Ben Wong's Tea — Restaurant in Lakeside

I was out with my daughter and her friend and they wanted boba. I had been to the other location once and figured we would try this shop since we were in the area. As soon as I walked in I saw they were trying to replicate my preferred milk tea and bakery spot which I won't name here. We walked in and there were 3 girls behind the counter and no line. No one greeted us. The girls picked some pastries and we went to the counter to order drinks and pay. At this point only two workers were behind the counter and they both were working on what looked like a pick up order. Neither of them acknowledged us until they were done even though they were looking right at us. After I got my drink I saw there was no boba. Idk if you have to pay extra or if the cashier left it out of mine because I asked that my daughter's be made without it. I didn't go back to the register because I didn't trust taking it back. The girls liked their pastries but not their drinks. There is shaved ice in the menu which is an added bonus but we didn't try it. As we were eating, the girls brought my attention to an older woman who was going through the pastry case using her hands. We watched as she would pick up a pastry, put it back and then choose another with her hand! The entire time the cashiers were behind the counter talking. I'll continue to visit my favorite spot further...

I'm glad there's an Asian bakery that's reminiscent to the ones in nova! The flavors here are more muted and sweet and less zangy than I expected. I got some of their savory breads like the hot dog and the mushroom one and they're very solid when warmed up a little in the microwave. Their breads do tend to have less filling but the prices aren't too bad.

For drinks I tried the mango pomelo sago (the most pricey at $7.50), which tasted like mango ice cream. I hope they adjust their recipes to have more fruit pulp, especially for the prices of some of the drinks.

I think they need to readjust the line situation as there was only one manned cashier on a weekday and if you buy a lot of bread, you are holding it for awhile. Overall I hope this place does well since they are the only ones in the area fulfilling this niche (the one in lotte doesn't have many savories). Looking forward to the...

I love the boba here!! They cook it well and the texture is never off or burnt like most places in carytown. The tea is also sooo delicious— I don't like boba/milk drinks but most of my friends do, and they like them here. They offer a good variety of fruit teas are absolutely delectable. Their mango orange green tea is so fire, so much better than any mango tea I've gotten and Tea-Do or other places. Dare I say, best boba tea in Richmond?

I wouldn't really reccomend the pastries. Their bread and items in the middle display case are fine, sometimes a bit too sweet, and so is their cheesecake. But the cake pastries are unbearably sweet and have an odd, very sandy texture. Out of the 5 people I've gone here with, nobody likes their CupCake pastries or cakes in general. The texture and taste is just bad.

I love the boba / tea drinks here sooo much, I just don't...