BAMBU

Not good. Che number 1 (Bambu special) and number 24 (basil seeds and grass jelly) were super bland, i think they totally forgot to add sugar or any kind of sweetener. Milk teas were ok.

Bambu has gotten over their early growing pains. Service was very friendly and efficient. They actually fill the cup to the top even when the ice is omitted.
I deducted one star because they are cash only. The taste is still top notch as to be expected from the franchise (fresh coconut water, real pandan leaves, etc).

Cash only. Menu is fairly large. However the che isnt amazing. It’s decent. Wait time is alright and the prices are reasonable but the trip isn’t worth it.

Bomb. I never had Che before but the pandan jelly was so chewy and good! This dessert was refreshing and not overly sweet. The store was clean and the labels were clear. I’d recommend this over plain bubble tea any day.

Real cute little place, avacado shake was amazing! And you can add bubbles or jelly to any drink

Great Che. Smoothies are good too. Most annoying part is that they only take cash. I have been in many times to order multiple drinks only to realize they don’t take credit. Had to cancel my entire order.

Good selection on Che, smoothies and milk tea, but I like my coconut milk thicker and sweeter. Good to know you CAN ask for it sweeter. Unfortunately, cash only and no atm onsite. Hopefully, that will change in the future.

Best Che in Portland you can probably find, my favorite is the fruity one with jack fruit in it. Reasonably priced too

Agreed that this place isn’t as good as good as the ones in California but it does the job. Ever since the grand opening hype I don’t see this place being so busy anymore, I really hope this place stays and doesn’t have to close down. It’s so rare to get to see California Asian chains to be able to survive up here in Portland. It’s not located in the best location cause it’s hard to get in and out of but there’s plenty of parking. They have a huge selection of Vietnamese drink/​desserts but I always seem to get the same thing.
My sister ordered an avocado shake with the shot of espresso added to it. It was way to strong and hard to drink. I told them and they were happy to fix it for us by adding more condensed milk. My mom doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth but she liked my drink and said everything tasted really fresh.

Let me start off by saying that good milk tea & boba is VERY hard to find in Portland and I’m assuming in all of the PNW. I base my review of milk tea’s off of my favorite and very simple — Jasmine Milk Tea.
The jasmine milk tea here is good, not AMAZING or the best I ever had, but it is good. It’s not too watered down like all the other places I’ve tried in PDX. I wish I had a car so I could frequent this place more often because no places in SW or Downtown Portland has my stamp of approval… yet. I still need to try Fat Straw!
Not only is the milk tea good, the boba is good. Pearls/​tapioca as you folks like to call it. It’s not hard and It doesn’t taste like rubber. THUMBS UP!
Bambu Desserts & Drinks is a chain and there are MULTIPLE locations all over California, so I’m quite familiar with it. They are known for che (Vietnamese dessert) and they are quite tasty as well.
I recommend this place for milk tea boba! CASH ONLY!

This place was good, it did not blow my mind, and it wasn’t close to being the best milk tea in Multnomah County. But, it was solid, and they have an overwhelming selection. I went with about 10 other people, and they ordered a variety of things of the menu, the Bambu selection #1 was very popular. I just got the basic milk tea (black tea) with pearls. Which, I feel is a fair way to compare them to other places, and they did not succeed in the black tea-​milk tea. But, I have a feeling their fancy drinks with different fruits is what makes them popular, that is what I would try next time!

If you like refreshing Asian desserts, this place is for you. The #6 Dessert — Che Trai Cay (mixed tropical fruits) is really good. The menu can be a little overwhelming with many choices but look around on the walls to see photos of each dessert to get a better sense of what each one looks like. If you’re going to eat there, get the ice in the dessert so you don’t have to deal with pouring it in. if you’re taking it to go, then the ice on the side is better so it doesn’t melt and dilute the dessert on the way home. Bring cash as it is cash only.

This place is awesome. Only seen these places in San Francisco. Highly recommend it for dessert. Next time I will try the drinks. I had the 22. Da ht sen nhãn nhc thch, which had Coconut, lotus, jello, longan, and shaved ice on top. Refreshing and filling.
People complain about cash. Really, you don’t carry $ 5 in your wallet? If you are buying for an entire family, then it may be more difficult.

I stopped by recently on a warm sunny day for a refreshing beverage. This is a new place that opened up in a strip mall plaza on the corner of SE 82^nd and Powell. It is a cute little restaurant with customer-​only restrooms. The two girls manning the front were nice. The pictures were helpful and they also have little mini menus.
I opted for simpler this time around. Glad to say that the Vietnamese Iced Coffee had a nice bite to it. I will review this again once I try some of their desserts.

I have not had good che in a very long time! Number 4, che suong sao hat luu with grass jelly, red tapioca, pandan jelly, jello and mung bean was recommended and it was pretty amazing! Maybe since the flavors are a little nostalgic, I thought it was really good. I’d love to come back and try their other flavors!
Note: it’s cash only

I actually do like this place. The unfortunate thing about this place is their hours. Only open till 6 even on the weekends! Garr! Can’t even have dessert after dinner, unless you want to eat dinner at 330! Che is a traditional Vietnamese dessert that is eaten with a spoon. I love the cleverness that is che in a cup eaten with a thick boba straw! I also love the bubble tea. I love the selection they have because I heart variety! The coconut taro blended combination is a must try! This summer I will be here all the time along with everyone else that just came from Little Saigon.
Beware: they do not accept cards, it’s cash only!!! So bring dollar dollar bills y’all!

I stopped in today and it was very busy! Granted, it was a Sunday… Easter Sunday! It was a very sunny day today, so people were sitting outside, enjoying the sunshine and drinking their che. It was packed inside with people waiting for their drinks. We ordered two number twos, one number one and one number six. Number one was definitely my favorite! I love coconut juice! Number two was also very delicious. Number six was good, but not as good as the others. I didn’t mind the wait, as it did seem like quite the popular place today. I like the location. Very convenient and right next door to the Chinese bakery I got my birthday cake at. Delicious!

PROS — Overwhelming big menu with lots of choices (that’s a good thing for customers who crave variety, however read on to see why it’s NOT from how they run their business). From che (Viet for «dessert»), bubble teas and café choices, they have it. We got #1, #2, #3 and #5. They were out of #6. The drinks were 3.5÷5.
CONS — They are very inconsistent with the opening and closing times — it seems as if the hours of operation posted on the window is merely a suggestion to them. They close when they run out of ingredients or just whenever? The Bambu special was #1 and costed the most ($ 4.25) and tasted the most bland — do NOT get! The others tasted wildly similar. The 20 minute wait time was alright, since we ordered six drinks (we got #1, two #2, two #3 and #5). Cash only, thanks for the other Unilocalers who gave this helpful pointer! And as others have noted, this business is very disorganized — they really need to change this!
CONCLUSION — There is a huge hype around this place. If you want a solid Che Mau (3 color), go get it to-​go at Phở Van a few blocks down the same street (sidebar note: aside from their Che «Van», everything in Phở Van sucks).

Yummy alternative to bubble tea. It’s like bubble tea except almost everything is made from scratch including the coconut water, coconut milk and even the pandan jelly is hand grated. I came here on here on opening weekend with my sister. Place was packed there was an hour wait for drinks. The drinks were all made to order and wasn’t too sweet or bland. Perfect ratio for a Viet dessert. Love all the options they have for che.
I would love to come here again perhaps on a weeknight when the craziness dies down. It’s isn’t worth a one hour wait just cause people in line were ordering to go orders for their entire family and their extended relatives.

Looks like Bambu is starting off rocky, but I can envision them doing better later on. It seems they may have had a setback to their grand opening as their original start date was in February and they opened this March. However, with their grand opening everything on the menu was $ 3 (an average saving of ~10% from the original menu price).
Hours aren’t posted, but this is where the difficulty sets in. I don’t think they anticipated having such a huge turn out as they’ve closed 5p-​6p in the past two days… Reasoning: they’ve sold out. Considering the product to prepare the desserts isn’t as perishable to baked goods or such, it would have been best to anticipate more than the average. This seems to be a family owned business (this franchise) and closing early may not affect the workers, but for the hopeful customers the early closer may have lost some desirable loyalty.
With the hours not posted and the miscommunication in place, we had a negative experience this morning… The «open» sign was illuminated and there was a crowd inside, we walked in 5 minutes till 10am. After standing there for a moment we were told they weren’t open yet and they’ve get to us after they were open in 5 minutes… I don’t know whether to be offended or sympathetic to the fact they’re probably extremely overwhelmed, but whatever. Service is quick; the girl behind the register wasn’t personable, but quick to the point. This is most likely due to huge influx of costumers.
Ordered a taro milk tea, che: 2, 4, & 6. The milk tea was delicious, smooth and was thicker than normal milk teas in the Portland area. Since coconut milk is a primary liquid base to the che, the milk tea may be thick due to coconut milk. The ches were good, enjoyed 6 compared to the rest we ordered. I enjoyed having shaved ice rather than crushed ice in my che (compared to Phở Van’s che).
Once the hype dies down, I’m sure they’ll have a routine with their hours and enough product… And truthfully, after having the che once — the hype may die down rather quickly. Bambu will definitely be a great place for che, but it’s not worth a long wait in line — excluding the grand opening as it’s to be expected with a discounted cost.