Yaya Tea Garden

I love Yaya! Great selection of drinks — my favorite is Sunrise with mango stars :) also a nice variety of snacks. Try the onigiri!

Come here for their rice balls and drinks!
I love their rice balls and always end up getting a lot because i do live far away and don’t get to come here often anymore because I don’t work/​go to school near here anymore.
My favorite rice ball is the japanese and I always get the large size.
Some of their rice balls are a little disappointing in that there isn’t much of a flavor.
I suggest dipping it in the spicy mayo that they have (which they charge a little extra for now. They use to be free but people were taking advantage of the spicy mayo)
For their drinks.
I always order from the best sellers and i’ve tried almost everything. It’s basically a cup full of sugar but for some odd reason I always go back and it taste good. You don’t really taste like a «strong tea flavor» but you can tell it’s there.
They do have actual ‘food’
The tokyo which is chicken on rice with cabbage and the yakisoba are good. I haven’t tried anything else. It’s a big plate for only 5.95!
This place does get packed easily. It’s a small place with about 4 tables. A lot of high school and middle school kids like to come here after school so I wouldn’t have high hopes of coming to sit down and eat.
This location does take card (the brooklyn one does not) but you get taxed so always come with cash!
The staff are always nice and friendly because they are high school/​college students and they give off the chill vibe.
P. S. they have a bathroom for customer! it’s usually clean!

Decent food, boba isn’t that great, mediocre customer service. This place used to be better, but has declined in recent years
Beware, the bathrooms are closed for customers!
Overall, 2 stars.

This is pretty much the only place I’ve found that serves fresh and warm onigiri and not the cold refrigerated ones from Asian convenience stores.
Fried Chicken ($ 2.25) & Shrimp Tempura Onigiri ($ 2.50) — good flavor. Rice balls with meaty filling wrapped in seaweed… that’s all I want. They have that nice triangle shape and are packaged in that way that keeps the seaweed separate from the rice ball, so the seaweed will not become soften from the moisture. Both taste crunchy & delicious.
Second Chance ($ 2.50) — Strawberry & Peach White Tea
This boba drink with aloe was very good. They have a ton of choices, all with fun, silly names.
The place is also a small shop that sells Asian snacks. They also have dragon beard candy, which I believe Korea is well known-​for, but it was expired, so that deterred me from purchasing it. But after I thought about it, it’s only sugar, right? Plus they make it very obvious that it is expired, so there’s no deception involved there.
I like this place and would definitely come back for inexpensive, salty, fried snacks and heavily sugary drinks.

I would choose yaya over other bubble milk tea because the drinks are refreshing. I love the creative names they made for the drink and best of all they have bubble pops, jellies and not bobas. I tried boyfriend, sunrise, better life, blue blood, and second chance. They are good very light and refreshing. I think they are similar to tenren, which their drinks are also made from tea. Overall, it’s great if you’re craving for something light to drink or it’s a hot summer and you need something refreshing!

I love their onigiri, well seasoned, lots of fillings, and freshly made. They have a big drink menu which I have yet to try them all. Each drink comes with Yaya’s personally typed quote of wisdom or happiness, but alot lf times these have grammatical errors. I don’t remember the name of the drink I got, but it was on the best selling section. It was actually quite bland when I got it.

I love Yayas. I like how their bubble tea is actually made from tea leaves. They have an extensive menu with cutesy names (that borderlines on being lame, but that doesn’t deter me from ordering my First Love). Besides drinks, they also offer food and specialize in onigiri (Japanese riceballs). It’s the attention to details that Yaya puts into their drinks and food that makes me want to go back. For instance, they almost always tape a piece of paper on the bottom of your drink with a pickup line or something cute. The sticker on the onigiri is also adorable (it’s a sticker of whatever flavor you order) and is useful to differentiate when you order multiple flavors.
You also can’t beat the price. Their smallest size (16 oz) is $ 2.50 and their largest size (24 oz) is $ 3.50 for the bubble tea drinks. The onigiri varies from $ 2 – 5, depending on the filling and size.
I always get the First Love (peach & mango white tea) with less ice and 50% less sugar. It’s the best. It’s light and fruity. Plus, after adjusting the level of sugar, it doesn’t leave that gross sugary feeling that makes me want to brush my teeth after each sip.
One of my favorite parts of Yaya is the large amount of toppings you get to choose from (for freeeee). A lot of other bubble tea places are now starting that trend, but majority of places still only offer tapioca. At Yayas, they offer the traditional tapioca pearls, jellies (lychee, mango, etc), and some other unique ones like yogurt/​lychee pops. The pops are basically flavored little balls that have liquid inside of it, so when you bite into it, the juice bursts out. I always go with the lychee jelly because the fruitiness of the lychee pairs so nicely with First Love.
I’ve tried their chicken onigiri and it’s good. They are made to order. I’m not the biggest fan of onigri, so I don’t have much to say on that. But the bottom line is, I definitely recommend coming here for the drinks.

Why only four stars? Tapioca pearls. They were all out of them when we got here (around 8pm).
Otherwise, I would have been in heaven. Why Gwen? Here’s what I got: Green tea, mango juice mixed in, mango jellies, AND pop mango juice balls. The young lady who took my order at the counter asked me if I wanted it the full sweetness. I asked her what she recommended, she suggested only about ¾ the full amount of mango fruit sugar.
Perfecto! Cold. Lots of soft chewy thinks to nibble (clean thoughts, please!). I’d like to stop by here in the future and taste their tapioca pearls!!!

I got myself a boyfriend: p and a chicken onigiri. It was okay, I guess. The drink was pretty standard and the onigiri was pretty good. I don’t know if I would come here again, but it was nice to try.

I stopped by Yaya after reading the reviews on Unilocal.The service was pretty awful, the line was chaotic due to the set up of the restaurant and the cashier made no attempts to usher customers to order their drinks.
When we finally figured out the group in front of us ordered already and were just crowding around the cashier, we ordered our drinks with the cashier who clearly wanted to be elsewhere. There was a weird smell to the restaurant and it felt super cluttered.
We ordered Aries (hot) and Clean Clothes (cold), when we finally got our drinks I was severely disappointed. My drink was luke warm at best. I did not get much of a flower tea taste, it was more like sweetened sugar water than it was tea. The Clean Clothes was too strong artificial tasting.
There are so many bubble tea places in Chinatown, so skip this place and go elsewhere.

I usually like to order the rice balls when I’m craving a snack. My favorites are the Chicken, Japanese and Yaya rice ball. I also like to order the Yakisoba or even the Pan fried Udon when I’m craving something more filling. Both are extremely delicious and really hits the spot.
As for the drinks, I really like Lychee Tree but I’ve tried many others which are all decent. Sometimes, it’s a hit or miss though because I find that there are days when my drink is super watered down and I can barely taste anything. They taste better on the days they are not as watered down.
Lastly, the ambiance is nice. Most of the time, I find it to be crowded but it’s a good place to hang around if you and your friends manage to get a seat.

Super cool place. Love that the rice triangles/​balls are made to order. I was introduced to this place by a friend and am HOOKED. Also got the tea — very nice. Reminds me of the tea my mom makes at home.
Plenty of kids around after school hours but is expected — it could be worse! I would suggest taking the food to go during those hours.

Great for a quick fast bite. Depends on the time you go, it’s mostly a long line fulled with students and seats taken up by them. It’s pretty decent priced. Their drinks are pretty good and I love their yaya riceball the most compare to the rest.
When they first opened they let you have unlimited spicy mayo now they charge you for it which is BOOHOO!

Update: onigris are delicious and addicting but service can still be a hit or miss.
Salmon does not taste fresh though. The onigris are addicting if you’re craving rice.

I don’t know if it was because I was really hungry, but I thoroughly enjoyed their onigiri lol I got the one with shrimp tempura and imitation crab meat, about $ 2 I think. I think I ordered the hawkeye (?) it was suppose to be passionfruit, blueberry, and mango. I order it hot because I was really cold that day, but I think it would have tasted a whole lot better if it was cold. It had a floral taste and was slightly tart. I like that they have a very diverse menu with a lot of a interesting flavors. And the drinks are pretty cheap compared to Flushing. I would definitely come here often if I was in the neighborhood.

I only tried the large fried chicken onigiri. It was only 3.50, which was extremely wallet-​friendly. There’s also no tax, which is nice. The onigiri was made fresh, which surprised me. I really expected it to be pre-​made.
The place sells various japanese goods and candy that really caters towards younger customers.
It’s a fast food joint with no servers, so I didn’t expect the tables to be spotless, but the tables were pretty nasty when we sat down.
Check in for free spicy mayo, although it’s interesting that spicy mayo should cost extra to begin with.

Always great for To-​go. The staffs make it really quick and the food is always freshly made. it is a small place located in Chinatown. When you first walk in, there are snacks consisting of chips, crackers, candy, and other little goods on the left hand side right before you approach the counter. Behind the counter is all sorts of tea and containers. The atmosphere is friendly and chill. They are pretty relaxed and easy to approach.
The riceballs is a must get. I’ve ALWAYS order their japanese, crab meat, and shrimp riceballs. It’s so yummy. the riceballs comes in two sizes, small and large. Quite frankly, the large size was a disappointment. When comparing the small and large sizes side by side, there is only a slight difference. It’s hardly noticeable. I would just stick with size small. Nonetheless, flavors are delivered thoroughly and happily from the riceball to your taste buds. It’snot an explosion of extremely fancy flavors but it’s more like comfort food in the form of a riceball.
Their drinks are okay to me. It mostly tasted like water downed syrup with a lot of ice.
I ordered around 12 riceballs one time through the phone and they were able to fix it all up within a few minutes. I love how quick the service was, especially during rush hour for lunch.

I’ve been coming here since high school and the yaya riceball is still my go-​to snack when I’m in Chinatown. I really like that they’re not like other bubble tea places in Chinatown — their drinks are made without milk and they have an endless drink menu with a ridiculous amount of fruity tea combinations. It’s much lighter than milk tea. Their names for the drinks are also great and you definitely get a kick out of them when you place your order (Hi, can I have a «boyfriend» and a «period pad?»).
It’s always crowded though and you will rarely ever find a seat because it’s such a popular spot with teens. Definitely get your order to go and enjoy it at the park nearby instead.

I came for the Boba, but stayed for Onigiri. Also, the price of things make it all the more worthwhile to return to this hidden gem.
First timers will probably love the quirky names they have for their bubble tea, and be surprised to find a small fortune under each cup. While Yaya loyalist would be angry at how their little secret is being discovered by others.

I came here on a Wednesday evening and I settled for the chicken rice ball with a side of peppermint tea. The chicken riceball was succulent and the seaweed that came with it stuck to my tongue. My friend got the Assam tea and it was delicious. Must try! It’s like a milk tea but with floral aftertaste. It’s like a light floral taste; nothing too overwhelming. Meanwhile, I had the peppermint tea and it tasted as if it was made from a teabag with water and honey added. Not saying that’s a bad thing, but I thought it could’ve been better.
Overall this place has good ambience and a good vibe. Would definitely recommend and I’ll definitely be back! :)