Royal Tea Cafe

It said on here they would be open… I drove over and they were not.
The parking lot is deserted. Upon mall entry there is a rundown looking snack shop where an older man sits and burns incense or smokes or so it smelled.
I walk up to the food court at 5pm on a Monday and see one restaurant serving people. I look over at the Royal Tea sign and it is obviously closed with no sign indicating why.
Won’t be back.

My husband and I have eaten there twice and both brought food home. We both got a vermicelli dish, shared 4 egg rolls and a large coconut drink for $ 20. As long as they stay inn the mall I’ll keep coming back.
Great people and very patient.

This review is probably long overdue. The debate went like this, there’s nothing left at that mall, Hanh says, I’m like no they still have stores and I’m sure the food court is still open. It’s because we drive along the other side so there are never any cars.
Well one evening, Hanh, was craving Bubble Tea and I was not about to drive to Bellaire during rush hour, so I looked up on Unilocal and it brought me to Royal Tea Café, it said it was located inside of NW Mall, so sure enough I drove around to the side with all of the cars parked, and indeed the mall is still alive. It is not flourishing but it’s still kicking. This place is ran by a very nice couple. They are very prompt with the orders. I usually just get the milk tea with tapioca, but recently, I gave them a try with their Banh Mi (Sandwiches), and surprisingly it was solid. I like their bread better than the surrounding vietnamese options. They could fill the meat up a little bit more, but the flavors are there. Out of the three meats, beef, pork, and chicken, the chicken ended up being the best.
I will continue supporting this family owned business.

My wife and I both had Vietnamese sandwiches and they were incredible. Tapioca drinks were delicious. They were very friendly and came out to serve our food to the table. Left with a smile.

I recently discovered this place and it’s close enough to get food during lunch breaks. My first time trying the BBQ sandwhich (banh mi) which was decent. The bread wasn’t as toasted but the meat was flavorful. They also asked if I wanted the sandwhich spicy which was just them adding siracha sauce. I also got the green tea with tapioca which honestly wasn’t that good mainly because of the tapioca. They were super soft and not chewy at all. The green tea overall was okay but you can’t really go wrong with green tea right? Anyways, the people are friendly and they have punch cards for the drinks. I’ll come back if I need a banh mi fix but no more tapioca.

This café is located in the food court of the slowly dying Northwest Mall.
The people here are friendly. There is a nice selection of «fresh» fruit you can get your tapioca placed in. Yuck to those places that use only corn syrup and/​or powder wth?
Favorite flavors: Vietnamese Coffee, mango, watermelon, cantalupe, the list goes on.
Prices are very reasonable. I believe I paid close to $ 4 for my large Cantalupe with tapioca.
They serve food here but I forgot what exactly is on the menu, I would imagine the Banh Mi and neighboring staples.

Having discovered it recently via the office grapevine [such is the power of word-​of-​mouth], I think they have a budding success on their hands. Inside the Northwest Mall food court, this boba tea and light lunch place is a wonderful and welcome addition to the area close to my office.
The office grapevine worked this way: (1) one of the receptionists discovered it, (2) she shared it with the other two receptionists, (3) they told the medical assistants who were then asked about the source of the boba tea by our (4) doctors, who then were spied drinking one by our (5) eligibility manager. The manager was spotted with her own boba tea by (6) one of my department coworkers and this reminded her of the Tapioca Express that was near our old offices [good times, good times]. She told (7) me about it and we got in the car to check it out on a Tuesday.
Upon our arrival at the food court, they have a nice panel board of their options: regular teas ($ 3 each), cream teas ($ 3.25 each), and coffee-​based drinks ($ 3.50 each) are laid out. Tapioca sinkers are an added 50 cents. They also offer small bites: banh mi ($ 2.95 each), spring rolls ($ 3), vermicelli bun bowls ($ 4.99), and even a rotation of lunch combos. You can add avocado (50 cents) or a fried egg ($ 1) to your banh mi, also. We told the spunky friendly 30-​something husband-​and-​wife team working the counter that we heard about this place from co-​workers.
Coworker had never had a banh mi so she tried out the bo banh mi along with her Thai tea; I abandoned my own drink option and went with a banh mi thit nuong to try it out. Both of our orders were a success — and the sandwich is accompanied by a small cup of what appears to be an excellent and addictive homemade Sriracha knockoff that is both spicy and sweet. I dream of this sauce.
On our return to the office, another coworker (Little Philly) spied our items and loitered around as we tore into the sandwiches. He never had one but was intrigued by the concept. So, Little Philly asked me Wednesday (the next day) if I wanted to visit the place again — heck, yes. This time, we each had a chicken banh mi and he added an order of the spring rolls. On the way back, I discovered that Little Philly does not like seafood of any kind so the spring rolls with their shrimp were a poor choice for him — I ended up eating his order and telling him of how tasty they were with the shrimp, mint, vermicelli, and lettuce filling. To paraphrase Daniel Day Lewis’ line from «There Will Be Blood»: I eat your spring rolls! Eat it up! Slurp!
The frenzy was still in effect when Little Philly and I visited Thursday. [This was my third day in a row; his second.] Little Philly added a fried egg to his banh mi and reported that the sandwich had geometrically improved. For the sake of preserving some decency, we held back from going again on Friday. But, we can easily and without shame return on Monday since its a new week. At least, that’s the story I’m telling myself.
As the summer temps return, it will be great to try their seasonal watermelon icy drink (nothing but fresh fruit and ice) with another fresh hot banh mi.
* Yes, Little Philly exists and the name ties into his real-​life background, complete with a slight Philly/​South Jersey accent. Did I tell you I like all manner of accents? Yup, there’s your lagniappe for the day. And, no, he is not related to Rocky Balboa; he’s more Irish-​American than Italian-​American. But, feel free to cue up «Eye of the Tiger» for your drive.