Happy Tea Time
“He got two sandwiches for us, #1 Banh Mi Pate Gio Cha which is a sandwich with Pork Roll, Ham Pate and #4 Banh Mi Siu Mai which is supposed to be meatballs with tomato sauce in a sandwich.”
“They take credit card with minimum of $3.”
“Quality banh mi here, and the closest to the courthouse where I'm doing jury duty.”
Happy Tea Time
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Inexpensive
8 reviews
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Weird this place makes bahn mi. There was pate as well.
Didn't get a bubble tea like the name of the place is known for. Limited seating.
I would come back here for a quick lunch.
There are much better bubble tea places in Chinatown. The bubbles wee mushy and the taro milk tea just tasted like they added way too much powder. Go somewhere else.
Quality banh mi here, and the closest to the courthouse where I'm doing jury duty. Not the best I've ever had, but will definitely do the job, in a pinch. Had the pate, pork roll, and Vietnamese bacon sandwich–very good. Friendly girls behind the counter and I had my sandwich in hand very quickly. Good option to go.
I did not try their tea but I did tried two of their Banh Mi sandwiches; #1 and #4.
Both sandwiches are $5, delicious and fresh.
#1 Banh Mi Pate Flo Cha (pork roll and Ham Pate)- very good and fresh. Rate 4/5
#4 Banh Mi Xiu Mai (meatball & tomato sauce- tasty but they forgot my tomato sauce! Rate 3.5/5
This place is a good Banh Mi sandwich alternative if you don't have time the trek all the way over to Grand Ave. & Elizabeth St.
The place is small but organized and kept very clean.
PROS:
– Photos of each sandwich with detailed breakdown of each ingredient. This is probably the most detailed Banh Mi menu I've ever seen.
– Good value. Five bucks is just slightly more than what I'm accustomed to aying for an average Banh Mi, but these sandwiches are a foot long!
– Accepts cards. You know that's not common!
– Friendly service. This buff-ass Asian dude took my order. Cool guy. Everyone was pretty friendly actually.
CONS:
– Large sandwich, but not very meaty.
– Not a bad tasting sandwich, but not that great either. (We had the grilled chicken and #6…pork roll, pate, and bacon.)
They were out of tapioca when I went that one evening, so I can't comment on their teas. I would come back and give the other items a try. It was decent.
Free Wi-Fi, lots of drinks for sale (including bubble tea), Vietnamese sandwiches on the menu. The sandwiches run about $5 (there's a reasonable $3 credit card minimum), but don't have a lot of meat, sadly. The bread wasn't bad, a good size, with lots of pickles stuffed in.
There's a Popeyes Chicken right next door – in fact, they're connected! – if you're not feeling their sandwiches.
Maximum 30-minute seating time, so don't linger!
I've had the chance today to compare Happy Tea Time to the Canal Street Chatime (my other favorite) side by side. I went to both places (which were within a block from each other) and got a medium cup (16 oz) of black pearl milk tea with half ice and half sugar from each. I then took turns taking sips from each of them. Here is my verdict:
Tea: Happy Tea Time has a stronger, more aromatic flavor, while Chatime is more rich and creamy. You can see tell from the colors: Happy Tea Time is medium brown whereas Chatime is beige. Both got the amount of sugar right, with Chatime slightly higher than Happy Tea Time but both within the range of acceptability. Overall, Happy Tea Time wins this category due to the taste of the tea.
Pearls: The amount of pearls was comparable. Chatime's pearls were more chewy and had fewer clumps, so it wins this category. Both were adequately good though.
Other: Amount of ice was appropriate. Both places use vacuum-sealed packaging. Happy Tea Time has a bit more room inside and newer furnishing. Happy Tea Time costs a tiny bit more ($3.25 vs. $2.98).
Since tea is my #1 priority, I'm giving this to Happy Tea Time. But it's very close.
88/100
Do I always have the time to run all the way to Grand Street to my favorite BÁNH MÌ SAIGON place, unfortunately no. Happy Tea Time is so close to the 6 train which allows me to take the 4 or 5 train from work and then switch to the 6 train until I get to Canal Street. The place is just around the corner..corners, it's around the block, around two corners of the same block. So convenient for me.
My BF got me a sandwich there today for lunch. He got two sandwiches for us, #1 Banh Mi Pate Gio Cha which is a sandwich with Pork Roll, Ham Pate and #4 Banh Mi Siu Mai which is supposed to be meatballs with tomato sauce in a sandwich. I didn't see any tomato sauce though. Is this the best sandwich, no, the worst, not close to being the worst. It is okay. The bread was fresh and toasted. The vegetables in the sandwich were plentiful. The quantity of meat was okay for the meatball sandwich (#4) but the #1 could have used a couple more slices of meat.
They also sell bubble tea here.
For the convenience of location, I like this place. Both sandwiches were just $5 each. Would I come back to try other sandwiches? Heck yes.