Yaya Tea Garden
Tea Room and Asian Restaurant$$$$
Chinatown, New York
"Get the pop lychee bubbles that burst in your mouth!"(3 Tips)
"Get the Shrimp Tempura Crabmeat Riceball with a drink!"(5 Tips)
"Favorites: Shrimp/Crab Onigiri and the "I Love Yaya""(2 Tips)
"Milk Tea with Ginger"(10 Tips)
67 Tips and reviewsFilter:
- tea
- pop lychee
- bubble tea
- love yaya
- good for a quick meal
- (15 more)
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Angie WengJune 9, 2014Love it here. The drinks and riceball are the best! My go to place! Love the shrimp riceball or Yaya shrimp riceball and my favorite drink is either better life or 5 wishes. I love pop lychee.
Sharif AmerOctober 29, 2014amazing drinks (boyfriend, mango star/lychee jelly) with many fruit combos and great snack and lunch items(rice balls and yakisoba), grab some friends and get some food from this hole-in-the-wall!
Jason VinesDecember 13, 2014For bubble tea try Sunrise with Pop Strawberry or Boyfriend with anything. For onigiri, personal fav is Yaya (seaweed and mayo) or Plum. Place can get really crowded but line usuallymoves fast enough
Go for the onigiri and boba tea (I get shrimp + crabmeat onigiri with Supernova tea, mango strawberry popping boba). Love the variety of Japanese packaged snacks that line the wall too
Michelle ChuDecember 3, 2015I've been eating here for the past 2 yrs & still come here at times. They have more than 50 types of drinks all with different flavors!! Also offers some delicious food like riceballs for only $2.50!!
This is my favorite place for a non-milk tea. You can't go wrong with their top sellers and I love the Pop lychee / Mango Stars instead of the regular bubbles.
Vivian LiMarch 19, 2016Boba/tapioca is not good but onigiri is delicious and a great deal! Get the yaya rice ball + shrimp (or anything else), which has seaweed salad inside. $10 minimum for cards, which can be hard to hit.
Alternative milk alert! They have almond milk! It does cost 75¢ extra, which is steep, but worth it in an area where that is tough to find. Japanese onigiri is very yummy.- Jason VinesJuly 6, 2015You must try the spring roll onigiri. It is so good. Would probably make a Japanese person cringe but it feels so good on my uncultured white Western taste buds
Michelle ChuFebruary 16, 2015Onigiris, bubble tea, and other drinks are the best. I love the udon there!!! :) I took my friends there and they loved it also!!! 😘😍😝😚😙😋❤👍- Great prices, amazing food, sweet cold drinks and punch card/belly rewards to top it all off! Favorites: Shrimp/Crab Onigiri and the "I Love Yaya"
chris brownJanuary 13, 2013forget those expensive sushi rolls at your neighborhood local sushi bar. the rice balls here are the bomb and cheap! go for the large ya ya shrimp rice ball (tempura shrimp and seaweed).
Zayed KhanApril 24, 2016Delicious fruity teas, and a surprisingly good pre-packaged squid onigiri (squid was tender and meaty).
Mitchell WulfmanApril 24, 2017The Japanese Onigiri (rice ball) is delish 👌🏻. Awesome drink flavors with great names, including "the boyfriend" and "the atomic wedgie"
Diana ShvartsbergMarch 17, 2013The Japanese rice ball was perfect, rice is still steamy when they hand it over so the seaweed wrapper doesn't crack. The mango jelly was pretty tasty in my white peach tea.
Jordan DonatiJune 8, 2017I got the Shrimp and Crab + the chicken. The shrimp and crab was definitely the better of the two.
Megan PanSeptember 1, 2015LOVE THE JAPANESE RICEBALL!! (crabmeat, eggs, and seaweed) i almost get it every single time I go.- Betty TMay 11, 2014They have lots of boba choices. Get the pop lychee bubbles that burst in your mouth!
Anna RiceNovember 26, 2013Good place to wait for the Lucky Star bus and have a tea or snack / avoid the other people who take the Lucky Star bus.
seth lachsMarch 11, 2013shrimp tempura riceball w spicy mayo. yum. really friendly and welcoming service too. word yo.
- Jason CullerMarch 25, 2013From Serious Eats: Tokyo Fried Chicken plate (chopped katsu) and Milk Tea with Ginger
Try the Hulk (green apple and kiwi with green tea) added mix jelly or green tea jelly.. Check out their large riceballs ;)
IreneFebruary 4, 2012Get the large sized onigris instead of the small. The large shrimp tempura has 2 shrimp tails!
Laine CialdellaJuly 6, 2013I wouldn't have stumbled in here if it wasn't for my friend, but the bubble tea and rice balls are to die for!
Try the "Vivi Special" riceball paired with a cold Red-Sox :)
I <3 Better Life with the mango stars!! Rice rolls r just as good!! My Friday night dinner w the Chinatown Girl Scouts before our meeting!
They make handmade onigiri on the spot for $2.25 to $3 and freshly brew tea hot or cold from $3 to 3.50!
Dem kids weren't lying when they say the onigiris are what's up!
if you feel like trying something new ask the workers to fix you a random drink :)
- Drinks are half off with a purchase of a meal (rice/noodle) :]
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We freshly brew tea leaves through a purified tea machine and infuse fruit syrup with our premium tea leaves. We also served handmade onigiris/riceballs! Enjoy!
Open until 9:00 PM (Show more)
- Mon–Sun
- 10:00 AM–9:00 PM
(212) 226-8803
Features
Reservations
No
Credit Cards
Yes (incl. Discover & Visa)
Wi-Fi
No
Outdoor Seating
No
Music
Live Music
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