Bee’s Dessert House

Bee’s Dessert House brings back memories of middle school for me … namely because that’s when my family got take-​out pretty often from Ranch 99. I vividly remember that my dad and mom would get food from the Korean restaurant, while my brother and I would get crispy noodles from the Chinese restaurant.
And, if we were good, for dessert, we would get drinks from Bee’s Dessert House. My brother liked the bubble tea, but we would most often get OREO cookie slushies. My dad and mom preferred the strawberry banana blend.
After a while, the owner and his sister started to recognize us (and our order). But, since then, we haven’t been to Bee’s much.
We always got take-​out, but this food court area has ample seating if you’re looking to hang out and enjoy your food there.
Recently, a friend and I stopped by for smoothies on a sunny fall afternoon. She chose one of the fruitier drinks (lychee? Peach? Something like that) while I reverted back to my comforting OREO slushy. It tasted just as I remembered it to – cold and refreshing, with just the right amount of chocolatiness and sweetness. It wasn’t overly sweet, but I could still enjoy the cookies and cream flavor.
Bee’s also features a good selection of shave ice creations, if you aren’t the hugest boba fan. But for those who are, the combinations of drink flavors are endless. Service is usually quick (unless there’s only one person working, like during our visit), and for it being a normal weekday afternoon, I was surprised by how crowded it was.
Nevertheless, Bee’s never fails when it comes to consistency of product and deliciousness. It’s nice to know that a reliable boba shop is so close to where I live.

MOCHI BALLS. MO-​CHI BALLZ. MOOOOOOOOCHI BALLZZZZZZ.
Seriously, in a world consumed with boba this or boba that, it is nice to have a dessert house make a fresh fun alternative, MOCHI BALLS! They are chewy, tasty, delicious. I cannot get enough of the mochi balls here. They are really well done. The milk tea that you order with the mochi balls can be watery or tasteless at time which is why you get a coffee milk tea mix and it comes out with a ton of flavor each time!
GET YOU BALL ON!

Study the menu and know what you want by the time you are the ‘next’. You can tell the employees get a little irritated if you are hesitant, or change your mind. They won’t say it, but you can see it.
They are quick to get your order made (they don’t mess around)!
Kids love coming here for the bubble drinks! And who can blame them? Lychee, honey dew, mango, papaya are their favs. There’s a bunch more but we stick to favorites.
I recently discovered my heaven here: Thai bubble tea! (inserting scream of pure joy) Nope, hubby will never get a share — he can get his own, cuz it’s mine, mine ALLLLLL mine! (They don’t shortchange you on the tapioca pearls either, they gave me bonus scoop seeing my kids drooling over it!)
Rates are very reasonable too. We don’t frequent fly here, but I have had a craving lately… Hmmm thinking a trip may be in order soon!
Just avoid lunch hour, otherwise you are standing in a line for a while, and you have to fight for a table to sit and savor your bubble tea!

I really wish I could give this place a better rating but there service/​opening hours is always inconsistent. I absolutely love their bubble drinks with Mochi balls! I can’t find a place that makes it like they do. I live out in ewa so taking a drive here is always a pain.
2 stars for their service. The last 3 times (including right now) I came here they were never open on time! They would have workers in there who don’t acknowledge you while you wait for them to open an hour after they are supposed to open. You would think as business they would care about their customers valuable time and actually open when they are supposed to. Guess I gotta come a little later in the day and sit in traffic to just get a drink from here.
5 star for their bubble drinks! Like I said earlier, it’s a must with the Mochi balls! I never liked the tapioca balls from any place so I usually order plain. They have lots of different flavors other than the usual honeydew. They got flavors like lychee, blue vanilla, and the mocha is super good!
All in all I keep coming to this place because to me they have the best bubble drinks. I just wished they open up when they’re supposed to. Hopefully management gets that fixed!

My go to for a refreshing Boba Drink! Best part… order it with MOCHI BALLS, holy moly!

BEEs has a 2ND location!!!
Second floor of the NEX (left of the escalator), no military ID required for food court area. Got to talk to the owner who was excited about new location while hubby ran the 99 ranch one! Now I can get twice the fix, yummy!

Date of visit: 8÷9÷2015
I really wanted some boba (or tapioca pearls as they are known in Hawaii), so I went through all of the little markets in 99 Ranch looking for a shop that would sell me some. I had a feeling the Bee’s would have what I was looking for, but the menu confused me as I’m used to seeing boba, not pearl on the menu. Luckily, the cashier was kind enough to point me to all of the pictures near the entrance, so I was able to put a picture to what I wanted. Note that they accept cash only, so I had to go track down my Dad and Cam for some cash before buying a drink.
Original Pearl Milk Tea. This was exactly what I was looking for. The boba was perfectly prepared and the tea was not too sweet. Even Cam really enjoyed it and he usually thinks that the milk teas I get are too sweet. My aunt also told me that you can get drinks with mochi balls — I’ll have to try that if I’m ever in Hawaii again. For $ 3.50, it was on par with what you can get in San Diego, if not better than some boba shops.

Before the whole boba bubble drink obsession outbreak to the multiple stores that offer them now, this was the first place that had me started on that addiction. I used to come to this food court area a lot while growing up because it was closer than going to the malls and it was like our family time coming here for lunch because of all the variety of food choices to try every time we go there.
I’ve never tried anything else but the bubble drinks from here. They have an assortment of flavors that you can try. My favorite are the strawberry/​banana combo and the mocha coffee with pearls. Soooo goood and refreshing! Prices are pretty reasonable. Customer Service is pretty limited though due to the language barrier. But they get job done and produce quality drinks so I’m a happy camper.

Started to hear about this place a few years back but never really stopped in to taste. Every time I visited the market, the line for this place was out the door. Came by a few weeks ago and decided to try their bubble drinks. I ordered the Pina Colada smoothie with bobba and fell in love. I try to make a trip down here at least twice a week.

I love their drinks whenever I am in the area or with my parents and they decide to eat dinner at Ranch Market. They are the original bubble tea shop that started the trend here in the islands. I find their prices affordable ranging from $ 3.50 to 4.75 per drink. The boba tea drinks are around $ 3.50 or over. Actually the prices have never went up since coming here for boba tea. The boba tea shops in Pearl City and Honolulu are $ 4 or up per drink. After checking out the reviews of most of the popular boba shops, there are only two places I will go for boba tea which are Tea time taiwan and Bee’s dessert house.
Their service is really fast when they don’t have many customers. If it is busy, they take around 5 to 8 mins :) Never have to wait 10 or more mins. Why I give them 4 stars due to the location being out of my way. It’s in between kalihi and Aiea townbound. I find it not worth it coming if I am not nearby or on the way back to home to purchase boba tea. But this place will be my go to stop if I am in the area. Keep your prices from shooting up and I’ll be back for more boba :)
My recommendations if you choose to purchase boba, try the jasmine, honeydew, taro, or green bean boba drinks. You won’t regret it. The sizes are just right for your bucks. Once you finished your drink, you will be oh yes satisfied :) You can’t eat or drink anything in that very moment like how I felt on Sat night. Bobalicious (I just made that word up haha).

Here every weekend and they are fantastic!
The parental units always get lychee black tea with lychee jelly and mini me’s get their choice fruit juice «smoothie-​style» (which means blended) with extra Boba please!
If there is a long line (and most times there are — because they are delish), it moves quickly. Plus, lots of seating and parking.
The best way to make weekends even sweeter.

BLUF*: One of two places that I know that offer mochi balls as an option for your bubble drink. I LOVE MOCHI!!! The other place is Kokonuts in Hawaii Kai.
Bee’s also has a second location in the NEX Foodcourt.
*Bottom Line Up Front

Had the Lychee Black tea with lychee jelly @$ 4.75 and the mango boba smoothie @$ 4.00. The smoothie was painfully cold. Would have been perfect on a hot day. Good tea but a bit pricey. Great overall boba experience. Quick service.
I didn’t expect an INCREDIBLE burger. Double cheese burger deluxe at $ 2.45??? Two ¼ lbs patties? Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and american cheese. Hot, JUICY, and just enough salt and pepper. Perfect and simple all American cheeseburger. Is the markup so high on the tea that they don’t need to make money on the burgers.
I’ve been picking my daughter up from class here for three years. Wish I had know about the burgers before.

Living the FOB lifestyle…
FOB = FRESH OFF THE BOAT!
Well, that’s what I experienced here at…
BEE’S DESSERT HOUSE!
First, was «Bee» the chunky, middle-​aged woman who never greeted me? And perhaps overcharged me a dollar…
SWEET ERIC: «Hello»
MEAN BEE: *blank stare*
SWEET ERIC: «Oh umm»
MEAN BEE: *taps counter and continues to stare*
SWEET ERIC: «I’ll have the watermelon smoothie»
MEAN BEE: «No mo»
SWEET ERIC: «Oh ok, do you have Lychee?»
MEAN BEE: «Yeah!»
SWEET ERIC: «Ah, I’ll have the Lychee, with a Teri-​burger»
MEAN BEE: «Pearl?»
SWEET ERIC: «Oh yes, I’ll have pearl (s)…»
MEAN BEE: «$ 6.60!»
SWEET ERIC: «Okay!» *fetches the cash, but seems a tad overpriced. Thinks for a second that the prices did not match the menu board, but pays anyway.*
Okay, I read all the reviews and apparently this place was the first to bring Bubble «Boba» Drinks to Hawaii. Really, I would figure Chinatown would be the place?! Anyways, in fairness to the lady, who I think was «Bee», it was more comical to me. I lived life much and encountered many FOB Service when I lived in San Francisco. I always just play with it. I realize English is usually ESL at many of these places, so I also realize that you’re not intentionally being rude. Just a little words of wisdom though… If the dude or chick paying customer is SWEET to you… Please attempt to be SEMI-​SWEET back! It’s very much possible too, as many of these FOB spots do have SWEET people!
TERI-​BURGER: This was a pleasant surprise! It was freshly cooked and the teriyaki sauce was to die for! Plus, it was only $ 1.80? You kidding me? Shhhh. GRADE: A
LYCHEE SMOOTHIE: Plus, added pearls (boba). It was refreshingly good, but seemed a tad too sweet for my palate! Again, it was good, but I’ve had better. If I did it again I would not have added the pearls. The odd thing is I look at the menu and see a different price than what I was charged? Perhaps I paid extra for the pearls that are usually added with any drink w/​o extra cost?! So, a tad confused there. GRADE: C+
MEAN BEE: Again, in fairness I’m only guessing the lady was «Bee», and even though she lacked the basic social skills, she still took my order and I believe cooked the burger herself? I mean she’s the one that disappeared in the back and came out later w/​my Teri-​burger in «school lunch» style paper bag. So, kudos if she did everything. I mean she wasn’t exactly rude — just kinda there! GRADE: C–
Like I mentioned earlier I won’t beat-​up this place simply because of ESL, pearls, too sweet, or possibly being overcharged! However, I’m one that many rely on for honesty and never sugar-​coating things. Therefore, I still recommend this place called…
BEE’S DESSERT HOUSE!
It’s like one of those typical «Hong Kong» style dessert shops you’ll find in Chinatown, but in the Salt Lake /​Moanalua area instead. Located in the old 99 Ranch building. Bee’s also serve shave ice, ice cream, teas and other goodies! If you haven’t tried it once, go for it, but no, I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. I was only in the area to pickup my transcripts from my alma mater, y’know that highly-​rated public school on the hill! I mean even though I can be SWEET as pie… I was also NUMBAH #3 BULL on campus back in the day, but I was more a lover and not so much a fighter. Well, I can fight, but never with a «Queen Bee!» I love & respect women. FOB one’s too. Ahh, I miss my hot-​pink muscle shirt, maybe not! The good old days…
And no, I won’t exactly say when I grad, but here’s a clue…
«Well I guess it would be nice
If I could touch your body
I know not everybody
Has got a body like you…
But I’ve got to think twice
Before I give my heart away
And I know all the games you play
Because I play them too.
Oh, but I need some time off from that emotion
Time to pick my heart up off the floor
Oh, when that love comes down without devotion
Well, it takes a strong man, baby
But I’m showin’ you the door…
‘Cause I gotta have faith
I gotta have faith
Because I got to have faith, faith, faith
I got to have faith, faith, faith…»
OVERALL GRADE: 3.2-STARS!
LIVE ALOHA…
Unilocal REVIEW #406

I know this place has been around for years, since I was a little kid. When I always went to 99 ranch market, it was there. I tried it once years ago and didn’t know how it actually tasted.
So I came back again and wanted to try the shave ice. But I wasn’t in the mood for it, so we got the acai berry pomegranate smoothie with tapioca balls. It wasn’t too sweet, but I feel like there’s a lot of sugar in it. Ahhhh. I just shared it with my bf.

Love their bubble smoothies with tapioca! Their strawberry flavor is so good! I wanna come back and try their coconut and honeydew flavors too!

Yummy Taro Coconut Bubble Tea/​Smoothie with mochi balls $ 4.77
Located at 99 Ranch in back corner near Sumo Ramen, Bee’s Dessert House has a friendly staff and large assortment of Asian and Western inspired on-​the-​go or after school desserts.. or lunch break in my case.
My girlfriends and I got the drink I mentioned above and it was delicious and filling. I’m full. We’ll be back to try other flavors.
Lots of free parking.

Even with long lines, service is pretty quick. One of our favorite shave ice treat is their Honeydew melon with Mandarin orange slices, vanilla ice cream on fluffy shaved ice plus a drizzle of condensed milk (Snow Cap). It’s Top Notch!
Bee’s Dessert House has been serving up local-​style shave ice bowls with Chinese influences. The shave ice is light, finely shaven and just melts on your tongue as soon as you take a spoonful. I like their syrup flavors as they aren’t overly sweet and offer variety along with the classic strawberry or vanilla. There are pictures of most of the menu items posted so you don’t have to guess what the concoction is going to look like. Often, you can find long lines of eager customers as there are usually only 3 – 4 people who work there. Service is usually quick and efficient. I used to work «up the hill» from Bee’s and would often frequent, almost daily after work, for either a bowl of shave ice, cooling Pearl tea drink or a just scoop of ice cream. Geez, if only I had been on Unilocal back then…

Twice Told Tales.
No, no, not a negative. This is to emphasize the point that while Bees offers many different snacks and sandwiches they are primarily known for their drinks (bubble teas, Pearl cream teas and smoothies) and their shave ice.
The drinks have excellent flavor choices, consistencies and taste. Our favorites include the strawberry bubble tea and the almond flavored smoothies.
Shave ice variations are also customer favorites, but we go there for the teas and smoothies.
On any weekend you will probably see a line of people gleefully waiting to order a drink or shave ice. Bees is a nice compliment to the food court offerings that were once called the 99 Ranch complex.
A nice side detour between east and west Oahu along the H-​1 freeway.

Bee’s is a well-​established bubble drink and dessert stand in the Moanalua 99 food court (formerly 99 Ranch Market Place). It’s a family-​owned business and they offer such a wide variety of desserts and their customer service isn’t too shabby either.
Here are a few products that they offer:
Bubble drinks w/​tapioca and/​or jelly (either smoothie-​style or over ice)
Roselani ice cream (yup, you read that correctly!)
Random candy (Snickers, Starburst, Skittles, etc)
Burgers, corn dogs, onion rings, fries, etc.
Shave Ice
Fresh fruit juice
Coke fountain drinks
With such a wide variety of options, you can’t go wrong with a visit to Bee’s. There’s often a line, especially during lunch hours but it’s worth the wait! My only gripe about Bee’s is that they only accept cash only-​no cards. Overall though, a great business-​one of my regular stops when I visit this food court.