Dang Boba, Poke & Banh Mi - Peoria — Restaurant in Peoria

Dang, that’s some good boba.

After devouring a large meal at Hong Kong Buffet and walking around a bookstore to let the food settle (and pick up a few books), I asked if Tim if he had room for some boba. He said ‘sure’ and here we are. I completely forgot this place existed until I was looking around on Yelp for new places to try. Thank gosh for a dull moment of internet browsing at work.

We waddled in and immediately didn’t know what to order. The menu was a lot bigger than I expected for a space so small. Tim tried to explain a Poke bowl to me but said it was something you just have to experience or google. Seeing as we were both still full from lunch, the time to learn from experience would have to come another day.

I settled on a Coffee Milk Tea with cinnamon boba and Tim got this unique Matcha with cream cheese foam with strawberry jelly. We plopped down on some chairs and waited for our drinks to come out. It took a bit longer than I expected but the place was hopping and there were tons of orders being picked up and there was almost an endless line of people placing orders. The wait was probably 10 minutes but not too bad for how steady they were.

Tim and I slowly put down our drinks as we chatted about the various aspects of life. My first sip was extremely delicious and sweet. After a few sips, the peak delicious faded and turned into a drink that was good but leaving you yearning for that sweet sweet sweetness. Could be that it needed blended a bit more. Either way, it was pleasant even with the drink settling as the cup became more and more empty. In hindsight, maybe it was best the drink evened out after demolishing plates at a buffet.

During our time, we saw a lot of college kids come and go while a few couples hung around and enjoyed their food. Bradley University students probably love this place. The interior is very narrow and the sitting area, while plenty of seats, isn’t conducive to a long term hangout. Grab your meal, enjoy, chat for a bit, then head out. But not every place has to be geared towards people like me who likes to sit and chat for awhile.

It’s cool to see Peoria have such a varied amount of cultural places to sample; from Chinese to Vietnamese to Italian to Mexican to Mediterranean.

If time allows, I would love to come back and try one of these mystery Poke bowls. Until then, stay...

Considering it was my first time here.. first impressions last. I was standing at the register for ten minutes could have been more. It felt like forever before someone finally even looked at me and said “uhm I’m sorry I don’t remember your order what was it” and I was like “I didn’t even order yet because no one has even looked at.. not said hello” no acknowledgment whatsoever. So I placed my order okay. Then sat down. Other people were there waiting for their order as well. Both me and them ended up chatting about the poor customer service. It took way too long for them to make either of our orders. The boys were too busy chatting with themselves to even notice anyone coming in wanting to make an order. You could literally see them stop what they are doing and talk more. It ended up trickling into the food because they could care less how they made it. I love poke but I make better at home and can buy better from Kroger and Mariano’s. Sad because this is the only poke place here. Everything was fresh but the rice was over cooked for me and he smothered it in an ungodly amount of bang bang sauce because he was to busy chatting to pay attention which ruined the bowl. For the price you would think you would at least get a hello when you walk in… my bar for this place is so low. The only reason y’all get a 3 star is because the atmosphere is okay minus the boys not stop chatter. And because it is fresh food my bowl was just ruined because of the amount of sauce. As much as I love poke I don’t think I will be back. Think this was a one and done for me. Peoria needs more options. It’s so sad that this is the only...

As someone from Chicago, the lack of GOOD ethnic Asian cuisine near Bradley campus was disappointing and was counting down the days as to when this shop was going to open. Needless to say, I'm very impressed.

Their sandwiches are pretty standard for the most part, but I've already spoiled by the shops in Chicago, but what makes them great is how big and fresh they are so it makes for a satisfying meal. I've had a lot of Banh Mi's in Chicago but none are quite as generous in portions as these.

I've never had a poke bowl before and I've tried their Dang Classic bowl. I like them for the most part but wasn't wholly satisfied with them; maybe they'll grow on me as I've yet to try the other poke bowls.

The main reason why I keep coming back, however, is for their smoothies and appetizers. I've never had Takoyaki before and now I crave it all the time after I tried it at their shop. Their smoothies are really good and can be made to suit your tastes. I recommend the Strawberry Mango with 50% sweet (as anything beyond that is too sweet for my tastes).

All in all, a great shop that brings more ethical cuisine to Main Street and I hope they expand their menu further in the future as I'll be seeing...