Che-Lo

It’s really hard to look for Vietnamese sandwiches after 6:30. The one in Union City usually closes by 6:30 and they’re all out of either the meat or bread. Thank goodness I saw Che Lo on Unilocal.I didn’t realize we had a gem tucked in the Marina plaza. I didn’t get to take a picture of my sandwich but the Korean BBQ sandwich is pretty good. The avocado smash was definitely a treat I didn’t expect to like so much but oh my! If you come here and you don’t order an avocado smash, you might regret it. The plus about this place? You can also make your own chè!!! How cool is that?!

OMG!!! The Avocado Smash & Halo Halo are AMAZING!!! They hand press their own coconut milk daily. Every recipe is original to their store. Their food is always fresh, always natural. I will definitely come back.

Still love the C12, but their wait time has become VERY VERY bad. They take forever to make drinks.

I frequent the plaza that Che-​Lo resides in because there’s a Marina supermarket, Daiso, Sheng Kee, Tapioca Express, and a ton of eateries. As for Che-​Lo? I was a little skeptical about the place, because this specific location has changed businesses/​ownerships every 2 – 3 years it feels. If I remember quite frankly, the first business here was Quickly when I was a sophomore in high school (2008 – 2009), and after that it’s been going downhill with all the businesses after it. I don’t think any boba shop can really compete with Tapioca Express in THAT plaza, but trust me, Mr. Green Bubble, Sharetea, Sno-​Crave are doing pretty well across the streets.
Now back to the Che-​Lo. I’m a huge fan of Vietnamese desserts and boba drinks. Not because I’m Vietnamese, but because I don’t like my sweets to be TOO sweet yafeelme? I feel like Vietnamese people know how much sugar or sweetness to use for MY likeness, so I don’t have to adjust it. I mean, it just depends on the place and what dessert/​drink you get because maybe the fruit or something is already sweet.
I come here every few months only because I forget this place exists! Last night (1÷16÷2015) I ordered a honey milk tea and the owner was sweet enough to remind me that I get 3 FREE toppings. I usually only like getting egg pudding if I ever get toppings but I don’t remember seeing egg pudding on the list of toppings so I decided to «yolo» and get pandan jelly, coffee jelly, and red bean. This is pretty generous of them because ⁹⁄₁₀ places charge ⁵⁰⁄₇₅ cents for toppings.
I also ordered the BM3 which is the special pork combo sandwich.
Service was spectacular. The owner runs her store very well. Excellent customer service and she even offered me a stamp card. Some owners/​workers are stingy or have the idgaf attitude, but she doesn’t come off that way at all. She even asked me if I enjoyed my drink but I was in a rush to go somewhere so I told her «I’ve been here several times and I’ve always been satisfied with her sandwiches and drinks».
This place is a must try!

What a hidden gem! I’m in love with the vegetarian banh mi sandwich here and get it with fried egg for an extra dollar. Super yummy! I’ve come to this place everyday for the past week! Kim, the owner is super nice. Their avocado smash is yummy. Thumbs up to their milk teas also. Super flavorful. I had to dock one star off only because I find myself waiting super long my order only because it’s sometimes only Kim who is working by herself. I don’t mind waiting since I’m a super patient person, but other customers may find that not so good. Will definitely keep coming here.

Sandwich was really good (chicken + pâté). I asked for pâté in mine, it was flavorful and pretty big. Not bad for the price. I like it slightly more than Sweet Coco, but I like the che special at Sweet Coco more because the toppings seemed bette and more. I had it less sweet, it was not bad, but the toppings mattered. I did like how they put fresh mango on top. They also freshly squeeze their coconut milk daily.

I LOVE this spot. The owner always makes you feel right at home. Way better than TapEx or Quikly, the Bahn Mi here is always fresh and light. I love it here, I wish it were closer to my house! Also, big plus, they make their own taro paste! I usually order C12, an avocado smoothie or a taro smoothie with lotus seeds and coconut meat. Erremageeerrrrd. Heaven

Breh… hella good.
Service is a bit slow but worth the wait.
The quality of ingredients are great and you can totally customize your drink. The Vietnamese lady is so helpful and nice.
There’s good music and plenty of room. They play all the new hits and up coming songs. I was pretty surprised that Fetty Wap was being played here. I was a bit taken back because older Vietnamese women are working in the back.
I recommend the Avocado smash. It smashed my tastes buds. It was so good.
Will be back to try the banh mi!

Omg the AVOCADO SMASH!!! I just had this today, and I must say it’s the best I’ve had on the menu. This should be Che Lo’s signature drink. It’s basically an avocado smoothie filled with tapioca pearls, condensed milk and lots of other goodies that I should have written down before I gobbled this dessert up.
Because I live a little further away, the owner created a drink for me that would last until the next day. She is very sweet, and she always remembers you.
Don’t forget to pick up the taro egg roll. I get it every time!
When I lived in SF, I always went to Bambu, but I’m so happy that I found an even better place now that I live in the East Bay!

The main reason I keep coming back here is that the owner lady is so nice. She makes a lot of small talk and recognizes me! Just love the small local business feel compared to the larger chains that are around.
While the service can be slow especially if there’s too many orders at once, I usually go at off times so I don’t notice the wait PLUS the music that plays here is pretty spot on.
As for the drinks and desserts, I’ve tried the sandwich, egg rolls, milk teas, smoothies, and some of the Vietnamese desserts. I’ve never been disappointed with anything I’ve ordered so far, with the minor exception that there’s a lot of ice in the drinks so I finish it pretty quick.
After experimenting with the various options I’ve concluded that the best toppings for a Milk Tea is probably Pandan Jelly, they are kind of thick and chewy like a noodle which reminds of QQ noodles so definitely give that a shot if that’s your thing.

If you like avocado, you MUST try «Avocado Smash» aka «Avocado Kingdom» I’ve ordered this 3x so far. The very first time I ordered it, the lady said I’m going to keep coming back for it because everyone who tries it once, get addicted to it. I thought that was just her sales pitch, but foreal, this drink/​dessert is unlike any other Vietnamese dessert I’ve tried. This place uses fresh ingredients and does not have that powder artificial taste to it. Some other drink shops try to use fresh ingredients, but it doesn’t taste as great as Che-lo’s! Their taste is uniquely delicious.
Customer service is sweet. The lady remembered me and is so kind, honest, and accommodating. Because of her kindness, I’m always happy to come back even though it’s out of my way.

This place is amazing. Was visiting a friend nearby and decided to get some milk tea and Vietnamese sandwiches. Turns out this place had both and they were both great!
The sandwich;
Man, where do I start. The size of the sandwich was surprisingly big, I was expecting a smaller sandwich for the price. But not only was it big but it was good too! My wife and I got the pork roll and fried egg. Normally the sandwich comes with pâté which I don’t like, my wife and I wanted to split the sandwich and before we could ask, the lady offered to only add pâté to half and she put one egg on each half of the sandwich for no extra charge, wow.
The drinks;
My wife got the fresh coconut milk. tea with pearls. The lady claimed to have the best pearls around, man was she not kidding, they not only press the coconut milk. fresh daily, their pearls really were amazing. I know what you’re thinking, «they’re just pearls» well these pearl were the perfect texture and they had a lot of flavor. My wife and we’re supposed to share the drink but after I tasted it I had to get my own, went with the honeydew milk tea with pearls… Holy crap. Most tea places use poweder to give it that strong honeydew taste and you lose the taste of tea, not here. Good balance of honeydew flavor and tea.
Service;
Amazing service, genuinely friendly and concerned about your experience and if you like the food/​drinks. She would check on us as well to make sure everything was OK and if we needed anything else. I have been to tons of milk tea places and never have I ben checked on to make sure everything was to my liking.
Great food, drinks and service?!? DONE!

The mango smoothie is SO GOOD but I have never waited less than 20 minutes for my drink, even if they are not busy. I learned my lesson and called in my order when I was on my way there. Unfortunately, after arriving 20 minutes later (the lady told me my order would take 10 minutes), I still had to wait 15 minutes once I got there.
The owner is also really nice, but when she is not helping customers at the front, it still takes a while to be acknowledged. One time, someone called while I was in the middle of ordering, and she actually told me to pause while she took this other person’s order instead of making them wait until I was done. And I was standing right there!
All in all, I love their mango smoothies so I will be coming back, but only if I have the time to wait.

Fresh. So fresh. Everything so fresh.
Ordered the pork with pâté banh mi ($ 4.50) with a che on the side ($ 4.50).
Banh mi ingredients were fresh – cured ham was sliced well, pickled vegetables were crispy, jalapeños were hot af. There were 3 thin thin THINLY sliced jalapeños and my mouth was on fiya. And My tolerance is relatively above average. My Vietnamese bf thought it was just right. The bread was not too carby, toasted, but wasn’t warmed. I typically do not add mayo to my sandwich but forgot to ask for them to take it out. Surprisingly, this sandwich did not have it slathered on the bread.
Che can be self built or ordered off the menu. It is as good, if not better, than Bambu.
Vietnamese iced coffee is pricey ($ 4.50). I would recommend the che over the coffee.
Would definitely come again. Service is friendly and helpful. The owner kindly walked us through how to build our own drinks and recommended the popular items.

Milk Tea Review:
— OK price for what boba drinks go for nowadays. ~$ 3.50 for a 24 oz. drink («large» cup)
— Tea flavor of the milk teas isn’t as strong as I’d like. It’s kinda watered down like QQ Cup or Quickly.
— Up to 3 toppings free per drink sounds nice but you still get the usual total amount of topping. If you choose 3 toppings, you’ll get ¹⁄₃ of X, ¹⁄₃ of Y, and ¹⁄₃ of Z and not 3 normal scoops of each topping (if that makes sense).
— Boba balls hold their shape but are on the softer side and tasteless.
If I come again, I’ll try the che.

Review is for the durian smoothie. 4 stars just because they have it and its fresh (not from powder). As they were making it in the back, I could smell it, wonderful taste bud foreplay. :) Oh durian, how I love thee!
Smoothie comes with 3 free toppings, I chose lychee jelly, young coconut meat, and jackfruit. Also ordered mine with no extra sugar/syrup…order it this way to not have a sickeningly sweet drink because the jelly and adds that you put in will sweeten it further.
Not currently 5 star because 1) the smoothie had a few larger ice chunks in it – ok I’m being a little picky here and 2) had to wait a couple minutes to be acknowledged when I walked in. Everyone was in the back making drinks or cleaning/​working. Really should keep an eye out in the front or put in one of those silly door bells. Saw a lady walk in while waiting and after about 30 seconds without someone at the front, she walked out – oops lost a customer there. But I waited, because for durian I will wait :)
So solid 4 stars for now :) Will return when the durian cravings hit.
$ 9 minimum to use credit card.

Okay, so even though I’m Vietnamese, I’ve never been crazy about che. Maybe because I don’t like beans, and most traditional che have beans in it. However, I LOVE Che-​Lo. You can really taste how fresh their ingredients are. And, though I get the non-​traditional che’s [C4 with pearls is my favorite], my parents & grandparents dig their more traditional ones as well. The boy always gets a coconut smoothie here, and it’s not too sweet, which is amazing. Their use of fresh fruit and juices ensure that I’ll be a loyal customer for a long, long time. I barely ever finish stamp cards, and I think we’re already on our 3^rd one.
Note — production time can take awhile, so sometimes I’ll call in & order before I drop by.

A disappointing case of Unilocal-​overhype.
I’ve been super pumped to try Che-​Lo ever since I moved back to Union City and noticed a new, highly rated Vietnamese/​Desserts place in my favorite Marina plaza. I finally got to try it tonight, and am sad to say that Che-​Lo falls short of even my lowest of expectations.
Among my group, we ordered a milk tea, 2 avocado smoothies, and a grilled pork banh mi. This restaurant is either severely understaffed or workers are really slow to prepare the food because this simple, run-​of-​the-​mill order took literally 20 minutes. The place wasn’t even that crowded compared to all the other restaurants in the area.
The milk tea resembled the powdered concoctions I usually buy from the grocery store. It was also extremely watered down. Friends said that avocado smoothies were delicious and fresh.
The grilled pork banh mi – one of the more standard orders of all banh mi shops – was terribly dissatisfying. 80% of the sandwich was made up of bread – chewy, tasteless, lukewarm bread. I would have liked a stronger hint of vinegar in their pickled vegetables and more vegetables in general. The grilled pork was actually quite delicious, but scarce and lacked in quantity to actually impact the overall taste of the sandwich. I contemplated throwing it away.
With TapEx and Sharetea and my favorite JenJons close by, there’s no reason to wait forever for cheap milk tea and disappointing banh mi.

Che-​Lo is known for Vietnamese style desserts, but ironically I ordered a milk tea here — and liked it! My go-​to drink as of late has been taro milk tea with red bean and taro paste. This place made it pretty well ’cause the taro flavor didn’t taste artificial, although it was slightly watered down. I also like the option of smaller red beans so it’s easier to slurp up.
Service was friendly and quick. Given there’s a popular TapEx few doors down, if you don’t want to wait, come give this a chance! Next time, I definitely want to try their che and provide another review reflecting that experience to be fair!
TIP: YOU GET 3 FREE TOPPINGS WITH YOUR DRINK!

Located at a hidden corner of the Marina plaza, I finally got to try this place after dinner. Quite empty on a Sunday night when Tapioca Express couple stores down had a line out the store. Upon arrival, the store was super hot and stuffy. The fan that placed by the door did nothing to alleviate the heat.
I ordered a taro milk tea even though I should have tried their Che instead. But, if they can make a mean Che, then their milk tea should be just as good or else it won’t be on the menu. I must say the ingredients taste a lot more fresh and authentic compared to Bambu. My drink was a bit watered down though.
Overall, this place didn’t WOW as all the reviews per say. However, I will return to try their Che and banh MI next time.