Tugo Tea - Taiwanese Snacks in Arlington Heights

Only open a few months, and replacing a short-lived crepe and pierogi place, Tugo Tea is a tiny shop in the strip mall behind Target in Arlington Heights, and I anticipate will become a favorite of nearby Hersey High School students -- I know I'll be back.

They offer assam, jasmine and oolong teas hot and cold, with any number of flavors and add-ins, and four 'snacks' -- popcorn chicken (not sure, but it looks fried with the thinnest of batters or dredge, with basil leaves); minced braised pork; chicken curry; and what I had, the beef noodle soup. None of the snacks are over $6, all are pretty good sized. When I was there, they had a special of the popcorn chicken plus a tea for $5.95.

The beef noodle soup had tender beef chunks (reminding me of a red-braise), nice chew on the long noodles, bok choy, and a fantastic broth with bits of onion and other vegetables. There's a sambal-like chile paste available to kick it up (yeah, I did).


Service wasn't that fast -- they make everything to order except I'm guessing the broth, but friendly, with the owner visiting the tables and chatting with folks outside -- a woman said she drove from Evanston to eat there.

I am not a big tea fan, but they had a few Asian soft drinks in a cold case, including a sarsaparilla which was very tasty - a bit of a licorice flavor over a typical root beer, and something that's so American I really didn't expect to see an Asian version.


Tugo Tea House
1285 North Rand Road
Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004
(847) 873-1333
https://www.facebook.com/tugoteahouse
Hours 11AM-9PM Tue-Sun

JoelF wrote:a woman said she drove from Evanston to eat there.

What's interesting about that is that Evanston has one of the tiny handful of explicitly Taiwanese restaurants in Chicagoland (527 Cafe), which also offers popcorn chicken, niu rou mian, and lu ro fan (among much else). Either this lady is unaware of it, or this is a very strong recommendation for Tugo Tea House.

cilantro wrote:Either this lady is unaware of it, or this is a very strong recommendation for Tugo Tea House.

or it could just be a random person trying out a new place.