POP! Culture & Drinks

This was in my drafts from years ago and I accidentally posted it but now can’t delete it: Me and some friends came here last night. we ordered the pyt and Miami viced. Both were realy good especially the
Miami viced that gave us head explosions in a good way.

I bought a groupon for 5 small drinks. The cashier recommended that I try the macgyver ice tea– their own special brew. I got one for my friend too.
It was good. It tasted different than other milk teas I’ve had before. At first it was just different, not sure if I quite liked it or not but after a few more sips, it was a good different.
My friend loved it so much he ordered another large one! Two large macgyver in one sitting is too much for him but hey, when you love it that much i guess it can never be too much hahah.
It was a lot smaller than I had expected. When I went there it was pretty empty but 15 mins later there was a huge line to order. a lot can change in 15 minutes at this boba joint.

The Skinny: Another boba place in OC in a time of economic crisis? Hmm… you’d think it’s a bad idea, but this particular one might work. Just might.
Environment:
This is where it shines. The décor here is very 80’s, and unique in the whole OC area. The place with the closest décor to here is Genki Living on Garden Grove, which is still far. The parking here is pretty horrible though because the plaza can house only so many cars for a handful of small shops that cater to older Asian customers.
Service:
These people are super nice amongst other things. Because they are a starting up place, these people are in their prime of the best customer service ever compared to all the places that are similar to them. They are also a younger crowd of employees as well, which may contribute to their high energy when helping the customers.
Drinks:
The drinks are. okay. The only reason I came here was because we had a Groupon deal so it was a good deal. The day I came they were still experimenting with creating drinks, and each of us got a randomized custom drink made by one of the employees. The one I got was… well… it tasted like really sugared and melted oatmeal ice cream. Not a pleasant taste. I would not recommend that one. hopefully it doesn’t make the cut and become a regular menu item. However, other ones they made with green tea drinks and vanilla ice cream were pretty good. It’s a total hit or miss, and my first personal experience was a miss.
Overall: ³⁄₅
Opening a new boba-​type place in this time period is really risky. Drink places like these are dying out, so joining so late in the game means you have to be really unique. They do sort of succeed with that by having a great marketing strategy and a great trendy setting, but that’s not enough. You got to get the drinks right, too. But who knows, maybe they’ll start taking form even though they are latecomers, like Windows Phone 7 in the sea of Androids and iPhones.

This place isn’t like Half & half. I was excited after reading a few reviews thinking I didn’t need to drive 40 min to San Gabriel Valley but this place just doesn’t cut it for me.
Milk tea —
Me’h just tasted like any of the other places around Little Saigon .
Miami Vice —
It was not so nice, had a strong caramel flavor. Unlike half and half milk shake concoctions, which has a rich milk taste, I didn’t really taste anything in the milk… bland. Honey boba is overwhelming, tasted kinda syrupy. Also for $ 4.50? I rather just pass.
Location–
In the heart of Little Saigon, horrible in terms of finding parking
Décor–
Awesome! 80’s theme? totally digging it. Small place though, I don’t see me coming here with a big group or even for having intimate conversations — the music is very loud.
Service –The girls are so sweet, seemed willing to please –however, they did forget one of our drinks.
.

Another boba place in Westminster? Aside from phở restaraunts, boba is probably the most over-​saturated market in this area soon to be followed by crawfish and frozen yogurt. I totally thought this trend would have died by now, but here comes along POP! Culture & Drinks — an 80’s theme boba shop located right next to the Asian Garden Mall catering to a demographic probably not even alive in the 80’s.
Still, big props to them for trying to be different with the 80’s theme. I love the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in front, the TV’s inside playing 80’s commercials (they should include 80’s TV shows too!), the classic NES references, the 80’s music and the neon lights… but that’s about it. What’s more important to me is the drinks and the food.
Drinks. Their drink menu is basically a bunch of their personal creations which they named to incorporate an 80’s reference which is cool. I’m told they do have the basics such as flavored milk tea (almond, taro, etc.) but they keep them off the menu to keep it simplified. Normally I don’t like my boba drinks too fancy, but I did try their most popular drink, the Miami vICED Milk Drink, which has milk tea, cream, chocolate, egg pudding, and honey boba. Decent, but a tad sweet, and probably too many ingredients for my taste. I also had the Flashdance (passion fruit tea, basil seeds and strawberry) which wasn’t my cup o’ tea (intentional pun).
Food… They only food they had were donuts in a display which for sure weren’t made in-​house. Sweet donuts and sweet drinks don’t go well together. Hopefully they’ll add a real food menu soon. Popcorn chicken?!?
PROS
+Awesome 80’s theme, but they could probably do a lot more with it.
+Very friendly service. Although when I went there was an all guy staff behind the counter. Let’s get some cute girls working here!
CONS
–Small drink menu compared to other boba places.
–No real food options (yet). Some fried junk food would be awesome.
–Location. Heavy traffic. Terrible drivers. I try to avoid this area of Little Saigon whenever possible!
Overall, I give POP! 3.5 stars for now. There’s definitely potential here, but they just aren’t there yet.

I love boba. So naturally, when I found out about this place, I rushed on over. Okay here’s the deal.
I really like the vibe of the place. It sticks to its 80s theme in all ways and not many places out there can do that. I got the McGyver, which is the normal milk tea with boba which costs me $ 3.50. Unlike other places, the taste of tea is more prominent and the boba was very soft and chewy. Will definitely be coming back as a regular from now on. :]
I think its a great change from the normal boba places around nowadays so definitely drop by and support it!
Note: They have this pitcher that they sell for $ 10. You can buy that and refill each it time for $ 6. Any drink. The pitcher holds two large cups worth so you’ll be making your money back in two refills.

I like the vibe and all. Drinks are not that good. They are kinda bland. I’ll give them some times to grow as a business.
First time I came the girls took my order wrong and had to do it all over again. Then they gave me wrong drinks!!! Did not realize it until I left so I did not wanna come back and waste time.
Second time, waitress forgot to mention that boba was gonna take 20 mins. She gave us free cupcakes in return.
The Miami vice was kinda too sweet. Good replacement if you don’t wanna drive 30 mins.

POP! gets a bonus star for the fun 80’s-décor. I love it. You are greeted by a huge inflatable Stay-​Puft man (
), then you enter into a nostalgic world of disco lights, Michael Jackson (
), Pacman (
), Andy Warhol-​style prints (
), and… Rubik’s cube tables. Meanwhile, 80’s music plays in the background and very silly, non-​matching 80’s music videos are shown on flat-​screen TVs. If only POP! was a danceclub too :)
The drinks are quite tasty here. There are fake cocktails, but during my first visit I was a little more conventional and tried a McGuyver milk tea with longan and boba. The boba was the perfect amount of chewy, and the drink was super good! I also tried a sip of Kim F’s lychee tea which was delicious and refreshing. Overall, the tea here reminds me of Tastea’s tea. I wouldn’t call this the best tea I have ever had, but it is certainly of good quality.
Last, I purchased a pack of mini red velvet cupcakes. They were really moist and delicious, topped with a generous dollop of yummy cream cheese.
Verdict: Love the concept, and the tea is pretty good too.

Friend: Moran!
Me: what the fuck did you just call me?! I’ll break your face…
Friend: no, you have to turn on Moran street… jesus. angry much?
Me: who me?!? nah, i’m innocent. you fucker.
I stumbled upon this place because i was bored and was in search for a yummy drink. Thank you Unilocal!!!i feel like i owe you my first born.
My first impression to be completely honest… i was not impressed. It was small, and looked corny from the outside. but i walked in and i felt like i stepped into a time machine and transported back into the 1980’s. i actually wish i could travel back in time, so i could tell my young self to not fuck up on so many things in life… ANYWAYS.
I ended up getting the miami vICED and my other friends got the 21 jump street. both were very good to drink. the miami vICED is a drink with egg pudding, caramel and white boba! this drink is akin to the caramel milk tea @ half and half, however i have a thing against half and half. since i feel like their cups are deformed and i always wait 20+ mins to get a freaking drink.
the interior décor is very cute in the 80’s way… pac man, Mj, davie bowie, madonna fill up this place. and the servers are nice and friendly. a little TOO friendly.
parking is a little weird, but that’s westmister for ya.

This place is a solid 3.5.
I came here on a Monday at 3pm. I was the only one in the store and I was able to find parking right in front. However, I can see that this place may be a bit of a cram during their peak hours for the interior is a lot smaller than expected and the parking lot is very limited.
Their service was wonderful. When I arrived, the girl behind the counter asked if this was my first time. When I answered yes, she was quick to recommend what drinks were good. I ordered the Miami vICED for myself and thai tea for my sister. 9 bucks for 2 regular drinks is a bit much in my opinion. A few minutes after I had already paid, they told me they had no more thai tea. I was a little annoyed but decided to get the almond milk tea. To my surprise, when the drinks were ready, they had given me 2 large drinks in order to make up for them not having thai tea. It sure made up for it. I was happy. Kudos to them for the great service unlike other typical boba shops around Bolsa.
Now to the drinks… The almond milk tea is a bit bland to me. I probably would not order it ever again. The Miami vICED was a lot better but not the best. I didnt really tasted the honey boba. The caramel adds a nice touch but they added too much, it became overly sweet. Less is more. The pudding was good! I dont think this is as good as Half & Half though. Whenever Im feeling too lazy to drive far, I will definitely come here out of convenience.
Keep in mind this place is new. I believe they have lots of room for improvement so give them some time.

Ah, the 80s… a time when I wasn’t even alive. Well, so much for nostalgia, eh?
This is in a small alleyway at Bolsa & Moran, so don’t blink or you’ll miss it. Of course, it’s not that difficult to spot strobe lights in an otherwise dark corner of Vietnam.
The décor here is somewhere between «trying too hard and coming off fake» and «irrelevant; there are Pac-​Man chairs.» Waka waka waka. They also have Donkey Kong Jungle Juice energy drinks in their fridge, as well as blueberry and red velvet donuts made in-​house. If there’s one thing this place is good at, it’s differentiating itself from the competition.
So how do the drinks measure up? I’m pleased to say I enjoyed their Oscar the Grouch, which was a blend of green tea ice cream, a chocolate drizzle, and milk tea. The ice cream basically melted into the milk tea, so it wasn’t hard to drink. The honey boba was also well-​made and «cue cue.»
Two things, though: 1. they forgot the boba in both of our drinks. No biggie, since they went ahead and fixed it while also re-​topping our drinks with more whipped cream. 2. I couldn’t taste any «chocolate drizzle.» I’m guessing they probably forgot to add this in, too.
However, at $ 5.00 per FloaTea with boba (one size only), I did not feel like I got my money’s worth, especially since my drink just tasted like regular green milk tea. While the drinks were good-​quality, the prices were a bit too high, probably because they use their own custom branded cups.
Honestly, I’d rather drive further to Tastea where the vibe is much lighter, the drinks are bigger and just as good, and the prices are lower (although the crowd irritates me to no end).
Overall, this place was decent. I wouldn’t mind coming back for a drink but only if I had a deal of some sort. With Thach Che Hien Khanh across the street and Tastea around the corner, I just don’t see myself popping in here very often (no pun intended).

I love the 80s. You have no idea how much I wanted my very own Jake Ryan after I first saw Sixteen Candles and you can very much believe I definitely felt like Sam Baker on her 16^th birthday when it was my own. I guess I can be seen as an 80s kid sorta, but unfortunately I was born at the end of the 80s, so I didn’t really grow up during this time. Anyways, I’ve been wanting to try this place since I heard about it earlier this summer. I mean an 80s themed boba shop? Why not.
The store is a bit hard to find if you don’t already know the area in my opinion. The salon I go to is right across the way from it, so I had an idea of where it is. It’s on Bolsa and Moran, right next to Gala Bakery. Good luck with parking. I mean, there are a few designated spots right in front, but real talk — it’s BOLSA. You’re going to be spending a ton of time looking for parking, as well as watching out for the many goddamm, horrible, awful drivers. I’m just being honest. Surprisingly, we were able to find a spot right in front of the store since it was a freaking Saturday at 3 in the afternoon — somewhat of a peak time in this area.
Walking in, I was sort of surprised — not really what I expected. It’s a bit dark in there and somewhat small to be honest, but they certainly do have the 80s theme down. There’s a bunch of murals on the walls and things you’d recognize such as the DeLorean from Back to the Future and Michael Jackson and other 80s icons. The furniture is pretty cool actually — some of the chairs are shaped like Pac Man and there’s some tables shaped like Rubix Cubes.
Anyways, the moment the best friend and I walked in, we were promptly greeted. They had a somewhat decent sized menu. It seemed like everything had strawberries, which was a win. The best friend ordered the Material Girl Mojiito. I ordered something, which I can’t remember right now, but it’s a moot point because they didn’t have anymore of it today because they sort of had a small event the night before. I ended up getting a drink called Revenge of the Sangria with strawberry coconut grass jelly instead of boba. I tried a bit of the Material Girl Mojito — it was a bit too sour for me, so I didn’t really like it, but Katie N. did. I really liked my drink though. Sort of comparable to Tastea’s Strawberry Ecsteasy, but with tons of strawberry chunks (a DEFINITE win — I love strawberries), although, a little bit more expensive since it was a size small (about $ 5).
Service was very good. The girls there were super nice and were quick to suggest what was good. Honestly, this place is good, like 3.5 stars in my opinion, but I wouldn’t really want to make a real effort to go here since I hate dealing with parking and the drivers in the area. Since the salon I go to is right across from it, that’s pretty much the only time I’ll make a real effort to go, out of convenience really. Other than that, I’d probably stick to Tastea.

My gf and I came here because she bought a Groupon. My first impression of the place is the decorations are pretty cool and the guy behind the counter was pretty nice and greeted us quickly. He helped us pick out a drink since it was our first time there.
The menu itself was a bit confusing. There were a lot of selections and each one had a pretty long description. In the end, I ended up going with the Caramel Chameleon (or something like that) and my gf got the Oscar the Grouch. We got the drinks fast and the service was great. However, the drinks themselves was mediocre at best. The ice cream with the milk tea just didn’t mix well. The ice cream kept floating around on top and I couldn’t eat the ice cream with my spoon because it kept floating away. In the end, I ate the ice cream, the whipped cream and drank the milk tea each separately… pretty sure that’s not how they intended it to be.
Overall, I had a pretty decent experience here. The décor was impressive and the service was excellent. However, next time, I’m probably going to study the menu a bit more before I head in.

I was decided to try a new boba place in Little Saigon this morning so I Unilocaled boba and this place came up. I’ve seen it before as I was getting my tired fixed on Moran but I’ve never tried it. 4.5 stars? Half and Half competition? I’m down.
I tried the Miami vIced drink, which was iced milk with pudding, caramel, and «honey boba.» was definitely not as good as half and half’s signature drink. It was more like a sad knock off of Half and Half:
– There was about an inch of caramel sauce at the bottom of the cup
. Needless to say, the drink was TOO sweet, even after I shook and stirred everything up. Half and half usually adds a very small layer of caramel at the bottom of the cup so that the milk is lightly sweet but the Miami vIced tasted like diabetes in a cup.
– The boba was definitely not honey boba. If you ever tried making boba without brown sugar or honey, the tapioca pearls will taste like plain starch (restaurant boba often tastes like this). Honey boba is usually made with honey so that each pearl is sweet and delicious with that gooey layer of honey (Half and Half, GG Volcano, Le Arbre make great honey boba) After clearing all the sugar milk from my taste buds, I noticed that the boba from POP! had no flavor /​tasted like starch. It was like they just cooked the pearls in water then left it out and maybe added a bit of honey (but then again, the mass of caramel masked all the flavor so I wouldn’t know). The boba was chewy but it tasted like starch D:
— The pudding was really good and better than alot of places I’ve tried (including half and half). It was very soft, delicious, and fresh.
— The iced milk was very well blended and there was a good ratio of drink to add ons (except caramel, of course) so that the drink was consistent while I was drinking it.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad drink but it just wasn’t that enjoyable. Iced milk isn’t really a hard drink to make so a few adjustments would’ve made it much better: The drink should’ve been much less sweet (easy fix) and the boba could’ve been much, much better.
It’s also not a place I would hang out at. I love the 80’s but the place is kinda run down and has a funny smell. Not sure I would come back by myself but if someone drags me I’d be glad to try something else.
Also, I suspect the reviews here are VERY INFLATED (or you guys havent tried good boba), as one reviewer kindly pointed out. They advertise in the store that they love Unilocalers and if you bring in a «Happy» review, they will give you a FREE DRINK with a free topping. That’s probably why there are so many ⁴⁄₅ stars and so many first time reviewers. Also notice the high number of reviews that Unilocal automatically filtered out (17 as of now). Just saying.

I am a huge fan of the 80’s music and everything 80’s so, of course, when I found out that they opened a boba shop that was themed from the 80’s I had to check it out.
The place is a bit hidden and not too close for me… Its located near Asian Garden Mall. Since I am a huge fan of Half & Half I was recommedded to try the Miami vICED drink. They have very clever names here I must add.
The Miami vICED drink is pretty much a replica of the Half and Half drink that I always get; which is: Iced milk w/​caramel, pudding and boba. I thought the drink was okay… nothing spectacular. Its a bit too icy and overly sweet, but pretty good. If I was craving some Half & Half and not in the mood to drive so far I would go here. The boba tastes a bit bland to me.
Staff was very friendly and welcoming though. I will come back and try other drinks as well. They also sell Blueberry doughnuts here as well!

Has anyone told you that you were getting old? Want to feel young again? As a matter of fact, want to BE young again? Well, I have just the cure and it’s not an overpriced anti-​wrinkle cream from Estee Lauder.
Enter the fountain of youth of the 1980’s for you will be taken back to a parallel dimension where Doc’s DeLorean was once spotted. Inside, you’ll be greeted by a cutoff of Michael Jackson as we remember him best in «Bad,» along with a rubix cube table, cassette stencils, and neon lights. If that doesn’t make you feel any younger, then stare at the flashback menu of smoothies, coffee, and tea creations with a clever name twist. Catch delicious drinks and recall some of your favorite 80’s pop culture like the 21 Jump Street (Strawberries, Pineapple, Mango, Whip), the MacGyver (Chocolate-​rich and creamy Milk Tea), Miami vIced (Egg Pudding, Caramel, Boba, and Whip), Ms. Pac Man (Mango, Strawberry-​colada fusion, Whip), and Van Damme’s Kuma-​tea (Thai Tea & Whip).
If your drink isn’t up to par, don’t splash Gizmo and hatch gremlins with it. The staff is extremely friendly and humble as they will gladly remake your drink to ensure your young age and happiness.
Sit back in nostalgia and feel even younger with the radical 80’s music videos on constant shuffle while sippin’ your tubular and gnarly beverage. Grab a soda pop or energy drink of your favorite cartoon characters like the Ghostbusters, Simpsons, and such or celeste in their mini-​red velvet cupcakes while glaring at the artsy walls of a once popular era vying to fine it’s way back into our hearts and appreciate a decade that’s quickly becoming the new 2012.
If at this point you are not soaking in the warm 80’s culture and reminiscing the carefree days, then I’m afraid you are not an 80’s baby. You’re just old… but never too old to enjoy the fantabulous drinks POP! has to offer. Go ahead, take a sip. I guarantee you’ll be saying, «by the power of Greyskull, I have the POWERRR!!»

My first visit wasn’t that great. service was eh and the drink (some lychee thing) was all right but I was rereading over reviews and decided to give this place a chance and I’m glad I did!
This week I just happen to be craving all sorts of things, but boba was just an impulse buy. I came in and the place was pretty empty and not popping (see what I did there) and decided to order an almond milk tea. Which in their language, is called Almond Mr. Arigato something something. I asked for it to be substituted with milk as creamer is weird and not dairy. I got my 15% off via the coupon near the door and 2 minutes later, Jude hands me my drink. Upon looking at all the foamy bubbles, I inquired, «is this creamer?» he took it back, gave his apologies and started to remake it, however Marylynn took it back from him and asked me to sample it to try it, encouraging me that though it was creamer it tasted damn fucking good (not in those words). I took a sip and holy shit that thingie is bomb.
I’m so glad I found a place that makes almond milk tea not too «cherry tasting». it tastes JUST like almond jello upon first sip, which is a wonderful thing! The only thing bad about this is that I’m finishing my drink in about 10 minutes, it should be an hour! In addition, Jude decided to give me my original drink in addition to the «messed up» one, how nice is that! Two drinks for the price of one !! So one with milk, and the other with creamer! The milk one is sitting in my fridge.
They don’t have a stamp card I think. unless they do but I wasn’t offered one. but it’s nice to go into a place where you don’t have to wait and get yummy drinks ! And nice service!

I’m an 80’s child, and I want someone to give me my childhood back! Pop! Culture does exactly that.
It’s like a flashback to the not so distant past. The décor is deliberately kitschy, but, done so well that the aesthetics are true to all my favorite John Hughes films. No details were spared, from the hot pink neon hues to the boombox on the far upper corner; and my personal fave, a one armed Gizmo.
The drinks are cleverly named and it’s surreal to hear a customer say «I want a Miami Vice» while UB40’s Red Red Wine plays in the background.
The owners and workers strive for a friendly relaxed atmosphere and even with the teeny boppers around with their emo hair who probably won’t recognize a DeLorean if it popped up in front of them, it didn’t feel like a teen scene.
The nitty gritty:
–Delicious drinks which they’ll customize for you if you ask
–Casual fun atmosphere (they don’t take themselves too seriously here)
–Lots of discounts (for Unilocalers, score!)
–OPEN til 12!!!
–Wifi
I want to break out my LA GEARS and jump for joy.

My dentist will not be happy with me, bc I’ve found myself another sugar quenching boba-​tea shop. This one however, is not like the others. Not only is it refreshing to go to a new place that knows how to make a drink, but it is also nice to feel a little nostalgic when you are there hanging out waiting for your drink. If you are an 80’s babies, this is the place to go. The décor will take you back to your childhood and the drinks will take you back to the future.
I didn’t think I could find another boba-​tea shop to fulfill my pallet, but POP! has proven me wrong. Their innovative drinks takes your mouth to a whole different level. Basil seeds, German rock sugar, grass jelly… mmmm mmmmm! If you are not in the mood for a drink, not to worry, they have delicious pastries that are to die for! The red velvet mini cupcakes are my fave so far, but the blueberry donuts are nothing to ignore either.
So what are you waiting for, you Super Freak? Don’t be a couch potato and get Into the Groove. Go order a drink and let POP! Whip It… whip it good. Their drinks will take you to Funkytown and leave you with Sweet Dreams.
BTW, my faves so far are the following:
Lychee Virgin: It’s like we touched for the very first time.
Flashdance: this drink is a manic.
The MacGyver: don’t mistaken this with Macgruber.

i know, it’s on Bolsa St. But hey, the chances you eating right by there… you might as well drop by instead of driving an extra ten mins to the other boba shops in Bolsa.
Refreshing drinks.
They use real fruits… not the typical powder sugared up drinks. Chunks of peaches, YUM!
I love their décor. I got to enjoy some MJ music videos in their lounge area.
Grab a flyer, it’s 15% off your first drink! who doesn’t love a good deal.
I didnt have a problem with parking.