Fallon’s Capital One, Peggy’s Discover, or any other credit cards with celebrity endorsements, please leave the plastic money at home.
I was prepared since the location in Chinatown was also cash-​only. Hubby and I were excited because trekking down to Chinatown from Albany Park would take lots of time and efforts.
Kung Fu Tea has a diverse beverage menu. You may customize the sugar content, amount of ice, and choices of toppings on any drink. I don’t always go with the milk bubble tea; often times I like their «fruity» drinks, like the passion fruit green tea and the orange green tea.
Normally, a medium-​sized drink will run under $ 4, while a large-​sized drink will cost in between $ 4.50 to $ 5.
This particular location just had their grand opening. I came across with Kung Fu Tea’s Unilocal business page when I was conducting my routine « Unilocal» session during my evening hours before bedtime. I would see myself a regular to this particular location since it’s only a bus-​ride (CTA Lawrence #81) away from my apartment.

Kung Fu Tea originates from Brooklyn… They have a location in Chicago’s Chinatown and just this weekend opened in Uptown near the intersection of Argyle and Broadway. On a day trip to Ikea with one of my besties, who also happens to be a food freak, he suggested we cruise through for bubble tea on our way out of The City.
It was a madhouse at this intersection, there is a popular Southeast Asian grocery nearby that people line up for in their cars causing traffic to reach a certain level of insanity — so I jumped out while he waited up the street for me.
Once inside the place was buzzing… They have a great selection of regular teas, milk teas, lattes, «slush,» and milk strike. They allow you to choose the sugar percentage (extra sweet, regular, less sweet, no sweet) and they have add-​ins that include the infamous boba (tapioca pearl, also called bubbles), pudding, red bean, and other options…
Everything is cash only at this point. Two medium drinks will run you about 7 and change. I ordered the taro milk green tea for bestie and the green tea milk tea with boba for myself, both at a regular sugar percentage that was perfect.
I’m glad Kung Fu has migrated here.