Tsaocaa

I’m still thinking about the shaved ice!!! We got the tiramisu and melon shaved ice. The tiramisu one tasted exactly like that, and the melons tasted really fresh and sweet. SO good!! I definitely want to go back when I can to have some more.

Had a great experience at Tsaocaa! The drinks were fresh and flavorful, with a good balance of tea and toppings. The shaved ice as well! The staff was friendly, and the service was quick even during a busy time. The shop was clean with a cozy atmosphere, making it a nice spot to hang out or grab a drink on the go. Will definitely be coming back to try more drinks on their menu!

Cute spot for delicious Korean shaved ice! If you haven’t had it before, it is like a milky creamy shaved ice instead of the bland American crap that gets soaked in too sweet syrup (don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and place when those are yummy too). We had the tiramisu and strawberry shaved ice. We also ordered the egg waffle but didn’t take a picture. The egg waffle is 100% a must with whatever shaved ice you get - such a good pairing! Make sure you come with plenty of room left in your stomach! The portions of these are massive and 6 people could easily share one dessert after getting dinner in Chinatown. It does come with red beans if you like them. Most friends that didn’t grow up eating them don’t care for them. Tiramisu: this was a wow. So delicious, every bite. There was enough toppings for the whole thing. Strawberry: this was a wow and my favorite between the two we tried. I am a strawberry lover. I could probably use more strawberries than what comes on it, but only because I devoured the strawberries with probably too high of a ratio to the shaved ice in each bite.

Easy ordering process, great boba, and the chicken was super crunchy and perfect. Definitely will go back for the chicken sandwich (was sold out when I got there). A great choice to go whenever you're in the area.

Visited on 16MAR2024 Great: The decor is cool and modern. I liked the kiosk ordering system. The honey chicken wings were tasty. There are games (ex: Jenga, chess) for people to play. Good: The Korean shaved ice was good, though the ice crystals were too large. Also, it was confusing to know what to expect in the dish, so we didn't realize there were red beans in the middle, which some of my party didn't like. The brown sugar milk tea was ok; the tapioca pearls were too chewy. The Hong Kong egglette waffle was interesting. Bad: The people prepping food were very load; almost like they were hanging out instead of running a business. The music was not family friendly. The whole meal was pretty expensive.

Barely give one star but this place is disappointing compared to other Tsaocaa. First, they surcharged a little bit over 3% fee without even telling me the reason or informing customers on the menu in advance The customer service was also awful. I was asking for no sugar. The staff told me all yogurt series don’t have extra sugar. Guess what? They gave me 100% sugar HAHA🤪. ————————- Thank you for replying me. Maybe next time tell your customers a bit earlier, so that they can have a choice? And if no extra sugar was added, I would recommend to label it as 0 sugar on that sticker instead of 100% sugar. It’s confusing.

I will not purchasing from this location ever again. If the restaurant is busy it’s CUSTOMARY to say to waiting customers “one moment” or “I’ll be with you momentarily”….you do not ignore your customers or even walk by them and do not acknowledge their presence. It’s extremely rude no matter how good the food tastes. It’s simple to be polite. There are other locations and I have no problem driving further for politeness.

Some of the boneless chicken I've ever had. I got a small order and it was a huge portion. The secret Spicy sauce was so good. Could have had a little more heat to it as it was rather mild but the chicken was so tender and juicy that I just loved it. Cute little spot with a large variety of drinks as well. I didnt have the shaved ice but i saw ones on another table as people were sharing it and it looked really good. Highly recommend.

i'd like to consider myself the queen of bingsoo, and this place earned a 4/5 for me. the strawberries were fresh, there was a decent amount of condensed milk on them & the whipped cream was a nice touch. here's the con: they don't include any condensed milk on the side and there is none throughout the shaved ice or at the bottom. for me, there was enough condensed milk on the strawberries to make each bite enjoyable if i included a strawberry with it. the snow has a different texture than what i'm used to from high quality bingsoo places, but for this being chicago (and not korea or LA/california), this was good enough for me for a craving while being stuck in the midwest for the time being.

Came here for a sweet treat after dinner and this spot was great! I can't remember what this dessert was called but it was honest super interesting. The base of it was like shaved ice but creamy and not watery. It didn't have much of a taste to it but with the fruit, it was fantastic. My friend got an Oreo waffle and I tried a bite and it was great. Overall I would definitely recommend this cute little shop.

Ambiance - cute boba spot to chat with friends, lots of seating, and they have 2 machines for customers to order drinks/food Service - ordered 2 drinks and took about 5 min to be ready Food - ordered my favorite ovaltine boba shake, make sure to order at 0% sweetness level since the drink is already sweet itself

FLAVOR (3/5): The drinks aren't memorable but do quench a thirst. The egg puffs are crispy but they don't have an egg aroma to them. INSTAGRAM WORTHY (4/5): The packaging and decorations scream take a picture of me! They have chinese poems on the wall, a swing chair and some cute seating throughout. SERVICE (2/5): We ordered on the tablet for here and the workers still made us get up to get our food and drinks. What's the point of having an option to dine in if you're just going to treat it as togo? TAKEAWAYS: Not a lot of good boba in Chicago so this place is okay at best.

I was looking for a shaved snow/ice place and this one seemed to fit the bill. I'm honestly quite surprised there aren't more places around Chicago serving this type of dessert. This store has a small free shared parking lot outside with limited spots. Portion is huge and meant for sharing. I went with a peach and mango combo. The fruit tastes very sweet and fresh, with syrup drizzled on top. The shaved snow is very light and creamy and there's a surprise bit of red bean sandwiched underneath the layer of fluffy snow. It's the perfect antidote dessert for a hot steamy Chicago summer day.

Decent spot in Chicago Chinatown for shaved ice and beverages. We ordered bingsu with strawberries, mangoes, and honeymelon. The strawberries and mangoes were both pretty good, but the honeymelon had an odd artificial taste.

Came here a Saturday afternoon and was helped pretty quickly. We got the Thai milk tea and brown sugar tea. Both were delicious! The spot has lots of seating and a parking lot (always a plus). They were playing future while we were there so that's an automatic 5 stars from me. Super cute spot, will definitely be back!

I didn't try the boba here, but we stopped by because we were craving bingsu! The portions were much bigger than we were expecting, and we had gotten two for 6 people, which was more than enough. We got one with three toppings on top (strawberry, mango, injeolmi) and one that was tiramisu flavored. The texture was perfect for bingsu, and the flavor was delicious as well. I always like getting one with fruit since it's refreshing. The tiramisu one was really good and came with a lot of toppings like ice cream, cheesecake, and oreos! The only problem was that the tiramisu powder was only lightly sprinkled at the top, so once you finished eating the top, there wasn't much of the tiramisu flavor at the middle or bottom.

Macarons were okay- quite a few misses. Blueberry wasn't good, some our friends macarons tasted like chicken (this place also makes chicken). Coconut one was really good. Didn't try to actual food.

This is very rare for me that I didn't take any pictures but believe me when I say this place does Korean fried chicken well!!! I crave it almost once a week. Their sauces are also what make the KFC outstanding. The spicy sauces are truly spicy so watch out if you can't tolerate spice. The service was quick and the inside is cute. Great to go with friends for a quick bubble tea and snacks (read: KFC).

The white peach bingsu was delicious!! I wouldn't change a thing. It was the perfect size for 4 people to share and it had just the right amount of toppings. Perfect sweetness. Fruit was fresh. Not long of a wait time for preparation. If you like matcha, get the matcha milk foam on the side! I would come again to try their other bingsu flavors and their milk teas.

This was wayyy too sweet. A lot of lychee! I actually really enjoyed the milky (not sweetness) shaved ice. This was $18 but great for sharing with 3-4 people!

Came here for the boba and it was pretty good! The space itself is so clean and cute. Very aesthetic decor. It's connected to a fried chicken spot, which looks sooo delicious. I definitely want to come back to try the chicken! You can order everything (chicken, boba, dessert) from the touch screen up front, then pick a table number (they're sitting next to the screen). Take the table number to your seat and they'll bring you your food and drinks! Very smooth process :) I got the Sakura oolong milk tea with the amber boba pearls, with 75% sweetness. It was really good! Very floral and refreshing. I'll definitely be back to try their shaved ice dessert!!

Saw that this place had Korean shaved ice so I decided to give it a try. Turns out this place also sells drinks and fried chicken. Upon walking inside, there are two ordering kiosks for you to place your order in. If you plan to pay using cash, you will need to order at the counter. The Korean Shaved Ice turned out to be around $17. It was decent. It was definitely big enough for 3-4 people to share one.

We came here after a Chinese dinner in Chinatown. This place was confusing at first, as it appears to be two different business names in one building. You can also order at the kiosk at the entrance or at the counter. We ordered their Korean strawberry snowflake ice. It was pricey, but it is huge. Perfect if you're sharing with like 4-5 people. The strawberries were fresh and perfectly placed on top of the snowflake shaved ice. The shaved ice was also really good. It was very fluffy and definitely had a snow consistency to it. The only thing that through me off were the beans that's mixed in at the bottom of the ice cream. Not exactly sure why they're there but it didn't make the dish any better and would definitely order without next time. And there will be a next time.

A good boba and dessert place! We got the Double Mix Shaved Ice with Strawberry and Mango. The strawberry and mango pieces were juicy and paired well with the shaved ice underneath. Some of the pieces weren't as sweet or ripe but overall was really fresh. There was a small layer of hidden red bean in the middle that added another flavor profile. But in all, there was just too much ice compared to topping ratio so that we ended up with just a large amount of shaved ice at the bottom. We also got the King of Oolong Tea which was oolong tea with a cheese foam on top. It was a very refreshing drink with the tea pairing really well with the creamy foam. The service was fast with two touchscreen kiosks in the front where you can see pictures of the items. We got our drinks really fast. There are plenty of seats to sit for you to enjoy your drinks and desserts. It is a casual establishment but with cute cactus designs.

Came here with coworkers for dessert in Chinatown, since it is only a couple minutes walk from Qing Xiang dumplings where we had dinner. A couple of us got shaved snow and one person got a taro drink. Food came out in about 10 minutes. I did the combo shaved snow with strawberry and mango, and it was delicious! The fruit tasted like preserves in syrup style but they were still crisp and very sweet. The portion size is large enough for 2 to share. I elected to include the red bean option for authenticity even though I am not normally a fan of them in desserts. they add it under the pile of the shaved snow. As expected they were ok- I guess they just aren't sweet enough for me for dessert. My coworker got the blueberry and strawberry combo and when it came out, the blueberry had cheesecake bites in it. Yum!

One of my favorite items to get at Tsaocaa is their shaved ice. I usually get the double flavor (mango & strawberry), but we wanted to try the peach this time too. The fruit is always so fresh and yummy. I love that the "ice" is actually milk. It makes the dessert a lot more creamy and milky tasting, which I love. There is also red bean paste in the middle, and you have to work your way through the dessert to get to it. When I first tried the shaved ice, I felt like the red bean paste and ice cream on top was a little too much. There is already fruit syrup on top of the fruit so it is pretty sweet already. However, after trying the red bean paste again this time, it is not as sweet as before and was a pretty good complement to the fruits and ice. It was my parent's first time trying it and they really enjoyed the dessert too. We also got the chocolate egg waffle. We liked it more than just the original egg waffle because the chocolate covers some of the egg-y taste. The outside was crispy while the inside was soft and chewy. We will definitely be back to

I ordered the food through GrubHub and it came fresh and delicious. I got the mango yogurt with agar pearls and the soy garlic Korean fried chicken wings. The mango yogurt was tart, sweet, and refreshing with the perfect chew from the agar pearls. The soy garlic wings had a great garlicky flavor and were crunchy and juicy. If the food was this good to-go, I can't wait to try it fresh!

One of the best bingsu's I've had! The portion is huge. Plenty for three of us. We ordered their special with strawberries and mangoes and it was soooooo good. The fruit was fresh and sweet. The syrups on top had just the right amount of sweetness too. The ice was flavorful and surprisingly, it didn't melt on our 15 minute ride back to the hotel! We also ordered some drinks, I had the guava lemonade and it was refreshing. I didn't taste much guava though. I would easily walk over for bingsu after brunch in Chinatown again!

Being able to get korean fried chicken & boba in one place is a dream come true! We ordered the hot spicy wings, honey garlic wings, the fresh white peach bingsoo, and I got the peach yogurt drink w/ conjac boba. The chicken was crispy and delicious but the honey garlic sauce was lacking a bit compared to times I've had it before- but the kind staff member offered to add more sauce which improved it! The yogurt drink was good and tasted nostalgic like the "Beijing yogurt" drinks that I grew up having - would get again if I'm looking for a filling drink. The real star of the show though is the fresh white peach bingsoo- it's so light and refreshing and the peaches are amazinggg!!! I believe it's seasonal too- so if you see it definitely get it! Food & Drink: 4.5/5 Service: 4/5 Ambience: 4/5

On the outskirts of Chinatown, easy to get to by red line or bus. Huge portions worth the price of ~$20. Definitely can feed 4-5 people for a post dinner treat. Mango and strawberries were fresh. Easy ordering at the kiosks or with an employee if preferred. This location serves Korean bbq chicken so perfect to satisfy both your savory and sweet cravings.

Food - I just ordered bingsu and holy cow it's such a large portion! Toppings are delicious. I got the double topping, but I think the shaved ice cream was over the top, it's just way too much shaved ice cream, it felt wasteful because after all the toppings and red bean was eaten I was left with soo much shaved ice cream :/ Service - it's self kiosk if you plan on using credit card. However waiting for this dessert took Forever, about 30 minutes. I think because they only have 1 shaved ice cream machine. They had notes on the kiosk if you plan on ordering chicken it'll take 15-25 min. No notice about waiting for bingsu. I wouldn't have ordered this if it was going to take this long tbh. It's young kids running the show here, they def try to make the orders as efficient as possible but when it comes to conflicts it's cringe. One girl accidentally dropped a waffle cone on a customer. The girl didn't apologize just yelped in embarrassment and walked away. For a good minute it looked like they weren't going to make another for the customer, luckily the girl eventually asked what flavor that was - (you're just gonna have to wait for another 20 min for that ) They almost gave the wrong order to an online customer and they yelled high pitch which order is correct to him. I'm sure it's language barrier overall but there should be a sense of customer service etiquette Ambiance - I feel like people come here bc everyone else tries to hang out here for a snack. But waiting for your order for that long takes away that vibe for me. I couldn't find another place in the area for bingsu which is why I came here. But I'd probably not come here again. Food quality is on point by the look of everyone's orders while I was waiting. But Waiting that long for a snack or dessert is annoying It costed around $19 - should really lower the cost and just put less shave ice cream by like half

I came back again, as promise. Making this my first stop in Chicago. But I'm pretty disappointed... Their standard dropped. The chicken is no longer swimming in cheese. Chicken is still tender but it's obviously overcooked. Not as juicy as it was last December. I got this grapefruit rose tea this time. I'm still love how refreshing their grapefruit tea are. There's also grapefruit slices in there. But I really do hope they can bring the standard of their cheesling chicken wings back as that's my all time favorite.

Cute little place that sells desserts and BBQ chicken. I was surprised that they didn't play K-pop given the Korean food, but C-pop is good. We failed. We couldn't finish the mango bingsoo, so big and delicious.

This isn't for me. But to give an honest perspective, I've been told I like my bubble tea "white girl style". I'm Korean. But I really am a banana, I suppose. Yellow on the outside but white on the inside. I will say, they do have some yummy Korean Shaved Ice. I've had better but I've definitely also had worse. They do have a lot for parking - off to the side.

Took forever for our order to be completed. The jasmine tea I ordered was steeped too long and tasted like I was drinking perfume. My daughter ordered kimchi fried rice with an egg and cheese on top. It was somewhat flavorful but needed some seasoning. We may come back to try something else but we were not really impressed with our items.

Ahhh TSAôCAA. You tire my fingers with your special character in your name. You tire my tongue with your difficult to pronounce name. You tire me when I have to walk a little bit away from Chinatown to reach your shores. But oh how I always ask my friends each time I'm in Chinatown to embark on that journey and sail to your port. I love shaved ice. Like so so so so much. I'm not a big sweets guy so cake and ice cream can be a lot. But put some sweet fruits on top of a big pile of ice? I'm there. I'm unequivocally there. It's so good. It's so good. Mmmmmm yummy. I do this thing where I read the whipped cream straight and people think I'm weird. Can y'all validate me here? They have a small dining area but outdoor seating, so I'm sure it's nice in the summer. They're never too busy so I would've worry about space. It is a classic case of kiosk ordering, which is not my favorite but I will do what I must. Love this place. A little pricey tho.

Nice crispy flavor of grapes Not too sweet The foam on top makes it perfect Cheap too

One of my favorite boba shops in Chicago. Huge selection of drinks, imaginative flavors, and continually coming out with new ones. At my peak, I was probably going here once or twice a week. You really can't go wrong with any of the drinks (I've tried about 80% of the menu so far). My favorites are the pineapple yogurt drink (sweet yogurt swirled with pineapple puree), kiwi fruit tea (sort of like a slushy), and any of the green milk teas (jasmine, King of Oolong, the list goes on). If you're feeling saucy and adventurous, go for one of the more traditional teas with mashed taro or Chinese herbs. They also have fried chicken here. My favorite is the cheesling chicken. Imagine boneless chicken tenders covered with the seasoning from white cheddar popcorn. Off the chain. Luckily they serve the chicken with plastic gloves, so you can keep your hands clean! The interior is clean, fresh, and well-lit, with a hipster vibe (clock the succulents and dried grasses adorning the tables).

Yum. Hit the chewy drink spot. Quick service and open late. I went at nine pm :) drank immediately am now freezing

The bingsoo was huge for two people and was definitely the best I've had in a long time. We've been to *lots* of tea and dessert shops and this place had a nice variety without being too over-the-top. Their ordering system is really easy for introverts like us and allowed us to look at the entire menu without feeling too rushed. Seeing all the drinks after bingsoo definitely enabled us to order some before leaving!

Their bingsoo is really well crafted! Love the option that you can combine flavors into one bowl. This dessert is super refreshing and very fruity. The shaved ice is more of a shaved milk which is so nice as it adds onto the creaminess of this treat. In addition, they have syrups of the flavors you get on top of the fruit which is very natural tasting and not artificial. Definitely one of my favorite spots in the city for bingsoo! A perk is that they have a free small parking lot if you're able to find a spot if it's not already full!

The Honey Garlic chicken will keep you coming back for more. It is crunchy and delicious. They have a variety of drinks to choose from and the added sugar is an excellent option.

Tsaocaa is located a couple blocks from Chinatown. They have a private parking lot that they share with a few stores. Due to Covid, all orders are either called in ahead of time for pick up only or you can order at the kiosk by the door and wait for your drink/food. All employees at the store are wearing masks. Face masks are required in the store as well. Hand sanitizer is available in the store for customers to use. The kiosk is super easy to use. You pick the drinks/food you want to order, pay with your credit card and wait for your food. I ordered the colorful fruits tea and brown sugar bubble milk with tapioca. I love the tea because they use fresh fruits and nothing artificial. The brown sugar bubble milk is delicious as well. The tapiocas were fresh and soft. For all drink orders, you can adjust the sweetness. They recently added bb.q chicken to their menu. Looking forward to trying that the next time I visit!

Walked in on a Saturday morning, I was the only customer. I ordered a small hot milk tea that I waited for 20-30mins! They obviously forgot about me. I had to walk up to the counter after seeing that the customers who came in after me and ordered 2 bubble drinks and a hot dish got their orders first. What's even more disappointing is they just hand me the drink unapologetically. The milk tea was good but definitely not hot (lukewarm at best).

7.5/10 Strawberry and pineapple yogurt bubble tea with konjac bubbles were refreshing after a nice meal at Chinatown. They have a cute interior ambience. Best of all, they have a pretty big parking lot.

Does ABG stand for asian boba girl or asian bubble (waffle) girl? Tried out TSAOCAA for the first time through Chowbus and was pleasantly surprised at how good things were. The boba was refreshing and the boba was perfectly cooked. The egg waffle reminded me of the ones I used to have in Toronto, which are some of the best ones I've ever had. Nice and crunchy, but still soft on the inside. Pretty affordable prices too. I look forward to trying more of their things!

Okay short review-- good drinks and really good fried chicken, but way too long of a wait time/a little bit pricey. Now the longer review! The kiosks made ordering super easy, quick, and convenient with the ability to customize toppings, sizes, and preferences. We got the watermelon green tea slush with conjac boba and the king of oolong tea, plus a medium order of the secret sweet boneless chicken. It probably took at least 30 minutes of waiting for our chicken to come out, but our drinks were relatively quick (we finished them while waiting). When the chicken finally came (we took it to go), the sauce flavor was sweet, savory, and had some garlick-y depth to it which was super good! A little heavy on the breading to chicken ratio, but it was tasty. There was a decent amount, but $20 seemed a bit pricey plus the cost of the drinks. Overall, I'd probably go back occasionally but order ahead!

It is one of my favorite fruit tea spot in Chicago. I come here every time when I visit Chicago. My favorite is the grapefruit drink with grapefruit jelly. Also I love their patbingsu! The texture and the flavor were so good!

The chicken and snacks are pretty good but the teas can taste pretty watered-down depending on what you get. The last several times we've been here my drink has been made wrong-- I always order the plain tea but they keep putting whole milk (which I'm allergic to). Eight bucks every time for a drink I can't even drink Not sure if there is new staff or what.

No idea how they do it, but the b.b.q. chicken spot in TSAôCAA has THE crispiest chicken wings I've ever had. It was heaven biting into these. I only got the galbi flavor (which was a bomb of flavors on its own) and loved it. I'll definitely be back to try all the others. The only thing I would be cautious about is anything spicy. The dukbokki was a touch over too spicy and I can only imagine the spice level on the wings.. For drinks, I'm 100% on board with all the mojito flavors. I'm the pickiest boba drinker and typically don't stray from my go-to's, but this mojito will have me coming back for more in no time.

[THIS REVIEW IS JUST OFF OF THEIR BUBBLE TEA] TSAôCAA is open during COVID-19 for take-out and delivery! I was in Chinatown and was looking to try a new bubble tea place and saw that TSAôCAA had good reviews. I got to the store and order thru the kiosk they had in the front. The kiosk was easy to use, but it did seem as though the drink options were limited and I noticed some of the specials on the walls weren't listed. I paid with my credit card and put my phone number in. I immediately got a text message with my receipt. You are asked to wait outside until your order is ready. I knew my order was ready because I got a text message. Order: - Pineapple & Passion Fruit Tea w/Jelly (4/5) Pros: - A lot of drink options - They also sell food (can't speak on how it tastes though) - Easy to use kiosk - Quick service Cons: - I felt like some of the drinks I saw being promoted on the walls wasn't actually listed on the kiosk I ordered from Overall: - My drink was good, but not my favorite. I'd come back to try a different flavor

Love my boba and in search of the best one in Chicago! The tea here is pretty good and they do adjust to the sugar level you select. However, I thought the boba texture was too soft for my preference. The chicken karaage was actually very good. It was juicy inside and tasted like real good quality chicken. The takoyakis were a bit small and tiny bit on the mushy batter side but flavor wise was authentic.

I love the bingsu here! It's creamy and delicious. The drinks are a little too sweet for my taste though. The lychee jasmine milk tea was great!

The cheese milk top is AMAZING!!!!!!! 芝芝桃桃+脆波波+桃子弹珠 is so good highly recommend!!! ;)

More bubble tea places keep popping up but I'm here for it! I think their fruit teas are some of my favorites! I go with colorful fruits with black tea (or green tea), mixed berry with conjac boba for fruit teas. For milk tea, I find some of their milk teas a little watered down. So I do the fruit teas here. The one thing that's weird is the heat in there is super hot. I usually have to leave after a bit because it gets too hot for me. Overall, I'd come back again to try more! They offer a lot. I'd come back to try the food options.

We got the strawberry and mango shaved ice and it was amazing! You order at the kiosk so it was quick and efficient! It does feel a little tight in the store with a lot of tables, but overall would come back again!!

When I eat in Chinatown, this is my go to spot. I love the brown sugar bubble tea with cheese foam. It's my go to drink. However, when we were ordering on the electronic kiosk, which signs request you to do, we apparently ended up getting a brown sugar milk instead of a brown sugar bubble tea. A major disappointment.