PaoPao Ramen Factory & BoBa — Restaurant in Snellville

Now I’m feeling more determined and calmer as I’m attempting to write this review about the spicy ramen I had during the night. First, I’m from Houston, Texas, which is a hub of all sorts of food cuisine. I always wanted HOT spicy ramen and none of these shops were able to provide me with the spiciest dish at the highest level of heat. There was a shop called AGU Ramen back home and they served me the spiciest ramen which led me to question my life and why I still bother living in this realm of mortals. Unfortunately, they went out of business shortly before the COVID lockdown, and nothing can be compared to the immense pain and torture I had endured during this trial.

Fast forward to today: after an 850-mile trip, we stopped by PaoPao Ramen Factory & BoBa on the recommendation of a dear friend. My hunger and stomach were already showing symptoms of Patrick Star’s “Now I’m gonna starve” syndrome. Ignoring the warning signs, I let my hunger take over and boldly ordered a Spicy Garlic Tonkotsu with the 'extra spicy' option—plus a Mango slushie on the side, just in case. My expectations for the kitchen crew to fulfill their promise were slim to none. But then came a bowl of wondrous, bubbling red chili oil, screaming for my moral soul. After seeing that top layer of shiny red bubbles, I knew this was it. I had already written my will and prepared myself for this wonderful trial.

About 30 seconds in, several slurps of that fiery soul devouring liquid went through my mouth, then my throat, then my esophagus, and lastly, my stomach. SWEET MOTHER JESUS—this was DANG HOT! My stomach immediately protested, practically begging me to stop, as if channeling that famous Star Wars line: "You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you." If you’re curious in how I felt like, then imagine yourself… a Chernobyl power plant having a massive nuclear meltdown and trying to slow down the reactivity. I couldn’t stop eating because there was no point in return. Failure is not an option. I must keep going and finish this dang bowl. Eyes were red, ears ringing, snotty nose, and my whole face was now Hanadaka Tengu—a legendary long-nosed goblin from Japanese folklore—red and inflamed. My soul finally departed from my body, ascending to the fiery afterlife reserved for those who tempt fate with extra spicy ramen. Thank you, PaoPao Ramen Factory & BoBa, for delivering a meal so spicy it nearly sent me to the afterlife—I'll definitely be...

Was craving some boba but didn't want to go all the way to Duluth or Doraville for something good. I usually go to the Atlanta Toco Hills location of PaoPao so I knew they had really good boba. This was my first time at this location and I was slightly disappointed with our experience. Usually at the Atlanta location I just order and my boba is made and handed to me within a few minutes. I noticed they had a kiosk to order at this location and opted to use it to have a faster experience.

My first issue was that it defaults the tip at 20%. I don't have an issue with this but it doesn't show it before checking out. I noticed it in the background as I was tapping my card. I was already going to tip 20% so it's not a big deal but I just didn't like that it didn't verify with me first. You have to really be paying attention to see the ability to change the value.

My main issue was the wait time. We waited almost 40 minutes for two drinks. We saw other people getting their order that came in after us. Nobody acknowledged is or asked if we were waiting on something. I went to the counter to inquire about our drinks and showed our receipt. The cashier glaced at our receipt and grabbed the two drinks behind her, they were sitting on the counter the entire time. I saw them sit the drinks on the counter but nobody called the name I typed on the kiosk and I did not get a text confirming my order is ready. I only received a text saying it's ready after I inquired about our order.

The actual boba tea was great and tastes exactly like the one in Atlanta. It was just frustrating that our drinks were ready and just sitting on the counter but nobody notified us.

I'm hoping it's just a kiosk issue because it seems everyone else got their order in a...

I hate to rate this so poorly, but this was the worst ramen restaurant I’ve ever been to. I was really looking forward to it because ramen is an absolute favorite of mine. Inside of restaurant is okay. A little cheap looking but nothing too off-putting. Ordered a bubble tea, and their bubble tea is pre-packed and nothing special because it’s not freshly made. I got the Thai tea with tapioca pearls and it was a bit too sweet, but didn’t have an exceptional flavor otherwise and I couldn’t finish it. I ordered crab Rangoons and they were just ok. They were obviously frozen and heated up, as they were stiff and dry, but they were edible. I got the soupless beef bulgogi bowl with added pork belly, and I almost threw up trying to eat it. The pork belly looked nothing like pork belly and tasted awful. I had to spit it out immediately. The egg was entirely browned on the outside indicating it had sat out for hours under a heat lamp before serving. I have had authentic ramen, and unfortunately this is not authentic ramen. Nothing is fresh, it is all pre-packaged, pre-made, and likely sits under heat lamps for hours until ordered. I tried to pick at the rest of the ramen bowl, but the pork belly was so nauseating I had to throw the whole thing out. Over $40 wasted on slop. Only good thing was the service of the employees. They did package my order incorrectly, which only came to their attention when I asked for utensils, but they immediately jumped on the ball and got it sorted and corrected, which I appreciated. Again, the food was just awful and inedible. And that says a lot coming from me, I literally can eat almost anything, but I have good tastes and this did...