This place is very reminiscent of Tea Fusion. The South side has been lacking good Asian Tea stops so whoever thought of this had the right idea.
Soon as I walked in, my nostrils immediately identified savory scents. How is that possible when this is a tea joint? How? Well, they serve small bites too, that's how!
I looked for mango drinks but very sadly, It wasn't on the menu. Luckily, they can customize orders that may not be on the menu which they did for me here. I asked to add boba and It was an extra .50 cents. Not pricey by any means but It threw me off because I'm used to the teas coming equipped with boba. Oh well. The tea was steeped a while and was a little too strong for my liking and unfortunately, I didn't taste any mango flavor at all. I ended up trashing my drink. So if I didn't care for the drink - why would I rate this place 4 stars?
Well let me tell you... two words: popcorn chicken.
I repeat: POPCORN CHICKEN!
This place makes by far the best popcorn chicken I've ever had at any Asian tea shop. The best! It's flavorful chunks of dark meat chicken lightly breaded and deep fried to a perfect crisp. The chicken was extremely moist, by far the most tender chicken I've had. It had a very different flavor profile I couldn't identify at first but It was what made the chicken so friggin yum yum. I went to the condiment station to add cayenne pepper - cause everything is better with some spice - and as I shook around the chicken, I noticed there was fried basil on the bottom. That was the flavor I couldn't pinpoint! Who came up with that idea? Who decided to fry up herbs with the chicken? And can I give them a big fat sloppy kiss for their genius? The chicken alone is worth 5 stars but I had to be honest about the tea and mark off a star for It. Sorry guys, you're a tea shop. How do you let your chicken outdo your main selling point?!?!
Anyhoo- my girlfriends live in the area and one told me her son always orders the popcorn chicken and chicken tenders. Her son has a selective palate so I trust his tastebuds and will try the tenders next time I drive to the south side. Matter of fact - I'll probably try all the small bites! Just not the teas.