Just came from there this evening to hang out with friends. Let me start by saying this place is CUTE! So colorful and vibrant, it makes you happy. Even the menu posters hung on the walls are fun to look at.
With COVID still affecting us, VIVI's adhered to social distancing. The seating (yes, they had seating) was properly distanced. They area is well spaced and clean. People that came in had a natural tendency to space themselves out with out the need for floor markers or being told. So I felt safe being in there. It feels crazy to even add this, but these are the times we live in.
So, onto the beverages... If you're not familiar with Bubble Tea, TAKE YOUR TIME WITH ORDER and DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS. They have a menu on the wall, but they also have a small yet very colorful paper menu that can help you choose. I recommend starting simple. Go with what you know and like, unless you came with a bubble tea expert that knows you well. Im not gonna lie, I like bubble tea, but I am far from an expert.
Their beverages consists of Cream float Series, Yakult Drinks, Milk Teas, Organic Milk series, Fresh Fruit Series, Slush Series, Flavored Teas, and a Special Signature list. Prices are maybe a little bit more than Im used to paying for bubble tea.
I ordered 3 mediums. Oreo Cream Brulee, Flaming Brown Sugar, Coffee Jelly Bubble. The Oreo drink was very chunky, you definitely need a thick straw for that. I had it with milk tea, so it took away from some of the sweetness of the oreo.
My eldest daughter had the flaming brown sugar with milk. According to her, it was sweet but not too sweet and tasted like caramel towards the end (she forgot to shake it before popping the straw in). She said it reminded her of a caramel frappe from McD's. It had a good amount of tapioca , but probably could've done with less. She said she would order this again.
My youngest daughter, she had the coffee jelly drink with milk tea. She did not like this drink. She ended up switching drinks with me, so I got to taste it. I actually didn't mind the taste. I was mostly milk tea tasting with a hint of coffee. For coffee lovers, that would not be a good thing. This drink though, it had a ton of jelly and a ton of tapioca balls. Every sip from the straw was like a machine gun of jelly and tapioca being shot into my mouth. I did not appreciate that.
Now, unto food. YES, they serve snacks! These go very well, with the teas and atmosphere. It's a small selection of Asian 'finger foods' but perfect for just hanging out and sharing with your friends. Nothing heavy. They have popcorn chicken, popcorn shrimp, takoyaki, Taiwanese BBQ sausage, and fried yam.
I ordered popcorn chicken, takoyaki, and the sausage. Takoyaki, The best way I can describe is like a seasoned omelet with seafood (octopus), shaped into a ball and fried. If done right, it can be delicious. This kinda fell flat. Mine was undercooked, while it was crispy on the outside it was very mushy in the middle. It also had one bit of octopus, and lacked a good amount of fish flakes that would 'dance' as a topping. It could have used a good sauce to go with it, there was none available, except Sriracha.
The sausage tasted good, I dont think they make their own so I cant really judge them on it. It was tasty and sweet.
The popcorn chicken comes in different flavors, pepper salt, spicy, garlic, curry, and basil. I picked curry. I can say, this was the best of all 3 foods that I ordered. Crispy outside, juicy center, flavor was on point. Would go through a drive through just for this.
Since I was with friends, I also got to taste the fried yams and my daughters got to taste another flavor of popcorn chicken. Fried yams, it's just lightly coated sweet potato fries. It was also good, but yeah..it's just sweet potato fries. The other flavored popcorn chicken was also tasty to my girls.
Overall, I give this place a 3.4, my daughters say a SOLID 4 out of 5. They want to go back for sure. I wouldn't mind either as I would like to try other drinks and I loved the popcorn chicken. I'm also curious about trying out their popcorn shrimp now.
They also have a rewards system through the clover app where you buy so many teas from them and get one free after 10. The clover app is free to install and has other businesses that you can also visit for rewards.
Note to self: I dont think either of my daughters like milk tea. We will have to remember that for next time.
TLDR; Drinks were super chunky, food decent, price decent, service great. I will be coming back to try new stuff. Thumbs up. read more