Kung Fu Tea — Restaurant in Laurel

Let me start by saying I wanted to like this place. I really did. Kung Fu Tea in Laurel, Maryland had me hyped from the jump. Bubble tea, dumplings, and the promise of a bakery? Yes, please. But what I walked into felt less like a fresh food experience and more like a behind-the-scenes tour of a restaurant that wasn’t quite ready to be open—or awake.

First Impressions: You know how they say first impressions matter? Well, the trash can halfway falling out of its container was the first thing that greeted me. That pretty much set the tone. The dining area looked like someone pressed pause halfway through cleaning up a warehouse sale. Storage boxes were just hanging out in the back like they were paying rent.

Staff Energy: Now, there were two employees working (pictured)—and I use that word loosely. One looked up from his phone just long enough to give a soul-shattering three-word response to a group of five customers. The other young man may have had knowledge of the menu… somewhere… deep within… but it was hiding, much like he was, in the back room. He peeked out every now and then like a shy meerkat and then dipped right back into the shadows.

Let’s give credit where credit is due. The food looked amazing. The sweet-and-sour pork? Delicious. Crispy, flavorful, actually worth coming back for. The rice? Let’s just say it was made… technically. Soup dumplings had great texture, but most were already cracked, so the soup had leaked out—kind of like my hope by that point. And the scallion pancake? Thinner than a parking ticket and just as crispy. More “cracker” than “pancake.”

Walking to the Bathroom Felt Like a Side Quest On the way to the bathroom, I passed an open storage room that looked like the janitor gave up mid-shift. And despite the rebrand, they still had pictures of the old restaurant—TKK Fried Chicken—hanging on the walls, like ghosts of franchises past. Then came the bathroom: soap smeared on the walls, the dispenser crying for help, and an overall vibe of “we’ll clean it eventually.”

Final Thoughts: Kung Fu Tea Laurel is like a group project where one person actually tried (the chef), another forgot it was due (the staff), and someone just used last semester’s slides (hello, leftover TKK décor). If you’re only going for a good plate of sweet-and-sour pork, it might be worth a pit stop. But if you’re looking for atmosphere, cleanliness, or customer service… well,...

Food is great, bubble tea is decent. But there are some significant management issues. I come here periodically, usually when there's a deal in the app. I exclusively order in the mobile app. Every single time, without fail, the order is ready anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes after the app says it will be ready.

Today, we ordered when they opened, around 11. App said it would be ready at 11:10. I arrived at 11:10, sure enough there's nothing on the mobile order counter. There's 4 of us with mobile orders waiting, one guy working. He's clearly scrambling to open (chairs are still stacked, everything is closed up, nothing is turned on, not even the register) and he's on his phone clearly trying to get management or other employees to come in. I don't fault that guy one bit, he was doing his absolute best. We're 20 minutes into the stores posted open hours at this point, tons of people coming in, one lady tried to order at the register and was told that she needed to wait five minutes. A bunch of customers just left after waiting for a while. Finally two other staff memebrs came in and helped him start rolling out drinks, again ZERO complaints about those employees they got right to work as soon as they got in and worked super fast to catch up on all the orders. I got my orders at 11:25, so an average delay in my experience.

Today there was obviously some external stuff going on (there's no way there was only supposed to be one staff member opening on a Saturday), but it's a pretty good representation of the issues I've seen. I've gone here at least 50 times since this place opened. I've never had an issue with any individual employee, but there are consistent service issues in regards to timing. Either management needs to provide some more support to their staff, or they need to work with the app to increase the estimated time that orders will be ready. I'm okay with taking a little more time to get my bubble tea if that means the estimated time will be accurate, especially given that parking near this place is a nightmare and there's a ton of spots that are limited...

Random Review Alert!! So I got to my part time gig early right. My coworkers were geekin (strongly desiring) for some Boba tea. Well I wanted some too…why not review!! HOLD UP…what’s TKK fried chicken? Let’s GO!! . Where I am: @kungfuteausa @tkkfriedchicken @kungfuteaxtkkdmv . Location Reviewed: 14708 Baltimore Ave. Laurel M.D. . Menu Includes: Kung Fu Tea- Classic Tea, Milk Tea, Punch, Milk Cap Tea, Yogurt, Slush, Fruit Teas, Hot & Cold Options, & MORE!! TKK Chicken- Spicy or Original Wings, Tenders, or Sandwiches. Curly Fries, Mashed Potatoes, Cheese Curds, Charred Corn, Slaw, & MORE!! . Items Reviewed: Kung Fu Tea Their Strawberry Milk Slush (with grape bursting Boba $7.30). STAMP!! Think of a flavored up strawberry milkshake, with popping grape drink rounds at the bottom!!

Their Passion Fruit Green Tea (Milk topped with grape bursting Boba $6.80). STAMP!! Refreshing milky sweet tea, agin with those burst of grape flavor fun!!

TKK Fried Chicken- Their Spicy Wings (4 spicy fried chicken wings-$5.99 with sweet chili, honey mustard, ranch, & bbq sauces-$.25 each). DELICIOUS!! These wings were truly spicy, & GOOD!! A tad bit undercooked, so they would’ve been a LIKE THAT!! Dip them in the sweet chili sauce!!

Their Curly Cheesy Fries ($3.99). LIKE THAT!! Ok these caught me off guard!! Well seasoned, hot, crisp, & cheesy!! . Online Navigation: Easy . Parking: DECENT . Recommendations: Any of their slushes, or Tea’s…honorable mention to that fried chicken!! . Music: YouTube-BYB Metro 4-12-01

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️=STAMP ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️➕=LIKE...