Taichi Bubble Tea — Restaurant in Chattanooga

Our experience was ruined by rude staff, overpriced meals, and dirty environment. First off, this establishment is 100% self serve. You fill out this lengthy form, and the staff communicate very little with you. If you prefer to be served or ask questions without annoyed looks then this place is not for you. I went with my mom, and she ordered for us. We decided on two entrees (poke rice bowl and salad bowl) and hot tea for 2. I heard my mom inquire if they had tea pots since we both wanted tea. She responded no, it was "small or large". We then ordered 2 small kumquat lemon teas. When our pager went off, I went to get the food and immediately told them that the drink order was wrong, because they gave us some kind of iced drink. She simply said "no, that's what you ordered. If you want hot tea you have to specify that." When ordering, she did NOT ask us if we wanted hot or iced tea. We were looking at the hot tea menu, and ordered word for word off the menu. How are we supposed to know they have iced versions? We did not read the iced menu because we weren't interested in iced tea! That's the restaurant's job to know the menu back and forth, not ours. Also, since we mentioned the tea pot it should have cued her in. It was a simple mix-up, but they REFUSED to take accountability, or offer any sort of apology or make any attempt at all at rectifying the situation. She just outright argued with me. I would have gladly paid any price difference but she just kept arguing and saying it was what I ordered. Normally I wouldn't care but we spent $9.20 on the drinks alone. I hate the idea of giving a people a hard time in restaurants or causing a scene, but I was shocked at how confrontational and argumentative they were about this instead of simply remaking the drinks which we had not touched. Also, I should mention my mom had tipped them $4 for doing absolutely nothing but enter an order incorrectly. I even showed her where we had circled the hot tea on the menu you fill out and she replied that they don't read the back. This girl made it VERY clear that we were out of luck and our dissatisfaction was not her problem.

When we sat down, the table was gross. There was food underneath it, and everything was sticky. I grabbed a highchair for my child and it was very sticky and had old food stuck to the seat. I didn't bother asking them to clean it because it was clear they had zero interest in providing basic customer service.

The food was really expensive for what it was, not good enough for me to deal with the staff's bad attitudes. Since we paid nearly $10 for the drinks we did try them. They were terrible and bitter, (despite the fact that they had added sugar which we never asked for)....

Let me start by saying this has nothing to do with food. My daughter turned 11 on Easter Sunday. She was off school on Monday, April 10, and asked for a day of shopping and lunch. She packed up ALL of her own money, put all of her birthday gifts into her new birthday purse, and off we went. Target, Kohl’s, and then TaiChi for her favorite Boba tea and ramen. We did a to go order and waited in a booth while it was prepared. My daughter loves the notebooks because it lets us play word games and tic tac toe together instead of constant phone use. We left with our food and had a lovely day. The next evening, she mentioned she left her purse in my car. I said take a quick look. By Wednesday, we had looked through her room and the house. Thursday, after looking, I realized that she must’ve left it somewhere while we were shopping. I called target Friday morning. Then I called Kohl’s on my lunch break. After work and picking up my daughter, I call the TaiChi. Chloe answered and was very odd but out the manager, Kevin on the phone. I described all of the contents and the purse. Kevin told me a male came by that morning and picked up the purse. I drove out and showed Kevin and Montana a picture of my daughter opening her purse as a gift. They both confirmed that was the purse they gave away. It had every bit of money she saved, her new JBL earbuds, a wristlet that her aunt gave her and is now deceased. My daughter had to lose every treasure. Kevin felt very bad and said he’d replace the purse. And that was terribly kind except he can’t replace the money she’s saved from Christmas, chores, Easter, and her birthday or earbuds left inside. It’s a terrible experience as a mom to see your kid lose everything. Montana Sizemore and Chloe Yancy were the only two employees that knew what was in the purse. They’re young, and I’m sure the temptation got to one or both of them. I’m surprised that Kevin would keep them employed, even under staffing shortages. Thieves are a sad problem. Just beware that they’ll sort through anything left behind and make a plan to take it. Keep your valuables safe. It’s been a hard lesson for...

-- Response reply. Hello, I'm sure you'll be fine, we are the ones who got sick, twice. And no, we don't want anything. It's just sad to us to enjoy somewhere so much and then have those cravings ruined from getting sick. We'll get over it with time. The other poke bowl visits previously were fine until lately, the last month fyi. Cashiers are just unwilling to engage with customers which is totally understandable in this city. We've seen the most wild and hateful attitudes from customers in restaurants here. Must have gotten incorrect information on your Ramen, we were told the ramen base comes in from a distributor pre-made. We still enjoy it more than Chopstix or Noodle and Pho. --

Liked it until the last 2 visits made us sick from Poke bowls. Hate to go down to 2 stars but what can you do when the Poke bowls have you feeling flu like while eating them or within minutes of eating them. Nausea, sweats, and hot flashes that last until the food exists your system. If you're lucky. If not, they can last 72 hours in our experience.

We will have to avoid the Poke bowls from now on. Killed any and all cravings for them the last visit.

Bubble tea's are standard if you've been anywhere they've been popular for years. Bobo and Pearl's. If you really like them, Amazon up your own ingredients. They are easy to make.

Ramen is good, and the only safe option lately. But it is fast food style ramen. Like how a fast food burger taste different than a home cooked one. Still rich in flavor but also a complete sodium bomb. The spicy versions are our favorites.

The ordering system is hit or miss. Most here in Chatt town literally stand in line for 5+ minutes per person trying to figure out what they want while holding up the entire line. The cashier's don't seem to want to help. The staff is high schooler's and made us wonder if that's why we got food poisoning twice already. Not knocking high schooler's, just wondering if they are as concerned as they should be about...