Fast, friendly service, open to special requests: for me, always extra garlic. The salt and pepper squid is unquestionably the best I have ever had. And there are tentacles. Fantastic noodles. read more

Was at 99 ranch shopping and wanted a quick late night bite and decided to try Cha Cha Tea Spot. The food was surprisingly good! We enjoyed all the dishes and it wasn't greasy at all. The staff was very nice as it was past 8 which was closing and they still offered to make our food. read more

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We wanted a little snack while we were shopping and decided to try the fried rice here . It really hit the spot satisfying our snack craving . The service was friendly and fast. I will definitely go back here again. Next time I'm shopping in the area read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - Pork fried rice - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Located inside the new ranch 99 food court, so there's quite a lot of parking outside. Service was pretty fast. You just order at the counter and go back up to get the plates of food when the buzzer goes off. We got their shredded potato dish as well as the signature chow mien. The shredded potato was good, just a hint of spicy, but with enough sourness and sweetness to balance. The texture/bite was also pleasant. The chow mien was sooo salty. The first bite I took had me gasping and reaching for water. It felt like I had just bitten into a spoonful of salt sprinkled on noodles. The char siu was extremely salty so I'm not sure if that just permeated into everything else but I couldn't eat more fearing for my blood pressure. read more

I appreciated that I could get my Thai tea at different levels of sweetness. The soup was much more than I expected to get. The hot and sour was pretty good, though I prefer mine a bit higher. This is a food court, however they brought my food to me anyway. The food court was just a food court with nothing special. But the noise level was fine. read more

I get overwhelmed when a place has so many options for food and I don't know what to order. While we were waiting for chicken next door, we got an almond milk tea and Vietnamese coffee. I can't find many places with almond flavor and order it any chance we get. It was a tad bit sweet but great flavor. I can't say the same about the coffee. That wasn't on the menu but she said could make it so I guess she tried her best. read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - Almond milk tea and coffee milk tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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My brother and I over-ordered. We had actually ordered from 2 other places and decided to get even more food from here! We ordered a taro smoothie for my niece, porridge either pork and preserved eggs, and the hot and sour chewy glass noodle soup. We ended up taking the porridge and hot and sour noodles to go. These 2 dishes hit the spot in satisfying our late night craving! I love ginger, so I appreciate the thinly sliced ginger strips in the porridge. The e porridge was nicely flavored, tasted like something my dad would make (he's an excellent cook!). The hot and sour noodles were really flavorful! I loved the chewy noodles and the broth. My only negative feedback was it that it was really greasy (from the chili oil). We would definitely come back and order these 2 food items again! My niece thought the boba was just ok. The taro was artificially flavored. The lady who runs the restaurant is super sweet and really nice. My brother makes it a point to always order something from her even though he's ordering from the other restaurants, so we didn't deviate from his routine. I'm so glad that I got to try the food here! I will definitely be back! This restaurant is located inside the 99 Ranch Market food court, on Balboa Avenue. Come check it out! You order at the counter and there's a clean and spacious area to sit and eat your food, or you can take it to go. read more

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Today I ordered one entree: salt and pepper tofu at 11:43 am and I did not get my order until 12:17 pm. Not only did I have to wait over 30 minutes for one dish but IT WAS THE WRONG DISH THEY PACKAGED AND GAVE ME. I was not aware until I was on my way home in the car. I checked my receipt and I definitely ordered salt and pepper tofu. For me, I will not be returning, it is better to go next door to Shang Xi or cluck n sip , both of which are faster and more reliable! I will call to see if they'll refund me but I doubt it. I will update my review if they do. read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - I don't know what dish this is but it has beef with tofu. THIS IS NOT SALT AND PEPPER TOFU. - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Ordered the preserved egg pork porridge around 8pm (pre ordered thru the phone) and was able to pick it up 5 mins later, piping hot. Although a smidge pricy at a whopping total of $15 including container fee and tip, this place came to mind when thinking about a cozy, homemade meal. I am normally a little shy but I ordered with my Cantonese bc I knew the owners spoke it, and the owners' son(?) actually entertained me which I thought was super cute and endearing. read more

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Mostly noodle, little veggies, even less beef, and the beef was not fresh. This place has few customers, cause and effect. Stay away. read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - Mostly carbs and the few pieces of beef are not fresh! - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Haven't ordered from here in awhile. Last I ever ordered was a drink. Just came here right after grocery shopping and I wasn't sure what I really wanted to order but I just Chinese food or just fried rice and maybe something spicy. They have so much dishes that it can be a bit overwhelming to look at but the guy at the counter can help break down what's possibly good. Besides wanting fried rice, I ended up ordering the salt and pepper pork chops with beef fried rice. I got my food to go and the guy told me to make sure to not tie the bag so the pork chops can air out and not lose it's crispiness. By the time I got home, the pork chops was still nice and crispy. It's actually my first time ever having s&p pork chops. I usually get chicken but for the price and the amount given the pork chops was a better fill of choice. The fried rice would've been perfect alone but thankfully I did add extra protein; aka the pork chops. It also did come with a side of white rice. I did want something spicy so he just added some chili oil on the side. I ended up having left over meat that the next day, I just air fried it and it was still nice and crispy and the flavor of the s&p was just perfect as if it was still freshly made. Service was good. read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - Beef Fried Rice - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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Searched for a bubble tea place and was hungry for dim sum food -- just arrived in La Jolla and did a Yelp! Search. Decided to try this food court as it was highly rated and when we drove over did not know it was inside an 99 Ranch Market and nearby Target. We were so excited because we're from the east coast and only just got a 99 Ranch about 20 minutes away we haven't yet visited. The service was excellent - friendly and quick. Enjoyed our roast pork buns and dumplings and teas! read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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The guy taking the order was super friendly and helpful. I felt like fish for the dinner and he recommended the Fried Rock Cod with Spicy Salt. I would definitely return to eat here again just to have that fried fish, the breading was thin and crispy. I can't wait to try some of the other items on the Menu! The restaurant is located within a food court in the 99 Ranch. There is lots of seating and tables. I really wish the businesses in this Food Court had more exposure because they're hidden gems. read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - Fried Cod Fillet with Spicy Salt, Chicken Feet, White Rice - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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Worst Kung Pao Shrimp I have ever had. The peach tea with lychee jelly was amazing, though.

I still really like this place. The lady who usually is at the cash register is really nice and has been understanding and kind every time. Recently she prepared a tofu and eggplant dish for me in a claypot. Yes, a claypot. It was sooo wonderfully piping hot and perfect for rainy weather. I look forward to finding more delicious items to try. read more

Bok choy was pretty good. The chow fun was not good. Dry and flavorless. chacha tea spot read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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Scallion pancake was probably the worst I've ever had. It was soo dense, firm, soaked in oil and had no crispness. The worst part of this meal was finding a dead fruit fly in our chicken congee (porridge). My husband took it back to let them know and they did offer to remake or give a refund which was nice so we got a refund. The shrimp chow fun was the best part of the meal but it was still not good - missing that char hot wok flavor and under seasoned. Very disappointing meal. read more

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They have a new menu with even more items! They serve restaurant quality food in a food court. Dinner for 3 is reasonably priced. We ordered 2 orders of xlb, orange peel chicken, pan fried pork and veggies dumplings and Mongolian beef. All the meat entrees came with a good portion of rice. This is one of my favs to go to. Their xlb is good, though the skin is a little thick. read more

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This place is legit and better than Panda Express!! The front lady working so so sweet.

ChaCha Tea Spot is one of the food and beverage vendors inside the 99 Ranch Market on Balboa Ave. From its name, you would think that they serve only tea, but they actually have a selection of hot items on the menu like fried rice, noodles, dumplings, and even congee. I came to get a honey green tea which at the time cost $3.50 for a regular size, $0.50 for the addition of boba, and another $1 more to upgrade to a large size. The quality of the boba tea drink was average for the price. The server actually made a mistake and had prepared a honey milk green tea which cost an additional $0.50, but I was not charged for it. I really think the best feature of this place is their offering of savory foods. On this occasion, I bought a bowl of beef rice porridge (i.e. congee) to go with my beverage. Their congee was more watery than what I am used to, but at least the serving was in a standard large bowl. I also purchased the Singapore Rice Noodles to-go for a future meal. The amount of curry used by the kitchen was perfect to provide the proper amount of spiciness to the dish. The prices on the menu screens are not always up to date to reflect what they actually charge for each item so buyer beware when you pay your bill. read more

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Food was bland, not much flavors. They were expensive too. This place is just average.

Will add to this more later. Little spot in the back of the ranch 99 food court. Nice guy running the counter. Tasty dumplings. Little pricey. His the spot for yummy eats. Recommended. read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - Steamed buns - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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I used to go there often to get take out, and I never asked for the recipe, which I did last time , they changed me .50 cents each to go box , which is ridiculous , this is the only place charge to go box, also if they want to charge to go box, they should price on the menu or price them on the counter visible, too bad, never go back. Used to go there every week to get 4 items to go! There's lots of tasty Chinese food around , and no charge for to go boxes ! read more

Very yummy. I usually go here when I come to 99 ranch after grocery shopping. Always hit the spot. read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - Strawberry Smoothie and honeydew milk tea - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Ordered pan fried pork and vegetable buns (6 for $9.99) via UberEats for in person pick up. Order and pickup process was smooth. Young man manning the counter was polite and friendly. Took about 20 minutes for piping hot buns to come out. The buns were soft, fluffy, and moist inside. No crisp. Overall the buns weren't bad, but also not amazing. read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - Pork and vegetable buns ($9.99 from UberEats) - hot, soft, and moist! No crisp. Not bad, but also not amazing. - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Ok, yes they are located in the food court area of the new-er 99-Ranch on Balboa and I've only gotten takeout from here. If you're feeling under the weather or just need some comfort Chinese porridge (congee), get the fish fillet one! So delicious and is the perfect cure. It's not like the Sam Woo one by the old-er 99 where the porridge was bland. This one had ginger and green onion flavors and lots of fish fillet. Consistency was also great. I also tried some other things like house fries rice and green beans. Not as fantastic as the porridge, so feel free to skip those. read more

Yum! I wanted to try a variety of things so I ordered Mapo Tofu, xiao long bao, pork and vegetable buns, bok choy, lotus chicken sticky rice, tear and eat scallion pancake, and papaya smoothie w/lychee popping boba. The smoothie was *perfect*. Just the right amount of sweetness (which you can customize) and they even gave me a small cup of what was left from the blender! My favorite food item was the pork and vegetable buns. The bun itself was so soft and fresh and the filling was super flavorful. The tear and eat scallion pancake was the perfect texture and flavor. Second favorite item. The bok choy was amazing - seasoned beautifully but maybe a little tiny bit overcooked for my preference. The Xiao long bao were super tasty too - not top-tier but will definitely satisfy when I get a soup dumpling craving! The lotus chicken sticky rice was really good. The lotus leaf added a nice herbal flavor to the dish with the tangy flavor of the rice (due to the small amount of vinegar) and saltiness of the chicken. Also, the staff was super kind and friendly. I usually don't factor that part into my reviews because my focus is the food, but they really made a really kind-hearted impression Overall, really happy read more

Great customer service- greeted immediately, offered suggestions. So much to choose from. Perhaps the host should ask what type of food I was looking for & my favorites. Fresh food, no flavor. Maybe a pinch of celery salt, some garlic & ginger would enhance the flavors. Cream cheese wontons need a little green onion. Place was quiet, in-between lunch & dinner, clean. read more

We went to 99 Ranch on Balboa Ave. (just west of the 805.) Once there late morning, Jennifer wanted to eat before shopping. There is a food court, of sorts, with several fast food counters vying for our attention as business was slow right before lunchtime. We stopped at the first food counter where we met a woman who spoke Cantonese and who acted very excited to see us. The two women spoke as if they were sisters with the shop owner poo-pooing Jennifer's lunch selections, saying that she was going to prepare a Mid-Autumn Festival lunch for us. And did she ever. It was so good, I wept with joy. No kidding. The Chinese shop owner cooked us a Mid-Autumn Festival lunch to remember. The salt and pepper shrimp was so crispy, hot and tasty, we ate the whole thing, heads and all. We even ate the salty seasonings left on the plate - chopped scallions and red peppers. The steamed fish in oil and soy sauce with onions and bean sprouts was excellent. We ate every morsel as well. And the green beans were fresh, sweet and delicious. So, so good. If we had ordered one more dish, there would have been more than enough food for four people yet the two of us gutsed the whole thing, made pigs of ourselves, and left nothing. We were expecting to order something ordinary for lunch, like a bowl of soup noodles or lo mein. We weren't expecting to spend as much as we did but we were glad we trusted our hostess. What a holiday threat! The restaurant has a very unassuming name, Cha Cha Tea Spot, of all places. read more

Solid place for a casual, reasonably priced bite. I had wrapped grocery shopping at 99 Ranch on Balboa when I noticed ChaCha Tea Spot in the food court on the way out. It was too late in the day for boba (caffeine would've probably had me awake for the whole night), but food did sound good. Have to admit that the pictures of fried rice were very tempting, but it had been a while since I indulged in flat-riced noodles so I opted for ChaCha's version with beef. The preparation was excellent - great texture and smokey flavors. As always with this dish - the green onions and beansprouts combined perfectly with the noodles and beef for a delightful experience. The portion was massive and left me with enough for an additional meal. Full disclosure, I enjoyed this dish with a Tiger beer at a friend's house so that definitely increased the enjoyment of this experience. However, I would definitely eat here again (particularly for takeout since the portions are generous) and look forward to trying their tea too. read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - Beef Chow Fun - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

When I come to the food court, I always immediately go to Shan Xi Magic Kitchen, but I thought I'd give this place a chance. Sadly I was a bit disappointed. I paid like $18 for the sausage clay pot rice and was underwhelmed by the portion/ratio of the meat and bok choy to the rice. I expected bigger chunks of sausage and more bok choy. One positive thing is that it comes with bbq pork which I wasn't expecting. Overall this dish in particular was overpriced for what you get :( read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - sausage clay pot rice - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

2.5 stars in my opinion. The cashier was really nice but a little pushy to buy from them when I passed by and glanced at the menu. I ordered the pan fried noodles and it was okay but below average for the price. read more

Service was efficient, but despite being told several times that my order would not be spicy, it was difficult to eat, too spicy, almost intolerable. Had to toss most into trash. Won't return. read more

It was a convenient food court inside 99 Ranch Market. Might not be fancy as a normal restaurant, this booth provided comfort family dishes after an energy-exhausted shopping. read more

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I really wanted some rice porridge and some Chinese groceries so this place was perfect as it's in the food court inside Ranch 99. The pork and preserved egg porridge was good- large portion and tasted exactly like I expected. My kids got a fried rice to share which they devoured. Solid place to stop by when grocery shopping. read more

Amazing! I was craving shrimp dim sum and did some exploring to find a good place to order from. We ordered the orange chicken, shrimp har gow, and pork and vegetable buns. Everything was delicious, they also gave an extra container of rice + with my Thai iced tea they included two containers of bobas/jellies even though I didn't order them -- one mango and one lychee! Great experience and the food was presented and packaged neatly. Only thing I'd ask is to use less plastic packaging (Took pictures after eating a little) read more

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Located inside the 99 Ranch on Balboa. The owner can be a bit aggressive trying to get your attention but she means well. For this visit, I got the House Special Pan Fried Noodle. The noodles come crispy but if you let it sit in the sauce, it'll soften out. I personally like to eat it when it's still crunchy, feels like it adds another dimension to enjoy while eating. Wish they gave more vegetables but it was a solid meal. I've also tried their salt and pepper pork chops before. Kind of greasy but I think it's delicious. No vegetables with this dish though. Comes with rice! read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - House Special Pan Fried Noodle - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Came in here while waiting for my # to be call by the DMV that is down the street... The food court in the 99 Ranch off the Balboa Ave. This stand (cantonese food) was more inviting vs the others I find where on their phone chatting w their friends. I ordered the house special friend rice -- 揚州炒飯。I never had it before, but heard of this dish whenever watching those Cantonese soaps back in the 90s ..... hahahaha I think this maybe the 3rd time I have cantonese foods. My first time was in HK. The other 2x where here in San Diego. Both times the Cantonese foods in San Diego is super salty! I don't recall the Cantonese foods in HK were this salty in comparison to the US Cantonese foods... Go figures... Guess this populations here are 重口味. Anyways. Great to kill time read more

ChaCha Tea Spot - House Special Fried Rice - Bubble Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

This is a solid place. It's located in a 99 Ranch Chinese grocery store. We get the Beef Chow Fun every time. We like it the best. The Wonton Soup is good not great. It would be better with noodles and pork. The Chicken Lo Mein, Honey Glazed Shrimp were also good. My wife loved the Cod Fillet. An order this size takes 15 minutes to be ready. Enough time to load up an some groceries. read more

I've ordered from here several times and the dishes are so good. I particularly enjoy the hot and sour soup, house special fried rice, salt and pepper dishes, and the chow fun. read more