The Old Teahouse

I now know 3 people who have gotten food poisoning and their last meal was from here. I wouldn’t trust it if I were you… but their boba’s pretty good and you don’t have to cook that so…

The most impressive stuff I love is the green milk tea with tapioca. Maybe it sounds ridiculous but I do like the style they prep the tapioca since it tastes so good. Also I’m not a coffee lover so old tea house is more attractive to me than the Starbucks right to the next door. BTW, I like the meal Q (which I think it’s the black pepper honey ribs something) best.

After so many years, the popcorn chicken is still on fleek! Best of all the price hasn’t changed much since I was a college student.
This time I was only here for the popcorn chicken and the milk tea. As for the drink, it was only ok.
In the past, I remember really loving the 2 colored rice and the salted fish chicken fried rice!
Price is fair. Service is pretty quick!

Open late,
Food is cheap and good, HUGE portions.
Drinks are delicious, I love the white boba.
They now offer double stamps all day (everyday?) probably cause of sno-​crave opening up right next door.

I can’t believe I’ve never written a review for this place yet. I’d probably say that OTH is one of my most missed places back when I was in Davis (more so when I was living in the dorms). One of the reasons why I really loved this place was because it’s opened late. Open til midnight Mon-​Thurs & Sunday and open til 2am on Friday & Saturday. This place definitely satisfies you because it’s one of those you get what you paid for places. And I would have to say these meals are pretty damn cheap from $ 6-​$ 8 for quite a lot of food but the quality could definitely be better. And if you don’t want to get a meal you can get popcorn chicken for about $ 4! :P
By now I honestly don’t know if the menu has changed but there were a few items that were pretty damn good during late night study breaks, pre-​game food, or even late night drunchies.
Here’s to name a few (I’m pretty sure they are still on the menu):
–Ha Moon Style Noodles
–Singapore Style Fried Noodles
–Satay Beef with Pan Fried Noodles
–Beef & Vegetable with Pan Fried Noodles
–Seafood Udon
–Baked Seafood with Rice
–Salt Fish and Chicken Fried Rice
–Two-​Sauce Chicken Fried Rice
–Beef Fried Rice
–Aberdeen Seafood Fried Rice in HK Style
–Spareribs with Salt Pepper over Rice
–Sweet & Sour Spareribs
I could probably go on but those were the ones I really do remember ordering back in the day: P
I would probably say my TO-​GO meal would either be the Pan Fried Noodle dishes (I love crispy noodles drenched in sauuuuceee) or the Aberdeen Seafood Fried Rice that had almost all the seafood: D Though some of the meals gave more carbs than meat/​veggies which sucked.
Service is ehhh, gets pretty slow when it’s really busy (which is like often). Definitely would not say this is the best Chinese place but it was close by to school, cheap, and open late! Old Teahouse definitely caters to college students! I have tried a few drinks but they were really meh.
TLDR; You get what you paid for!

I have been going here for the last 4 years and the boba has never disappointed! I would recommend the milk tea blizzard here. The place is kind of dirty but it’s alright. As for the food, they give you a lot more than you would expect and it’s pretty tasty.

This is the kind of place that you crave, but once you have received your order you wonder why you wanted it in the first place.
The service is pretty bad. I ordered chicken chow fun with extra vegetables and when I got my order there was maybe 2 leaves of cabbage in it, when I complained they said that is what extra vegetables looks like.
The honey green tea with boba is really good, but it just does not make up for the bad food and service. I order it half sweet, which is just perfect.
The popcorn chicken has lots of fat on the chicken, or maybe it is skin?, so while the first bite or two is delicious I rarely want to eat more than that, so if you order it I would recommend sharing it with friends.

I was visiting my best friend in Davis and I was milk tea deprived. Found this place on Unilocal.Due to the reviews on Unilocal,I was skeptical in trying this place.
Oh boy. What did I order?! I am a HUGE watermelon fan. I ordered the Watermelon blizzard with lychee jelly because I read it in one of the reviews and saw a picture of it. The Unilocaler said it was good. Are you kidding me? It did not taste anything like watermelon. Tasted like straight up powder. I took a few sips and threw this drink away. I couldn’t even finish it! By far, the worst drink I ever ordered from any boba place that I have ever tried.
Never again. My best friend’s drink wasn’t good either. She did order some popcorn chicken togo. At least that was decent.
I would not recommend this place at all.

Another favorite spot when I was in college in Davis about 3 – 4 years ago now. I love the chewy boba with their delicious honey black tea/​green tea drink. Can’t really go wrong with any of their tea drinks and order is up quick, even with popcorn chicken. I don’t recall the chicken pieces being so big back when I was in college, but they were hard to eat this time around, but I ain’t gonna complain. The spicy powder was too hot for me to handle so I was glad I ordered it on the side to sprinkle on top when I did want some spice. CASH-​ONLY — but my favorite part about this spot is that they have authentic Chinese food. Always my go-​to :)

CASH ONLY.
When you think about Davis, you’re supposed to think about Old Teahouse, but that seems to be changing with the influx of newer boba and Asian snack shops.
The only reason I visit is when my friends ask me to study with them and eat lunch. The good thing about this place is that you can get Wi-​Fi from Starbucks. Other than that, I don’t think I would visit. There’s also always seems to be flies here too…
The food here is usually salty, too oily, or watered-​down. Once, my friend picked up mixed seafood porridge when I was sick, but half of the container consisted of lukewarm water. The milk teas here are also powdery, and taste similar to Quickly’s milk teas.

I’m going to start by saying that everything else about this place is a 2-​star, but I only bumped it back up because I think they have the best popcorn chicken in Davis.
It’s always such a hit or miss at Old Tea (more misses lately, though). One good thing is they have everything on their menu, from porridge to soup to baked rice plates to the regular chow mein.
One of the main problems I have with this place is their inconsistency. Some days, I’ll get really good porridge/​congee, but other days they’re water-​downed and flavorless. The drinks are mediocre and made from powder. They do give a great portion at a cheap price, but they also stuff you with a lot of rice & not as much of the other stuff on top.
The only reason why I always come back is because of their popcorn chicken. I liked that it’s not SUPER crunchy and the batter is how popcorn chicken should be. Semi-​crunchy on the outside while hot and juicy on the inside. Also, the spices they use for the popcorn chicken is on point!
Overall, the food here is pretty good (esp. popcorn chicken), but beware of inconsistencies and be prepare to get A LOT of rice.

Once a upon a time, I was a freshman and I did what freshmen at Davis do best. I learned how to bike and didn’t screw everyone over on the road so I had the balls to bike across the street to Umall. Here we have our classic Old Teahouse that’s classic enough to be mentioned on Fungbros’ biased YouTube video of UC stereotypes. Freshman me was thinking, wow look at all the possibilities! I get to eat delicious Asian food and diabetic powdery boba tea served by stereotypically fobby nonchalant Asians. Of course, the servers aren’t nice. Of course, it’s cash only. And of course, you’ll see C-​pop and K-​pop videos of prancing idols or tragic love stories. It’s ok because I got all my new best friends with me and life is good because I didn’t gain the freshman 15 yet.
I usually ordered the normal milk tea because it was the most consistent one of all. Taro sometimes is tasteless and sometimes is super duper sweet. I don’t even dare to venture to the almonds and all those other ones because who knows what kind of strange concoction they can possibly come up with. The only redeeming thing about the food is the quantity. If you order an entrée, you might as well skip the dining common for the next meal because that can feed you for two meals (assuming you’re not about the supersize me portion.) Just know that the food is super oily and you might want to keep your SHIP (student health insurance for al you noobs) so you can check for clotting in your blood vessels afterwards. One classic order is the popcorn chicken which I am pleased to say had given me diarrhea not once but two times. We all got diarrhea at one point so I’ll save you the sick details. But yes, I only ordered popcorn chicken twice here in my lifetime and both times, I died. Lucky you incoming UC Davis students because you guys are blessed with many boba option these days (lol cue the «back in my days…» speech). Try here once but go at your own risk. Don’t say you have not been warned.

They have your standard take out Chinese food (greasy and not healthy but definitely satisfies the craving for crappy Chinese food) for higher than average prices. Although the food isn’t excellent it’s nearby several apartments and dorms and in the same plaza as Trader Joe’s so it’s very much frequented by Davis students.
The prices are higher than I would like for the quality of food but that’s the price I pay for convenience.
The boba milk teas are the best in Davis but also some of the most expensive in town. The only place with more expensive boba is Sno-​Crave next door.

Old Tea House is convenient when you’re looking for a late night bite/​boba. My BF got food poisoning from one of their noodle dishes. I usually get their beef chow fun (kind of oily) or their salted fish and tofu rice which is decent. I like their popcorn chicken, I usually to go it and make some rice to eat with it. Their food is mediocre but their food is better than their service.
Service is so meh. The cashiers are usually just watching TV while taking your order. Maybe their just tired a lot but idk smile once in a while :) Shoutout to Dara though, she’s the nicest employee there :)

NO CARDS. Bring cash.
Their drinks are probably made from a powder. Even though I’m very picky about my milk tea since I’m from the Bay, I sometimes crave their Jasmine Milk Tea. I don’t know why. It’s tasty at times and sweet. It’s really not bad.
My friend got food poisoning from their food so I wouldn’t eat much from here. Their popcorn chicken isn’t bad. Seating is alright but everything’s very close together.

It’s almost like any other boba place. I had a lychee green tea and my friend had the Thai tea. They were both good and it’s a nice place to chill or avoid the hot weather outside. I would come back

I love The Old Teahouse. The boba is the best… for Davis. The lines are usually long and it’s sometimes impossible to hear your number called. But in the end the drinks are worth it.
The food is not really good yet good in a weird way. It’s pretty much greasy and saucy goodness. I highly recommend the popcorn chicken, I’ve never had anything that was as good.
I never liked that it was cash only but for some reason that never stopped me from coming here.

I ate here once and only once during my entire undergrad. I had OTH right before a concert on campus and I know for a fact that I got food poisoning from here because it was the only meal I had the entire day.
Have you ever had that feeling like you know something is going to be bad for you, but you go through with it anyway? When I got my plate of veggie noodles I stared at it for a long time, something about it felt wrong, but I ate it because I was starving from having fasted the entire day. It was the worst food poisoning I’ve ever had in my life. That’s not the only reason for the one star (I’d give them zero stars if I could).
Customer service: Non-​existent! I don’t ever expect good customer service as asian restaurants, but the cashier was just rude. She was clearly more attentive to her phone than to her customers. I don’t appreciate being ignored when I’m about to hand over my money to you. She probably said two words to me the entire time.
Sanitary conditions: I’ve been inside on multiple occasions accompanying friends, I never ordered anything after the food poisoning incident. Each time I’ve been inside I feel like I’m trapped in a waste container. The air feels thick and greasy, it’s extremely stuff inside and don’t get me started on the bathrooms.
Overall: I would not recommend this place to anyone that cares about cleanliness and at the least mediocre customer service.

Ok… so I went back and tried their popcorn chicken and I can honestly say it was super gross!
So I ordered the popcorn chicken spicy, and when I got it the amount was very generous but the spicy powder they put on top wasn’t spicy, tasted disgusting, and just overall confused me. I’ve never tasted something like it before and never want to again. It did not settle right in my stomach.
The cashier the night I went was super rude! He asked if I needed a bag, I said «sure.» He said, «it’s going to cost 10 cents, do you still want it?» I replied, «yeah, it’s only ten cents, it doesn’t really matter.» He rolled his eyes and sighed very loudly. «So do you want the bag or not!?» Um… I guess not… so I said «no?» I paid, walked to the side to wait for my food, and just overall pondered why he was so mad/​mean. I mean, it wasn’t even finals week…
There’s no real drawback to this place other than it’s close to UCD. I’d rather drink boba from Quickly’s, at least Quickly’s popcorn chicken isn’t coated with nasty dust.

Old Teahouse is one of the places I miss so much in Davis. I use to come here at least once a week when I was a UCD student and I occasionally crave it when I’m in the bay area.
The Milk Tea here is cheap and authentic. Way better than the powdery stuff at Quickly’s. I’ve also ordered the Cookies & Cream Snow drink a couple of times and they actually crush up real Oreos for the drink. Pretty tasty and refreshing for those really hot days in Davis!
The food is also really good here! It’s cheap and is definitely really filling. The portions are huge! My absolute favorite is the Minced Beef & Tofu over rice. So delicious and something I always looked forward too when I was in need of a study break!
So many good memories here!