Tapioca Express

The people that work here are so not into their job.
The ambiance isn’t good either… the one down by skyline near Ranch 99 is SO much better.
Yeah, I know my friends and I were immature for laughing when the person asked if I wanted «Big Balls» or «Little Balls» but come on, it was hilarious and we were all friends. No need for the bitchy attitude like your time is so expensive… and the fact that no one else was behind us or in the shop at all.
Skip this place if you can and trot down to the TapEx near Ranch 99.

The drinks are OK when they have Tapoica. The food is OK too. Seriously it takes them 15 minutes per drink, when there are no orders before mine. I found out, from a friend who used to work at a Tap-​X, it really takes about a minute each and two if you’re taking your time. What’s the hold up? Who knows. The staff is cool, but they are super slow and always out of tapoica. No part of the name applies. (never any tapioca and slow service) If you own this place, you should listen to your customers. You can’t rely on walk in traffic, but referrals, repeat customers and good reviews.

its ok. they stopped using the stamp card which i thought sucks. they randomly close sometimes for inventory? hello!!! you OPEN AT 12!!! wanna explain why you cant do this in the morning? wtf are u guys doing until noon, sleeping!!! and if you come by when they just open, sometimes you cant even use your debit card when they have that to take it. It’s ok but not anything different.

I’ve been a customer at this location for a while since I live only a couple of blocks away. All and all, this is usually my experience:
1. Extremely LONG LONG wait
2. 25% chance of your order being right (if I want a hot milk tea, they’ll give me a cold one).
3. High school employees who probably weren’t trained on how to make the drinks and who don’t know or care about customer service.
The reason why I go there is only because it’s convienent.
It’s a little further but go to the one in the Skyline Plaza.

I don’t expect great things from places like this. The tapioca drinks are okay, but the food isn’t all that great. I also have a problem with places that hire immature teenagers who don’t know the value of customer service. The kids working at this place would rather talk to each other than help a customer out, and usually take their time getting your order ready. If you’re into this type of stuff then you’ll like, I guess. If not, stay away from this place.

Like it b4 when they had good calamari not these crapy cheat squid rings. wth? there crispy chicken sucks now too its all coated in msg. when i tasted it i was like. omg

Location: clean, pretty looking
Services: Horrible
Waiting time: Horrible
Taste: OK pass
My last 2 experiences there:
Experience 1:
(at register)
I ordered a honey green tea. 10 Min after i pay and waited, they told me they are out of green tea. I decided to get a Thai Snow Bubble. After another 15 min, they put the Thai snow bubble on the counter. Notice: the snow bubble had the Thai tea running down all side, like a fountain.) So, we started the following conversation:
Me: Excuse me, i m sorry to bother you, but the drink is dripping from all side.
She: Oh, ok.
(She took the drink back and 5 min later, she put up the same drink on the counter, its still dripping, now on half the side, there are now, puddle of Thai tea, under the cup)
Me: Excuse me, but the drink is still dripping.(obviously)
She:(giving me the annoying look) Oh, but i wiped it.
Me: Can i have another cup to sit under that one, so it doesn’t drip all over?
She: Oh, we don’t give out extra cup.
Me: Can u pour it into the large up so it doesn’t drip ?
She: I can’t, we are not allow.
Me: Well, its dripping all over your counter, anything u can do before handing it to me?
(this is where it pissed me off the most)
She look the drink back, open the dun lid (the half circle lid that snow bubble suppose to have), scoop out the whole top, tilt the cup and pour out another ¹⁄₃ of the tea. and replace it with a flat lit and put it back on counter, then she walks away.
WHAT kind of SERVICE is THAT?
Experience 2: yesterday night
Me and my friend ordered 2 snacks and 3 drinks. They over charged us and gave us a refund after i repeatedly explain to them.
We waited for EXACTLY 30 min, to get our first drink. Another 10 min to get our 2^nd. Then they were calling out the numbers for the snacks, numbers that came AFTER our. We ask them why, and all they said was that our order wasn’t fully ready, didn’t want to give us part by part. (we already have the 2 drinks in hand) So, we waited more, then they start giving out drinks and foods to people after us again and again! We were pretty much waiting at the counter and asking every 5 min. After 50min from the time we ordered, i went up to them and ask to speak to their manager. Of course, none was on duty. I was demanding explanation! They said, they’ll make all my stuff remaining right now. So, 5 min more, i got my food. STILL MISSING A DRINK. I asked, and they said, «Oh, that drink? We are out of it.» I WAITED for 1 HOUR for a drink and snack, then they tell me they are OUT. I told them to replace it with anything, and i storm out of there.
I AM NEVER WALKING IN THERE AGAIN.
AND EITHER SHOULD YOU.

This place surprisingly wasn’t bad; I think they recently changed ownership or management. My friends and I got regular milk teas with tapioca and they were pretty good. The tea wasn’t overly powdery, and the tapioca was chewy.
Credit cards are accepted, but only on minimum purchases of $ 5.

So really, Tapioca Express is getting 3 stars for convenience more so than the actual boba drinks themselves, although they aren’t bad. I just don’t think that they’re as good as Eggettes. Alas, Eggettes is a ten minute drive away in South San Francisco, whereas Tapioca Express is barely a five minute walk away. So whenever I am hit with a desperate craving for boba and I have no one to take me to Eggettes, I head over to Tapioca Express.
I’ve always just ordered the mango snow ice, both with and without the tapioca balls. The one time I did order the tapioca balls, they were a little underdone and hard in the center. The drink itself has a tendency to be a bit too sweet and icy towards the end, although it seems to be fine when you first drink it.
Overall, the service is okay. Most times I go and its fairly empty so I get my drink quickly. I’ve never really stayed around to hang out, so I can’t say too much about the décor.

So i’m stuck in lab for 5 hours. I had to wait an hour for my electrophoresis of rat liver, kidney, spleen and lung to finish. ONE WHOLE HOUR, what the hell am I going to do?!
Luckily, my labmates already had a plan.
«Off to get boba!» one said.
«Shotgun!» my tall, huge labmate said.
Susy C: fuck! You mean I have to sit in the behind you in Rob’s tiny G35?!
A few minutes later (with Susy C cramped in the back of a G35) we arrived at TapEx. Right across the parking lot was Serra Bowl.
Aww, good memories with Unilocalers at Serra Bowl…
Anyway, this location is fairly new, hence why it’s pretty clean. However, I can’t say much for the service.
I glanced over the menu and saw it: Okinawa Milk Tea.
Susy C: Excuse me, what’s the difference between Okinawa milk tea and the regular milk tea?
TapEx employee: *annoyed face* it’s milk tea.
Susy C: Yeah I know, but what’s the difference between the two? You know what? actually forget it.
I took out my sidekick and texted a real Okinawan to find out.
Screw asking the damn bitchy employee.
But alas, the Okinawan didn’t know either so I had to ask again.
Susy C: So, what’s the difference between Okinawan milk tea and the regular milk tea on the menu?
TapEx employee: one of them has brown sugar.
Geez bitch, all ya had to do was say so the first time…
AND YOUR BALLS SUCK!

This place gets the stars from convenience since I live just down the street. I do like their snacks even though they’re chock full of msg. But I’ve been eating msg all my life, so I’ve gotten used to it. The drinks are just okay. I usually only order the regular milk tea with no tapioca anyway.
My biggest complaint would be the service. How can mixing powder take 20 minutes??? I don’t understand! If a starbucks barista can make 3 espressos in 1 minute, these people can surely make 1 milk tea in 3 minutes. But noooo. And make sure they’re listening to you when you place the order, the girl put boba in my drink even after I told her I didn’t want boba.
Even worse if you order the snacks. The take frikkin forever! Keep that deep fryer on, bitches!

I got all excited about this location because it’s so much closer than the Hillsdale one. But I was thoroughly disappointed. I ordered the popcorn chicken and couldn’t even finish half of it. I seriously wanted to vomit. They weren’t crispy or meaty at all. Just fatty, mushy nuggets of I don’t even know what. Gag. So disappointed.
Plus! They were mopping up the place while we were still waiting for our drinks. And hello! Why were we waiting for so long if we were the only customers in there. They suck.

I hate to say it but Quickly is better than Tapioca Express and Q-​cup. I get my monies worth at Quickly. My only complaint with Boba chains is that they only except cash. They should allow debit or credit cards. C’mon.

I hate the people that work here. Get my order right, bitch! One time they gave me small tapioca balls instead of the large tapioca because I didn’t specifically state what size I wanted. Who orders small balls!!! (maybe my ‘indentured’ granny) But certainly not moi! I WANT ‘EM BIG! And then another time, they forgot to put the balls. Good job guys. Zell, your review hits the spot. And I agree with the MSG infested crispy chicken – my tongue began to shrivel from its saltiness, ughk.
Despite past mishaps, I DO love their flavors and will share with you which ones are worthy!
I cannot emphasize how important it is for you to try the MANGO SNOWBUBBLE W/​MANGO STARS AND TAPIOCA. (they are really shaped like stars)
And COCONUT JELLY MILK TEA WITH TAPIOCA. (don’t forget to say big tapioca or else you will get a ‘litto’ surprise. duhduhdunnn)
And BRAZILIAN COFFEE WITH TAPIOCA.
And VANILLA CHAI WITH TAPIOCA is pretty good as well.
AND PUDDING MILK TEA WITH TAPIOCA (sound kinda gross but it tastes grand)

right when you walk in the door, the place welcome you with the aroma of chicken nuggets, which smell like curry. I had the combo A for $ 4.99 that includes a tapioca milk tea and an order of fried chicken pieces. The milk tea is a bit weak. Quite obvious that the drink is just powder mix with water. The tapioca is al dente with a touch of sweetness. Overall the drink was ok. The fried chicken pieces was awesome. Crunchy outter layer with a moist and tender inside. Dusted with hot powder and oh my god, spicy but very very tasty. For $ 4.99, you definitely got what you paid for.

I don’t drink anything here except for the Large Thai Ice Tea without those damn tapioca balls. I normally have to add milk when I get home to reduce the sweetness. I have tried the fried chicken nugget things and those aren’t bad if you don’t mind the MSG. So I can’t say its the best or worst, but its closest to my home in SB.

You seldom get tapioca drinks that look so good but taste so bad.
After waiting for 20 mins only to get 2 super-​diluted tapioca drinks, I will NEVER return to T.E. even it is only 4 min away from my house.
Don’t be decieved by how the store looks. The drink tastes really bad.

Gross, gross, gross! I’ve had milk tea with tapioca elsewhere where they use real fruits or juices (syrup at the lowest), so that’s what I expected when I got here. Instead, I got powder, sugar, milk and water. My drink was very watered down and the texture of the tapioca balls weren’t right at all. To make matters worse, it took about 20 minutes to get a drink made (uhh, my friend and I were the only customers at that time!!). It does not take that long to make a drink, especially if it’s powdered! Sooo obvious too as the powder wasn’t even dissolved in my drink and was all chillin on the bottom of my cup. DISGUSTING!