very, very disapointing. the place is a mess. the tables not clean, the floor is filthy. we ordered, and the desserts were pretty good, but had i noticed the filth before we ordered and paid, i would have walked out. yes, it was sunday, and yes, it was busy, but that is more the reason to keep the place tidy, clean and inviting, as any good restaurant plans, and this place should have a "cleaner" circulating especially when they are busy. read more

Really cute place with potential. I'm learning about the different teas, so I thought sparking tea would be fizzy somehow, but it's not. Also doesn't look like the pic. The lemon is dirty too. The service was rude and dismissive too. If the weather were warmer, I would've gotten ice cream. read more

Joy Yee Plus - Star passion fruit sparkling tea - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came here for some fruit tea as I heard that they were pretty good. I was overwhelmed with the sheer number of options they had. Their lines were long, but it was worth the wait. They used fresh fruit in their teas and they tasted amazing. Would recommend coming here for a refreshing drink after a meal. read more

Joy Yee Plus - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Got a few bubble waffles however they were not as chewy as I expect - they were dense and the flavor is a little bland too. read more

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First off the Sunday opening time here at yelp nor in google is incorrect. They open at 12nn on Sundays. We had a little misunderstanding with the waitress but she was patient. The shabu-shabu ingredients were fresh and delicious. The broth is outstanding: we tried the beef and the seafood ones. In case you are tempted to get the snail skewered appetizer - it was not as we expected, very chewy. read more

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So So So bad I don't know why there is so many in line for this place? Got the Taro with Boba. It is made with powder. I thought it would be real taro. Wife got the Brown Sugar with small Boba. It was so bad. It was WATERY and zero taste of "BROWN SUGAR". WILL NOT BE BACK read more

Joy Yee Plus - Taro and Brown Sugar - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This place can definitely get crowded, but that is basically this entire strip of Chinatown! They have kiosks for ordering, and there are a lot of unique menu items, including bubble waffles, bubble teas, ice cream sundaes, etc. Definitely worth a stop if you are exploring dessert options in Chinatown. read more

Joy Yee Plus - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've been visiting this spot for years. Every single time there's a line out the door. They've got great beverages and dessert items. I'd recommend the house matcha! In the terms of endearment Asian phrase to describe desserts, "it's not too sweet". It has matcha ice cream, red beans, and some other items in a bubble waffle. This can easily be split between two people or if you have a big appetite/love desserts you might want to save it for yourself. There is limited seating--just plan accordingly. I'd recommend the other Joy Yee establishments too in the square/China town. read more

Joy Yee Plus - House Matcha - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Viet-chinese owned! Durian ice cream is bomb! Generous scoops, creamy, sticky, packs a strong durian flavor. read more

Joy Yee Plus - durian ice cream - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Super expensive for their boba but really cute bottles. Only downside is the straws are too small for the bottle. Service wise they have waffle ice cream and several juice options too. read more

Good place for boba. First time trying the bubble waffle! It was good but sweet. Kinda expensive but still worth a try at least once. read more

Joy Yee Plus - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

LOVE their dessert options and presentation. There are so many different types of ice creams and drinks, you're sure to find something that meets your sweet tooth. I've had their bubble waffle with purple yam ice cream and it's delicious. When family and friends visit and want dessert, this is usually our go-to because of all the different options. They have so many flavors that you wouldn't find at a typical ice cream shop, which makes them a perfect destination for ice cream and dessert lovers. Of the times I've visited, the inside is packed with people waiting. Their desserts take a while to make, so you can find yourself waiting for 15+ minutes on a moderately busy day. There's not much room to sit, so I wouldn't plan on hanging around the shop. You can order at the counter, but they also have a kiosk that you can order from. They do not take online orders. read more

The dessert is delicious but the seating and ambiance is lacking. Might just be a Chicago thing though. Not many places have cute interiors. read more

Joy Yee Plus - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

In Chinatown there are two Joy Yee locations. One is the restaurant that also serves boba and there is this one that just sells boba/desserts. At Joy Yee Plus there is a verity of dinks. This place has regular boba drinks but there are options to add ice cream to the drinks. You can also get a verity of tea drinks and there is waffles! Definitely worth checking out and the bottles are so cute! read more

Joy Yee Plus - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I went to grab a drink and a fun dessert but unfortunately the drinks had a 30 minute wait time. So I will be back to try them another day. The ice cream with the waffle was yummy. Nothing too fancy (Cookies and cream), but nonetheless good. The place has two ways to order, through a kiosk and at the counter. With the location of the kiosk, the entrance can get very crowded. I look forward to going again when there's less people out. read more

Joy Yee Plus - Cookies and cream - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

If you want to avoid the crowds and noise at Joy Yee Plus, and aren't looking to eat a full pan-Asian meal, then Joy Yee Plus is a great place to enjoy a drink and a dessert. Unlike the main location, you won't find a full smoothie menu here and much of the menu is focused around lighter Japanese fare and shabu shabu. On the sweet side, there's a nice assortment of milk teas, fruit teas, ice cream, and bubble waffles. Definitely make sure you give the bubble waffles with ice cream and toppings a try. For some reason it is difficult to find this item around Chicago and even more difficult to find a restaurant that does it well. The waffle has a great egg flavor with nice crispness and is not excessively sweet. The ice cream is surprisingly light and creamy and matches very well with the fresh fruit. If you are taking a tour of Chinatown on a warm day, I'd definitely consider coming here to satisfy your sweet tooth and grab a quick snack. If you're looking for a good bubble tea or a full meal, I'd walk down Chinatown square to their main location. read more

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Well I definitely will be coming back here, there's so many more things I wanna try like the Thai Tea Icecream and the raspberry strawberry, blueberry, smoothie and peach mango smoothie with strawberry popping Boba. This time I got the red guava and dragon fruit smoothie that was perfectly blended and sweet and sour it was so good my friend thought it was really good as well. Also love the wall art of no face from Spirited Away eating hot pot along with other anime characters. This place is always busy too! read more

Joy Yee Plus - Red guava and dragon fruit smoothie - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

After absolutely stuffing our face with AYCE KBBQ, my friend and I had to top the night off with bubble tea. We got to Chinatown pretty late and the only places that were open were Joy Yee Plus and KungFuTea, so we decided to go with Joy Yee. The store limits 6 customers at a time. There is no indoor seating and the cashier is entirely blocked off with plexiglass. Order: - Strawberry Passion Butterfly Ombre Drink Pros: - A lot of drinks and desserts to choose from - Great tasting drinks - Awesome cups ~ they're reusable Cons: - Servers weren't the kindest ~ When they were closing they suddenly just turned the light off outside Overall: - A lot of good drinks to choose from that come in some cute cups read more

Joy Yee Plus - Strawberry & Passion Butterfly Tea - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Excellent drinks and the bubble waffles were very good. Only thing is that it's a smaller place so tons of people and no time to clean the tables and floors. Tip: get in line for kiosk. Order there, grab ticket and have a seat or wait in middle. They will call your number. read more

Yummy bubble tea but if you are not Chinese, ordering from the English menu is a pain the butt since its so long (they should continue shortening the names). read more

Joy Yee Plus - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Like everyone else, I saw this place online and was enticed by the drink sizes + varieties. I had a bit of decision paralysis, but opted for the taro coco freeze with green boba. It was refreshing on a hot day, but the drink tasted quite watered down. Would have preferred a stronger taro taste. Maybe stick to a milk tea next time? read more

Joy Yee Plus - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Got dessert here after having dinner in Chinatown! This is where they sell the infamous to-go tea bottles and egg waffles with ice cream. I ordered the matcha milk tea with boba, my step sister ordered the taro slushi with boba, and my mom ordered their house matcha egg waffle. I like their dessert because it isn't overly sweet. The restaurant was packed for a Sunday night! read more

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$8 for a cup of ice essentially, not worth it. Maybe ask for light ice ?? A little disappointed. read more

Joy Yee Plus - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Located in chicago's chinatown, this shop offers a plethora of desserts ranging from ice cream, boba, and bubble waffles. The drinks here are super pretty. This place does get super packed so definitely be patient! read more

Joy Yee Plus - a close up of a bottle - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Husb got the Mango Passion Lemon Black Tea and the Coconut Black Milk Tea. I'm not always into mango but this was pretty good; just a tad too sweet for me to drink the whole thing. I negotiated a hasty swap (outright theft, really) when he let me try the Coconut...definitely more my speed. read more

Joy Yee Plus - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Ordered a jasmine milk tea and an oolong milk tea. Was not what we expected. The green tea was fine but the oolong tasted watered down. The tapioca was hard in the center as well. Pretty pricey. Almost $8 for a drink with tapioca. Not bad, but not amazing. I did like how they had an order kiosk so you did not have to order in line. They also had cute cups and completed the order quickly! read more

Joy Yee Plus - Jasmine Green milk tea - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Solid bubble tea and dessert spot. I prefer this location over the Joy Yee parent spot that are several doors down. As always with JY, the menu here is also extensive! JY Plus feels like an 'enhanced' version of the parent JY. The drink choices are more interesting mixes, combos and flavors. Boba is lightly sweet and has a chewy nice texture. Can't do no sugar for fruit drinks, only less sugar. Tip: ask for less ice as they tend to fill half the bottle with ice! - Matcha Doing (4/5): matcha milk tea with boba, red bean, ice cream. Great tasting milk tea with strong matcha flavor, a bit bitter after taste. Couldn't tell where the ice cream is, it was probably blended in. - Sweet Rose (4.5/5): rose oolong milk tea with strawberry jellies. Both the rose and oolong flavor are strong but not competing. I would never think to add strawberry jellies but it's a fresh compliment! I could see this being a great milk tea especially for the summer. Great drink to try whether you're a rose tea lover or not. - Can't make up my mind (4.5/5): passion fruit oolong tea with pineapple, peach, pear bits. I laughed seeing this name. Pretty much me when facing a huge delicious looking menu. I love the strong tea taste with a punch of fruit flavor and fresh fruit bits. Fruit drinks are their strength! Price (about $7after tax) is good given the quality, amount, and the cute plastic bottle. Dessert options look great and have some interesting combo like 'durian addiction boba milk'. Definitely worth a visit! read more

Joy Yee Plus - Sweet rose milk tea, "can't make up your mind" passion fruit oolong tea, Matcha Doing - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is another gem! Joy Yee and Joy Yee Plus is different! Make sure you go to the plus one! We ordered the original frozen yogurt! It was perfect for me! Sweet and sour! But it was so appealing! Tasted so good and looked nothing like the picture! Looked even better in person! I don't prefer sour but this was an exception! It reminded me of Vietnamese Yogurt but even better imo! We also tried their Yam waffle Ice cream! It was more sweet than the original! Kinda too sweet for my tooth! But I guess it was geared towards younger generations. Ten years ago I'd love it! But diabetes on the verge as you age! I wish I had tried the Soft Serve Durian!!!! biggest regret of my life!!! read more

I love boba and I absolutely loved this place. My friends and I came to visit Chicago and it was one of the places that we've heard raving reviews for and it was worth the visit. I loved every drink that I got and they all tasted delicious and well made. They offer their boba in plastic bottles, that you can close and open your drink with, instead of plastic cups with a plastic film top. This was a good place for groups, dessert/drinks on the go, and a cool casual place to hang out. read more

Joy Yee Plus - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The plus location is not the same as the main location. They're both equally expensive, but the drinks are consistently good. We come here on occasion because they stay good, flavorful. The dragonfruit soft serve is new and so delicious. Still my favorite place for drinks but I go where food and drinks are good and there's so many other great shops that fit lower budgets too. read more

Joy Yee Plus - Dragonfruit soft serve - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Joy Yee Plus has been here for a while and well I never went because I don't usually eat shabu shabu for dinner. Or I'd go to other places for dinner and I don't have the stomach to eat dessert. I tried the bubble tea here for the first time. I got a butterfly pea tea and a milk cap tea. They were super sweet. The milk cap wasn't as good. The butterfly tea came in a cute bottle though. Definitely reusable so that's nice! I'd come back to try the ice cream. They have thai iced tea ice cream! They also offer macarons. Their egg waffles look great too! The shabu shabu is good. It's got a nice choices and even a mini wok deal! Pretty affordable. You can get as many sauces as you want! It's nice. You can pick whatever meats you want. They also have other entrees if you don't want to do a hotpot. My only compliant is that the seats themselves aren't as comfortable. If your hips are too wide, then you are going to be uncomfortable. read more

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The service was so so. Staff didn't seem quite friendly but they got the job done. There was a Durian flavor ice cream that I got and it was good and tasted real. There was pulp in it too which made it more realistic. Rare to find these days! read more

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I can't leave 5 stars because I haven't tried their food but I loveeeee love love thier drinks and creativity!!! They are cool I tried their fruit tea and bubble tea ! I had my friend try the ice cream only because it looked pretty! I recommend the drinks best my favorite was the yellow and red can't remember name but this is the picture. ! read more

Joy Yee Plus - The fresh fruit tea - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I've been going to Joy Yee since I was first introduced to it years ago. My friends and I love visiting this place for boba especially, although we need to come and try the shabu shabu. When I went, there was plexiglass to separate the cashier and the customers. A microphone was set up so that customers could easily speak to the cashier, while maintaining some distance. The menu showed a variety of different flavors so you could probably find at least one flavor that you'd enjoy. I ordered my usual green tea bubble tea drink. The drink came in a tall, plastic container, covered with a plastic film to prevent spilling. The tea itself was a good balance between matcha flavor and sweetness. The tapioca balls were decent. The only critique I have is that the price was a little expensive, but overall a great place to visit! read more

Joy Yee Plus - Green tea bubble boba - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My only complaint is that it is quite pricey. Never seen boba cost so much but the bottles do compensate for the price. So many options. Service is quick. There was a lot of seating. I got the mango sago and it was so refreshing and not too much. I loved every bit of it. Would definitely return. read more

Joy Yee Plus - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Bubble Waffle ice cream Desserts? Sign me up! Ironically I am not a fan of ice cream, however I wanted to give this a try! The line was literally outside the door. That's a sign of a business worth trying. Joy Yee's menu offers you the opportunity to make hundreds of different combinations. I end up try8ng one of the best sellers! Definitely will stop by again. This is legit! read more

Such a cute spot! I'm not big into bubble tea, but their mango boba was fantastic. They allow the option to customize your sugar, so that you can choose how sweet you want your drink to be. Their ice cream and waffles have generous portions and they're delicious. Our group enjoyed the food and the staff was fantastic. Looking forward to returning! read more

Bubble tea - so many options and fresh fruit is used. Smoothies - lots of options Bubble waffle - original, matcha and oreo Ice cream - All above you can get to go. They have fresh fruit for their drinks. Cool cup that you can put a lid on to drink later or reuse. They do shabu shabu too, but this review is only for bubble tea. read more

The atmosphere in this restaurant is amazing and it smells divine the moment you walk in. From bubble waffles to ice cream, there's an endless selection of items to pick from. The staff are also very friendly. read more

Joy Yee Plus - Passionate Strawberry Bubble Tea - Japanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

On this visit we were celebrating a birthday. Follow us on this joyous occasion! First of all, this location is in the Chinatown Square Plaza. If you have never been, this plaza is huge and celebrates the Chinese culture showcasing their food, arts, crafts, fashion, etc. It is an electrifying experience walking around! JoyYee Plus is located in the second floor of the plaza. It's an awkward location, but we overlooked it because we were excited for the experience. The restaurant is neat and modern with modern seating and furniture and some Manga paintings on the walls that make it exciting to walk into. But that's about it for ambiance. No music or staff interaction other than the waitstaff. The main reason for the visit was the Shabu Shabu offering and the choice meats available. The menu is large and with some incredible options covering all food groups and menu choices! I wanted to order one of each! We ordered Mango Crab Rangoons, Japanese Fried Calamari and Chicken and Pork Potstickers. They were fantastic! The Rangoons were so crispy and tasty! The calamari had a good blend of all pieces and done in a lightly battered finish which allowed more of the calamari flavor to show through than the oil trapped in the batter. The potstickers were good too. We also ordered Truffle Oil Egg Fried Rice with Bulgugi Ribeye and Crawfish Fried Rice. Both were EXCELLENT! The Truffle oil ribeye Wes soft and buttery and very flavorful. The shrimp were plentiful and I asked for it made Spicy and was just right. For the Shabu Shabu we ordered Kurobuta Pork Belly, Premium Short Ribs, American Kobe Eye Kalbi, American Wagyu Chunk Ribeye and Australian Wagyu Beef. All were cut thin, meat was good quality and had good marbling and looked amazing! The broth was lightly spiced and complimented all the cuts perfectly. I wish the waitress would have told us more about the sauce station available ($2 per person) so that we would have experienced all the flavors with all the great cuts. Deserts were good but the person who made them took 20+ minutes to produce. The fresh Mango Sunday was really good. All in all, it was a great day. The food was great, but the place lacked the trained service to make it great. Will we be back? Definitely! Their food is worth the trip. But their service has to improve for it to be a great place. read more