N' Beyond Tea — Restaurant in Alhambra

After doing some research, I found that by day, they primarily serve pho and Vietnamese food (Pho Ever) and during the evening on select nights, they serve specialized drinks and Vietnamese finger foods (N' Beyond). Put that together and you get Pho Ever N' Beyond! So cute.

Anyway, this location is a bit obscure. It's located right off the 10 Freeway by Garfield and Hellman next to Circle K. There's a small parking lot as well as street parking. Hours are still changing, so definitely check Yelp or call the restaurant to see if they're open. As of now, they're open Friday - Sunday from 7:30 - 11:30 PM.

The first time I came, my friend and I didn't really know what to expect. The pho restaurant was closing and the workers seemed to be in the process of cleaning up the restaurant. Luckily they have a very cute outdoor patio (perfect for a date!) with tons of flowers and greenery. We ordered at the cashier and our drinks and food were brought out to us.

I asked for recommendations and went with the Mango Macchiato ($7). Kind of regretted the decision, only because I'm not a big smoothie fan and this drink was pretty much like a blended smoothie/shake. There was sea salt cream and mango jelly - really tasted premium with loads of mango flavor. I personally just thought it was a little sweet. My parents loved it though and devoured the drink once I brought it home.

My friend ordered the Black Goji Berry Tea with Lychee ($7) - one of the most pretty drinks! I didn't try it, but she really enjoyed it. Said she could taste the lychee and the goji berry.

We also ordered the banh mi brisket ($6) and chicken egg roll ($6). I was surprised that the banh mi was an actual whole sandwich. Packed with ingredients and I really enjoyed the flavor of the brisket. As for the egg roll, crispy and tasty - we ate everything.

So I had to return to get a drink that I would enjoy. I ended up trying the Citrus Sunrise ($7) - this came with orange juice, jasmine osmanthus tea, honey citron jam, and some rosemary. I think there was also some jelly bits as well. Really refreshing and light, perfect for a hot day.

P.L.O ($7) - peach, lemongrass, orange, lemonade, and jelly. My sister requested for the drink to be sweeter because she was worried that the lemongrass would overpower the taste, but surprisingly the lemongrass was really subtle. The drink was actually a bit on the fragrant/light side, almost as if it was missing a little acid or citrus to blend it all together. I liked the addition of the chia seeds, but I definitely preferred the Citrus Sunrise.

And we also were able to try the Ube Frostie ($7). Seriously, the tea places that make ube blended drinks can't compare because the ube here tasted so fresh and decadent, along with the blended components of the drink. Felt almost like an elevated ube milkshake but the word milkshake doesn't do this drink justice at all. Not too sweet - my parents thought this was the best drink out of the three.

They currently have a grand opening promotion if you're able to snag a card for BOGO 50% off; they also have a Yelp promotion of 20% off if you order a minimum of $15. The workers who helped me were all super nice and helpful.

I definitely am going to return to try as many drinks as I can. Feel reluctant to share this spot, but at the same time, I really hope they do well. They really put a ton of effort into not just the taste, but also the presentation....