Hi Tea — Restaurant in City of Syracuse

Update: Thank you for rehoming the fish! I have updated my review to 5 stars to reflect the great tea, snacks, employees and environment. This is definitely the best place for tea in upstate/western NY!

Original 1 star Review: I feel compelled to write this review after my recent visit to Feng Cha. I have been going regularly for a while and always have a great time. The staff is fantastic and the tea is the best in Syracuse. However, this past weekend I noticed a beta fish being housed in an incredibly undersized “bowl” (see attached photo).

I am sure that the owners are just unaware but the condition in which they are keeping this fish is cruel. According to the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, beta fish should be housed in a “5-gallon glass or plastic tank or larger” with a low-flow filter and temperature control. Again, I am sure that the owners are just uniformed as they probably purchased a product marketed as a habitat for beta fish, however beta fish specific products are notoriously too small and not properly filtered. Kept in the current condition the water quality will be difficult or impossible to maintain and toxins can build up leading to immunosuppression and other diseases.

Again, I really enjoy the service and quality of Feng Cha but I hate to see an animal needlessly suffering. I am posting this review in hopes that the owners see it and either rehome the fish or create an appropriate habitat for it at which point I will gladly change my review to a well-deserved 5 stars. It is important to remember that fish are sentient and should not be used as decoration with no consideration to their well-being. I encourage the owners to look into the bevy of information on proper beta fish care available online. When the beta fish is cared for humanely and compassionately customers will be able to admire the beauty of the fish in a way that is respectful...

I would not recommend this place as I don't think they truly understand what customer service is, given their attitude towards their customers.

First of all, there is a staff member (an older woman) who always stares at your entering your card pin number when you are processing payment.

Second, I have been a regular customer always ordering the same tea. However, earlier today one staff member made the wrong tea for me, but that same woman did not offer to make another for me, nor she also would refund. She'd rather prefer that I drink the wrong one. She tried so hard to remind me I would owe her the price difference of about 30-40 cents between what they had made for me and what I had ordered. Having waited so long, I said, "Never mind," and left the store immediately. For me, it was not a matter of 30 or 40 cents; it was a matter of a repeat customer's dignity and satisfaction. I did not hear "sorry," I waited for 25 minutes, and I literally paid $4.60 for nothing.

I left the store disappointed, and walked into Kubal with smiles and a happy...

Keep your $5.5. Spend it at Kunal. If you must get milk tea, get the $3 one from Taste of Asia or the canned ones from Han's.

Because Kunal gives an effort. Taste of Asias milk tea is mediocre but it's not like Feng Cha's is significantly better

Wasted opportunity. I wish they stayed good. Now all you get from them is watered down milk with bubbles. Their tea is pathetically weak.

It was good when they first opened. After about a year things have gone downhill fast. The workers sometimes seem to just not understand how things work themselves and kept getting my orders wrong. Getting it right seems to be a bonus.

I went there exclusively when they first opened because they seem to offer real tea and allows for customization. Lately their bubble milk tea tastes mostly just milk and bubbles. I can spend my $5...