Bar Code

A nice little spot in the fancy smancy Valley Faire mall to sit down and rest your little feet while shopping. Bar Code offers appetizers, milk tea, and alcoholic beverages such as cocktails, beer, and wine.
I usually only come here for the cocktails as this used to be the only convenient spot in the mall to grab some booze (there’s another place in the food court area now), but this last time I got a cocktail, tea, and an appetizer.
The tea was not bad, but it was pricey and not really anything special. The cocktail was mostly juice, you could barely taste the liquor, also crazy pricey for what was offered. The appetizer pricey as well, even for happy hour prices (ex $ 4 for 3 small pieces of chicken tenders) I guess I should have expected the quality to be subpar… but these tenders were chewy and tasted like they came out of the microwave several times (maybe true, maybe not true, I don’t know, but this was not good chicken)
Overall, I’d come back very occassionally out of convenience, but if possible (not lazy,) I would much rather go elsewhere.

I usually come here to get Thai ice tea, but after a long day I needed a cocktail. I got the melon mojito. It was better than expected. Will be back again for another cocktail or their Thai tea.

So I’ve been having a sweet potato fry craving for the past month so every time I go out and see those delicious fried orange pieces of goodness, I really can’t resist ordering it. So my boyfriend and I were strolling around Valley Fair and we were getting the munchies. And this place had boba AND sweet potato fries! So I said, we’re stopping here.
They had «happy hour» prices (their happy hour is like $ 1 off normal prices) so pretty expensive. Our mango smoothie was really sweet and delicious and costed us $ 6. Expensive but delicious, and we were hungry so okay, we can accept that. We waited another 15 minutes for our fries and I asked them about it because my stomach was getting impatient. They finally handed us the fry bag and my first reaction was, «Is that it?» Now, I’m not a greedy fry eater nor do I eat very much in general, but seriously, the small fry bag was only 25% filled. And the curry ketchup only 50% filled and was watery and tasteless. The barebones minimum. I regret I didn’t take a picture to show here on Unilocal.
I absolutely refuse to get ripped off so I grabbed the bag and told the cashier, «Is this the standard size? This is very little for what we paid for it.» He said, «Yes, this is the standard size.» So I responded by saying, «Can you do something about this? Because I won’t pay for this amount.» At least the story ends well– he offered to make me another complimentary bag of fries with the same pitiful amount, but hey, what can you do except for say thanks, write your story on Unilocal,and then never go back again.

I go here mostly every time I’m at the mall. It’s my favorite boba place in the mall. There drinks are pretty good quality. My personal favorite is the strawberry jasmine tea with pearls. It’s doesn’t have a really strong jasmine tea flavor unlike other places which is good. There Thai iced tea is really good to I think the perfect amount of sweetness. The mango tea is also pretty good if you like mango. I mostly get it with boba, which is decent not the worst not the best. They have a rewards program, but I don’t really know how many points you need to redeem them. Overall I would recommend this place if you are in the mall, but not a place that I would go out of my way…

I literally go here every single time I shop at VF. As usual, I got the Jasmine Milk Tea w/​pearls. It was the perfect amount of tea and tasted fine. The only problem was, the cup kept leaking and this is annoying especially when you’re trying to shop! I held a napkin the entire time, but had to swap the napkins because it would get soaked.
Also, is it me, or did the prices increase? My single drink came out to nearly $ 5. Idk about that, but they only have one size here, and it’s a regular cup. Either way, I guess it’s for the convenience of it being in the mall? Lol
Tip: if your dude doesn’t want to babysit you while you shop, he can hangout at the bar. They also have happy hour.
Not sure if it’s still on the menu, but the Passion Fruit Heineken is interesting. However, it comes with exactly* 5 pearls! LOL. Or was it 6?

Terrible. What a letdown. Tried the hojicha crema and it was extremely underwhelming. Did not taste like a crema drink.
I was so excited to try this place too! It looked so promising. It looks so trendy and innovative in the middle of the mall. The pictures and menu looked so good. It was hard to choose one item to order. But so glad I only ordered one drink to try. Super overpriced and the tea was watery and tasted diluted. The flavor itself was barely there. The boba was not chewy or sweet– not so delicious I am sad to say.
Would not come back.

Great snacks and soft drink inside the Valley Fair mall most importantly reasonable prices. Oh good service.

So you’re walking around Valley Fair mall and shopping away when BAM it hits you… the thirst is real. You’ve been so distracted by the finer things (LV, YSL, Burberry, Ferragamo) that you didn’t realize how thirsty you were until it was almost too late.
If you’re like me, then sometimes nothing quenches that thirst better than some tea and ballz (honey boba balls of course). And nothing is worse than getting a cup of average bobz leaving you unsatisfied. But thank goodness that is not the case here. I ordered the Lychee Royal less sweet and it was perfect. The tea was steeped to perfection and the lychee jelly added the right bit of sweetness. I also ordered their popcorn shrimp and was blown away by their curry ketchup. So. Good. and this is coming from someone who hates ketchup. I was literally drenching each shrimp I ate with this heavenly sauce (I guess the thirst was real for the shrimp as well: P) Service was pretty good and I thought the place itself was a cool concept with unique drinks.
However, I thought the price was pretty steep, I mean $ 4.70 for a regular sized drink with only one topping?! Hmm… I guess for the convenience it’s worth it, but I would never go out of my way to come here. Overall, this will definitely be my go-​to whenever I go to VF mall.

I was never a fan of their location on Hostetter, so when I heard they were at valleyfair, I wasn’t too amused. What caught my attention was when my coworker told me about some bomb peach mimosa’s. Instantly I was like wait mimosa’s at the mall? Peach? I can get off, out of my angry retail job and walk right over and order alcohol? I’m sold. So i wandered over one day and that one day turned to many peach mimosa and beer filled days. The atmosphere is pretty cute and comfy. The service is okay, but one of the times I came, Ashley helped me out and she was awesome! Sometimes it can get quite crowded with seating and the line and just the overall space because you do have to deal with just the other people walking around the mall. As for their milk teas, they’re okay, I would much rather come here for their alcohol drinks.

The Bar Code I used to go to was more like a Quicklies. But this one here in Valley Fair? It’s hip. It’s funky. It’s fresh. And the snacks are pretty much all fried. Basically a classy Quicklies.
I’m just kidding. This place is actually really nice and it’s situated not in the food court but right next to Uniqlo, my favorite store. They’ve got a bar for those day drinks as well as milk teas and fruit teas to cater to all the teenagers. Definitely come here during happy hour. The food is almost half off then, which makes it affordable for the amount they give you. And make sure to get the crispy fish balls.
4 cause milk tea for adults.

This has been on my bookmark list for a while and I just happen to be at Valley Fair Mall (which I didn’t know it was in) and knew I had to try this place when we passed by it since I never really go to the South Bay.
They had a sample table set up and after their sample, I was hooked. The idea of alcohol and boba sounded really cool (which is what they are known for here), but it was the middle of the day and a hot day out so I got the Strawberry Pineapple smoothie. It was really good and refreshing and you can taste the perfect blend of strawberry and pineapple.
The atmosphere was really cool and upscale and they even had a bar. They also had prices to match… at $ 6 a smoothie, I think this would be a once in a while treat.

I can order Milk Tea AND a beer all at once? Hellz yeah! Who doesn’t wanna feel that nice sweet buzz as they’re shopping. :P
Got myself my usual favorite: Taro Milk Tea but added B&W pearls to it, not just regular boba. I have to say the white «boba» pearls were way more fun to chew. A little harder but had a squishy center. Mmmm yeah! Taro flavor was on point.
The only thing about this place is there usually is quite a wait for your drink and their pricing is about $ 1.50 more than standard boba spots.

I was at the mall with one of my coworkers and we were both craving some boba. We thought we would check this place out out of convenience as it is located inside the mall!
My friend ordered a milk tea with no add on. I ordered a coconut milk tea (which includes pearls already). I really wanted to like this place especially because the workers there are super friendly. However my drink was not good at all. I could barely taste the coconut and for some reason the base of the drink tasted powdery (I’m not sure if they use a powder base or not, but it was just what it tasted like to me). Sadly, I do not think I’ll be returning to grab boba at this place.

Unique flavored drinks and alcohol here! I really wanted to try one of their speciality alcohols but decided it wasn’t a good idea since I was driving shortly after I bought my drink.
I ordered a strawberry mango tea and it was delicious! I also added lychee jelly to it and drank it fairly quickly. The texture from the sorbet and flavor mixed together was a perfect blend. A tad pricey but good stuff. I’d be interested in trying their other drinks next time.

This is a very upbeat boba joint, with dance music playing at all times. They have a large menu of drinks, but I personally wasn’t a fan of their milk tea. I tend to order a regular or almond milk tea when I’m at a boba place for the first time. I like doing that because I like to taste of their basic tea. Once I get that out of the way, I explore from there! I tried their almond milk tea when I first went there, but I didn’t personally like it. It was more on the floral side, which isn’t my thing. I also tried their peach tea, on another occasion, and I really liked it. I would go back mor their fruit-​infused teas, but not their milk teas.
The pricing is reasonable, average of most places. I also like that they have some food/​snack options here, which is something you don’t normally get in boba places. If you do, it’s not what you want to get because no one ever orders food there, so you stay away from it. They also have a happy hour and they prices get better!
What dropped the stars for me was their customer service. It’s out the door. They decided to make me a drink I didn’t order because they ran out of the one I wanted, but they never asked me! To my luck, it seemed as though they were always out of one thing or another. This is very important to have because it’s the main product, boba & other toppings, & tea. I suppose for it being in the mall I shouldn’t expect much. It’s wrong for me to say that, but I see it’s a problem with most restaurants in malls, which lack customer service and quality.

I forgot I was at the mall during my visit here. To me, the comfortable seating and pop music added to a relaxing ambiance. I was able to sit and relax on the white cushioned bench while my kids sat at the bar.
Staff was patient, friendly and very helpful with us, especially since it was our first time here and couldn’t decide on what to get. We ended up ordering three drinks, asparagus fires, and calamari. The asparagus fries with the spicy sauce were absolutely delicious! The calamari on the other hand, was not as great. Moreover, I’ve had tastier black milk tea elsewhere. It was just too watered down for me.

Came across this cute looking bar/​eatery on my way to Nordstrom. Menu had delicious sounding snacks and beverages aside from bubble tea, but, I stuck to the bubble tea.
Service was mediocre; waited longer than I expected for a bubble milk tea being that I was the only customer at the time. What can I say, but that it was tasty enough to satisfy my bubble tea craving. Pretty good quality teas, but nothing extraordinary. They also give a very small portion of pearls. My biggest complaint, however, is that they put waaaaay too much ice. =|
Tip: ask for less ice in your bubble tea drink!

I like the old Barcode when it was by Hostetter, but this is good as well. I’m sad that there’s no more crepes or popcorn chicken, which I was a big fan of. However, they now have alcohol drinks and added new interesting flavors, such as the plumberry passion that I ordered. It has some berry and hibiscus flavoring. I think it’s good, but ridiculously expensive. It cost more than $ 5 for that drink. If it was freshly squeezed, I may justify it, but I know it wasn’t… :/​Since the price is high, once in a while is okay, but… I wouldn’t come here as my main source of boba. :X
The outdoor seating is cute though. I like the rustic décor. Lastly, they still have the point system from the old store, so my points carried over! :D

There may be a pun in the Chinese transliteration of Bar Code, but I can’t figure it out. If a Cantonese/​Mandarin/​Taiwanese Hokkien speaker knows what 芭蒄兒 (ba1 guan1 er2) means, can you please tell me?
I always go to Uniqlo next door, but yesterday, I tried Bar Code for the first time. I ordered the white peach tea with white agar pearls, and it was sooo good! There are many comfortable seats around Bar Code, so it feels great to take a break from shopping with a cuppa tea. It’s like getting Ten Ren’s or Tea Station without going to Cupertino.

Time to review this place. My Friday friend or was it I who wanted to stop? Things have been a blurr lately.
Whoever initiated the stop deserved a drink or two of their Sparking Peach Cocktail $ 9. It tasted fresh. It was peach moscato and mango jellies. Right amount of mix. Those mango jellies at the bottom was a delight to chew in the end. I actually enjoyed my drink. While my friend had her beer fix.
Sitting at this boba/​bar/​small food oasis and being catered to by a 12 yo looking bar keep was almost surreal. I almost carded him! Should’ve carded him! Lol!
Well that day the mall was weirdly slow. Therefore quite. I know I almost forgot where we were!
In the past I’ve only had their milk teas. Having sampled their alchy menu I might just come back during their Happy Hour again. M-​Thu 4 – 7, Sunday all day!