Oishii — Restaurant in Forest City

The mango bubble tea is my favorite, and the pb&j filled fish shaped thingy's (yeah, my brain just went capote) is amazing. They make me think of having an even better flavored Belgium waffle and then putting the filling inside the waffle. I actually crave these! But they're on the small side. I recently ordered the rice triangle thingy (again, sorry for the brain not working, but you'll know exactly what I'm talking about) and was quite surprised at how small of a portion it was, especially for the price! I know prices at restaurants have been high for a bit, but the price's at Animates, for the amount you get, is A LOT! Several months back, I ordered an acai bowl. It was $9.00 😳 You can literally go to Walmart and buy one (frozen fruit section) the same size for $3.22. Animates are getting triple that price! Personally, I just started making my own Mango bubble tea, Belgium waffle (the taste is soooo similar to the fish shaped thingy's), sticky rice and vegetables (or whatever) for the rice thingy and I purchase the acai bowl at Walmart (they come with fruit on top as well) and I'll add almond or peanut butter, and/or more fruit and drizzle the top with Manuka honey or regular honey, but if you've ever had Manuka honey you can understand it's wayyy better than reg honey lol (Walmart has it for less than $13). Anywho, the gist of my review is that you get small portions for triple the price... except the bubble tea! It's good food if you don't mind paying but to get full expect to...

I'm very confused by all the good reviews about the boba tea... I stopped here for the first time. Ordered two, simple, milk teas with (extra) tapioca pearls. They were the worst, watered down, sorry excuses for boba tea my boyfriend and I have ever had. We had to pour them out. Complete waste of $13 and I left a tip so $20 total went to the trash. It was like drinking watered down milk with soggy tapioca pearls. No sweetness- just bland milk and water. (Black Milk tea with tapioca pearls is a regular thing for me so I know what to expect each time I order one.) I had to wait over 15 minutes for the drinks when I was the only customer there. To top it off, I ordered them both with extra boba and I only got a tiny spoonful in each cup. Will NOT be returning to this location. Sakura Bistro off of Broadway knows what they're doing when it comes to boba tea. I'd recommend...

The good....it's a cute, extremely clean, vibrant and welcoming little restaurant. I really, REALLY wanted to like this place as I've been following it for awhile and was excited to try it. I had the Ramen bowl and it was barely warm, the noodles were comparable to a pack of Ramen noodles you buy in the grocery store. You choose your broth and there's a few choices of "freebies" to go in it but you really need to add more to give it any flavor and those extras are expensive for what and how much you're getting. The Ramen bowl is $14+ and honestly, it's way overpriced. The poke bowl also lacked flavor and the rice is served cold. Portion sizes were generous but other than that, it was a disappointment. I may try it again for some of the sweet treats but definitely not...