Review J's Tea - Auckland Central

I was surprised with the portion size and the extra sides the food came with. I was only expecting the popcorn chicken on rice but it had 4 extra sides, which were all tasty. Cheesecake was really delicious. Bubble tea was average. It didn't have any ice. I automatically assumed there would be ice if I ordered a cold drink. Overall, it was good.

Had the Taiwanese braised mince noodles and also the salt, pepper and chili fried pork on rice. The noodles was simple, but the mince on top was quite yummy. The pork was very good, the side dishes are just ok and the rice was little bit too wet but still not bad. Price is very good here and portion large. The dessert coffee jelly is my wife's favourite and reminds her of her childhood. Spacious place, will come again.

For me milk tea here is the best. Good service, nice staff, food was brought out quickly. The food is a lot for one serving. It will taste better if they heated it longer. Parking right in front of the store is very convenient. Taste of tea: 10/10 Taste of food: 8/10 Service: 9/10 Price: 8/10 Ambience: 7/10 Toilet: 5/10

Best Taiwanese restaurant in Auckland. Food is so tasty and their milk tea is amazing. Butter toast is also very good.

Randomly stopped for a quick dinner. Food arrived fast. Fried rice was a big let down. No flavor at all. But bbq pork and fried chicken rice combination was great.

Great place to eat quiet and comfy. Food is really good and very well priced. The WeChat and Facebook discount is a killer! Highly recommended to all. You can't ask for more

Clean and accessible. Nice and tasty food and at the same, very affordable. $20-$30 for 2 people already.

Good food with tea is really food. I ordered egg rolls and free cabab, jasmine tea with jasmine felly had double topping pearl.

Hands down, simply the best milk tea place in town. Photo is beef tendon noodle, one of my fav menus also. Friendly staffs, consistent food & drinks. Difficult to get a carpark onsite but plenty of choices if you choose to walk a little & takes a chance at crossing the busy Dominion Road traffic!

Well J has been giving me a lot of memories, particularly when my first arrived Auckland. It is the one that brings me home feeling of Taiwan. It is not a fancy teahouse, but the foods, the drinks, the bubble tea comforts me every time whenever I get homesick.

the noodle tastes quite nice. Lamb is just average.

Great Taiwanese cuisine restaurant with great food and bubble tea.

As a Taiwanese, I would say the bubble tea and the food here are quite nice even in taiwanese standard.

Perfect late night dinner. Got the crispy pork on rice and it was flavourful. I especially love the sides they had. I had my kitchen which had similar food but J's tea wins it for me 👍👍

J’s Tea is absolutely underrated. I have been dying to go back ever since I went last year. It was so good that we promised to go back. I’m super excited to share J’s Tea with even more of my friends. I love the decor as well, too cute! I just wished it was open for longer! I can’t wait to go back and enjoy it even more.

Food ordered was bland, bubble tea pearls were stale, asked for chopsticks and didn’t receive any. Would not come again.

Good variety of teas and a solid place to hang out with some larger tables for groups but food isn't great and a bit pricey.

Taste like a shit..... so soft and wet ! Not crispy at all! You even can taste the powder on it .

lunch service was fast but food just tasted average, it tasted more like home-cooked meal rather than restaurant quality. we ordered spicy crispy chicken (good crunch) on rice and a fried rice noodles with beef. asked for extra spicy, but barely get a medium heat. but this place is definitely better than the OVER-HYPED "Spicy House". YUEMA in albany and TIANZE in sandringham are still my preference for yummy chilli /spicy chicken popcorn.

Average place nice in the summer as it opens late otherwise it is quite average could be cleaner....

The food is ok not like amazing but not bad. <br/>The service is terrible even I can’t understand why the receptionist/waitress treat people so rude!<br/>I went to eat with friends yesterday. At the beginning we waited long time that the waitress didn’t come to take food order. And when I asked about the food details, she answered as what the picture shows. I’m not blind! I need something recommend or just more choices! When she delivered the food to us, she even throw the dishes on our table. Finally we went to pay the bill, we said we would like to separate the bill, she showed impatience and said you can’t change again! <br/>I am so disappointed to this restaurant!<br/>I don’t know why she behave so bad to us and try to make us angry. As a waitress and cashier, she never smile to the customer and never say any polite words to us!

Food and drink was good but staff in training took our order and got over half of it wrong wrong plus missed a dish despite confirming at the end of the order. When the food arrived, we told him and he argued saying we told him the wrong dish. Absolutely appalling service, staff member insisted he was right and just stood there with no resolution until another staff member came over.

Had their wonton rice noodle soup and fishball with pork filling rice noodle soup. Soup was so plain no seasoning at all, i have to add soy sauce, salt and pepper. Taro milk tea was okay. Service was great but food was quite disappointed so not worth it.

I’ll start by saying very bad customer service. Went there to get a milk tea and takeaways for dinner.<br/><br/>When I started to order that girl at counter didn’t even listen to my order, instead she’d talk in her language and laugh with other workers there. Hence, I slightly raised my voice to get her attention yet she was still busy finishing her conversations... I mean it was ridiculous! She almost acted like I was invisible. However, after like a good 3 mins my order was taken. <br/><br/>Milk tea was fresh and spicy fried chicken was nice although, I couldn’t enjoy my food as I was really disappointed in her attitude. Please take this in to consideration and learn to respect your customers.

Bak kut teh with noodles and Luke warm bubble tea is just what the doctor ordered 😊 yummy comfort food for me when the weather was cold.. service was fast and the portion was just nice. I would come again for the other things on the menu

Nice food and drinks. Portion size is very decent too. Our favourite is the fried pork cutlet, pork was tender, juicy and crisp. Salt and pepper chicken was a must try, but was slightly disappointed with the chicken to batter ratio. Still OK though. The spicy pork and shrimp paste dish was sweeter than expected but interesting. Braised beef was tender and def worth a try. Love the side dishes that accompanied each order. We ordered the original milk tea and also the new black sugar Pearl's with milk in the milk series (my fav bubble tea drink now) and they were both good. They served our drinks in glass mugs too (dine in) compared to other shops which still uses plastic. Going back to try more items definitely.

Been going here for a few years now for the food & bubble tea.<br/>It's always packed when we've gone.<br/>Good food at good prices.<br/><br/>Only downside is it might be hard to find a car park.<br/><br/>The chicken with spicy salt is a must try as well as the Edemame beans & Taiwanese style sausage 😁<br/><br/>Ambience : ⭐⭐⭐<br/>Staff : ⭐⭐⭐⭐<br/>Food : ⭐⭐⭐⭐<br/>Price : ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The tea is great. But when it's busy it can take quite some time to receive it. But love the bubbles! And it's open til late. Which is great for the weekend

Bubble tea was a bit expensive however had a really nice taste and was overall not a bad experience. They made the bubble tea really quickly and service was great.

Ordered from ubereats.<br/><br/>Although the colour of the watermelon milk tea frightened me a little bit with how deep it was, the taste was marvellous! I'm so happy there's actually a place with watermelon milk tea and don't make it taste like sugary cough syrup (ahem hulucat 🤢).<br/><br/>The fried chicken had the right amount of crisp and tasted good...<br/><br/>I got a half tendon and half beef noodle soup. The soup was very very salty. Lucky i was home, and just added hot water to it. However, the soup was not drinkable at all. The noodles tasted fine with it but if u drink the soup, it's literally just salt.<br/><br/>If u add water, it's less salty but the beefy taste goes away too...<br/><br/>So yeah please do something about ur soup. I knoe it's money saving to just add salt as opposed to flavour but come on..

Scrumptious comfort food. Always get it from ubereats, as the interior could be better at the restaurant. But overall great eats and drinks.

I had so much good memories here. Always came here with friends when i was in uni, there were not much milk tea shop like nowadays. J's tea got the lunchset and milktea, and both tasty good, i'm not dining there any more because it's hard to go with two kids, but i still like to order delivery take away.

Came here to check out J's tea as it was part of the top list - wanted to get the slushy but was told that it would have taken a gobsmacking 40mins to make..... as apparently it was their peak/rush hour time and perhaps didn't have enough hands on deck to keep up with the demand. <br/><br/>Changed the order to a milk tea with pearls instead - the drink was fine and decent, and took about 15mins to make. <br/><br/>since this place is known for a mixture of good taiwanese food and not really for the bubble tea, I can understand it's hard for them to improve the service however there are other places that can step up their game and offer a fast efficient service with good decent products.  <br/><br/>Not likely to come back if we have to wait a while for drinks to be made again.

J’s Tea<br/>Should stick to selling tea. Prawn horns were ok. Deep fried squid, chewy but with good flavour. Deep fried tofu was good! Wonton soup a fail - wontons ok but the broth was boiled vegetable water. Please learn to cook wonton soup before you try selling it! Fried rice tasted, in my opinion awful but my wife and daughter said it was enjoyable (albeit a bit salty.) Had one mouthful and gave the rest to the birds who didn’t complain. Never again!

This place has become our go-to for ubereats deliveries. I thought that it’d be a good time to check out the actual place and get the full experience.<br/>The place is pretty straightforward and unfussy. The service was quick and helpful. <br/>I’m a fan of their food. It’s ridiculously affordable, delicious with big portions and side dishes to boot. My partner’s all time fave is crispy chicken cutlets on rice. He also would not shut up about the egg roll with pork fluff- he’s addicted to the stuff. I’m partial on the pork chop on rice but the braised beef I tried this time was pretty good too. My sweet tooth is of course happily satisfied with their milk teas though I’ve only tried a couple of flavours. <br/><br/>Will keep getting J’s Tea for sure~

We usually come here for the milk tea but their food is good as well! Big portions and the side dishes are so yummy! Staff are friendly and food comes quick too!

Always packed when we visit so it must be good, have only tried the bubble tea but the food menu looks tempting! Bubble tea tastes good and service is great. Thanks!

one of the best asian restaurants I’ve eaten at in auckland! food is flavourful and authentic! love love love their crispy buns with condensed milk! the only reason why I gave it a 4/5 is because of the service! it can be a tad slow on some nights!

Been here a few times but never taken any photos till now so im here writing this review. Food is good, nice and fresh ingredients, well priced for the taste and portion sizes. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Will be back.

we didnt enjoy the food but the tea dr8nk were good. dishes we ordered had cold rice,had to ask them to reheat and on top of that my dish came after 20mns from my partner's dish who almost finish it. the service was poor so was the food taste.

My friend told me it’s a Taiwanese restaurant, but I feel a little bit disappointed about the flavour😔 Bubble milk tea is good. I miss Taiwanese food more and more after went to this restaurant.

A good late night hangout spot with mates! Very generous portion if you are keen for a good feed. Although the quality of the food may be inconsistent at times, overall it's a very positive experience coming here!

Pretty decent place for a late night snack and drinks if you're around the area.<br/><br/>They are famous for their Taiwanese styled beverages (milk tea/bubble tea..etc).<br/><br/>In terms of food, we've recently had:<br/><br/>Popcorn Chicken - one of the best popcorn chicken we've tried on Auckland so far.<br/><br/>Won Tan Noodle Soup - average, has an overpowering pepper taste, potion is suitable for two.<br/><br/>

went here last night. called them before hand to double check their closing time and was told kitchen closes at 11pm got there around quarter to 11 and still got a good service from the staff and made us still feel welcome. we ordered: <br/>- prawn wonton noodle soup: it was alright very big serving of bowl of noodles with 5 prawn wonton<br/>- half beef half tendon noodle soup: the broth was very tasty and again generous with the serving size although there was more of the tendon that beef meat. <br/>- chicken popcorn: would totally recommend it was yum with chilli powder to add some spice<br/>- coffee milk tea<br/>- real taro milk tea: wasnt really a fan didnt expect it to taste floral-y or like a perfume atleast now we know not to get it next time<br/><br/>all in all, it was a great experience.

This place is always full...<br/>Definitely one of my go to asian restaurants.. the food is good and very affordable! Everyone should also try their milk teas as their serving size is bigger than momotea/ chatime.. <br/>oh and i like the fact that they serve a lot of side dishes with some of the meals.<br/><br/>30/03/2019 updated review <br/><br/>Sorry j’s tea.. but from a 5* rating i gave from 9 months back to just 3* rating from having dinner the other day...<br/><br/>First have to commend the fast service.. food looked really good but had to say all that we have ordered were really too salty! The only thing i enjoyed eating was the yang chow fried rice.. as it was the only one not that salty.. what happened to your cook? Was just too fond of salt? I cant even use the soy sauce and chilli that i made as all your dishes had too much salt already ... very disappointed. Also the milk tea that i ordered was too bland.. that needed little bit of sugar.. but i guess thats better than having way too much of something, right? <br/>Hope you could improve your dishes... as im willing to give it a try again in a few months.. hopefully i wont have the same sad experience as the other day.<br/>

First time here and l always passed by and been always want to try. Quite big portions tho and food wise is okay, friendly staff with relaxing atmosphere. Well surely be back again soon.

Late night delivery from a friend. She got the original milk tea & and the wheat milk tea and crispy pork cutlet for a late night snack. As it was a very cold night, the flavor of the drinks were soothing and nice. The pork cutlet however, had too much coatings with little meat, but the main dish were the drinks. Altogether it was about $20 which was reasonable. <br/><br/>Taste - 7/10<br/>Price - 7/10<br/>Size - 7/10

Two friends and I came on a Saturday night and it was quite crowded. Parking was full but you can always park on side streets. <br/>We sat in the middle of the restaurant facing the entrance which was quite cold because wind kept on blowing in.<br/>I ordered a deep fried chicken dinner set (?) and a pudding milk tea. Chicken was well deep-fried and the side dishes were quite nice and well seasoned. But the rice was average (there was sauce on it but tasted bland). I think they put too much water to cook rice coz some bits of my rice all gathered into lumps :(<br/>Pudding milk tea was very average :/ it didn’t taste like milk tea but more like a milkshake or milk supplement :/ but it was warm so really good for easing my coldness.<br/>General tip: don’t drink too much of your drinks esp milk tea before having your meal. Otherwise you will be too full to finish your meal!

I've been here before and enjoy their milk tea. I've just left the restaurant really upset and my family and I sat and waited to be served for 20 minutes, we watelched people that arrived after us get served and receive their orders while the waitress would pay us no attention even when we were trying to call her over. so disappointed in the service we received!

Came with a bunch of friends. Everyone enjoyed their bubble tea however I ordered a mango yogurt. I don't know where the yogurt was meant to be. A very thin sweet cordial. The mango milkshake my friend ordered was much better

We often go to this restaurant. In winter, the restaurant prefers to open the door and windows so it feels cold.Milk tea is not bad, other drinks are not very good.

The fresh milk tea, boasting that it uses fresh milk on the menu, doesn’t taste anything like any fresh milk I have ever had. Tasted like UHT milk, and it was repulsive to drink. A complete waste of $7!

This is the worst place ever. Went there 3 times and all 3 times was a bad experience. The chicks at the counter don't speak in a respectful manner. The store is dirty. Ordered a simple caramel fresh milk tea, waited 30 mins and still didn't come, people came 20 mins after and their drink was made in a span of 3 mins. Just gave up and left. The food isn't of that great quality, just not worth it. Would definitely not come back ever.

Food is ok if you want cheap/fast food big portion sizes. THey always seem to get my bubble tea order wrong. Tea isn't fresh and sometimes too overly sweet. Possibly under new management. Not as good as it once was. Always busy.

Popped in J's tea for a late feed after a concert. We ordered a couple small bites, milk tea, and dessert to satisfy our cravings for Asian food. The food was served really quickly, all in the space of around 15-20 minutes after we ordered. However 5 minutes later (literally when we just started eating), we were told to finish our food in 5 minutes?!! Hours outside said open till late and I thought it's good practice to at least let the last diner in the restaurant to finish before closing...despite feeling rushed and not respected, I have to say the food was alright and came in big potions. Also really enjoyed the taro milk tea. The coating of the crispy chicken was, however too thick and I felt like I was just eating batter! The brown sugar pudding also looked nothing like a pudding and so far off the picture as it's literally a giant white blob with a few taros floating on top... presentation would be 1/5. Overall I might come here for the food but my overall experience wasn't really pleasant at all!

One of the best places to go for a late night snack and milk tea. It's better than some other milk tea places as you can actually sit down and order food with friends. Milk tea tastes rich and not watered down.

Best Milk Tea in Auckland!!! This is the perfect place for hanging out with friends, playing some card games while enjoying a hearty meal and good bubble tea. It's always crowded especially in the weekend so book first. They have a big food and drink selection, and the portion is also super huge for an average price of 12-13$. Everything i have tried were tasty and whenever I come here I always end up ordering too much because everything looks good. My favourite drink is matcha milk tea per usual. Honestly, if you want to try taiwanese food and the best milk tea ever, come to J's Tea and your belly will thank you.

Tried their drinks many times before and they were good but came here for dinner for the first time yesterday. <br/><br/>Quite disappointed with the food though :(<br/><br/>We ordered deep-fried prawn with spicy salt on rice, crispy pork cutlets on rice and beef noodles (half beef half tendon). All of them are in good portion.<br/><br/>Beef noodles is good- tender beef and tendon.<br/><br/>Prawn is a bit too spicy for my liking but other than that it's alright.<br/><br/>Pork cutlets are good too. However, the lu rou fan (stewed mince pork on rice) is bland and 2 out of 3 side dishes are bland without any flavour too, albeit all of them looking very appetizing! I think I'd be less disappointed if they serve just white rice and without the side dishes because it did bring my expectations up and so brought more disappointment. <br/><br/>So I'd definitely recommend J's tea for their bubble tea and for snacks like popcorn chicken and it is a great place to hangout with friends. However, I personally wouldn't recommend it if you want to have a proper dinner.

These guys are really laid back. I discovered this little place only a would of weeks ago and I love it. It has all kinds of spicy food but my favorite thing about this place is the tea. (I know, shocker right?)

I love how cheap the food is at this place. For under $10, you can get so much food that you can't even finish. If you want to try something different, I recommend wined chicken. If sounds really weird but one on cold noodle is very refreshing on hot day. And the chilli fishes look quite frightening but it's nothing like it seems, quite mild. The teas are actually brewed & not from powder either.<br/><br/>It can be a bit hard to grab a table at peak times, but it's one of my go to when I just can't be bothered to make dinner. <br/><br/>They don't always ask, but you can ask to change the sugar and ice level too.

There was a time when I frequented J's Tea like once every two weeks before it was always busy. Back then I thought they had the best milk teas and pearls in Auckland, now I still do but they have not been consistent. Sometimes I would get a mind-blowingly perfect drink, other times lackluster with undercooked pearls. These are the two extremes, so generally they are still great.<br/><br/>I always get the jasmine milk tea with pearls because I love how I can actually taste the jasmine here, which is often overpowered by the milk. Fresh milk series is very aromatic and a good choice too, but might be too sweet for some. For snacking, I highly recommend their Taiwanese chicken popcorn! I have also tried deep fried crispy tofu and tempura, both were good as well. If you want to try their food, have a go at braised beef brisket with either rice or noodles. It's always meltingly tender and served with tender simmered veggies. The black pepper crispy chicken cutlets are okay. My friend often gets the large stewed minced pork on rice, which makes a very simple yet satisfying meal. Although from our experience, we think by getting the large one you're only getting more rice instead of more meat.<br/><br/>I have watched prices creep up over the years, although portions have remained huge (I always struggle to finish) but they don't serve a separate selection of small plate side dishes with your meal any more. Every time I come the staff is different, so service is never the same either but generally abrupt and nothing special.<br/><br/>Bottom line: Great milk tea and pearls. Food is generally okay. Issues with consistency.

First time here due to recommendation from friend. I rate 4/5 as we love the ambiance, good place for catching up! <br/><br/>We only ordered the milk tea and we quite like it. We tried the matcha milk tea with red bean and real taro milk tea with half sugar. I love the real taro milk tea taste, would prefer if we can order no sugar version.

Went here today for lunch. Ordered fry beef noodle... honestly, where is beef?? Right photo is what they advertised, left is what I get... :( very disappointed.....

J's Tea is one of the best places to go for a late night snack or bubble tea. Parking is notoriously difficult here but if you go when the nearby grocery store closes there should be ample space. At the entrance, you'll notice a shelf with blankets which you can use if you're cold. I've only tried a few things from their menu but most have been really good. The salt and pepper squid is extraordinary, and their portion sizing for noodles is huge. Would definitely recommend the wolfberry and chrysanthemum tea if you need warming up! 😊

We had spicy pork belly with noodles soup. ..disappointed oily & only few sliced of pork more of onions, chilli for the priced. The kids ordered salt and pepper chicken and pork set came with side dishes it's way too salty for the fried meat. Their milk tea not much of tea flavour pretty average. Unbelievable that the staff was basically sweeping the table random food onto the floor ???instead of removing and makes the floor messy and dirty as can see bits pieces of food everywhere on the floor which means not the customers that accidentally drop them as after witnessed that they themselves made the floor not cleaned.

Came here for late afternoon drinks. Parking is horrendous here especially on the weekend. Probably due to everyone shopping at TaiPing.<br/><br/>Dining area is neat, tidy and relatively clean. It's your typical Taiwanese eatery. I haven't tried the food but the bubble teas were ok.<br/><br/>It was a hit and miss with my friends. Some thought it was pretty average while others claimed it is the best bubble tea place in Auckland. I thought it was ok.<br/><br/>They have a variety of flavours and toppings to choose from and the prices are your expected bubble tea price range.

The portions are huge! I don't think I even finished my beef noodles, though they were a bit on the salty side. The salt and pepper chicken was nice and crunchy too! Overall, good experience, good for a casual gathering with friends which is cheap too

My favorite milk tea place in Auckland. Ideal place to go with a board game and friends if you want a place to be able to play something like Catan.

Probably one of the best bubble tea place in town! I love their tea base, and the variety of food and drinks they offered. <br/><br/>The food are generally very tasty and are extremely generous with the portions. The price are pretty reasonable too. I love their popcorn chicken! <br/><br/>How ever they seems to be lacking in the service department. We were there for lunch today, and the place wasn't that busy at all. After we were seated they didn't comeback to take our order, and the food took a little long to arrived. But otherwise we really enjoyed our lunch today.

Was meh. Asian hangout galore. Food tasted average. Had to really wave down and approach staff to get service despite the place not being super packed. Once we got their attention, they forgot our request and had to be re-asked again shortly after.

Overall, a really good and cosy place! They are among very few places in Auckland that offer good Bubble tea. Their food is usually quite good for the price & definitely a good place to hang out! I was quite disappointed in their Taiwanese green tea - I usually order Asian green tea with my food and it was the first time of many that it was loaded with sugar! It was quite unexpected since it is such a traditional drink...I couldn't have more than a sip - since it was almost a syrup! When I asked them if this is how it is normally served, the lady was quite rude and said otherwise it tastes yuk.

Manpreet Singh <br/><br/>👉🏻Ambience: it was quite nice, the red and white contrast gives a good vibes on the place. <br/>👉🏻 Service: it was kind of difficult to relay my order to the staff cause she was having a hard time understanding what i was saying, "needs improvement in English i guess" . Aside from that, she was nice.<br/>👉🏻 Price vs. Quantity: the price is just right for the food portion. Can't complain😊<br/>👉🏻 Food & Drinks: drinks were nice, the taste is okay for my liking. the food, I dunno exactly if I liked it or not, the chicken was good and same with the egg roll, but somewhere along the road after having everything together, i didnt feel good . 😑😑 <br/><br/>👉🏻OVERALL: Maybe not coming back.

Any Taiwanese missing the taste of home, this is a great place to come. The service was good, the portions are huge and the price is very reasonable.

Not bad overall but the service could be better. The lady who took our order was quite rude which is not a good start. The peanut butter toast was nice, but the brown ginger tea was not quite what we expected. We thought it would be sweeter and would be able to taste the brown sugar but the ginger was so overpowering I couldn't taste the sweetness.

I love this place. The tea options are plentiful and the food is delicious. The deepfried taiwanese street food options are pretty tasty. The only reason for not rating this place higher would be the staff are not very friendly. However if you're just looking for some yummy food and tea this place is great!

I have to say, J's Tea is frequently disappointing for me. Every time I have been, my order was messed up or confused in some way which I guess is just bad luck... but still frustrating. I visited J's at about 9pm on a Monday night. Parking was, as usual, very tough with the whole Taiping carpark already full. We parked on street and found one of the last tables for four. It was pretty busy for a Monday night.<br/><br/>After deciding on original fresh milk tea, caramel fresh milk tea, yoghurt slushy, chocolate toast, a fried chicken meal, we ordered at our table. There was large confusion about the chicken, despite it saying fried, the trainee waitress insisted that is was actually stewed. The waitress finally just told me it was sold out (?), so I ordered mantou (fried buns) with condensed milk.<br/><br/>The food came unusually quickly, before our drinks.Chocolate toast was slightly warm, and not particularly toasted but the chocolate on top was deliciously grilled on. The mantou was delicious, a small serving but very filling with a little bit of condensed milk on the side (not really enough). <br/><br/>Our first drink arrived, but unfortunately it was nothing we had ordered so we sent it back. Our actual drinks arrived a few minutes later and we were sad to discover that ordering "hot" actually resulted in lukewarm with cold pearls. Not really the kind of drink that warms you up on a cold night. The yoghurt slushy was great, like icy yakult. Overall, J's seems to have very sweet drinks and I wish that they wrote on their menu that you could specify sweetness levels, etc, like how you would in Taiwan (or how you would at R.O.C up the road, or Gong Cha in the city).<br/><br/>Other observations: bathrooms not very pretty, and public-toilet esque. J's is a pretty small establishment but if it's full, you can always hop next door to the other restaurant which is never very full. Prices were reasonable but not amazing for being in the suburbs.<br/><br/>My experience at J's was fairly average, I prefer the pearl milk teas from a lot of other places to J's: R.O.C., Gong Cha, Momo in Mt Albert, Hulucat in the city. Check these out if you haven't already :)

It's been a struggle finding solid bubble tea establishments in Auckland. Many are either too expensive, overly salty or sugary, stingy with food portions, or some just serve horrible food and bubble tea.<br/><br/>So I was genuinely surprised when I sat down inside J's Tea-- the outside is visually unassuming but the inside is clean and comforting.<br/><br/>We ordered a Taiwanese beef/beef tendon noodle soup, black pepper chicken on rice, spicy pork on rice, fried mantou with condensed milk, Taiwanese fried pop-corn chicken, and bubble tea.<br/><br/>Our orders did take awhile to come out and a group of diners who arrived after us somehow got their orders to arrive first, but ultimately the food we received was super tasty. They had mammoth portions and the pop-corn chicken was absolutely delicious.<br/><br/>The bubble tea were really nice, and I would highly recommend this place for people who love their bubble tea.<br/><br/>Showstopper: Bubble Tea and Popcorn chicken!<br/><br/>Overall Grade: B+, only because our meals took while.

One of the most authentic Taiwanese food place in Auckland, good portion for the price but sometimes quite noisy and parking is always hard to find. Highly recommend beef noodle soup and jasmine milk tea

I have tried crispy chicken, beef noodles, tempura and a couple of their on rice dishes with 3 side dishes. So far the crispy chicken and tempura stands out. Prices are reasonable the place itself is clean. The service on the other hand needs a lot of improvement. The last time we went we were told to get seated in the couch while waiting for a table. Then two tables became free, we were ushered to the one close to the door and I asked nicely if we could have the other one farther but the employee refused and said someone is to be seated there. it wasnt even a reserved table and given we were there first I presumed that we would have the right to choose first as well. Or maybe because she said it without a smile that I find it offensive.lol<br/><br/>Tip: Call for reservation before coming so you wont be disappointed like me.<br/>

i like bubble tea and crispy chicken, good indoor seating area, nice and comfort sofa,, i think this is the best Taiwaneses bubble Tea house

Always clean and high standard. <br/><br/>Auckland's best Taiwan food and best bubble tea place. <br/><br/>Food served fast<br/><br/>Service always friendly. <br/><br/>A bit expensive, but food was in good standard. <br/><br/>To enhance: sometimes noisy; some food not in original flavour, such as Singapore Bak Koh Tea. <br/><br/>Definitely a good choice for late night dinner.

Cute little bubble tea joint in Mt Roskill. The outside is a little deceiving, I was pleasantly surprised to walk into a neat little restaurant with a quirky neo-modern theme - white tables/couches/big screen playing pop-Asian music.<br/><br/>This restaurant serves Taiwanese/Oriental Asian dishes as well as a wide variety of teas. Tonight we tried three of the milky teas - taro, honey and honeydew with caramel pearls. Not particularly a huge fan of bubble tea myself, but the flavours were nice enough, and they also offer to alter the sweetness by reducing the amount of sugar they use, so that was a plus! <br/><br/>Overall, a fun little place to enjoy a bubble tea. Heard it was especially good on a weekend night where they have board games, jenga and a dance mat.

A good place to go with friends for drinks and snacks. I have been here numerous amount of times and there isnt a drink so far that impresses me. Food i have tried: popcorn chicken, pork floss egg pancake, teriyaki chicken rice, pork chop cutlet on rice and wonton noodles. All quite reasonably priced and tasty. Service is so so, they can become quite ignorant when it is busy but i think its like that for alot of asian places when its busy

Came here a few times because it was the only boba place open at night that wasn't in town. It's always pumping with people so I get why the workers get flustered and don't pay attention to satisfactory customer service. The last time I came here I ordered and sat down with a friend. We didn't get our table cleared until 20min later, then the worker threw our order into a bag when we didn't ask for it to be takeaway. She said the table was reserved (even though there was no sign) and left. WOW. Thanks for letting us know after we made ourselves comfortable.<br/>Only reason I'm giving it anything is because the drinks are somewhat decent. Would rather go Hulu or My Kitchen for drinks, a table and satisfactory service.

Been here quite a few times already. Their customer service is average. They can get quite busy especially during the weekends after 7pm and service will definitely be not as good or attentive. <br/><br/>Always order their beef noodle soup. Think it's my go-to dish when I'm at a Taiwanese restaurant. But this time, I went for a different meal. I got the Japanese fried udon (noodles). It wasn't bad but SO OILY. Was quite sickening to see how much oil was left behind on the plate :/ the chicken was quite dry. Also got their honey lemon black tea (hot) which wasn't bad. <br/><br/>Think I'll definitely be sticking with their beef noodle soup now.

Nice ambience beautiful interior decoration, good lighting scheme, nice relaxing music, food tastes good, desserts look good and smells good desert tastes good too, I tried coffee pudding with full cream milk.<br/>Comfortable couch with pillows and may provide blankets to keep you warm in winter. <br/>But just one thing J's tea really to improve is the three golden rules of hospitality industry:<br/>1. Smile<br/>2. Engage <br/>3. Be Professional<br/><br/>Staff really need to work on their service to customers to make their night or day a wonderful gastronomic experience, a wonderful gateway with friends.<br/><br/>Staff's unfriendliness affected my dinning mood. <br/><br/>

My review might reflect service from over a year ago. Im not too sure how their service is now but when I used to go there me and my friends would compare service, food and drinks to Momotea. We eventually stopped going here because they took forever to bring our orders. The drinks and food were good.

Clean environment. But service is quite slow. Food is ok. Would love to see more variety. Drinks options are diverse but not the desert menu. Seatings are quite spacious but not too many seats during peak hours if you have a big group.

The food and drinks at j's tea is amazing although it is a bit pricy,but the food is quite a large amount, I also got the beef noodle soup it was so good but super big so I couldn't finish.They have good service and a nicely decorated restaurant. They always provide a warm feeling once u walk in as if it was ur own home. I highly recommend trying J's tea which is a high quality Taiwanese restaurant which I find really hard to find.

I've been to J's Tea so many times I've lost count. We usually come here for dessert and bubble tea after dinner and a lot of the time we get bubble tea to go because it's usually full at night! I love the couch seats and they're perfect for group hang outs and playing board and card games, however they're usually reserved! Sometimes if we're lucky, we can get these seats. <br/><br/>The bubble tea at J's Tea is my favourite so far! The flavour of the tea is a bit stronger than other bubble tea places and I like this a lot better. I'm not really a fan of the main meals here however. I've tried a fair share of the snacks and they're fine! The beef noodles are also pretty good here as well. <br/><br/>Service is alright here but the environment is what I really like! You can play games here with a group of friends and it's totally acceptable to sit for a bit after your meal. I know I'm always going to come back!

Favourite tea house. <br/>Drinks are rich in flavour.<br/>Overall atmosphere is welcoming and great. <br/>Open late time is bloody fabulous and it's surprisingly busy quite late too. <br/>Decor and store layout is satisfying.<br/>Casual and that's how I like it :-)<br/>Downside is that I live in Henderson and so it's a long trip to there. Pls bring J's tea to west auckland!<br/><br/>edit: been here a couple times...last time there not as good as first....

One of the best places I've tried that serves milk teas! :D Nice interior. Great food! Highly recommend the bbq pork 😊👍 it's very filling and decently priced

Good value meals, all three meals we ordered were tasty and good value. Bubble tea came in large glasses, we should have gotten them in takeaway as we couldn't finish them along with our meal. Interior is a bit..tacky, for lack of a better word. But the restaurant is usually busy and is good quality despite the aesthetics.

J's Tea > Hulu Cat = Meet Fresh> Momo tea > Chatime > Easyway <br/><br/>Probably the best milk tea place out there in Auckland, other establishments may serve better fried Taiwanese cuisine, or better bubble tea, but J's tea has probably scored the most points when totaled together. <br/><br/>For those of you who are not native to SE Asia or Taiwan, you can ASK for more sugar, double sugar, half sugar, quarter sugar, no sugar in your drinks, as well as no ice, less ice, or more ice. The best is usually half sugar with no ice, but it is down to personal taste, my friend likes it with double sugar and less ice... <br/><br/>The food is good bang for your buck, quite traditional TW style of serving, with small sides in addition to your food such as veges and a soup in most set meals with rice. Chicken is usually crispy at J's tea and most foods are made in the small kitchen at the back, whereas at Hulu, they just heat up frozen things in the microwave oven.

Good value. We had bubble tea and a few dishes to share. Overall, big servings, fast service and clean surroundings. Didn't like the colour theme of the restaurant, but not too distracting. Would go back.

A very nice place for flavoured milk-based drinks - both cold and hot. The ambience is good. The place is always full late in the evening. Will go again.

Living in East auckland its difficult to get to at peak hour and only late night runs allow you to avoid the traffic. At work colleague asked me about J's Tea as she was keen on bubble tea close to work. I feel J tea's tea is consistently the best along with hullulacat in Anzac Ave a fraction the lesser of the two.<br/>I call this Maccas for Asians as I have never spotted a non asian in this store. <br/>The selection of how you have your milk tea is broad. Recommend grass jelly instead of bubbles as a nice variation (see pic close up). Their bubbles sago I believe, are always fresh but they can run out.<br/>Flavours are as fake tasting as milkshake flavouring but you expect that. Watermelon is good but Mango is my favourite. <br/>I question zoms categorizing yhem as a cheap eat. Their bubble tea is not reakly cheap, over $6 gor a drink but a fair price for value and a good experience. Their food eg pictured the taiwanese popcorn chicken at $10-11 is fully priced for the snack sized serving you get.<br/>Sone really nice comfy-looking sofas but there's only 2 so these tend to get booked.(see pic). About 10 other tables so place can be packed. It was still quite busy at 945 pm on a Tuesday including big groups. Service is quick and staff very polite and help with ordering in english when required. Milk tea 5/5; popcorn chicken taiwanese style 3/5 and unhealthy as heck.

Just went in a few hours ago to Js tea. Was really excited to go as its been here for so long, but have never gone in because it opens at a weird time for me (3).<br/><br/>Went in for dinner and it was quite packed which was a good sign, there was constantly people waiting for seats  reserved seats etc so shows this place is popular.<br/><br/>The service was friendly and helpful when i arrived, so didnt have the same problem some people do have. I dont speak any asian languages either so communication wasnt a problem :) <br/><br/>I ordered chive prawn and egg dumplings ($12) and caramel milk tea with pearls ($6.5) and my friend ordered fried pork on rice and watermellon milk tea <br/><br/>My tea was really not good in the way it didnt taste anything like caramel, but more like the original milk tea, but the pearls were cooked well. On the other hand my friends watermellon milk tea was amazing! my dumplings tasted good but i found a bit expensive as you could get 20 dumplings for $10 somewhere else where as i got 15 for $12. My friend enjoyed his crispy pork.

I like the green tea drink most and some snacks are also good. The problem is that here is too difficult to get a seat pre booking is highly recommended <br/>

After reading the reviews on Zomato I was excited to try J's Teahouse for the first time one rainy afternoon.<br/>J's is a nice place to eat with good decor, a television on the wall playing music videos & couches lining the front window. The rest of J's has tables & chairs.<br/>We ordered a Taiwanese sausage rice meal, spicy Taiwanese popcorn chicken, dumplings, oolong milk tea & a strawberry milkshake.<br/>The service was decent & the food was too.<br/>Despite the positives however, I feel that other establishments do what J's does, only better. The popcorn chicken & Taiwanese sausage were both nice, but Si Bon, less than 5 minutes away in Mt Albert, does both these dishes better. My daughter found her strawberry milkshake too sweet & wouldn't drink it & my oolong milk tea wasn't warm enough & not as flavoursome as my usual. I'll stick to Hulucat in future despite having to wait in the cold for it, thanks. <br/>I was also told I couldn't have taro pudding in warm tea, but Hulucat make it this way & it's delicious!<br/>All in all, J's was okay, but they just didn't outclass the competition. Not quite sure why they're so popular. Perhaps I didn't order the right dishes?<br/>

What a pleasant surprise! Clean, service was fast and the food was good. I also tried a hot jasmine milk tea-amazing! I'll be going back again.

My favourite bubble tea. The bubbles ate fresh and the flavours are strong. The place is usually too busy though. Hard to get a seat unless you make a booking. But it's worth it.

A friend recommended this place to me. Well，I tried their Oolong milk tea which is pretty awesome，doesn't taste like some soaked powder which other places do. I can't comment on things other than that as I haven't tried any. Will try the crispy chicken cutlets next time when I hit the restaurant.

Usually go to another place for Taiwanese pearl milk tea and friends recommend J's tea for us. We went there for lunch ~ a very relaxing place for gathering and the food there are so yummy!!!<br/>I didn't ordered the Pearl milk tea But the red dates tea - which I love it!

I always find myself driving here in the middle of the night! My Mum and I are seriously addicted to their Red date & Longan tea! Definitely something I crave often. In terms of food, the Spicy Taiwanese popcorn chicken is delicious and for dessert, It has become a tradition to order some Green tea thick toast! The staff have gradually warmed to us (as we could probably be considered "locals" here) so the atmosphere is always wonderful. Definitely go and give it a try if you're around the area! :-)

<br/>Felt like having a bubble tea along with a meal one night and came to J's Tea.<br/><br/>First impression : busy busy busy. We arrived there around 7:30pm and had to wait for about 15 minutes for a table to become available.<br/><br/>Although the staff were not the most friendly ones you can get out there, I didn't find them to be rude as most people have mentioned in their reviews. They did everything they were supposed to, just without a smile and with showing bit of frustration which is understandable.<br/><br/>We ordered Grilled Pork Ribs on Rice (R12/$11.5) and Black Pepper Crispy Chicken Cutlets on Rice (R24/$13) as meals and Jasmin Milk Tea with Jasmin Jelly (M07/$6.5) and Taro Milk Tea (M21/$5.5) for drinks. Overall, the Chicken was good, Pork way too salty for my liking, and both drinks just perfect.<br/><br/>The wait time for food was alright; first dish being out within 10 minutes, but each were served with a bit of a term in between. Everything we've ordered (4) were served on 4 separate travels by staff.<br/><br/>I find this to be quite a cool place to go for a late meal or a bubble tea session with friends, but will definitely be making a reservation on my next visit.<br/>

I have been to J's Tea twice. I was quite satisfied with my first experience about a year ago.<br/><br/>My second and last experience last night there was less than sub-par. The food came relatively quick. However, the black pepper chicken I ordered contained next to no chicken and was almost just pastry and black pepper and did not satisfy my macronutrient needs. Also, being very thirsty, I ordered an original milk tea. My colleague's drinks came relatively fast however I had literally finished my meal and was still waiting on mine. After asking the confused waitress about my drink at least three times, I went up to the counter and ask them to just cancel the drink due to the poor customer service and waiting time. However, they made the drink just as I was about to leave and I was at that point - already infuriated. A drink is suppose to come with the meal, not as when you are about to leave. I would never recommend this place ever again. <br/><br/>Final thoughts : horrible customer service - would not eat/10

Very very poor customer services , strongly not recommended for polite customer , staffs are very rude , not very well educated. It was the worst decision ever , will not come back at any chance

Great place to grab a bite before midnight<br/><br/>The food is good, the mains is good, taiwanese food.<br/><br/>Nothing too surprising, everything is done up to standard.<br/><br/>Weekends may need to book, good place to catch up with friends.<br/><br/>Wait time: 3/5<br/>Environment: 3/5<br/>Food Quality: 3/5<br/>Food Quantity: 4/5<br/>Price range: $20+ pp

Best milk tea in Auckland so far. The side dishes are fine, but mains are very average. <br/><br/>Service: 4/5<br/>Environment: 4/5<br/>Food Quality: 4/5<br/>Food Quantity: 3/5

This one is obviously a popular spot for milk tea, and it is close to the Tai Ping supermarket so YAY

J's Tea has become my favourite milk tea place. The drinks aren't super sweet like other tea places and there's quite a big variety of flavours. I love their Green Bean Ice Blend, Black Sesame Milk Tea and Brown Sugar Ginger Milk Tea (hot version when the weather is cold), and Passionfruit or Peach Black Tea (the black tea balances the fruity sweetness nicely). This place is always crowded with the Asians coming here to relax, catch up, and play card/ board games (provided) with friends etc. It's pretty much the "it" Milk Tea place (like how Momo used to be until it started turning into a family style kind of place). They specialise in tea so the food isn't that good, and Dominion Rd is bursting to the brim with so much eateries, you're much better off at those ones if you're after food.<br/><br/>4.5 rating for the drinks only :)<br/>For other reivews and more, please visit my blog: http://heartshrooms.wordpress.com

Whenever I visit this place, it is always crowed with so many people - though I do come during rush hour dinner time (between 8pm - late)<br/><br/>There's parking outside the restaurant and along the road, area for big groups that just wanna talk really loudly, sipping on their milk teas and snacking on finger/toothpick foods. Also table seating area for small groups or couples that rather be seated on leveled tables and chairs instead of the big couch and low table.<br/><br/>Staff speaks Mandarin, English and Cantonese. Always busy taking orders, making drinks or food. Though it may take a bit longer to order food during these times, but its obvious that the staff isn't just standing there chatting or on their phones - they are legitimately busy whenever I come here with friends. Milk tea is pretty good with a wide selection of flavours and other drinks, the food menu is appropriate for this eatery - ranging for sets to snacks, price is also reasonable. <br/><br/>Only negative things about this place is that whenever I order something, its that one thing on the menu that is unavailable or sold out, the noisey customers that sit there talking and shouting at each other as though they are across they room, but they are sitting right next to each other *shakes my head* (this isn't the eatery's fault, but it did contribute to my experiences here)<br/><br/>Good place to go to with friends that just want to hang out over some drinks and snacks.

Tried their original milk tea with pearls, not overly impressed - it tastes similar to Hulu Cat's. The pearls could have been cooked a little longer as they were still a little hard in the center :/<br/><br/>Can't comment on service or food/other drinks as only tried this via delivery from a friend.<br/><br/>Came in a few weeks ago around dinner time with a friend, it was fairly busy and only the cruddy table and chairs near the door were left - thankfully some girls moved and it freed up a better table for us. <br/><br/>We ordered the watermelon milk tea and passionfruit tea, as well as fried buns with condensed milk and spicy fried chicken pieces. The service was ok, food and drinks came quickly. The milk tea reminds me of momo tea's one when they use to taste good; my friend enjoyed her tea. The chicken pieces were really good, very tender and not spicy at all. The fried buns were amazing, hard on the outside and soft on the inside!

J's tea serves the best bubble tea in Auckland. Period. Hulucat and momotea are not even close.<br/><br/>Food on the other hand, is very ordinary. Plus their hygiene is a bit if a concern.<br/><br/>So, go there...grab a glass of bubble tea (taro and watermelon are my favs) and your in heaven.<br/><br/>Would have rated it 2...but 1 extra star only for the bubble tea.

Perhaps the best bubble milk tea in all of Auckland. With a vast selection of tea and foods, this place is a great hangout spot. The dinner selection is also adequate, the food itself is alright -Nothing to rave about. However the milk tea is definitely something to rave about. <br/><br/>My personal favourite is the egg pudding milk tea (half sugar), opening late as well giving us a lot of flexibility and time to visit.

If you have your dinner in dominion rd, usually chinese like visiting j's tea, you can order some finger food and drinks with your friends, it's very popular for chinese couple or group of friends. I especially like different kinds of tea, bubble green tea is my lover haha, you can also order some fast food, such as fried rice ,noodle ,topping with beef ,pork etc. It's very easy to park and open till very late!

J's tea I would say probably do the best pearls in Auckland. <br/>Love their original milk tea. I also like the fact that they have heaps of different sweetness levels so I can go for one that suits my tastes. <br/>They also have nice decor...comfy couches...all the things you would want for a nice catch up with friends.