Ming Yuen Island Cafe

I’m like a few of the reviewers here… I had my first tapioca drink here I remember always getting the honeydew milk tea with boba it was great and it is sad that they’re closed now but it was a great experience being there.

Oh no! Is this place really closing down?!
I had my very first tapioca drink here. I came so often with my family that we knew the owners and they would always give us extra boba in our drinks. The milk tea here was better than in any other café and their coffee was so good (I’m not sure if they were using Peet’s back then, but regardless, it tasted strong)! I loved their tea so much sometimes I’d just get the green tea plain with the tapioca and it was perfect every time! But after awhile, maybe sometime in 2004, they changed the recipe for their tapioca balls and they became smaller and harder and at times, unedible, so we stopped coming here and went to Sweetheart’s on Franklin instead.
I tried coming here again in 2006 and their boba was better, though not as good as when we first started coming. It’s hard to have anything other than Sweetheart’s, but I was hoping to come back here the next time I’m up in the Bay Area. But alas.
Rest in peace.

ming yuen island’s bobo menu is small. in it’s latter days not too busy.
looks like some kind of froyo is taking over this spot.

Peet’s coffee and some chewy sweet tart minis… wooohooo. nifty!

I remember this place being here back before anyone even knew what boba was. Well, fast forward almost ten years later, through the many ups and downs of the industry, and it is still standing, strong as ever.
Seating is somewhat cramped, but all is well, since most people just order to go. The drinks themselves are not the most tasty (not sweet enough, in my opinion), but if you are a fan of pearls («jun jyu» in Chinese), this joint has got all the competition beat down.
Personally, I don’t care too much for tapioca, but I must admit, this place knows how it should be made. Not too hard, yet not too chewy, as Goldilocks would say, it’s «Just right!» To top it all off, nothing tops a nice leisurely stroll in Oak C-​town, so now that the days are sunny, after dining on a nice lunch in the area, make sure you hit up Ming Yuen Island to grab yourself some boba before shopping.