BAMBU

So glad I stopped by Bambu to give them a try; they’re no hype… they’re super delicious and surprisingly healthy. I ordered the che ba mau (three colored bean dessert) and it was about $ 5. Shortly after I ordered, I received my drink right away, which was a plus. The drink was aesthetically attractive and my first sip and spoonful was everything a foodie had wanted. It was like a party in my mouth; the pandan jelly, mung bean, red bean, green tea pudding, taro tapioca, and coconut milk perfectly balanced each other out. I loved my drink and I would definitely come back for more desserts since Bambu offers a wide selection of various desserts that look very pleasing to the eye and probably tastes just as bad-​ass as well.

I know this review is very long overdue. How long? Well, I first visited this place on opening day! Anyway, I was reviewing the other Bambu’s in Southern CA, so thought I throw my two cents in for this location. Of course, I got the Bambu special. It’s my usual order. What was the stand out though was the customer service. I’m just a tad particular about sugar, but these guys were super receptive to my request/​demand/​whining about the sugar and was nice to customize. That goes a very long way!

Love this place! The BAMBU special is my favorite! This is a great alternative for boba tea on the healthier side! I love coconut and lychee so the coconut water, with the coconut meat and lychee in the special is awesome! The location is nestled in the corner of a dirty shopping center but the interior of the place is very contemporary and refreshing. I really like how they put the toppings out on the counter for people to see before they order. My suggestion would be to get the ice in it! So yummy and crunchy. This us a perfect pick me up, or snack to hold you over. I can imagine drinking this place on a hot summer day while I shop. I really wish they would open a location closer to Chinatown. If they did it would be major competition for Teado!

Pretty good bubble tea. I love the combinations for the desserts but the quality is mediocre. I had the number 10 with grass jelly, pandan jelly, coconut jelly, and coconut milk. Don’t get me wrong, this is an awesome combination!!! Everything just tasted kind of canned/​bought/​put together. It did not work out as well.
My room mate had the mint green bubble tea and loved it. She said the bubbles are really good.
Overall I love the uniqueness of the dessert menu drinks for something new. A somewhat Malaysian tasting twist on things!

Came here twice. I love the selections they had here. A tad bit pricier but a lot more options.
Very simple service. Pick from a menu and pay. Drinks are served quickly.
Straight to the point service with options. I’ll give this place 4 stars.

OMG. I wish I could eat this stuff everyday! Why does it have to be so out of the way on Washington Ave? Despite the distance, I’ve probably been here a good 10 times.
The desserts and drinks they serve here are legitimately 5 times better than boring ol’ bubble tea. For once, most bubble tea places taste so fake and everything comes from blended powder/​sugar syrup with ice. Even the tapioca is laced with food coloring. Well not here at Bambu. These are the freshest, most natural tasting yet mass produced drinks you will ever have. I don’t know how they do it. They use ingredients like mung bean paste, coconut milk, coconut water, grass jelly, pandan, etc. Everything just tastes so real and never anything artificial or imitation (think jolly ranchers or 100% juice blends from concentrate). If you get something like coconut juice, it actually tastes like they made it on the spot.
I’ve tried many of the desserts here, but my favorite is the #4 (red tapioca, grass jelly, pandan jelly, jelly strands, and mung bean paste topped with coconut milk). The #4 and the #10 are pretty similar except the #10 doesn’t have mung bean paste. The #2 is also a good one with a variety of sweet beans, traditional tapioca pearls, combo jelly cubes, and taro paste! I love the taro paste in the #2, but the texture of the combo jelly and tapioca pearls requires too much chewing.
I’ve also tried the Bambu Special #1, the avocado dessert #5, and the #6 the one with a lot of canned tropical fruit. I did not care for #1 and #6. #1 seriously looks really pretty like liquid jade but it is too sweet and the coconut meat is tough and hard to chew. #6 is filled with canned fruit like logan and lychees and I could not stand the canning syrup, again too sweet. The #5 is really interesting. It’s basically a sweet guacamole or a avocado ice cream without the ice. It’s dense and creamy but will never melt in your mouth, kinda like eating avocado icing. So weird. It will definitely fill you up though. I feel like they put at least 2 real avocados into the thing so it’s worth the cost.
For drinks, I’ve tried the penny wort drink mixed with mung bean (too sweet), raspberry juice, and the strawberry tea. The strawberry tea is really good and really refreshing. Beware though it does come with basil seeds. I mention this because there’s a poster of the strawberry tea on the wall but you can’t tell it has basil seeds in it. The raspberry juice was way sweet and tasted more like strawberry juices honestly.
The good thing is though, you can tell them to adjust the sugar and ice level in most of the drinks and desserts. Also, I didn’t know this for a while but you can get a large size for $ 1.
For smoothies, I’ve only tried the sour sop. It tasted like a creamy tart apple smoothie! Tart at first with a surprising creamy after taste, kinda like the green apple flavored Airhead candy.
BEST OF ALL, the drinks here are impressively CONSISTENT. I’ve never had the same amount of consistency at ANY other coffee shop or drink place ever! Most places, your drink will vary with the barista or bar tender that makes it. Of all the times I ordered the #4 (at least 7 times), it always came out the same: same sweetness, same amount of jelly, same amount of coconut milk, same amount of ice (unless I request less ice). I don’t know how they do it but that’s effort and science right there. The ladies back in the kitchen would put most bar tenders to shame with their consistency.
Seriously, I don’t think you can NOT like this place, except if you dislike texture in your drink which I found a lot of my non-​Asian friends hate. In that case, you’d probably hate bubble tea, too. Bambu does have the usual café latte and smoothies though without the chunky toppings.
Lastly, I love the smell of this place (coconut milk heaven), the EDM they ALWAYS play on the wall mounted TV, the cozy red sofa against the wall, and the fact that most drinks cost $ 4.26 but they only charge you $ 4.25 to avoid the extra penny (dude, how can you keep doing this? How do you get your checkbooks to balance?). This place is so quirky and just my kind of quirky.
BAMBU owners, if you’re reading this, you need to open a location in Rittenhouse or Chinatown. You would make bank! I would go there over Tea Do, Tea Chat, or Kung Fu Tea any day!

This is not your traditional boba tea place, offering more traditional vietnamese style drinks that include cold/​hot coffee, smoothies, and milk tea drinks mixed with unique toppings not found commonly at other boba tea shops. Similar price compared to its counterparts and accepts cash only!
To help narrow your options, they have little jars on the countertop that show the various toppings put into the drinks and the cashier is always wiling to explain the texture and taste of them.
My go to here is #10 which consists of coconut milk with pandan jelly (green chewy texture similar to boba), grass jelly (jelly with hint of tea taste), and red tapioca (pomegranate seed texture but alittle less crunchy). This drink is on the heavier side and some consider it a second meal with all the toppings added in.
For their cold drinks that contain coconut milk as the base, they typically add a ball/​chunk of ice to make the drink «cold» since the coconut milk is room temperature to my knowledge. Recommend mixing the drink beforehand to chill all the contents with the ice and mix the toppings since they are layered.
If you’re not being adventurous, they have safe and simple options such as fruit smoothies that you cant go wrong with, enjoy!

If you love bubble tea — you will LOVE this even more. I’ve never quite had anything like this before, and have become a firm believer now that I’ve tried it.
Cool, refreshing, with a variety of textures, these drinks are colorful, unique, and most importantly, delicious. The ingredients may be unfamiliar to those not used to finding pieces of jelly, beans, or coconut in their drink. However, you will be surprised how well the ingredients and flavors meld together. I recommend starting with the preset combinations, and only wish I had discovered this place sooner!

Not bad, yet far from impressive. Bambu is a small shop with friendly service. However, before you can get in you must deal with a mess of a parking lot.
That aside, they have an extensive menu. It’s cash only so bring some green. I went with a #6 and enjoyed it, but the friends I’ve brought here haven’t been as big a fan on the flavors as I am.
Overall, there are better tea places in the city, but not another one I’d recommend in this section of the city. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

This place has an awkward entry way. Tons of drink selection. Staff is friendly. Jack fruit smoothie is my favorite. I always have to try a random dessert drink. So far I have enjoyed everything I have selected.
Parking is tight.

I didn’t know of these Vietnamese desserts until my Vietnamese friend recommended that we come here. I was surprised how many toppings can go into one drink and still manage to taste good. I ordered the number 6 because it sounded good and it had a variety of different toppings to offer. There were a lot of toppings but the ones that I could recognize were the red tapioca, coconut pieces and several types of jelly. All served over freshly shaved ice and syrup. You also have the option of having the ice on the side and not in the cup if you’d like.
Would I come back? Maybe the next time I’m jn Philly. My friend ordered a blended guacamole drink and it tasted interesting. I wish they have more of these places in New York City though.

This is definitely Vietnamese dessert heaven. This place is such a lifesaver during my hot days in Philly. Getting a cup of cold Che was not only refreshing, but it revived me!
The venue is small, but there are a few tables and comfy couches for those wanting to linger around to enjoy their dessert. There are plenty of options ranging from cold drinks to Vietnamese cocktail desserts. If you’re not sure what an ingredient is, there is an entire display of jars at the counter. There are pictures everywhere too. I wish I had more time in Philly to try all the items on the menu!

Bambu is one of the few Che specialty shops in Philly, and I am so glad one has finally opened near me! My favorite drink to get is their dessert drink #2, Che Thap Cam (Combination). For somewhere between $ 4-​$ 5, you get a wonderfully sweet and refreshing blend of red bean, white bean, mung bean, taro, pandan jelly, pearl, and cocunut milk. I must warn, however, that towards the end of the drink, it can become a tad too sweet due to the solid mixing of the beans and jelly sitting at the bottom.
As a disclaimer, it is a cash only establishment — so be prepared for that. It’s also quite small, but I’ve never had any trouble getting a seat while waiting for my drink. The staff are also very friendly and don’t mind explaining the drinks to you or answering any questions you may have about the ingredients.

Went here with my friend… the shop is mall, just have some tables in the shop but very crowed. Parking the frond of the shop but not easy for you find one :/​. Shop is nice and have a lot of choose for you… I ordered number 5 smash avocado and my friend had number 6 .
I don’t like much my smash avocado… too thick, I can not finish my smash avocado: P…
P/​s here they don’t accept credit, just bring cash with you …
I gave them 3 stars because smash avocado not good at all. But I will come back and give them other change.

They have a sign by the register that states if you post a Unilocal review, you’ll get 10% off your tab. I guess that means people have to make a second trip back cuz obviously there’s no way for us to Unilocal before testing the item.
This place is interesting. They have alot of different drinks to choose from.
Giving all the hype, I was hoping that I could’ve given a four star. But on this rather hot spring/​summer day, waiting for my drink to get cold was not what i had in mind to cool down.
Hubby and I got the #6 and #10… Stirred and took our first sip. Warm. Stir some more to get the ice to mix and melt with the ingredients. Less warm. So… after some more stirs, and more ice melting our drinking started cooling down. But not good enough. Maybe I’m impatient? I don’t know. But when it’s so hot outside, I would rather take one sip and end with «ahhhh… this is gooood».
Maybe we’ll go back to try something else. I have to see if I can get pass the waiting part for my drink to be cold enough to drink.

First time having Vietnamese dessert drinks. The drinks here include lots of toppings and juices! Filling and getting a bang for your buck. Nice switch up from all the bubble tea parlors that I’m used to. I ordered #1 and #10. The pandan jelly was super chewy! It’s so much better than tapioca/​boba/​black pearls. The drinks have atleast 3 — 5 toppings each. I preferred #10 over #1. The coconut juice from #1 wasn’t that good and it was a weird combination with basil seeds. The coconut chunks and lychee wasn’t sweet either.
#10 tasted creamy and milky, I liked the toppings of herbal jelly and pandan jelly in it.
They offer a 10% discount if you write a review on a Unilocal.Not too shabby considering how much I pay for bubble tea.
Make sure to bring cash because they don’t take card, also there are no bathrooms for customers, a little heads up for all you potty seekers.

Bambu is one of the most unique and delicious dessert shops that I’ve visited in Philly! I love that it’s a chain and can be found in other places because I’ll definitely continue being a customer here, even after I leave Philadelphia. Upon first walking into the store, the dessert photos on the wall all look so mouthwatering. It took me quite a while to decide on what I wanted to order, and the workers were very helpful in helping me to go through the differences in ingredients and flavors in the desserts to find my best-​fit choice.
I wound up ordering the #2: Chè thap cam (combination) dessert drink, and it was a great choice! The presentation of the dessert was beautiful, really unique, and colorful. I was scared to mess up the lovely layering in the cup, though mixing it together is the best way to enjoy the drink and make sure you get the perfect combination of flavors. I loved the fresh coconut milk in the drink — it added a really refreshing touch to what otherwise would have been too decadent of a drink. The flavors at the beginning were really great, but as I got to the bottom of my cup, I started feeling a little overwhelmed with the richness of the beans and the sweetness of the drink overall. I couldn’t finish all of it because the portion was so large, but the portion that I did wind up finishing was delicious!
My sister’s favorite drink is strawberry bubble tea, so she tried ordering it here. The workers were really helpful and honest in telling her that adding milk to the strawberry tea that they served here would not taste the best and recommended that she order a fruit-​flavored tea without the milk since only certain types of tea taste good with milk (e.g. black, jasmine, taro). My sister and I both appreciated the honesty and the extensive knowledge of the drinks. It was also great that it seemed like the drinks were very customizable and that the workers were very accommodating to customers’ requests and preferences.
I also cannot stress how great and nice the workers were. I was desperately in need of an iPhone charger since I needed to be able to order an Über to get home (there were no taxis around the area), so I asked one of the workers if I could borrow one of theirs. They were all so willing to lend me their chargers, which made me feel so great as a customer in their store.
All in all, I had a great experience here. If you’ve never had this type of Vietnamese dessert, you must come here and try it out! However, if you’re not the biggest fan of sweets, you may want to ask the workers for a lighter option because at least for the dessert drink that I got, it was very, very sweet.

TIP: CASH ONLY!
I was super excited to hear that there was a BAMBU in Philly! It’s a Vietnamese dessert franchise that is most popular in Texas and California but now it’s expanding throughout the East coast.
BAMBU provides delicious variations of chè or Vietnamese desserts mixed with different fruits, juice/​milk combinations, and ingredients. It’s a refreshing treat that you must venture out to try! My favorite go-​to is the #1 BAMBU Special consisting of pandan jelly, fresh coconut, logan, and basil seeds all mixed in sweet coconut juice. You also can add your preferences to anything on the menu if you like! They also offer classic bubble tea flavors, smoothies, and coffee. But I would totally recommend trying their chè first!
Service here is also friendly and quick. You can easily grab and go within 10 minutes! If you’re eating in South Philly, come here after to get a dessert!

They play Kpop on the TV! I’m sold!
$ Cash only! $
Been here a few times with the boyfriend and we always get the same thing! #6 Chè trái cây — Lychee, longan, red tapioca, jackfruit, palm seed, pandan jelly, jello, young coconut
I tried to stray from #6 one time and tried something with grass jelly. I really like grass jelly by itself with some sugar (also great for sore throats!) but the juice was too over powering mixed in the drink.
My family makes our own kind of che at home for special occasions but it is nice to have a place I can stop in for a quick cup — so much better than bubble tea!
How about a build your own option?! That would be awesome!
The people there are very friendly and I like the log counter.
The place isn’t too big but there are a few seats and tables for you to sit and watch Kpop =)
And don’t forget to get a spoon for all the jelly and fruits at the end!

This Vietnamese dessert place opened up in WA just as we moved across the nation to the East coast. I was definitely happy to see this place when we were in Philly doing some grocery shopping at the asian grocery store next door.
Hubby ordered the #2: Chè thp cm (combination) — Red bean, white bean, green/​mung bean, taro, pandan jelly, pearl, combo jelly.
I had the #10: Ht lu sng sáo bánh lt — Red tapioca, grass jelly, pandan jelly. YUMMO! I love anything with tapioca with pandan.
Definitely recommended. Can’t wait to stop by again to try out a different flavor. Make sure to ask for extra ice because it definitely melted way too fast.