Tapioca Express

In my opinion, Tapioca Express is really overrated. It’s always crowded, and isn’t worth your time or money. Even though the drinks are cheaper than the other boba shops, it tastes terrible. I’ve tried most of their drinks and every time, it always leaves this bad aftertaste. I can even taste the powder they use for flavoring the milk teas. The only item that’s decent is the popcorn chicken. However, if you order it with spice, it will be very inconsistent. Their customer service is just ok. Overall, just save your money and go to one of the other boba shops around Union City. I suggest Sharetea and Snocrave Teahouse.

I don’t know why this place has 4 stars. I could put negative star if I could. The customer service is horrible especially the girl named Sharon. She has the worse customer service skill ever with the worse attitude as a person. One time, she got the wrong order from me so I politely asked her to replace it. She tried to tell me that she got it right in a very rule way. At the end, she decided to change the order but gave me the attitudes: ripped the plastic bag, making her «I don’t need you here» rolling eyes and threw the order on the counter in a disrespectful way. DO NOT GO THERE!

I don’t know why this place has 4 stars. I could put negative star if I could. The customer service is horrible especially the girl Sharon. She has the worse customer service skill ever with the worse attitude as a person. One time, she got the wrong order from me so I politely asked her to replace it. She tried to tell me that she got it right in a very rule way. At the end, she decided to change the order but gave me the attitudes: ripped the plastic bag, making her «I don’t need you here» rolling eyes and putted the order on the counter in a disrespectful way. DO NOT GO THERE!

I was here twice a week back in high school. Yup, I was one of those kids calculating the exact change I’d need for a chocolate snow bubble with pearls or combo A/​E (chicken or calamari + pearl milk tea) for a quick meal.
The place isn’t the cleanest it can be because of all the foot traffic; original milk tea is pre made, but people love it anyway. Many memories. It’s been around for almost two decades and customers continue to stop by for the aromatic crispy chickens with basil, plus a cold pearl drink to go along with it.
Over the years, they’ve expanded the menu to include new shaved snows similar to Sno Crave and bento box meals to keep up with competition.
Snow bubble
Flavored milk tea
Icy
Hot drinks
Pearls
Jellies
Snacks
Meal boxes
They’ve got it all and they’re open until 1am on weekends.

Came here under the impression that they accept card but I should’ve known that as an Asian boba shop establishment, they’re mainly cash unless you wanna pay $ 1 surcharge for debit card transactions or withdraw cash from their ATM machine that charges a $.50 surcharge. Three stars for their jasmine milk tea cause it was meh. I’m biased though bc I’m comparing them to Verde, Gongcha and other crazy good boba shops in LA, and I’ve only had their jasmine milk tea. Customer service was great and this place was super poppin’ on a Saturday night. I’d probably go a little further for 85, i-​Tea or Verde but this is the closest to Hayward :(

I grew up going to this tapioca express, and to be quite honest this is probably the best location I’ve ever been to. The boba is great, as well as the drinks. Their fried mushrooms, fried calamari and popcorn chicken are all really good. And they are also open till 1 AM on Fridays and Saturdays too I believe.
I might be biased since I grew up with this location, but it’s pretty good and I come here if no other boba places are open.

Hands down BEST location out of all the TapEx cafes! Best food, fastest service, and best drinks. Anything on the menu will not disappoint you. I recommend getting the popcorn chicken with EXTRA basil (for an additional $ 0.50), a Vanilla Cookie Snow Bubble (which tastes like Oreos), or a Passionfruit Green Tea with boba. SO GOOD!

Still my favorite! Parking gets a little crazy especially a night. Customer service is fast considering the number of people who visit this place.
My go to drinks are honey green tea and grapefruit green tea.

I was initially wary of Tapioca Express because where I live, the Tapioca Express sucks compared to places like Gongcha, and if you have read my other reviews, I am SERIOUSLY PICKY about milk tea shops. However, when I was craving strawberry black tea post-​SAT, this was the closest milk tea place. Its four-​star Unilocal rating made me curious as to what made this one so much nicer than the ones in our area.
Ambiance: Kind dim? Everything seemed clean enough, but there was a strange smell in the air. Maybe all the teas and food scents combined doesn’t make the best odor. I did appreciate the wide variety of magazines laid out on a small table, as my phone happened to be out of battery. However, the dim lighting makes it a bit hard to read. I do remember seeing some random newspapers lying around, and I do wish those had either been disposed of or properly organized.
Service: The person at the counter taking orders was friendly and fast, and double-​checked all of the customers’ orders. My drink did take a while to make, but that was mostly because the customer in front of me ordered practically an entire classful of drinks.
Food: I ordered a regular strawberry black tea, regular sweetness and no ice, with boba. The first thing I noticed when I got the drink was that the cup was flimsier than I was used to, but hey, yay for environmental awareness! Onto the actual drink itself, my immediate complaint was that the no ice option resulted in it being an almost-​lukewarm room temperature, whereas in all other places I have ordered no ice drinks, they still come to me fairly chilled, since they are cooled with ice in the shaker thing. That was a huge pity, because I liked the drink itself. Just looking at it, I could literally see fruit bits, and they definitely showed in the authentic strawberry flavor of the drink. The tea wasn’t watered down, and tasted great with the sweet strawberry flavor. The boba was a bit softer than I am used to, but it tasted really sweet and was still at an ok texture. The drink overall, with the regular sweetness and boba, was a tad too sweet, but that is something easily adjustable in the future.
Overall: The pricing is about the same as it is at the T4 I frequent, so the only difference is the variety of drinks and proximity to my house. Tapioca Express has a literal wall-​full of choices, but is also further away from my house. If I’m in the area, I think I will definitely drop by again to sample more drinks (this time with ice!) or their famous popcorn chicken.

I come by here once in a month or so for their famous chicken crispers which are very good.
Hardly ever since I been coming here when was in my early teens I experience rude customer service till yesterday.
We stopped by for some milk tea and there were 8 orders of multiple flavored milk teas we told her the flavor we wanted and during the end of our order my wife mentioned no ice on all milk tea that’s when the cashier attitude changed a bit she said ok when u order ur supposed to say for example strawberry milk tea no ice one by one not towards the end I want no ice because my employees starts making them as It shows ups on the screen.
We found that remark bit bizzare since we haven’t finished our order yet and haven’t paid yet either we see that as being rude also because everything should be made after the order has closed and paid and isn’t there is motto customer is always right well that doesn’t work at this business We told her we didn’t know it was like here she said its ok.
Our teas were all good no paying customer should be told how to order and when to exclude ice there’s no correct way plus sharing ur frustration with the customer just because ur employees have throw away som teas with ice is not our problem.

I prefer this tapioca out of all the ones in Fremont. I get the watermelon juice with aloe chunks. The watermleon juice here actually tastes like fresh watermelon juice… not like water with some drops of watermelon flavor (which I have experienced at some other locations).
My partner also prefers this location. He gets taro.

This place is the only place I actually enjoy getting boba. The food and drinks are always consist. We have been coming here for years now and its still is our #1 Boba place. Im not sure how they do it but good job! My normal order here is some sort of milk tea with boba and Popcorn Chicken, Calamari/​Squid Heads, or Green Beans.

Jasmine milk tea with baby tapioca. Oh and make that a large please ! :)
This place is crowded during night time since a lot of people come here to get desserts and milk tea fix around the restaurants in this plaza. The pricing here is slightly pricier than Quickly’s. The tea here is not like those powder styled tea, I supposed that they actually brewed it because I actually saw them making it when I was waiting for my drinks. Also. The owner was there to watch the new employees to make drinks and guided them without yelling which was pretty cool to watch lol.
The inside has tables and chairs so it can be good for groups of friends to chill and talk. Or if you’re a smoker, there are also chairs outside. There’s plenty of parking so you won’t have to worry about anything.

Of all the Tapioca Express’s that I’ve been to, this one has to be the best one. They have the most consistent bubble tea mixes out of them all and never leaves me regretting my order. They are also rather busy during peak hours, especially around 9 to 11pm. The line can get out the door. Even so, they are fairly quick to send out the orders.
Some of my friends say that the milk tea is more on the sweeter side. If you like your milk tea to be more on the tea side, Fantasia is probably better for you. I like my milk tea to taste more like dessert, thus the high review.
Their stamp card is also a plus.
I haven’t used Unilocal to check into places until recently, but on Swarm, I have over 110 check ins at this location. Just take my money… :)

My favorite place to go to when visiting my hometown in the Bay… Love the snow bubbles and peppered chicken absolutely my favorite… love to try new things some other time… thank U Tapiocca express for excellent service

They need to tell that cashier things are going to get better tomorrow, such a downer.

This place hella rude servers and the barley milk tea I ordered had tons of barley leafs in it. I had barley before but it doesn’t have powdery barley in it. Taste aweful. I asked for napkins and the girl serving there was rude. Telling it’s right there like I don’t see it. I hold up the empty container and she was like rude grabbing from my hand.

Wow, Sharon! What a terrible worker you are! You seriously don’t like your job! TapEx should fire you because you give this place a bad rep. Next time, be polite because my fiancé and I just decided to give this place a shot over our favorite spot across the street. After tonight’s experience we will continue to go to SnoCrave since they know how to treat their customers right. The two stars are for the awesome workers at the back who made our chicken very good as well as the yummy Lavender-​Matcha Snow Bubble (it’s on your website!) and the Cantaloupe drinks with extra boba pearls! Great food and drinks; ridiculous worker name Sharon who has bad skills with customer service.

Ordered the Strawberry Greentea lush. Its somewhat like a strawberry slurpy type if you’re into those.
Mix it up real nice before drinking it so the strawberry syrup isn’t all at the bottom of the cup.
Take note: They charge $ 1.00 for debit transactions. Which I think is ridiculous but Just think of it as their tip. There is also some tax when you Dine In apparently too.

There’s been a couple other tapioca expresses that I’ve been to, and this one is the best one I’ve been to yet. Tonight, I ordered a Jasmine green tea with small pearls and spicy crispy chicken.
Pros:
— Efficient workers
— Good crispy chicken
— Convenient
Cons:
— Space within is small
— Not well well cleaned
— $ 1 supercharge for using debit card
— Cashier wasn’t the friendliest
— Still has an overwhelming menu

What can you say about Tapioca Express that hasn’t already been said? This particular location has been a go-​to for my family and me since I was in high school. I even remember a long, long time ago eating the crispy chicken w/​basil and the calamari rings (both level 5) once a day for 7 straight days because my folks were out of town and there was no home cookin’.
I’ve been going to Tapioca Express for so long that I remember when the owners had that beautiful arrowana fish in the aquarium. Being a tropical fish enthusiast myself, I would often come and enjoy a view of the fish tank while enjoying my order.
I’ve been going to Tapioca Express for so long that I remember when the menus were only on the right side wall when you walk in through the door.
I’ve been going to Tapioca Express for so long that I remember when they used to have signs saying no playing Texas Hold ‘Em and no gambling (I never played but it was a fad with the high school kids).
I’ve been going to Tapioca Express for so long that I remember when they opened that froyo spot a few doors down and it closed almost immediately after opening.
I’ve been going to Tapioca Express for so long that I used to drive here after high school and hang out because it was the place to be… need a time reference? I finished my Master’s degree a few years ago.
Tap Ex has been here for so long, it should be recognized as a cultural landmark by the city of Union City.
My only critique of this place is that they need to start accepting credit cards. If you’ve already hooked me into visiting every so often, you could at least let me earn points on my Amex when I stop by for my lavender snow bubble, large with small pearls!

This spot is convenient for me because it’s near my bf’s house so I usually stop by after work to grab a quick bite. I’m sad they don’t sell fried calamari tentacles because that is the best. Instead they sell the rings which I don’t really like.
They have a snack combo with the fried calamari rings and a regular sized milk tea (you can only get plain milk tea) and it’s about $ 7.
I guess it’ll do, right?

This place is busy all the time. But when you’re one of the few that’s open on Christmas busy, you’re busier. But they’re efficient, doesn’t take long to get your drinks and food.
Although I don’t know why this is a popular place. I feel like I’ve had better drinks around the area. Also service… ehhhhhhh. They need to work on their customer service. Like at least smile.

I love tapioca express! 5 stars for this location!
I’m from Sacramento and the tapex here does not sell squid heads (well from the ones I’ve been to out here). Gosh, all the boba places I’ve been to in the bay with my love so far has squid heads, YUMM!
We got chichi fries, popcorn chicken & the squid heads. I feel like this location gives a perfect amount of chichi fries, man chichi fries are so GOOD! :)
I would also love to come back here! I am one happy costumer!

Like a first love, Tapioca Express will always hold a place in my heart.
Joking aside, I had my first milk tea at Tapioca Express and I still return here every now and then. Yes, numerous (and better) boba spots have opened up but Tapioca Express remains the OG boba spot.
Tapioca Express makes the best popcorn chicken I’ve ever had. It’s definitely a once in awhile type of snack. Although other boba spots may give you a bigger portion, no one has beat the perfect crispness and seasoning of Tapioca Express’ popcorn chicken. I still wish they offered a bigger portion because it’s addicting. I like a bit of spiciness, so I go with 0.5 level of spicy. Don’t underestimate how spicy it can get!
Their drinks are not my favorite but they aren’t bad either. My first drinks here included the passion fruit snow bubble, plain milk tea and Thai iced tea. They have expanded their menu over the years, so if I find myself here I’ll order the soy milk tea. I do wish they would let you adjust the level of sweetness like so many other boba spots let you do.
Service is not the friendliest here, but it’s been that way for as long as I can remember. Service is straight to the point. I can understand the lack of warmth though, considering the long lines and rush of high school kids.
Tapioca Express was thee kickit spot in high school and I find myself here with friends every so often. Tapioca Express, or Tap Ex as some call it, can be Asian Central and not much has changed about that. Not complaining! I always have a stamp card in my wallet and try to bring cash. Tapioca Express will forever be the original boba spot and I’ll continue to return every now and then.

One of my main Boba spots in Union City that will never disappoint. Line is always long, but moves really fast. You really can’t go wrong with drinks and snacks here. Bring cash!

I feel bad writing one stars but the service was so terrible and the food was almost as bad.
My wife and I came here because we were craving popcorn chicken and the place we just came from didn’t have it so luckily there was a tapioca express nearby and it had 4+ stars on Unilocal,awesome! Can’t go wrong right?!? WRONG!
I went to the front to order and I don’t know if she was just having a bad day or just everyday has a bad attitude, she was not friendly period. (pun not intended) she had a straight face and asked with zero enthusiasm «can I help you?» I asked for a one order of popcorn chicken, then counts from 1 to 5 as a question. I am confused and express my confusion with, «I’m sorry, I’m not sure what youre asking, she gets more of an attitude and raises her voice «HOW SPICY YOU WANT?» I respond 3 please then she ask if I want a drink and I decline.
She then tells me the price then I pay. Food takes 15 minutes which is average, no complaints there. I get my chicken and holy crap. Small amount of chicken than usual and not only that, three basil leaves in the entire bag. Some pieces have more. spice than others but that’s expected.
I can normally deal with bad service as long as the food is worth it but man. It was not. I am shocked they have 4 stars. I mean it terrible service, food, and syrup milk tea. Plus they charge a $ 1 for using card. Wth!

I love this place near my house.
Not only nice drinks, but also good finger foods.
It opens until midnight, so that we can go after dinner and gym.

I’ve only been to this location once and I can already say it’s better than the fremont one. Prices are little cheaper too! Combo A which is crispy chicken and plain milk tea is $ 6 and change. The milk tea was typical nothing special and the tapioca was soft and chewy. Not too much ice either. The popcorn chicken was awesome. I love popcorn chicken and they give a good portion. The flavors make it taste slightly garlicky and mild in spice level. Not hot at all… I asked for .5 spiciness based on past reviews. I heard it gets very spicy quick. Next time I’d choose level 1. The pieces of chicken are chunks which I appreciate.
The menu is fairly large including milk tea, flavored milk, shaved ice, shaved ice cream, bento boxes, snow bubbles and more. Reasonably priced as well! Service is prompt… lacking in smiles or friendly gestures like your typical asian restaurant.

I’m always around this area and this is by far the most decent milk tea place to grab a drink. The service is eh. Some days the girl has a really nasty attitude, another time a different girl is really sweet. Doesn’t matter to me, as long as I get my order and it’s how I want it to be.
When I’m looking for something to snack on with a drink, I usually order the combo D. It’s chicken steak + milk tea w/​pearls. I prefer this kind of snack instead of the popcorn chicken because the chicken actually comes in strips of fried chicken so it’s pretty good. When I’m looking for just a drink, I usually order just a mango green tea with lychee jelly. The drinks comes out consistent every time so far for me. So it’s been gooood.

The first thing to take note of when you walk into this TapEx is it’s menu! It’s definitely one of the most expansive menus I’ve encountered for a boba place. Seriously! They have so many different snack and drink options. There is definitely bound to be something to fulfill your drink or snackin’ needs when you visit!
However, to be perfectly honest the boba here isn’t something to rave about to all your boba friends, family, and the newbies to the boba game BUT it does get the job done! It’s also super affordable, depending on what your drink choice is and if you feel like getting a little something to munch on! Any TapEx I go to also makes me feel quite nostalgic. Because despite the fact that TapEx has its competitors that have entered and are making strides in the boba game, TapEx always has a nostalgic place in my heart because it was the first place I ever even tried milk tea.
Another definite plus is their hours! My friend and I had a late night craving for milk tea and we took to Unilocal in the hopes that somewhere would be open that wasn’t a fast food joint and we were in luck! On the weekends they don’t close until 1:00AM! :) Cravings fulfilled! (Note: Weekdays = 11PM).
This location can get pretty crowded too, so be mindful of that… especially if you want to sit inside and sometimes even outside.
Customer service is honestly hit or miss. I typically just feel very rushed or I don’t even know if this makes sense, but stared at when staff takes my orders. I can understand this when lines are long, but service is kind of ehhhhh… because I even felt this way when there was no line.
Overall, not a bad place to grab some boba. I recently tried one of their new flavor options, a lavender milk tea, and it was pretty good! A bit too sweet for my liking, but it got the job done and it was super creamy with just enough floral attributes.

Typical franchised tapex.
The boba/​milk tea is very subpar. I drink a lot of milk tea and have tried a lot of different places and the milk tea here just tastes so fake. It’s like I can taste the corn syrup flavoring. They don’t use fresh ingredients. Their boba here isn’t very good either. I don’t think they cook it here enough. Their popcorn chicken is really nothing special. I prefer it from other boba places. This place is also always packed. The line goes out the door. Which I never really understand b/​c it’s not that great. I think it’s just always packed b/​c it’s one of the original boba places in the bay. Try another boba place with quality milk tea.

This place isn’t as good as what I thought it would be according to the Unilocal reviews. I wanted to take a friend out to get bubble for the first time and I should’ve gone to another place.
The parking lot in this area was packed. Finding parking was a pain. We finally found one and went inside to get some drinks. The place itself was small, so don’t expect a lot of room to move about. The line was long and we had to wait about 10 minutes to order our drinks.
Finally got around to order our drinks but I was rudely interrupted by the cashier saying that pets aren’t allowed and had to leave while I was talking. I was carrying him of course but I would appreciate it if he showed empathy like a normal person. I was trying to get the situation under control because we just wanted to get our drinks and was in the middle of placing the order and I was taking my credit card out and he said that they don’t accept credit cards. In my head I was like WTF is wrong with this place not putting up signs so customers know what to expect? He then proceeded to tell me to leave… I could’ve sassed the hell out of him but since I was with my friend I decided to shrug it off.
After him telling me to leave, I had enough and just took out my cash and told my friend what I wanted and went outside. They had outside seating, thank God, but the first chair I sat in was broken… Changed tables and chairs until we were comfortable.
Anyway, the skinny, tall, guy needs to learn about customer service and this place needs to put up signs. They already have a bunch of signs outside, might as well add no pets nor credit cards allowed.
Their bathroom was also vandalized. You could tell they have a problem with keeping it under control because you could see the graffiti painted over.
I’m curious to try their snacks, but I’m most likely not going to come back to this place.