Bubble & Crepe

This is now Mango Star and no longer Bubble and Crêpe. They serve similar drinks and dishes here too. The seafood pasta looks like it might be good if I come around again. I’ve just stopped by for the Taro Milk Tea with Tapioca and it’s yummy.
I’m not sure when the place changed hands but it’s very low key and quiet here. They really seem to be a neighborhood place offering the crossing guard a cup of coffee. I hope business picks up here soon it’s still a really cute place!

I go to the new location on Cresent dr. The owner is a super nice lady she gives discount to most people when they go in for the first time and sometimes gives free stuff to regulars. I don’t really like their balls as much as quickly…

Diablo Valley College Student Discount Spot #3
Promo: 10% Off Any Purchase
So you all know during the month of August ’09 I have been going to a list of restaurants that offer special promotions to college students. With a DVC Sticker on your Student ID, these places will offer you a special deal to help you save a little money.
Well, this wasn’t one of my most memorable places to wait in line for. My friends showed me this place when I told them I wanted to check it out. They told me there was a Quickly’s just across from campus but I just told them I had to come here just once.
The décor was fresh, the wait was long, I never liked crepes so I didn’t try it, but I did get my normal Green Milk Tea w/​Pearls. The portion and size were the same as any other place and the taste was really strong in tea flavor for me. My friend had one that tasted like watered down milk with tapioca pearls.
Come here if you’re in a rush and don’t like supporting big franchises!

I think I was desperate that day.
I really wanted crepes and well since I don’t trust mall food I decided to go here. After passing by it several times what can I say I was curious.
WRONG IDEA.
This place is horrible. The crepes weren’t crispy or tasty whatsever. They were dull, flimsy, and a little batter tasting. I felt like I got ripped off, and that’s pretty much the worst feeling ever.
p.s they had a karaōke machine but it wasn’t plugged in LAME

This is a nice little place where I and my friends hang out to eat and… SING! Yup, you heard it right, this is a haven for Asians like me who are into karaōke. There’s a decent selection of OPM (Filipino music). An order of Thai tea with tapioca and chicken popcorn and we will last here singing for hours. Also, this is a good place to do your homework (if your a student) because they offer free wi-​fi internet.
The only downside I see is the taste and serving of food here is a little bit inconsistent. Based on my experience, I get better tasting food with more than enough portion whenever the owner is around.

I love this place, one of the first true Boba places in this area.
The drinks can be somewhat uneven now but it’s still one of the better places in this area.

Oh no… this place is NOT GOOD.
I drove by a couple of times and was curious — what a good concept — boba and crepes?! Unfortunately this place failed me. First of all, I know you’re the only boba place in the area, however that does not mean you get to charge OUTRAGEOUS prices for boba. AND you have to pay 50 cents extra for tapioca? You’re killing me man…
My sister and I ended up splitting a large japanese green tea — it came out to about $ 4.20 AFTER the guy gave me a discount. Unfortunately, the person working there that day made a jasmine green tea and when we told him we ordered a japanese green tea, he said they were the same thing… Now just some logic here… if they are the same thing — then why do you have two different names on the menu??? Okay, so you’re the new guy and maybe you get a little slack — wait actually for that one you don’t. Sorry.
Don’t come here.

This place has definitely gone down hill. It’s not bad, but its definitely not what it used to be.
I used to come here alot a few years back when it first opened and it was
is now under different owners and not so great. The owners before were extremely upbeat and positive. Crepes were good, there yogurt was great and the place was extremely clean.
I came here today after lunch and got there honeydew tea with tapioca
drink was pretty good. I think I am more so unimpressed by how run down the place seems. Not as clean, unorganized and and just not the bright and cheerful place it once was: (I had stopped here a few months back to get there yogurt and I asked for a sample and it tasted old, as if they had not cleaned the machine in a while .yeah not to mention the girl behind the desk did not know much about what they served there, as far as drink s, what comes in what and what not.
The only thing I will occasionally get here is the tea and that’s about it.

This place is of course, Bubble & Crêpe, renown for the collections of Boba Tea before you should even consider the fact they have a wide selection of crepes! (At least this is what I assume they want you to think when I was corrected by the waiters while calling this place Crêpe & Bubble on the phone!) The Boba Teas are good, but really how hard it really to make this? I can’t imagine you can do too much to ruin one. One part tea and a mess load of tapioca balls. (Opps, I ruined the secret!) But the kids working behind the counter are really nice and the crepes are okay. Nice place to stop in for a mid day snack but anyone planing to make a meal of the affair might be a tad bit disappointed.
Oh! They got karaōke on Friday and Saturday nights,(which is a favorite hobby of yours truely!) but they don’t serve alcohol so I imagine it’s mostly a high school crowd. But hey, who doesn’t enjoy sober karaōke… ;-x

I love Boba Tea, and since is the only place in the area I know of I go here all the time.
First, Yes, I agree with a lot of Unilocalers that they do take FOREVER sometimes, even if you are the only person in there. Sometimes they ignore customers, that’s happened to me twice, but I have to say, most of the time I go in there I never have a problem getting my order quickly. Whether or not the order takes a while they are always really nice to me and get my order right.
I have had quite a few of their dishes. So far my favorite is their Takoyaki (squid balls), however it’s a little too salty, but I like takoyaki! Their crèpes are really good. My favorite is the banana and strawberry. I’ve never had a savory crèpe there, but I’d like to try it. From what I’ve heard they’re good.
As far as Boba goes, I love it. I’ve never had a problem with the taste or quality of my boba when it comes from there. I recommend the coconut milk, red bean milk (not for everyone), and japanese green milk teas (all with tapioca).
I’ve not been for karaōke, but it sounds fun! As for other fun things there, there’s a shelf of books and magazines, some in Chinese, most in English and a bulletin board of notes people write/​draw about how much they love karaōke/​bubble tea. Their decorations are cute as well. I can’t wait for their new place to open up down town!

My review is for the Crêpe, not the Bubble. Next time I go I’ll try the Bubble and comment on that.
I work around the corner from this place and thought I’d check it out today for lunch. I was the only person there at 11:45. Everyone is still in holiday mode so maybe there are normally more people there. The young man working was very nice. I ordered the pesto chicken crêpe to go. It took a while but I have to recognize that this young man was the only person working and made the crêpe himself. The crêpe itself was nice, not too heavy. The inside was stuffed with chicken, pesto, and fresh tomato. I definitely appreciate their use of fresh vegetables. I was really excited about the inside of my crêpe but it turned out to be way too oily. That was probably due to the pesto, which they could have gone a little bit lighter on. I’ll take partial blame for that since I ordered something in which I knew one of the ingredients had olive oil. When I go back to give their tea a shot, I think I’ll try a veggie crêpe and try to avoid anything with ingredients that include oil.
Overall, this place is okay. The restaurant itself feels like it was designed by high school students but that can be fun. There is wifi and karaōke. I probably won’t go there for karaōke because I have a feeling that it draws in a lot of under 21 folks since they don’t serve alcohol. I prefer not to sing karaōke with anyone who can’t legally purchase alcohol.

I have to say that I honestly love this place. The service won me over immediately, and the boba is pretty good– I also like their crepes and their desserts (back when they had fried banana with ice cream. I don’t know if they do anymore). Their bento boxes are also alright, not amazing or fantastic, but in sizable portions. And they tout themselves as having the Bay Area’s best dumplings, but I haven’t tried them myself…
When I first started going to Bubble and Crêpe, I went rather frequently. I loved the free karaōke nights, on which my friends and I would embarrass ourselves and scare away other customers with our singing. During the last week of school that year, I went to B&C every day for a week straight. On my second visit, the owner/​manager, April, already began to make me free drinks and give me free food. (She still does to this day, over two years later, whenever she’s there!)
April is awesome, and her friendly demeanor (and the other workers there are pretty friendly themselves!) won me over immediately at that point. I also love their frequent buyer cards and, more recently, their new slogans– «Boba, the drink with balls!» or something of the sort. They’re rather funny and cute, in my opinion. I really do love B&C, and I feel a loyalty to it as a boba shop that I doubt any other boba shop in the United States will be able to compare.
The only downside is that their frozen yogurt, the last time I had it, anyway, was possibly the worst froyo I’ve ever had. Though, it’s not like it’s a froyo specialty shop anyway, so B&C still has my heart. (I’d give it a 4/​5, but I really don’t have the heart to not give it the five stars that they deserve just because of one inferior small item on their vast vast menu.) Just go somewhere else (CocoSwirl a mile or so down that street? hehe) for the froyo, and leave bubbles and crepes to Bubble and Crêpe.

Boba in Pleasant Hill?
WTH is Boba?
Better question: Where the Hell is Pleasant Hill?
Serving the Asian student community at nearby Diablo Valley College, Bubble & Crêpe is the local hangout that offers Bubble drinks and fun snacks from a strip mall near Contra Costa and Ellinwood.
(NOTE: Pleasant Hill is roughly next to Sun Valley Mall, between Concord, Lafayette and Walnut Creek)
Boba is Tapioca balls, aka Pearls and sometimes known as Bubbles. Although some say Bubbles refers to the froth in the Milk Teas that have become popular here in the US, after being claimed to have started in Taiwan. Now Pearl/​Boba/​Bubble places that offer Wi-​Fi are popping up in US coastal cities with asian populations at an alarming rate, and are the new millenium equivalent of the Soda Shop 50 years ago.
Rumor has it that Starbuck’s will start offering Pearl drinks after their new Vivano and Sorbetto drinks lose favor (or flavor). They better hurry, cuz it can’t be long before Jamba Juice starts asking if you want Pearls in your drink in addition to your Boost!
Bubble and Crêpe has the standard offerings of milk teas, frozen asian fruit flavored smoothies, and snack foods like Pot Stickers, Popcorn Chicken, and Tropical Ice Cream.
It’s a fairly small place. Somehwere in there, you have Wi-​Fi (few tables to use it) and on weekend evenings, they have Karaōke! Where, I don’t know.
They have a frequent Bubble Tea program, and if you are really dashing, look exotically intriguing and know how to say thank you in Mandarin, you will get a BOGO (Buy One Get One) Bubble Tea Free card from the female owner.

I just moved to Walnut Creek from SoCal and was craving some Lollicup… only there are none up here! I went to Bubble & Crêpe and had the milk tea and popcorn chicken meal. First up, the milk tea. Um, it was not at all what I was expecting. Kind of watery and not very sweet at all. I really didn’t like it. I don’t know if I have good or bad taste in milk teas, but my standard is Lollicup.
The popcorn chicken was pretty good. I was hoping for a soy sauce boiled egg, but got a fried egg. Instead of those chinese pickled veggies, I got kimchi. Again, not as good as Lollicup.
The service was really good, so I’d probably go back to Bubble & Crêpe for the popcorn chicken and to try some crepes, but will steer clear of the milk tea next time.

MmmmMMmMMmmmmMMMm… pearl…
I’m a big fan of pearl tea… and this is the place in the area to get it. They have a wide variety of flavors and textures (milk tea, regular tea, juice, frozen) to choose from. They also have a rewards card. Buy 10 get 1 free.
They also have an assortment of food items. like Crepes, Bento boxes, gelato. and then some.

I thought we would get a long since we «Both like Balls» — but I’d give this place a 3 — at least for now.
After driving by this place a couple of times, I finally decided to come in. I was craving some boba and gelato.
My daughter and I were greeted by the owner. She’s cute and asked us if it was our first time here. In fact, it was. It was pretty slow, granted, it’s was a thursday afternoon.
They have a lot of repeated business, so while I was trying to choose what I should get, they’ve already whipped up a couple for their other customers. I got the milk tea + tapioca balls and a strawberry & banana crêpe. They didn’t have gelato =(So sad and she started talking about the filipino ice cream they have.…I’m filipino, so I know what halo halo is and I definitely know what buko pandan is okay?!?
Everything was so mediocre. Blah to the Milk tea. Nothing very special. I have to point out that this place was the first to serve me the worst crêpe ever. They served me my crêpe in a paper plate (I don’t mind). My crêpe wasn’t as warm as I usually get it. What disappointed me the most is the stingy NUTELLA. I eat crepes to indulge in my nutella fantasy, but this place didn’t hit the spot.
I should have Unilocaled before going, and probably would have tried the popcorn chicken + smoothies.
I’m giving this place one more try — just because we both like balls. I like balls. And I dig Karaōke.

Finally I found a place that is worse that Tapioca Express.
I stopped by here when I was out in Concord one day and I was thirsty. I had driven past this place dozens of times before but I never stopped by. I decided to try it out tonight before I went home. First off the prices are more than usual. At $ 3.52 for an ordinary milk tea with no tapioca, this was on the very expensive end of the spectrum. The cup wasn’t even full! I took one sip and I could tell that there was very little to no sugar in it. All in all, it was gross. It would be one thing if I had tried something random such as an avocado smoothie but the milk tea is like the basis for all tapioca joints. Them messing this up is like a Japanese restaurant butchering the California roll. There are many other things on the menu such as smoothies, crepes and bento boxes but I won’t be back to try the rest. First impressions are important and I was not impressed here.

This place has everything. It should be called «Bubble, Crêpe, and Everything But the Kitchen Sink!» They literally have bento boxes and even pot stickers. I really liked the honeydew bubble tea (my drink of choice to measure the quality of a bubble tea place), it was a bit grainy towards the end so they used a powder but overall it was yummy.
The service is great all of the employees are REALLY nice. This place is decorated as mixed up as their menu. They have a couch area, tables, and bars. They also have nice outdoor seating.
This is a good place to study. They have free wi-​fi which is fast and they have lots of plugs which can be a challenge in your standard café. The only reason it gets a 3 is because it smells to much like food in there. I find that distracting and irritating at times.

I’m not really a fan of the Bubble (boba) or the Crêpe and yet I find myself coming back to this place over and over.
When you enter the shop, I’d advise to ignore the numerous drink options and crepes menu behind the bar and instead focus on the wall directly behind the cash register, where you’ll find a small handwritten sign that says, «Taiwanese specialties», or something similar.
On this menu you will find popcorn chicken. Order it immediately, because 1) It’s amazingly delicious and 2) You can delight in knowing this is THE ONLY place in the WC/​Concord/​PH area that serves popcorn chicken. Yes, we here in the far east bay are incredibly deprived when it comes to decent ethnic food.
Anyway. The popcorn chicken meal comes with a generous serving of boneless chicken, coated in spices and deep fried (though not that oily and quite flavorful), a scoop of rice topped with pickled veggies, a soy sauce boiled egg, fried tofu, and randomly, a scoop of potato salad.
Add an iced boba tea for $ 1 more and you have a fab meal for about $ 7. The Hong Kong fashion magazines, wifi, and karaōke (!) all come absolutely free.

Update! 10÷10÷07
I’m really starting to like this place more and more! The staff here are always super friendly with me and I notice that they treat ALL of their customers that way, not just me. A couple of times I was also asked to make sure my drink was ok, and when it wasn’t, they took the drink back and fixed it! Its very rare that you find a boba place that will be willing to go that extra mile to make sure their customers are happy!
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While on my mission to find decent places near JFKU, I decided to try this place to get my caffine kick before class. Parking here wasn”t too big of a problem here, despite the small parking lot. I was pleasantly greeted by both employees and they patiently waited for me to decide. I went with the larger sized Thai Iced Tea with pearls.
The pearls were perfectly tender, not hard, not too soft. They could have been a tad fresher, but since it was slow when I went in, I can’t complain.
It had a cozy atmosphere to the place and I noticed signs for karaōke. Bottomline, I’ll probably be back!