MJ Cafe Express – Sawtelle

IF YOUR READING THIS, Don’t go into MJ Café Express on Sawtelle. I went here yesterday and ordered a matcha milk tea boba. After a couple of sips, I felt liked something tasted off and I decided not to finish my drink. It was bleh and was a below average drink. After walking back to work, I started to feel sick and I threw up. I ended up leaving work early and threw up 40 minutes later. I assume I threw up all the boba because after my second bathroom experience, slowly I started to feel better.
Even if this did not happen, the matcha milk tea was 2 out of 5 drink. The place is kind of ugly and felt slightly runned down. The service was bleh and I threw up my drink. I don’t know about you but that is bad. Overall, Completely avoid this place, TRUST ME! O YEAH & JUST TO ADD, They take card but force you to charge a $ 5 min. Thats ridiculous!!!

I think SpongeGar was responsible for my order yesterday, because nothing went right. NOTHING.
So, my friends and I ordered from here through DoorDash yesterday evening (shoutout to DoorDash for being super useful and giving us a full refund). We were gathered there last night to watch Purple Rain and get through this thing called life. We gather often. We have ordered from MJ Café before. But, last night, all hell broke loose on our order.
There were 4 of us. 4 folks, 4 drinks. And one food order. Here’s how things *should have* gone:
Person 1 gets the large slush they ordered.
Person 2 gets salt & pepper chicken and the low-​sugar drink they ordered.
Person 3 gets the sugary drink they ordered.
Person 4 gets the low-​sugar drink they ordered.
Life is celebrated. Prince lives.
Here’s what actually happened:
Person 1 got the regular-​sized version of the large drink they overpaid for. Without a straw, mind you.
Person 2 got satan-​fire spicy chicken instead of the salt & pepper chicken they ordered, and a high-​sugar version of their drink, though they need to reduce their sugar intake for medical reasons. Also, here, have some aloe, who cares if you didn’t order it and might be allergic.
Person 3 gets a very unsweet version of their drink, even though they were clearly the only ones who ordered a super sweet drink.
Person 4, who is not fond of sweet drinks, gets a drink made of primarily syrup, though they asked for low sugar, and pudding thrown in for good measure, though they never ordered it.
Prince died.
So. There you go. These people struck out FIVE FOR FIVE in one very simple order that they took 90 minutes to somehow fuck up. I know I compared then to SpongeGar earlier in my review but… that’s an insult to SpongeGar.

My first experience was pretty good! The service wasn’t too great and she wasn’t too great with explaining the options of Milk Tea.
I got the MJ Milk Tea in the Green Tea flavor and it was a little bitter but I personally enjoy Green Tea so I could do it.
I absolutelyyyy loved their boba it made my life! It is perfectly chewy and sweet!
One thing that also really bugged me was the 5 $ minimum purchase for credit card transactions! I feel like nowadays cards are mostly used everywhere and I don’t wanna spend more just to be able to pay for my drink with my card.

Fail!!!
Came here twice, the first time I bought a beef tongue rice but only 2 pieces were tongue, another 4 pieces were regular beef. The second time ordered club sandwich, beef noodle soup and tea, the tea and sandwich were great but they put the beef, noodle and soup all together. when i got home, all soup was gone because the noodle absorbed all of them. And also, the whole thing is tasteless.

Their teas are really good. I have fallen in love with the osmanthus oolong and the iron guayin milk teas and lattes.
But I usually order milk teas with cream latte on top and boba. But EVERY TIME they cancel my order and correct it as tea latte. No, I ordered MILK TEA with cream latte. Not a latte. I have to correct them every time so they make the correct drink. It’s frustrating!

The macaron ice cream here was okay but my boyfriend loved it ! They ran out of boba at 9 ish, how is that possible you’re a boba shop and you open late. Something is going wrong. The staff wasn’t friendly at all no greeting what so ever. And a few were eating while making tea and other stuff that’s very disgusting and unsanitary! Which makes me wonder how this place gets an A for their grade. One star for their macaron ice cream !

The selection of teas here is one of the more varied among boba shops around the area, so if you have a particular flavor in mind they probably carry it. The boba balls in MJs are a little off to me; however, if you don’t really care for boba then the teas are great! This place is especially useful with its 10% off drinks with the Unilocal check in, so if you owe anyone boba this is the place to do it. There is a 5 dollar minimum though on cards so perhaps cash is better for some people, unless you don’t mind buying other people drinks~ my go to drink is the Rose Milk Tea with boba, and with the new cup design, it’ll fit right into the cars cup holders

So used to not be my go-​to boba place, but slowly it became just that. The drinks used to taste a little chalky, but they’ve gotten better! Also the giant, really unfortunately shaped cups have changed to ones that can actually fit in your cup holder (which is nice when I buy hella cuz omg I swear you can’t go anywhere without everyone asking you to bring them back something LMAO). But yea, and oh man, compared to the old go to, cocos, the drink selection is much more extensive. Any place with rose milk tea is a place you will find me at!

They have a lot of drink options. Very small and intimate place. $ 5 minimum for credit cards. Their check in gives you 10% off your drink every time you check in.
I asked for pudding and there’s barely any in my drink.

VERY poor customer service. Rude, slow and filthy dirty tables. I actually walked in here twice. First I came in looking for Boba. Then I decided that I really didn’t «need» it, so I walked out — to go next door with my adult daughter who was getter shaved ice for my granddaughter.
But, then my daughter asked: «Don’t you want Boba?» — so we both went back in there. I was really looking forward to a nice boba drink.
To my disappointment — the lady at the register was totally disenchanted by the fact that I had a question about the drink I wanted to order. She sopke so low, I couldn’t understand her. She had an «I am better than you» attitude and was dismissive of what I asked. My daughter order a drink. After I told her that «its ok, I don’t want anything» — she turns to my daughter and ask …“do you still want your drink?”. She was just rude. We then had to way for a very long time to get the drink my daughter had ordered.
Not a fan at all. I don’t think I’ll be coming back here. Its too bad — because the location is very convenient. However, there is another boba place on the other side of the street — so its ok. I will continue to go to the other place.

This place = wtf
I didn’t Unilocal to find this place because there’s so many boba shops around here why bother. I wanted to go to Blockheads Shavery but it was cash only so this was the closest alternative. As soon as I entered, I noticed there was only three guys working in a cramped area. I got the Matcha Green Tea and sigh what a waste of $ 5. The drink was so watered down I thought I was drinking flaky water. Please work on your customer service and making drinks that aren’t water, thanks!
P. s. $ 5 minimum on card

My favorite drink to get from here is the Brown Sugar Milk Slush with egg pudding. If you check into Facebook you get 10% off your order or into Unilocal you get 10% off your drink. If you’re hungry, a medium spicy garlic popcorn chicken will satisfy your tummy. This place gets really crowded during the evenings since it’s a usual hangout location for UCLA students. Staff here are nice but they’ve messed up my order a couple of times. If you tell them, they’ll fix the order for you. TIP: you can park for free on the streets.

Another boba shop enters the mix! I feel like there’s constantly more and more businesses pouring into the same 1 – 2 blocks of Sawtelle and it’s now truly become one of the powerhouses of Asian dining in West LA, if not all of Los Angeles.
MJ Express has a few other locations, including a few in the 626, but each location I’ve been to has offered the same great quality drinks. I would say their drinks are more similar to Coco’s than places like Half and Half, because they have more fruity tea options and most of their offerings aren’t extremely sweet, so if that’s how you prefer your drinks, I would definitely say come give this place a shot.
They also have a pretty solid offering of food choices, mostly snacks, that are executed pretty well.
The only thing missing from MJ, which is missing from most if not all places on Sawtelle is somewhere to park! I would recommend driving a few blocks away and walking over.

I’ve visited the original MJ Café at Pacific Plaza in Rowland Height 5+ years ago (before it relocated to their new location in the Superco/​Petco plaza) and it wasn’t a very memorable experience. Moving on to 2016 and you’ll find a MJ Café in the Westside (Sawtelle), one in the SGV (Rowland Height), another one in Walnut, and two upcoming locations in OC (Irvine & Mission Viejo).
Horrible parking situation … you can either 1) do the valet parking right across the street at the Volcano Tea House /​Tatsu Ramen plaza or 2) drive around the neighborhood and find free street parking (minus 0.5-star for inconvenience).
The word «express» certainly describes this boba shop perfectly well because this is more of a grab-​and-​go boba shop rather than a traditional sit-​down-​and-​hang-​out boba shop. Huge selection, but menu was EXTREMELY confusing and there was only ONE copy of menu glued on the cashier counter (minus 1-​star). I’ll just save you the trouble of reading the menu and list out 10 most popular drinks at MJ Café below:
1) MJ Milk Tea /​Green Milk Tea with Boba
2) Old Time Flavored Milk Tea
3) Brown Sugar Milk Slushee with Pudding & Boba
4) Angry Boba
5) Black Tea Latte
6) Grapefruit Green Tea
7) Honey Osmanthus Oolong Tea
8) White Peach Oolong Tea
9) Yogurt Green Tea
10) Caramel Milk Slushee with Pudding and Boba
Friendly staff, but the drink took forever to prepare (waited 15+ minutes … minus 1-​star). On a brighter side, there’s a 10% discount on your order if you use the Unilocal check-​in deal (plus 0.5-star).
***
Angry Boba (strawberry slush with honey boba topped off with MJ’s signature PAO cream, $ 4): Strawberry slush was passable, but whipped cream was too heavy for me and boba were below average (minus 1-​star for below average boba).
***
With four different boba shops all located within two blocks away from each other (Volcano Tea House, CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice, Lollicup, and MJ Café), I’ll probably skip MJ Café and stick with Coco for better quality drinks. Once I add up all the positive and negative stars, I think «Meh. I’ve experienced better» definitely sums up my experience here.

There are not that many places that open past midnight, but I’m glad that MJ café is open until 1am! I came here for the first time yesterday night with bf and friends. We were looking for a late night snack and decided on MJ since it is pretty close to us and almost everything else was closed. I got the popcorn chicken, medium spicy, with salt and pepper flavor for $ 5. Not sure if I was very hungry but the chicken was fresh, piping hot, and delicious! The portions were also not bad and we had plenty to share among the four of us. I also got the green milk tea, half sweetened, with grass jelly. For $ 1, I upgraded my regular size to a large size. The green milk tea was perfectly sweetened for my taste, and there was plenty of grass jelly. The large size is also pretty big and enough for my bf and me to share.
The only complaint is that the tables were dirty and the shop was really small. Even at midnight, we almost couldn’t get a table on a Friday night. My friend also got a tea which she said was lukewarm and not very good. Other than that, I thought this place was pretty good for a midnight snack run. I want to try their waffles next time!
Also check into Facebook and get 10% off your order! Or check into Unilocal and get 10% off your drink:)

If you’re craving for some boba, tea, and waffles, MJ may be the place for you!
I’ve had the Oh My Mo and Black and White Mochi Waffles, both which were pretty good. The waffles themselves are not too special but are tasty and fulfilling. I would recommend the Black and White over the Oh My Mo. I’m not sure how the mochi affects the waffles. Maybe it makes it a little more soft or chewy? And fyi the shop only has one waffle maker and each waffle takes like 15 minutes to make. I definitely wouldn’t come here just to eat the waffles and they are kind of pricey at $ 6 for a cup of waffle.
Can’t speak for their drinks yet but I doubt their boba selection is going to top Coco’s in the area.
I would only come back to order something if I can’t find seating at Coffee Tomo or maybe get some tea.

So many options!
It actually got a little overwhelming…
My roommate and I decided to check this place out because… well, because it was one of the few places still open at 11pm on a Tuesday night and I am so glad we did! There were so many different things to choose from and everything sounded delicious. I will definitely need to come back to try some of the more caloric options (trying to cut back after thanksgiving splurging).
I will say, the inside of the café leaves something to be desired. It looks a little sparse, like, maybe they haven’t finished building that location yet. They don’t even have their menu or pictures or… anything up on the walls. I had no idea where to look to order from until I went right up to the register and saw the teeny printed pages of their item list taped to the counter. Kinda strange.
But, whatever.
The girl at the register was SO helpful and friendly, I wish I got her name. We asked a ton of questions because we hadn’t ever heard of most of their offerings, but she gave us answers to all our stupid questions and even provided recommendations.
My roommate and I both opted for the «healthy almond tea» per her recommendation. WOW, was it delicious. Not quite sure how accurate they are on calling it ‘healthy’ because it tasted like pure sugary cream. But, I’m not complaining, it was AMAZING. That’s definitely something I would order again.
I’m really keen on trying their Milk Slushies and my roommate can’t wait to try their Mochi Waffle. In other words, we will be back!

I honestly love the variety of bobas they have here! I always usually get their genmai chai milk tea with boba. You can’t really find that one at most boba places.
The boba itself is nice and chewy and perfectly sweetened for me. You can also pick your sugar levels which is a huge plus for me.
I don’t know why but also I love their big wide cups they serve you.
I’ve seen on long lines on weekends during dinner and it looks chaotic in there.

My rating is 3.5 stars. I’ve been to MJ café before and even though this is the «Express,» I’m still so overwhelmed by all the choices that they have lol.
The popcorn chicken is probably one of the best ones I’ve had around this area. And they give a lot!
I’ve had the brown sugar grass jelly milk slushee (I think that was the name? Too long lol) which is one of their most popular drinks. It reminds me a little of half and half milk drinks but just more cold and thick. Pretty good but so sweet. I got kinda sick of it afterwards.
I’ve also had the honey boba milk slushee. It tasted like a honeymee ice cream in slushee form haha. Good but again it got too sweet especially with the big size.
I’d probably go here again if I was craving something super sugary. I prefer Coco though because of I get more of an authentic tea flavor in the milk teas there.

Finally got to try MJ café after I had a small sampling of their oolong mt with egg pudding a few months ago when I wasn’t in the area! I went there with a few friends at around 10pm on a Saturday and the place was pretty packed. There was a small fridge on the side that offered different flavors of macaron ice cream sandwiches – just a tad bit pricey for the size of them. On the day we ordered, the kind cashiers were having some kind of fun, adorable sale where you grab an egg from a basket and pull out the paper that shows how much % discount you get off your order. My bf and I were going to get oolong mt again but they ran out so we ordered an original mt with pudding. The mt comes in wide, chubby cups like they do at half-​n-​half.
Tried the drink was it was pretty good! It wasn’t drop dead orgasmic as their oolong mt, but they’re doing something right with the flavor compared to other mt places. It wasn’t watery or too sweet and the egg pudding was amazing as always! I would definitely come back if I was in the area to try other mts they offer!