Boba Loca

i just want to say… i miss you Boba Loca.
:(

Best boba in town! and now it’s closed :(

Sigh… it appears they have closed! Nooooooo! Where will I get my caramel frap with boba fix now? Come back or relocate somewhere with free and easy parking, please!

Best bubble drink I ever had, though I order without the momi. Peach smoothie is my favor. I don’t expect much from HI, but this place totally surprised me and it’s the best drink I have over all, even better than the drinks in Hong Kong.
It’s frozen cold but soft and slurpee without hard ice, a fountain from heaven

I have to say it’s gotten harder to find good boba/​bubble drinks in Hawaii. I love my boba and this place gets it right! Some people say it can be pricey at $ 3.75 for regular, $ 4.75 for a larger, but compared to places like Coffee or Tea (up to about $ 6.00 for a large), it’s not that bad. It’s more expensive than some of that places that do that powdery boba, but the quality is not the same. My favorites have to be lychee slush or honeydew. The watermelon slush and the strawberry banana smoothie is good. If you don’t like any of those, they have a lots of other flavors, including yummy milk teas. The boba is always cooked right… soft and chewy.
I’ve been going to this place since it opened back when I was in college. It’s in in University Square, across of Puck’s Alley. I would sit in there and study sometimes. Now that I don’t live in the area, I take advantage of the parking lot’s grace period. I go in order my drink and drive right out., not paying a cent for parking! ;)
So if you were ready to give up on good boba drinks, give this place a try, and you’ll be hooked.

Honestly, I’ve had boba at other places… but nothing hits quite like an red bean milk tea with boba here. They’re really nice to me here, and they have great boba. Best in Hawaii. Fricking love it here.
Good sushi as well, and they steam their own mandoo. It’s not the best, but I’m still here for the boba– not the food. Loooove it. So many choices!!!

The daughter kept telling me that Boba Loca had the best boba drinks ever and that I would love it. And you know what? She’s right! But I didn’t know this was a chain, until I noticed their cup. But that’s okey, since there’s only one here in Honolulu. For a place with really great boba, they were pretty empty. Every time I was there, it was empty. I have only tried what the daughter recommended, and they’ve all been good. They also sell simple sushi things, but I haven’t tried it. I hope to try their sushi, but the boba is so good and filling, you might have to wait before I update this review!

Delicious boba drinks; the best I’ve ever had. Everything on the menu is delicious and that’s what keeps me coming back.
However.
The owner is rude. No customer service. Be prepared for scoldings for one reason or another.

I am now officially a fan especially when WATERMELON is in season! The Slush Watermelon is a must try! So refreshing!
Oh and make sure you are out of the parking lot within 10 minutes if you don’t get a parking sticker. Otherwise they will charge you a $ 1.00 just to get out! :-(

For a place called boba loca… uh yeah, the boba is loca… loca bad! Feels like hanabatta in your mouth. All toadlike, but mushier. Tried it 4 times over the course of 2 years. Sorry boba loca… I can’ muster another boogerboba drink :(

I came to this place twice.
First time: I walked in, asked for a drink, they’re cash only! Because I didn’t have enough cash on me, and did not feel like paying an extra $ 2 for my boba by getting money from the ATM, i just left.
Second time: M went in and got me a small milk tea with tapioca — it was DELICIOUS… in fact, perhaps the best I’ve EVER had, and I’ve had a lot of bubble tea. Their milk tea is actually milk tea, instead of powder with water. Their tapioca pearls are extra soft, like they soaked the tapioca balls extra long before using it, whereas a lot of other places on the island have really hard tapioca pearls, that always end up giving me a stomach ache after the fact. It was good but a little on the pricey side ($ 3.99 for small).
Overall, definitely will go back.

I first met the owners when they owned a Korean restaurant at the YMCA on Atkinson Drive. I used to buy a boiled egg and a drink before my work out and they were pretty friendly. They closed that Korean restaurant down to open Boba Loca which was conveniently located in the area I used to live in. I used to make regular visits here with my daughter often buying the Yogurt slush with boba. Since I’ve moved from there we don’t come here as often but try to visit at least once every two weeks as an after school treat for the kiddo. They no longer have my favorite yogurt drink and many other drinks are often «off season». The couple as I remember aren’t as friendly as they used to be. :(Regardless, my daughter feels they have the best tasting boba around.

When I moved into my apartment I decided to go for a walk around the area to see what was around. The heavens opened and I found a boba joint. The boba is excellent, I really have enjoyed the different flavors, my favorite is the mocha boba. The interior is modern and its the perfect place to go and relax and read a magazine. The people are friendly enough. Great place.

I absolutely LOVE this place! Best boba in town!
It all started almost 5 years ago, when I first moved to Hawaii. Being from the mainland, I had never even heard of boba. My friend and I just happened to stumble upon this place and ever since then, I make it a point of visiting Boba Loca at least once or twice a month.
My favorites:
Chai Frap with boba, a tempura roll, philly roll, and california roll… mmm!
I find that many other places that offer boba tend to make them too big, too mushy, and flavorless, but Boba Loca knows what they’re doing. So good! The boba is perfectly sized and shaped into little balls and compliment their drinks so well. I used to swear by the milk tea, and I still do, but my favorite has become the Chai Frap. Order it and let it sit for a few minutes while you eat your hand rolls, and once you come back to it, the bobas have started to freeze. Oh so yummy!
I recommend visiting Boba Loca early to mid-​afternoon. I have found that in the evenings, their hand rolls aren’t quite up to par… but the drinks are still good!
I have to say the only thing I’m disappointed in is the recent addition of all the arcade games. It used to be a quaint little place displaying local artwork by the elementary schools, but now they have these massive noisy machines taking up SO much space. I really wish they’d get rid of them. :(

My favorite here is the watermelon slush with boba. They use real watermelon! Well, when it’s available. They have cute student art on the walls and a LOT of random food/​trinkets for sale.

The almond milk tea was delicious!
Me: Can I get the almond milk tea hot with boba?
Lady: Hot drink do not come with boba. Only cold.
Me: Why not?
Lady: Most people don’t really like hot drink with boba. They like cold better.
Me: Well I like my hot drinks with boba.
SO: Shut up and order.
Me: I don’t know if I’d rather get a hot drink without boba or a cold drink with boba.
SO: We’ll take the cold almond milk tea with boba please.
Lady: Almond drink ready!
I don’t know what kind of boba Kara K is used to, but this is probably one of the worst boba consistencies I’ve ever chewed on.
The almond milk tea was delicious though. Quite delicious.

The boba drinks here may be the best in town! Hmmm, maybe I’ll get one in the morning… Hehe!
The only downside is the parking is not the best. Don’t forget to have your parking validated by the cashier…

Interesting place for boba drinks. I think the place is suited in a bad location but overall I have been here twice. Had the almond boba drink and the honey dew. The best is the cold almound boba milk tea drink.
The only bad thing about this place is the parking and the menu. kind of lame that they put stuff on the menu and its not offered. Whats the point?!

I like to come to this place when i’m craving bubble drinks. I always get the sweetened Jasmine Tea Boba drink w/​o milk. it’s perfect – not to bitter/​bland and not too sweet either.
THey have WiFi which is nice because it’s a calm place to get some homework done, too. THe seats and tables are cute to have nice conversations or get togethers with friends.
I tried the Boba Coffee for the first time… it was ok. they do use powder milk for most (if not all?) of thier milk drinks so sometimes i can taste a little chalky if they add too much powder milk.
overall, i like this place for the bubble drinks (without milk for me).

I have to start off by saying that the only reason I’m giving this place four stars instead of three is that their Chai Frapp — one of their many flavors of Asian «bubble» teas — is amazingly addictive, and you can have them make it with skim milk to lessen The Guilt Factor. This is particularly important because you HAVE to get it with the tapioca balls (or, as they call it, «boba») to get the full effect.
Oh, and they have a fair amount of free-​once-​validated parking, right at the corner of King and University.
Other than that, I was tempted to give Boba Loca three stars. Why? The middle-​aged ladies who work there (I think they’re part of the family that owns the place) are not friendly AT ALL; in fact, they are very curt. I think it’s a cultural thing because they’re first-​generation, but still, it’s the university area — you’d think they could lighten up or crack a smile once in a while. The middle-​aged man who works here sometimes is much nicer — in fact, he once gave me extra parking validation stickers to keep in my car in case I ever outrun the grace period for the parking lot — but he’s not always there, unlike the one unsmiling lady.
But, you gotta do what you gotta do for the skim Chai Frapp. This Boba Loca location also serves a variety of Oriental dishes, which I believe includes sushi, but I’ve never really examined the menu or seen anyone else ordering the food there, so I couldn’t tell you how it is. Just go for the frapp, it’s a meal in itself!