MO TEA AND BANH MI — Restaurant in Naperville

I love tea! So I was stoked to learn my group had an event to try Mo’Tea & Bahn Mi.

This place has a ton of options!

DRINK: I ordered a passionfruit green milk tea -25% sweetness - with cheese foam topping. (My combo 3/5- my fault. Their recommendations 5/5)

Next time I’d order this as a fruit tea or try a different combination for the milk tea.

I originally wanted a black, but then couldn’t decide on a flavor. The lady at the bar recommended brown sugar, saying it’s one of the most popular. But, since I don’t like super sweet things, I told her I was leaning more toward peach black milk, since I like peach black tea. Then I changed my mind and went with Passionfruit green milk tea with salted cheese foam. It was good, but I agree with her; it would be better just as a green fruit tea. Unfortunately, I was craving milk tea. :)

Of note, although it’s not mentioned on their menu in the store or takeout menu, you can order it with less sugar. I almost always get 25% sweetness, so that’s how I ordered this one and I think that was perfect for me.

I forgot to say no ice- but that’s my bad. Cuz I always end up with the cheese foam at the bottom that I can’t get out of the ice and then it gets watered down. So if you’re like me and a huge cheese foam fan (theirs is excellent btw), order it with no ice so you’re left with foamy goodness!

I can tell their teas are good. My combination was good but not great and that’s my fault. My combo 3/5, but their ingredients and recommendations 5/5

FOOD: I wanted to try one of the Bahn Mi, but the chef left yesterday to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year in California- woot woot! Happy Lunar New Year Chef!

So, I tried the fried tofu. (3.5/5 flavor, 5/5 tofu) You get to choose how spicy, so at first I said medium, but then she offered to put it on the side, so I selected that. I chose the sweet chili sauce, but she through in the boom sauce as well- both on the side.

The fried tofu was cooked perfectly- crispy on the outside and soft inside. It came in a cute to go box- you know the ones you get from an Asian restaurants?

The spice powder definitely has a kick, but I didn’t taste much salt, which is unfortunate. I think if I added salt it would be great. The sweet chili reminds me of mae ploy which I love. The boom sauce is a mayo based sauce.

STAFF: (6/5) The staff is super sweet and extremely helpful.

My advice if you are indecisive, get one of the drinks on their recommended menu- it’s on the wall next to the register. The rose milk tea with Sakura crystal boba sounds wonderful! I drank cherry blossom tea in Japan, and it was good, so I’d be stoked to try some again.

AMBIANCE: (5/5) The place is super cute. I love the design with the neon lights and booths with spray painted cats playing with balls (I assume boba) on the wall.

They have board games you can play.

And their Wi-Fi is also cat themed =^.^= Hehehe

Last but not least, they have a loyalty card where you get stamps for your drinks and after 10 stamp...

I visited Mo Tea & Banh Mi with a friend for a casual coloring date, and the experience had its highs and lows.

First, the atmosphere and decor are amazing: cozy and vibrant. The booths were super comfortable. Their menu is large and totally customizable.

For drinks, I had the Vietnamese iced coffee, and my friend tried the matcha milk tea. Both were delicious ◡̈ 💕

For food, we ordered the Spicy Crispy Chicken Banh Mi and the Grilled Pork Banh Mi. Both sandwiches were flavorful and generously portioned. The seasoned fries were also delicious. However, I made the mistake of ordering my sandwich extra spicy. Realizing it was too much for me, I kindly asked the cashier for a side of mayo, offering to pay for it.

The cashier was polite and went to ask the lady in the back about my request. To my surprise, the lady, who I believe is the owner, gave me a very tiny portion—about a teaspoon 💀💀 in a small cup (2oz cup)—for free. (I wish I had a picture) While I appreciated the gesture, it felt a bit stingy given the context: we spent over $35 on our order, and I had already said I was willing to pay. I wasn’t expecting a large portion, but something a bit more generous or at least a clearer refusal would have been better. 😿

One other thing to note: they were blasting Latin music, reggaeton and corridos tumbados. 😭 mind you Spanish is my first language I and usually enjoy this kind of music, but I don't think they realize how explicit some of the songs were. 😭😭 It felt a bit out of place, just funny and awkward at the same time.

Overall, the food and drinks were great, but the service and ambiance could use some fine-tuning. I'd definitely...

Sit tight it’s a long one: If I could give more than 5 stars I would. This cute little Bubble tea place really made me so happy. My family and I were looking for a late night sweet treat (past 10:00pm) and we found this place on google and love bubble tea so had to try it. First and foremost, the fact that they are open late is awesome not many places like this hold late hours, and it’s a bummer. We don’t do the bar scene and normally places like this, close in the early evenings. Secondly, the atmosphere inside is so cute. It’s such a vibe with neon lights, cute little arcade game tables, and separate booths along the wall for you to sit and chat in private with your group. They also have a stack of games to play at your table when you dine in. The place looks and feels like pure joy and happiness. I’m assuming the two people behind the counter were the owners…? Maybe? There was things around the place that made me draw this conclusion. Either way they were both VERY friendly and so sweet. You could actually feel the “happy” from them. Which points me to the fact that they are both very proud of this establishment. And they are happy to be there. Even while being so busy, so late at night and it being just the two of them. I absolutely LOVEEEE that the tapioca is FRESH. All three of us got teas and they were delectable. ✨chefs kiss✨ I also tried the Ube Waffle and that, too, was freaking delishhhhh.

So like I said everything about this place is a 10/10 great hang out for the younger generation and a nice little spot for families to get a sweet lil’ treat, and also their prices are really a...