Bubble Act

this was the place to go if you wanted to unwind and chill but not have a full meal
it was all about the «D» combo
kinda miss having a place to kick it late night on the week days and even the weekends

i have been coming here for a long time with my two friends, even though we don’t fit in at all. we don’t drive rice rockets, we aren’t in high school, and we are the only non-​AZN-​asians in the place. i really don’t care because i think this place is cute, it’s open really late, it’s SAFE, lots of parking, and it’s really fun to people watch. sure beats hanging out in our hometown.
i love their drinks, their popcorn chicken, their eggettes, and their waffles w/​condensed milk. my favorites are the almond milk tea, the oreo mint choc. smoothie, the barley smoothie, & the coconut eggettes when they are crispy. my only suggestion would be to add a watermelon smoothie/​slushy/​ice drink on the menu.
the last time we came here, it was hot outside and the door was open so they had a bunch of fruit flies everywhere and even a ginormous mosquito hanging out on the wall. it was pretty disgusting, but they recently closed temporarily for a massive remodel/​renovation so im really looking forward to the new bubble act, without the fruit flies/​mosquito.
despite how busy it is, we always manage to find a seat/​table. it’s best to sit outside where it’s more quiet and cooler. the service is great & quick, and the drinks/​snacks are always good. it’s unfortunate we don’t have an SGV-​like area in the bay area, i think this is as close as it gets. i guess this is the south bay’s version of saved by the bell’s «the max» (something i never had in high school haha). i love it here, will definitely keep returning! :)

They have a egg waffle thing that is pretty good but their watery tea is a downer. I guess it’s a cool spot to hang-​out if you’re young or have nowhere else to go but when i come to california, i expect much more from a bubble tea place or any asian spot for that matter. I just wish the people who worked there/​own it cared more about the food and tea they serve.
I probably won’t go back unless it’s late and my friends and i have no other options. That’s probably not going to happen since i found out last time that the plaza right next door has several late-​night restaurants also.
Maybe the rennovations i just read about, moving the waffle irons to the back, will ensure that the girl doesn’t let my waffle burn while she chats up her friends like last time.

*Breaking news*
I apologize for the constant updates of this place, but this is some insider information too good to keep to myself. After getting a haircut at nearby
this afternoon, I strolled on by to see how things were going at Bubble Act. One of the managers noticed me, and sat down to chit chat. He informed me that starting next week, the shop will be undergoing MAJOR RENOVATION for upwards of a month.
In addition to a completely new floor and paintjob, more seats will be added, as the waffle and egg nugget roasters will be moved to the back kitchen. He told me that although it was nice for the customers to be able to see the chefs at work upfront, this often created an uncomfortable situation for them, with the patrons breathing down their necks, whining about cook times. Hopefully, all problems listed below will be taken care of!
*Revision 10/​19/​06*
Wow, this place has really fallen off… hard. I gave it four stars the first time around, but it looks like times are lean nowadays. Bubble Act used to be my after work hangout to wait for traffic to die down, but not anymore. Here is a brief list of dark spots:
–The signature item, the waffle, is not nearly as good as it used to be. Instead of being crunchy like before, it is more often than not all soft and soggy.
–The drinks are really watered down, and it doesn’t help matters that they load up half the cup with ice.
–They are gravely understaffed, especially in the latenight. Usually, there is only ONE guy behind the counter to help out the chef, while the line is consistently out the door. Good luck on getting your order in a timely fashion. Although their valiant effort is appreciated, the fatigue on their faces says it all. By the end of the night, even the nicest of them will turn sour.
–The bathroom… uggh. I’m a guy, and I’ll even admit that I don’t even feel like using it. 9 times out of 10, there is also no toiler paper or hand towels to be found. Oh, and did I mention the wonderful aroma? Only the bathrooms at Pacific East Mall can boast a greater claim to fame in this department.
–It seems like the Q-​Cup crowd has now infiltrated. Just last night, I witnessed some punks tossing the outdoor tables into the parking lot like they were auditioning for the reality show, «Find the Next Member of The Who.» I almost felt compelled to give them a piece of my mind, but alas, there was only one of me, and seven of them. And of course, the understaffed employees had no clue of what was transpiring.
–The entire place is starting to look excessively dirty and rundown due to poor upkeep. The amateur, cost cutting ownership is really starting to show.
*original*
This is a family business run by a couple of brothers and a few cousins. It can get a bit rowdy at times, and all the workers, especially the main cooks (the two brothers) seem constantly overworked, but it’s overall a nice place to kick it. They constantly display the latest in HK movies and music videos over the media system. The staff is generally very friendly, treating you like a friend instead of just another customer. The great thing is that they are open until 2 am on weeknights and 3 am on Fri and Sat, so it is perfect for those after club munchie sessions.
As far as the food goes, I would definitely recommend the takoyaki (Osaka octopus balls) and the HK style waffles. The HK style egg nuggets are okay, but sometimes inconsistent, depending on which time of the day you go. The drinks are so-​so… not the best, but not bad. However, if you visit during the daytime, the gentleman named Terence does an awesome job with the drinks and snacks. If you see him, make sure to let him know that Eric sent you! Also, if any of the two brothers happens to make it for you, it’s pretty much a lock to be tasty.
If you are more hungry, there is also a good variety of Chinese rice/​noodle dishes as well. Actually, they have a great selection of unique items such as orange pork chop, mango chicken, as well as Chinese style Korean short ribs and Japanese pork chop.
The staff sometimes has a high turnover rate, but it seems like they have now settled upon a consistent crew. Unfortunately, all the cute girls are no longer employed here (all dudes now), but nonetheless, the workers are personable, friendly, and welcoming, no matter which ethnicity you are.
If you are into HK and Taiwanese chicks, this is your spot. It seems to be the trendy hangout for the local college crowd. Unlike other tapioca shops, the high school kids are not in full force, possibly because of the location, which is a bit off the beaten path, and virtually inaccessible by foot.
Sometimes you will run into some Vietnamese punks loitering outside without buying anything, smoking bud, hockin’ loogies, and talking loud. However, since this is Milpitas, they really aren’t all that tough. No worries. They are merely nothing more than a minor nuisance.

Warning! The only good thing about this place is that it’s open late (2am) and it has Asian videos playing in the background. After 3 experiences, I will not go there again, especially since I now know that there are restaurants on the next plaza down open just as late.
Bubble Act caters to a very young crowd so they don’t care too much about quality of the boba tea and they’re very inconsistant with service. Also, their bathrooms are so gross. They look like they haven’t been cleaned since the building was built.
History:
The first time I went to Bubble Act, I liked it. The egg waffle was very good (soft but not raw in the middle) and the tea was normal, nothing special. The second time though, they cooked my waffle so long it was a very dark brown color and broke into pieces when I touched it. Also, both our tea was very very watered down with lots of ice. The girl also gave my boyfriend green tea when he specifically ask if they had Jasmine. The girl put my waffle on to cook and then went outside to chat with some guys on the sidewalk. She can chat-​up whoever she wants but when she delivered a ruined waffle to my table and then, she acted mad when I ask her to redo it, that’s a problem. She made half underbreath comment indicating that I should’ve said I wanted it light. I didn’t want it light, I just didn’t want it to crumble cause it was so crisp. It’s a waffle, not a cracker. The egg waffle is good if they’d pay a lil attention and do it right.
I went there the 1^st time, it was good. I went there a 2^nd time, it was horrible. I went there a 3^rd time to see if the 2^nd time was a fluke and, won’t be going there again.

3 stars.
1 for the fact that they have eggie bubble or egg puff. because only 2 freaking places have that around here. geez
–1 for being so freaking overpriced for their stupid egg puff. dude you can get like 2 for $ 1 in HK.
1 star for the service… the guy and gal is super nice. always trying to recommend and suggest what is good.
–1 for all the fools that hangs around there… such a turn off. even when im dying for egg puff i dotn dare to go there at night. ekkk
1 star for the waffles. mmmmmm plain waffle with butter and sugar. gotta try that!
so there you go 3 stars.

i come here for only 2 things…
Almond Milk Tea w/​Pearl and the signature waffle.
Bubbles is a great place to chill & have some good conversation.

3 years ago I would’ve given this place 1 star. I had a horrible first impression being here 2am drinking milk tea that tasted like sewer water and witnessing an all out brawl started after some dumbass threw a table at someone. I continued going here with my friends because it was in town and open late. By now I’ve learned that their milk tea still tastes like sewer water, but get anything else and you’re in the clear. I recommend getting beer or any of their soju drinks and a crêpe or waffle.

My strawberry icy was very watery and tasted like medicine! I have been here a couple times but it bugs me that the place has grown dirtier from my last visit. I wonder if they ever clean the place because the waffle machines to the blenders are extremely messy. I am not sure what it is, but the place scares me when I walk in and I love boba, pearl tea drinks, icy, etc but this place gives me the shiver and it’s not from the icy!

All you need to know is the waffle with nutella and condensed milk. Forget the combo with the milk tea because that shit’s hella watery — just get two waffles.
You won’t regret it.

I’m sorry but this place sucks :(
The food is amateurish, i.e. crepes are messy and boba doesnt have the right texture…

The girl I had the sammich with at Nick’s, this is where we had our *final* face to face and she told me to get lost later that same year. This was the perfect place to have this conversation as it was so loud that we could hardly hear each other. It was pure comedy.
Everyone should break up with me here so I don’t actually have to hear anything you have to say.
The avocado shake and nutella slathered thingy was pretty good.

This place is really good, but when you look at the eggwaffel makers, it’s umm never really cleaned o_​o but there IS a guy who really looks like bi-​rain who worked there thurs nights ;] idk if she still does LOL my eggwaffle was burned and crunchy the last time I bought it –_​_​_​-​;;

Definitely out of the way from my usual S.J. joints, but screw it — sometimes nothing will quench your sweet tooth like a Nutella Waffle n a milk tea.
This place is a lot more inviting that jujubi or a few others in the same plaza. The place is pretty diverse, speedy, and pretty much every kind of fried/​junk food that you can imagine. I dont know of any other small café that has such a huge extended menu of quick eats.
Theyre pretty obliging on everything so if you like your waffle extra crunchy or light, theyre pretty good with it.
Meal D all the way.

**UPDATE**
Way too crowded now (racers and such) and now its under renovation? I don’t know someone probably called the health department on them because of those nasty looking egg and waffle machines. GROSS! More like a ‘clean up’ than renovation. Hopefully after the so called renovation the place will be cleaner and have more seats for all those people.
My friend tried the banana smoothie and supposedly thats good cause its actually made from real bananas not powders. The macu pork sandwich is good, not great, a little greasy but I guess its a nice midnight snack if you’re out.
Parking is bad on weekends, team racer meets I guess. Bathroom is still nasty. Oh well.
Previous Review**
My usual here is a nutella waffle and almond milk tea. Heh.
The food good here, my friends order the pasta and fried foods alot. I recomend ordering some food, the drinks are ok but I would probably stick to the tea drinks and away from the fruit ones, I think they use powder flavors.
The place is alot more inviting than q-​cup and tap express across the highway. The décor is cute and there’s seating to dine (more than the usual boba place) but it gets really busy on weekends and at night. There’s usually alot people hanging outside. Food and drinks might take a while if you heading there during peak hours.
Oh yeah they open late on weekends for the late night munchies. Just to let you know the bathroom is unisex (ehhh) and parking is good and beware of the cell phone charms machine! Haha

We went here for a snack after eating lunch at Nutrition House nearby.
The one thing I tried was the waffle w/​nutella ($ 2.71). It’s good! The guy made a waffle that I guess was the first batch, he threw it away, and made mine next.
After cooking he put it on a cooling like tray and spread nutella and some white goo I think is condensed milk. Folded it across and there you go.
I recommend it, but it does take like 15 minutes to get made-​to-​order waffle.
They have one unisex bathroom in the back room-​it can be dirty so bring your own tp/​seat covers.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Updated: went back on Tues 8÷8÷06 and ordered combo #D. I wanted almond milk tea, but they gave me a list of what I could have. so I picked Jasmine milk tea no pearl and a nutella waffle. This guy was not the same as my first time and the waffle wasn’t as good either. Not crispy enough for me, and he didn’t put the sweet condensed milk over it either. So it’s a hit or miss on the waffle – Just a Warning!

Nutella and Peanut butter waffle with a green milk tea. Only $ 3.95. Yum Yum.
6÷8÷06− I went back today at around 6pm for my nutella waffle fix. Some older man was working the waffle iron. He messed up my waffle twice. The second waffle was raw and split in half, got stuck in the iron and he had to pry it out with a knife. The first waffle was raw split in half and got stuck too. But some how he pryed it out, applied the nutella-​peanut butter goo combo and handed it to me. I was disapponted… but I couldn’t give it back because I wanted my fix.
04÷07− The floor looks unusually grimey. The waffle machine looks a bit un savory.

Fun place to get hyper-​ed up on sugary drinks!
+: They’ve got a pretty good selection of drinks from boba to soju. and snacking foods too!
+ :Open late!
+: Get a frequent buyer’s card!
—: Kind of small, but then again most boba places are.

Popcorn chicken (higly recommended) or other types of small dishes or snacks + plethora of drink choices + after 9PM cool crowd + close late (2 am) + friendly staff + wonderful price = extremely happy customer!!! :-)
If you plan to go by yourself, the crowd or the video/​music screen are entertaining.

Ohhhh… I Luv their wafflesssss… eggettessss…[drooling]
and their drinks matching my taste since they ain’t too sweet like other buble tea joints… you know you can get diabetic if you drink/​eat sweet too much… so guys and gals, better avoid too sweety drinks so you can live long and prosper…:)) hhehehehe…