Tapioca Express
Category: Coffee & Tea [Edit]
1720 N Milpitas BoulevardMilpitas, CA 95035 (408) 946-7280
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Wi-Fi: Free
56 reviews
San Jose, CA
"best gelato I've had outside of Monza everyone has said the rest, great staff, good atmosphere, interested in the customer, not the…" read more »
25 Reviews for Tapioca Express
I love love love love their Thai tea/Thai tea snow bubble and their fried squid!!!! I've been to a lot of TapEx's and it is never as good. They've gotten my fried squid order mixed up one time with fried fish balls and they were really nice and funny about fixing it and getting the fried squid to me. I think they make the best Thai tea around except for Thai restaurants of course!
This isn't one of the my favorite Tap Ex to go to---so sad since this is the closest to my house.
Their tea is the same as other Tap Ex's but for some reason the employees only know how to make tea the way it was written on their instruction list. I order my jasmine tea with a little bit of sugar and it came out as sweet as when you order it regular. Okay, maybe they just have really sweet syrup. Next time I order it with NO SUGAR and it is still super sweet. Hmmm?? I dont get pearls or any of the other jellies so there is no way that tea should have had a hint of sweetness.
It would have been nice if they just said "oh it only comes sweet" I would have taken it, but they always say okay and serve the same thing.
They sell the crispy chicken tho so I still like coming here at times when I really want crispy chicken. No bento boxes (as of the last time I was here). They gave my friend a hard time coz she asked if they have bento boxes--dude just say no we dont and move on.
I usually end up just driving to the Automall one.
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This place is not so spacious but have a huge selection of drinks and some snacks. I wasn't sure what is good to order from the big menu so I felt back to the basic, pearl milk tea, it is a bit costly, $2.98! After a 5 minute wait, I got my drink. The boba is ok, a bit soft since I like pearls to be chewy, but the milk tea is not so great, it tasted very powdery and I feel like some powder keeps stucking in the back of my throat. If I ever come back, I definitely won't be ordering their milk tea anymore, but I'm not sure if I want to come back here.
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Their boba could be better ... a bit too chewy and tasteless. Other than that, my Jasmine Milk Tea was made to my liking though.
The chicken and fish are good. I love most of the Snow Bubbles. The Tapioca Milk Tea is good. The pearls are perfect. There are always a bunch of Vietnamese guys playing cards outside though. It sucks that they don't accept credit cards though. At certain times, it's hard to find parking.
I love how SPICY they make their food. I used to order my fried food "pretty spicy" and almost got killed. Now they would ask me on a scale from 1 to 5, how spicy I want it. Last time I ordered 4, the order taker told me to reconsiderate since they make it really hot. So I changed it to 3. I have to admit it was pretty spicy, but I can probably live with it or try 4 next time to see if it even hit the spot better. Their popcorn chicken was actually onsidered quite good when compared to many other places! Although I had their fried fish cake one time and it was so thinnly sliced that it tasted more like paper....Their drinks are pretty good too even I usually am not a big fans of milk tea.
I live in walking distance of this place, so I'm not sure why I haven't reviewed it yet.
Anyways it's decent, the food is really good, the service is pretty bad though. I remember one time coming there and when I tried to order a croquet, the lady at the counter didn't even know they had that so we had a tough time with that. They also sometimes get my order wrong, especially with the spices which I am particularly picky about. I recommend this place only if you're in a rush, or low on money, if not eat somewhere better.
I like this place, simply for the fact that there seems to be adults instead of what seems to look like a high school in there....and not to mention the deep fried sweet buns. As with most things it's probably bad for me and will probably kill me one day, but I want it and it tastes good.
So this place is in walking distance of a school, so there are always alot of teenagers here. Tapex has a GINORMOUSSS menu, and tons of food choices. They also have alot of "pearl choices". They have flavored milk, snow bubbles,(smoothies) tons of types of milk teas, and coffee. The ones I remember on the top of my head are peanut milk tea, almond milk tea, honey milk tea, black milk tea, caramel milk tea, thai tea, hazelnut milk tea, green milk tea. The food is an assortment of fried chicken, squid, fish balls, fish, mushrooms etc. in a spicy salty batter. They also have fries. The pearls here are really good, right in between chewy and soft. They also have baby pearls, which are really good, a little softer that the big pearls. Pudding(its really a soft sweet jello, at the consistency of silken tofu, and it comes in bunches of flavors) and Jelly (its a really firm jello cut into small pieces in bunches of flavors) are really good. I reccomend getting pudding in one of the milk based drinks. This place has not very strong milk tea, hence the 4 stars, so only some of the drinks are good. I think honey milk tea is really good, because its point isn't a strong tea flavor, but black milk tea isn't that great, since it isn't sweet, and it doesn't have a strong tea flavor, it tastes bland. For some reason, green milk tea has a strong tea flavor though, so that one is pretty good. Almond milk tea and hazelnut milk tea are good too, but based on the smell and taste, I'm assuming they take the normal milk tea, and add in almond or hazelnut extract. This place has EXTREMELY good HOT HONEY milk tea though. Its tea-y, but sweet, and since it's warm, it's perfect for a cold day. And if you're opting for a light tea drink, that's not on the bitter side, iced green tea, no milk, with baby pearls is VERY good. Another reason I gave this place 4 stars is because of the Fried food. ITS THE BEST THING EVER!! They ask you to tell them how spicy you want it, from 1 to 5, and whatever you ordered comes out with the perfect crispy spicy batter coating it. The batter pretty much makes everything the fry DELICIOUS!!!!
the expresso (1.90) here is pretty strong, well worth it. they have few food items to sell here, maybe cuz it is a relatively small location. this is their first shop in nor. cal.
I've been coming here since high school, they seem to be the only location that can get the fried calamari RIGHT. The one in Fremont is chewy and not all that good. Also, when you order spicy at this location--it is reasonably spicy. Service is so-so, but at least, theres no dirty mugs from the employees. This place is very reliable.
Oh, and they were opened on Christmas--which was really great cause I was craving it one year.
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I love this place. I been going since I was a Junior in High School--and that is a LONG ass time. I love their Combo A. It is my ultimate favorite. There chicken is all white meat and well it is not always 100% but when it is made right it is perfectly crispy and not so greasy. Ask for extra basil cuz it taste fantastic with the chicken. I love grass jelly and you can have it with almost any drink they offer.
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Tastiest pepper crispy chicken I've ever had from a bubble tea/snack joint, and I've been to quite a few; it's comparable to what you can get in Taiwan. Much, much better than the Q-Cup across the street, except that the seating is a lot more limited. I also like their snow bubbles, pepper crispy fish, and pepper string beans.
Used to frequent this place back in my high school days. Once, I took one of my whitewashed Asian friends here. Little did I know how overwhelmed he was by the immense drink and snack list on the wall, I left him alone after I had placed my order to grab a table outside. After a few seconds, I hear a fit of laughter coming from inside. I find out later that my friend had asked them what fish balls were, and the two guys working had exploded in guffaws at his ignorance. My friend left the shop empty-handed and red-faced, and vowed never to return again.
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This place always reminds me of home. Part of my nightly routine whenever I'm in town and catching up with old friends.
When it comes to boba places, I'm a very predictable customer. Honey milk tea with no pearls. They make it just right. I also like the friendly staff. Whenever I come here, we'd sit at a table outside, my friend would have a stoge, and talk about life til closing time. It's one of the chillest places around.
These tapioca places are all over the bay area. Weeding out the good ones from the bad ones is pretty hard to do since they typically give out the same stuff. Milk tea with pearls, fried calamari, italian sodas, etc; while easy to make these items, not everyone gets it right. The Milpitas Tapioca Express is the rare exception. The pepper chicken is always great here, the fried calamari gives off the right texture, and the drinks are consistently delicious. While the environment can be a bit loud, its much better than most tapioca places I've been to (ex. Union City Tapioca Express). I would recommend coming here if you are looking for a late night snack.
I used to come here after school with my friend and order the matcha bubble. When you order thier pepper crispy chicken, prepare to feel a hell load of pain the mouth!! I wanted to see how spicy their spiciest chicken was. After I ate one, I regretted ordering that XD I had to run out for water! Due to that, my friend and I are NEVER ordering the really spicy chicken ever again..
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I like this one and the one in Mtn. View, but this one a little more because it's closer to my house. They have guava icy, which is my favorite! It's a little pricey, but I'm willing to pay for it because it's sooooo good!
I often use this location as the pitstop from my workplace in San Jose to my house in Hayward, since it is centrally located, and right before the spot where traffic gets bad. It is also my "pre-club" hangout before headed down to the clubs in downtown SJ.
The owner of this shop also runs the infamous Tapioca Express in Union City (widely known in the East Bay as the most popular by far). However, this one appears to be only about half the size, and the employees are not nearly as friendly. Furthermore, the drinks seem a bit watered down, and their most famous dish, the pepper crispy chicken, just doesn't have the same kick to it.
Perhaps, if I had gone to this location first, and never heard of the Union City branch, my opinion might be different, but as it stands, I've already been spoiled to the point of no return. I'll give this place one extra star for employing some cute Taiwanese girls from time to time, but other than that, it's not really all that great.
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Most delicious fried chicken and snacks EVER. They deep fry the spiciness into the the goods, what can be better than that??
I'm not sure why I haven't reviewed this place yet, but it just hit me a minute ago. I absolutely have to rate this a 5 all the way. I LOVE Tapioca Express. OK, I LOVE #52 Tapioca Milk Tea with pearls... BABY!!!! Note* The jelly pearls are for your chewing pleasure..." I'm a boba addict! And if it didn't have so many freak'in calories, I'd be there every freak'in day!!!! So sad, I even have my kids loving it! I also have their 'buy 10 get 1 free drink' card. Their spicey chix is also delish.
A cool place to just hang out casually with a couple of friends and just shoot the shit. If you haven't tried boba yet, you should go to Tapioca. Their pearls are really soft and chewy, not hard and stale like some places I've been to. They have a variety of drinks, smoothies, coffee, and snacks. Their prices are reasonable, compared to starbucks, and remember, you also get the additional chewing pleasure included! (or not, your choice, or course.)
Love you Tapioca Express!
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Nice tasty chicken! My favorite is the coconut snow bubble on a hot summer day. A bit hard to get to this store, since it's not centrally located. Other than that, I'd be here all the time.
I like this place because the location is close and convenient. I usually get a strawberry icy with pearls. But minus one star because the last time I went there, the pearls were really hard to chew. But its still better than Q-Cup.
im not mean about FOBs because i am a Fob too you know. but i really wish they would hire someone that people can understand. i think i can pretty much understand people with chinese accents because i have one too but i thought wrong. i go here and they like no know what you say and you no know what they asking. for...rm/pay-pa/or plastic cup? excuse me? foooammm paypa or plastic? huh? what? foam paper or plastic cup? OH paper please. no offense i love my people to death but i guess it was hard to understand him and they give you attitude after you say "what? and huh?" about 3 times. so -2 stars for that. its WAY better than freakin Q-Crap across the streets and the snacks are good even though i get gas and cramps after i eat it hahahaha. do try the lavender and rose milk tea and jasmine milk tea with coconut jelly. oh! and their snacks too.
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this location is 'aight'. it's run by chinese owners so, in my opinion, it's a bit different than the locations ran by vietnamese owners. i usually get the almond snow bubble and it's pretty good. not too sweet or too bland. the pearls are alright. nothing to get all crazy about. when i had their chicken, it wasn't too oily to where i felt like it was gonna clog up my f'in arteries.
it's in a plaza where lion super market is, along with some chinese businesses and restaurants. i like going to the chinese bakeries where they have hotdogs in their bread after i get my pearl tea drink. and then across the street is another plaza which stands their rival, qcup. aw. it's kind of like romeo and juliet. the only thing that's keeping em a part is milpitas blvd. :)
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