Getting thirsty from walking around the ginormous mall that is American Dream, I stopped by Gong…read moreCha (located in Hmart's Food court) after picking up a simple lunch. The line at around 2pm was short, maybe a few minute wait. You can order at a tablet or directly with the staff at the register. Menu is posted right next to the counter. Wait time was also brief, maybe 5 minutes. I went with my tried and true regular milk tea with herbal jelly $5.75, less ice, 30% sugar. The jelly had a pleasant herbal flavor which I appreciated though there was something kinda off with the texture--there were bits of the jelly that had a texture of thin film, like when a liquidy food has been sitting out and dried a little, and has a film over the top. At first I thought maybe I had gotten some bits of plastic from the cup lid into the drink though it didn't seem to be that. Then I kept feeling little bits of this between my teeth as I was eating the jelly. Not particularly pleasant. I don't know that I'd order again soon based on this experience, though I'd think the other add-ins like the boba, aloe, other jellies, would probably not have this issue.

Gong Cha opened their newest location in American Dream mall. It located inside the Hmart Food Hall…read moreon first floor. The store is pretty nice, with a giant bubble tea statue right in front of the store. The menu has all the popular drinks. I ordered the Thai Milk tea with bubbles. Quick efficient service at the counter. The order was ready within minutes. Excellent quality milk tea and super soft chewy bobas. Really happy to see them opening a store at this mall.

Sadly this LOCATION is temporarily CLOSED. There are no other locations in NJ…read more But, there are 3 other stores in Queens, NY. Visit their website for store locations - https://www.hkhls.com/en/store/

Delicious desserts and amazing mango flavor at Hui Lau Shan! Everything was fresh and satisfying…read more One of the best dessert spots will definitely return.

Not the best bubble tea spot out there…read more Location: it is located in Plaza Drive. There are seatings inside so you can chill. Service: I just ordered at the machine, no interaction. Food: i got the purple potato milk tea with bubble, it was alright i dont know why there is some kind of rice inside. The boba is alright, the milk tea itself is bland. No purple potato or yum flavor. Price rating: 7 out of 10. Typical price for bubble tea. Maybe ill try their other flavors next time.

Bubble tea's popularity has been spreading like wildfire... AS IT SHOULD! Secaucus was in need of a…read moregood boba franchise. Thank goodness they now have Tsaocaa, a brand that prides itself on providing drinks made from high quality, premium tea leaves and fresh fruit ingredients. This location is in the Plaza at Harmon Meadow. It shares a large public parking lot with many other businesses. The store is clean, modern, and bright with a few tables and seating. You can order at one of the self-service kiosks or at the counter. The menu is overwhelming in the best way. There are SO many options for drinks - milk teas, fruit teas, slushies, fruit mojitos, yogurt slushes, you name it. You'll find both classic and unique flavors. You can customize the sugar and ice levels. Just a heads up, certain drinks have set sizes and some already have a topping/s included in the price. So keep that in mind when you're ordering so you don't get charged for extra add-ons. This location also has a food menu that offers egg waffles, fried chicken, and ramen. We ordered... *Passion Fruit & Lime Tea with passion fruit popping boba (~$7) - Very refreshing, tarty, and tangy! This is the perfect summer drink on a hot day. I was very pleased to see that they used fresh fruits in my drink. *King of Milk Oolong Tea with boba (~$7) - I usually don't drink oolong tea, but it's rubbing off on me now... This drink had the right balance of milk and freshly brewed tea. It was creamy, smoky, and rich with very strong notes of a roasted flavor. We requested 30% sugar level and the barista nailed it. The boba pearls were chewy, but not as sweet as I would've liked. Their pearls are amber brown in color as they are only made with sweet potato (no additional syrups or food dyes). Most boba is made from cassava root and then colored artificially. This isn't your run-of-the-mill shop that uses artificial syrups and powders... By the first few sips, you'll be able to tell they use high quali-TEA ingredients - definitely a must try for boba lovers!

We first went to one of these shops in Canada and loved it because the fruit is so fresh. Not just…read moresome mango powder that most shops use. We saw American Dream mall had a location and we had to get it. It was so so so good just like what we remembered. Instead of boba, there are mango chunks that fit perfectly through the large straw.

Tea store inside American Dream. The staff Justine was very nice and friendly…read more I usually get black tea. Strong and great tea flavor, not bitter at all. They made it fresh for every cup I think. The mango series is the best out of all the fruit drinks. It's fresh and they prep it everyday. There are some tables and seats inside but most people do takeouts.

If you never had Hey Tea, this tea shop is located in American Dream across from Starbucks near…read moreHMart. We had the coconut mango blue. This drink was very tasty. You can taste the coconut flavors. We also had the supreme brown sugar boba milk tea with 30% sweetness. (We can adjust the sweetness level.) This drink was deliciously made. The only thing is getting my drink is slow.

Hey Tea is located Court A, Level 1 in American Dream. I visited during the weekend of BTS WORLD…read moreTOUR 'ARIRANG' at MetLife Stadium. At the counter, there was a QR code for online ordering but they must have turned it off because they were so busy. I ordered a Jasmine Milk Tea ($6.49) with the cashier instead and she told me it would be about a 40-45 minute wait. Thankfully, the Hey Tea app has real-time tracking so I can follow my order progress live and don't need to wait right there. The lines were a bit disorganized with people waiting to pickup their orders and people waiting to place an order. I was very happy when I picked up my drink and got out of that congested area. The Jasmine Milk Tea is light, floral, and a refreshing beverage crafted with milk and authentic tea leaves. Though it was super busy, the high quality tea flavor was still there.

The absolute best! Ara is located in my home town and I used to frequent this cafe. Their bubble…read moretea and their banana bread is THE BEST. (They make a gluten free version of the banana bread, as well) I believe it is family owned, but the workers are always lovely - friendly, helpful and attentive. The place is beautifully decorated included their baked goods, grocery items they sell for purchase in addition to the many gifts they have - tea and coffee sets, French presses, mugs and more! Stop by if you are in the Rutherford area for delicious coffee and baked goods!

I ordered an iced vanilla latte and a fresh croissant today and loved both! The croissant had the…read moreperfect texture you want in a croissant - a little flaky on the outside with a nice and airy inside, absolute masterpiece. Coffee and latte options come in small, medium and large and their prices for all of them are great. Will definitely come back soon.

Passed by this milk tea shop on Union Ave in Rutherford. It's a small quiet shop known for the…read morerolled ice cream and bubble tea. We decided to try the bubble waffle and orange lime fruit drink. The nice part is you are able to customize your drink, if you prefer it less sweet. You also have tapioca or popping bubble options for all the drinks. I decided to get without because I was sharing with my son. The drink was really good, it was sweet and not too sour and you can definitely taste the natural orange and lime. The bubble waffle had cheesecake pieces, strawberries, strawberry syrup drizzle and condensed milk drizzle. It was really good, definitely on the sweet side. The waffle on its own wasn't really good, but with the toppings it's delicious. The employees were really nice. I wish the place had more modern decor and better seating. But I'm wondering if maybe not a lot of people dine in.

It was a quiet Monday, which means they had all the attention for us. We had 4 rolled ice creams…read moreand 2 boba drinks. Because of the process, the rolled ice cream takes a while, so not everyone in a party may end up enjoying their treats at the same time. These days, sweets can get very pricey, so this is definitely a treat yourself experience. The boba here was very soft and chewy - the best I've had in a while. I don't think they have a good AC system because it was quite stuffy, and we hadn't even hit true summer heat yet!

As chains like Hey Tea continue to expand at an impressive rate, I still have a fondness for King…read moreFu Tea, which I consider one of the older chains. It used to be easy to find a Kung Fu Tea, but over time many have closed and at the moment I can maybe think of four locations scattered around NYC (I'm sure there are more). That said, whenever I come across a new location I check it out to see if they measure up to other locations. Located on the third floor food court of the American Dream Mall, this stand is tucked away off to the side. There is no seating, it is purely a take away stand. You go up to the cashier or use a kiosk to order and your drink is picked up to the left. I ordered my usual: a Red Bean Slush with Bubbles and no Sweet (the red bean mixture plus the bubbles has plenty of sweetness by itself for my taste). You'd be surprised but such a simple drink can be made badly. Sometimes there is too much ice so you lose all flavor. Other times there isn't a good amount of bubbles. And this will vary from visit to visit depending on the location. I am happy to report this time out this location nailed it. The drink was made perfectly and the flavor had an excellent balance between the red bean and sweet flavors. The slush texture was perfect as well. Well done! For this visit at least, this location made my drink right and very quickly to boot. I would happily go back again.

I usually love going to Kung Fu Tea, but I was most disappointed with this one. I would recommend…read moregoing to a Kung Fu Tea outside of the mall. While it's great for them to get so many customers, the quality of the drinks is not there. They are just pumping out drinks due to long lines. I ordered: - coconut milk tea with boba: the coconut flavor was faint, and the boba was not good - there was no chew, and usually their boba is soaked in syrup or honey (which was not the case here) - pina colada slush: came out melted (disappointing, especially when it was a hot day outside) I'll still be going to Kung Fu Tea - but not this one.

We frequently stop by for a quick meal while walking around the mall, everything is decent, easy to…read moreorder, and usually easy to find seating.

I'm a big dumpling lover. So when I saw a Vanessa's Dumpling House in the American Dream Mall food…read morecourt, I was pretty excited. I recognized the franchise from my visits to Chinatown, the mecca of dumplings and foolishly assumed that meant good eats were to be had here. But this was such a disappointment. Call me a grump, but I believe the namesake food at an establishment should be the best thing on the menu. We ordered two kinds - a fried pork chive dumpling and a boiled chicken and basil. But if I were blindfolded, I don't think I could've told them apart because both wrappers were not only thick but had similarly gummy textures. The chicken and basil dumplings also had a pinkish purple hue that gave it the off-putting look of raw chicken. After a few ho-hum attempts to eat them, my husband and I ended up forgoing the wrappers entirely and simply rescued the innards with our chopsticks. On the slight plus side, these tasted great - well seasoned and meaty. The spicy beef dan dan noodles were okay. For all the sauciness and toppings on it, I was surprised that the word that came to mind was 'boring'. As far as flavor went, there was a slightly fermented funk that made it just a little interesting, but I ended up dousing my bites with Sriracha to add the fun I felt was needed. A bright spot of our order was the side of sweet and spicy cucumbers we randomly ordered. Doused in a vinegary chili oil, this provided just the fresh texture and acid that brightened up our otherwise dispirited meal.

Great place for a piping hot big bowl of ramen noodles. They have flavors like curry, spicy, black…read moreand regular tonkotsu, spicy and regular miso, and veggie. They also sell dried chicken, stir fry's and dumplings. Opted for their veggie ramen. Broth was flavorful but not too salty. Noodles were cooked well but still had a good texture and chew. Topped generously with bean sprouts, scallions, corn, half a hard boiled egg and cabbage. Was filling and satisfying to accompany a good day of shopping.

I have been meaning to try Pora Ramen at American Dream for a while. The dishes on the outside…read morelooked delicious. The ramen did not take long to be ready. There is a long bench inside where you can wait for your food. The area looked clean. I got the curry ramen. I did not find it to be spicy at all. It comes with pork, green onions, bean sprouts, egg, corn. I would say that this is average for a food court meal. I would have liked more flavor and spicy but the warm broth was perfect for a cold day.