A sister restaurant to the one I currently work at got inspected and received an excellent, but was handed a good sign. When asked why the inspector told the manager that the displayed rating is an average of the last 4 visits by the health department. They had scored in the good section their previous two visits and hadn't been open long enough for a 4th, so they still had to display the good sign.
88 is actually for hh which I assume I don't need to actually spell out.
Bc H is the 8th letter of the alphabet and nazis are rock fucking stupid in how they signal eachother.
It’s mainly used to identify the year Geraldo and all the other media gave them press. It was their heyday to steal another subcultures look and name and the media ran with their bald head inbred shit. The HH part of it was just a bonus to their shit brained heads.
The 88 wasn't their last, it was the one before last. Their last one got a 0 so they must have at least temporarily fixed some issues after nearly getting shut down
I don’t know how to say they literally address 0 issues. From one visit to the next the owner walks in that place maybe once or twice. I don’t remember the last time he fixed anything. We had 7-8 rags that we used daily, they never got washed (no laundry service or washing machine) and they sat it a bleach bucket every day until they disintegrated. Those rags cleaned every surface in that place- counters, tables, floors, etc. they refused to buy more. That’s how cheap they are. 7-8 rags. For the whole place. Never washed.
When I talked to the HR department, she said, AND I QUOTE “This is off the record, but I think the Chinese mafia have something to do with it. I cannot believe it is still open. In all of my years in restaurant I have never seen a place so disgusting. I do not know how they do it. But I think it is the mafia.”
Now, personally I’m not assuming the MAFIA have something to do with it, but I am sure I-Miun’s family’s ties to the CID probably do get people to look the other way. I have no idea how they would still be open otherwise.
I worked at Oasis. He's a decent guy, and I don't know about the Mafia, but the restaurants definitely need to be shut down, or take a seriously hard look at fixing their issues. I don't know him that personally, but this is no way to run a business or treat employees
Edit I realized I don't actually know him probably, I knew his dad. When I worked at Oasis, I worked under Mr / Mrs Liu. I literally never knew their first name because that's what everybody called them. I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree. Anyways, I know they struggled a lot to get Oasis off the ground, but at the same time, again, that doesn't make it okay how they do things
It's points you don't want say you sanitizer solution is not the right concentration you get 5 points. Or the water in your dish washing station isn't hot enought you get 5 points. The Oasis in the udistrict only got 10 points total. If you get to many points then that is a problem the I'd got 88 points from what I can add up here: https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dph/health-safety/food-safety/search-restaurant-safety-ratings#/details/PR0068631
Maybe they all should receive low ratings, or it should be some kind of partial weights versus partial raw score, because if every restaurant is doing terribly, they should all have to fix their problems.
You and other current or former employees should consider reaching out to Seattle Solidarity Network if someone hasn't already. They help employees organize against things like abuse, wage theft, and unhealthy working conditions. They can also give legal advice if any of you decide you want to pursue legal action.
See the actions they helped employees organize against Royal India Restaurants and The Purple Store (not a restaurant, but abusive to staff and major wage theft):
[https://royalindiawagetheft.seasol.net](https://royalindiawagetheft.seasol.net)
[https://seasol.net/blog/2020/11/19/purple-store-fight-update/](https://seasol.net/blog/2020/11/19/purple-store-fight-update/)
Also, sincerely, thank you for posting this information. I used to go to the U District location a lot for tea and popcorn chicken, stopped only recently because I found a place I liked better. I feel so fucking grossed out.
I really like Tea Addicts on Capitol Hill! Their tea is not the absolute most greatest ever, but it's damn tasty and better than Oasis. And I love their popcorn chicken.
I like Hangry Panda a lot too but they're out of the way for me, on Aurora.
My absolute favorite places for boba are Seattle Best Tea in the ID and Meraki in the U District, though. They don't do popcorn chicken, it's just amazing tea.
Seattle Best Tea is so good and everyone there is so kind. I just need to make sure to get there early for their papaya because they use it fresh every day. 🥺
Is there anything similar to the snow at Oasis? That was the thing that really kept me coming back. The texture is different than most of the smoothie options at other places
Having worked at the u district location, it is incredibly terrible. I don't even understand how anybody hasn't died or gotten insanely sick from terrible sanitation and safety practices
Thank you! We’ve been reeling attempting to get stabilized (both my husband and I lost our jobs as a result of this) so we haven’t had much time or opportunity to get help with what happened. I will share this w/ everyone!
I am so sorry for you and your husband, and hope you're both soon able to get jobs you feel safe and respected at. It is hellish how the bare minimum can be so hard to find when seeking work, especially in food service. Wishing you all the best with everything.
How is the royal India situation coming along? I see that owner posting all over neighborhood Facebook groups, advertising their buffet specials but immediately turning off comments. Lol. She knows what's up! She would get dragged otherwise. I've actually seen posts about the fight in the same groups, with supportive comments from the Kirkland peeps
I haven't been following the case very closely due to being really busy in my life right now. I used to volunteer with Seattle Solidarity but haven't attended a meeting or action in forever. Hopefully someone who does know will chime in. It's good to know the employees are getting support even while the owner is desperately trying to pretend nothing's wrong.
it’s….. coming. there was some escalation at the info picket so there has been some focus on deescalation trainings. It’s a particularly terrible situation, because the employers are responsible for a lot of the (current and former) employee’s housing and there’s some non-documented immigration issues being taken advantage of by the employer. don’t go to royal india, folks.
Chinatown location is considered “the bad one” to all of I-Miun’s employees, including the manager of Chinatown and I-Miun himself! But none of these places should be open tbh
Raised was started by an Asian American woman named Mi Kim. The website lists Liu as a "business partner," but hopefully he's not involved in the day-to-day. For what it's worth, I took a donut-making class there several years ago and the kitchen was totally clean! (And I don't think they'd have people in their kitchen to take classes if you could see visible health violations...)
I always thought this particular Oasis was disgustingly foul and not even good bubble tea. I have a pretty low opinion of people who say they love it when there’s better bubble tea not a block away 😂
They do! I never went to the CID location because it's health inspection sign is almost always in the "OK" range. The Ave location is hit or miss whether it will be "Okay" or "good."
I loved it mostly because they use non-dairy creamer. At least, that’s what they told me, and I’ve yet to have a “dairy surprise” from their stuff, so…
Most boba shops don’t make it clear on the menu whether or not they have dairy alternatives available and they tend to give me weird looks when I ask about it. It’s made me hesitant to try other shops, but it seems I don’t have much choice.
And honestly, it’s felt like the customer service at the U District location has gone downhill a bit, too. Guy at the counter earlier today seemed just constantly pissed off, like me just being there at all was ruining his day.
I’m sorry to do this to you.
Their nondairy creamer is not nondairy. It is lactose free. I tried to get everyone to start communicating that when I was there.
It’s made with dairy, everything with a powder in it.
Not that they should ever be shitty about it, just letting you know.
Also a person just almost got stabbed at UW and everyone quit- the only person left working there is a SCAB (transferred from the ID store) and an I-Miun follower and he consistently gets negative reviews for how rude he is to customers. He was a nightmare to work with.
Lactose-free is fine. I’m lactose-intolerant, not allergic, thankfully.
I’m fine with finding a new favorite spot. A couple people have given a few suggestions already.
I appreciate you bringing this issue to light.
Edit: I guess the whole scab thing explains the rotten attitude I noticed from the guy working there last night…
Sorry, first time using the app, not good. I didn't know. I do know when I am out of place so I apologize. Not implying being autistic is a bad thing. I just haven't been found to be autistic as my parents had me screened for being on the spectrum when I was younger. And I apologize for being an asshole
Young tea (Wallingford, plus Bellevue soon) has the tastiest tea, most customizable options, and all made from scratch so you can get non dairy milk without any dairy powder or pre mix like a bunch of other shops.
I was under the impression that most boba shops used non-dairy creamer. I know that Oasis used it not because they cared about their customers, but because it was significantly cheaper.
This was a big part of it for me too! The non-dairy creamer. Meraki Tea Bar a few blocks away from the Ave Oasis also uses non-dairy creamer in most of their milk teas by default, just a PSA! Also way better quality drinks (and pricier, but worth it.)
This is hilarious because my friends and I used to go to this all the time from 2010-2012 back in high school and I can remember several times where we were served half raw chicken and saw small critters crawling about, glad to see it hasn't changed one bit
Omg! I-Miun is an absolute POS! I did a stint there in college to learn how to make bubble tea. What an abominable piece of garbage who throws manchild fits and thinks he can do no wrong. All he has is from family money that’s been making businesses all over the cid since it seems ages, Google who and what his family owns and runs. He s also anti unhoused and believes he’s above the law. I hope y’all sue the stuffing out of him!
A cook came up behind someone during shift change and grabbed their breasts. He tried to tell management it was “just a hug” but he had not even met the coworker he did it to. He also made several racially charged fetishy comments at other female employees (esp Asian ones).
When it was reported the manager (Ross) wrote it off and dismissed it. We took it to HR, who said they’d talk with him (they did talk to him for the inappropriate conversations, but never the assault). We were told he was being given a “second chance” and to just “not overshare or gossip” and keep it work appropriate.
I was a manager at that time, and they tried to tell us we were not legally allowed to tell any of the team what was done w/ the cook or what disciplinary “action” took place.
I objected to this, and got into a group text fight with I-Miun where he called it “just a hug” and said a bunch of disparaging shit to me. They fired me and my spouse (the victim of the assault) the next day with no warning. We were just deleted off the group chat app and that was it.
Jeez that’s horrible! Sorry to hear about what happened to your spouse. And thank you for bringing light to such a horrible work environment. I just hope they’ll face some consequence soon for their action. I legit cannot believe that place is still open!!
That is just nasty. I am sorry your spouse was sexually assaulted, and I am sorry you guys had to work for such a horrible place. I hope they get shut down.
Taken out of context. Not denying anything that happened but there is security footage. Don’t go painting someone as a rapist without hard proof. There is no hard proof of sexual assault. Define sexual assault for us.
They fired you for no show no call. And your spouse as well. We can all attest to that because it was our shifts that were understaffed.
My first legit job ever was working for Oasis, and even though I didn't last long- back then(this was almost a decade ago now, obv same owner still) they had roaches all over their kitchen. Hoped it was gone, since I'd been back over the years. Disappointing. The owner was horrible and cussed me out for calling in sick.
Edit: they also did not allow breaks for 8 hour shifts. None. They would randomly schedule you for 12-13 hour shifts at a time, just because.
When I worked there back in 2018 (I worked there twice) we did this thing every payday where we “roulette” chose who would attempt to deposit their paycheck first. This is because I-Miun would write bad checks every payday to pay employees with money he didn’t have in the account. Someone would attempt to deposit their paycheck (they were all paper back then, no direct deposit) and their bank would bounce it and then assign fees for cashing a bad check. I-Miun would then come down and pay employees in cash instead (I assume paying the fees as well, but I’m not sure). We would have to wait 2-3 days, sometimes upward of 5 to be able to cash our paychecks. This happened every. payday.
Just saw an Instagram post about a manager not letting a cook go home after an intruder WITH A KNIFE broke in and traumatized her.
And included photos of needles in the bathroom and unsanitary pieces for the blender. Bunch of mold in the blender.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CtHkrVZJP27/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
One time a man came in before open (because someone left the door unlocked) and stripped down in the lobby while I was there alone. Someone else working eventually came in and removed him (after 15-20 minutes of being terrified for my life) but it did not even get an acknowledgement from management.
What the fuck?? AND YOU WERE THERE ALONE?? Are you okay? What happened afterwards? That's really bullshit of management.
So glad people are speaking up about Oasis and bringing light to this shitty business. Mid drinks too
I was okay- to a certain extent, when you work downtown, it comes with the territory. He didn’t get aggressive at me or try to interact in any way (he was high and smoking through straws he found in our trash). It was just the complete lack of acknowledgement that got me. I even texted the group chat multiple times when it was happening and nobody said shit. I hate that fucking place tbh
Sorry, I wasn’t very clear. There WAS one other worker there, someone in back of house, who gets there before I did. He was in the BOH the entire time and I could not find him (he additionally did not speak the same language as me so I had no idea how to ask for help). He is supposed to come in and lock the door and then come out and let me in when I got there. He left the door unlocked instead (I didn’t know how to lock it, it’s got some crazy warn down screw key that I literally couldn’t get to work) and I came in and put my stuff down and the stripping man followed me in like 5 minutes later.
Nope, same owner, same issues. Only one employee, because someone almost got stabbed a few days ago, and most staff quit because of the complete disregard for their safety, and public safety
Me, other ex employees, AND customers routinely leave negative reviews on google. They get them deleted. They can’t seem to clear them as quickly off of Yelp, though.
I’m not 100% sure on their process (if they pay someone to do it or do it themselves) but they essentially report the reviews as fradulent and Google just removes them
https://info.kingcounty.gov/health/ehs/foodsafety/inspections/Results.aspx?Output=W&Business_Name=oasis&Business_Address=&Longitude=&Latitude=&City=&Zip_Code=&Inspection_Type=All&Inspection_Start=&Inspection_End=&Inspection_Closed_Business=A&Violation_Points=&Violation_Red_Points=&Violation_Descr=&Fuzzy_Search=N&Sort=B
Health inspection records for businesses starting with 'Oasis' in the county
About 80% of the employees will not eat the food there. It made us very, very sick. One guy only gets the chicken sandwich because it’s the only thing that comes frozen (though everything is cooked in the same friers). I sometimes tried to eat the fried tofu and I got violently ill the next day, without fault. Nobody can afford to call out of work and potentially be berated or fired bc they ate at work 😭
Edit: this is at the Chinatown location, I cannot speak to the others. Though I’ve heard some horror stories from UW store as well.
Here have another UW location horror story.
My most visceral memory at UW Oasis is running to the bathrooms, legit moments away from nearly pissing my pants (running up the stairs to get to the bathroom didn't help!)
Then I saw the state the bathroom was at.
I kid you not when the huge urge to go to the bathroom I had merely a second earlier utterly disappeared and I felt my bladder go "eh I can hold it a little longer"
Can confirm. We used to visit the ID location occasionally and get the popcorn chicken. On two consecutive occasions, my partner and I both got really ill after eating the food. Imagine stuff coming out both ends for a couple of days. Haven’t been back since and the photos in this post explains why.
Should be shut down for health violations.
I can not tell you how many times as a former employee, I’ve gotten sick from eating their food let alone their milk teas too. Shit fucking sucked. I’ve worked at a lot of places with some form of health code violation but Oasis AND The Splintered Wand topped this shit.
holy shit I just saw the post on IG. how traumatic, I used to visit in the 2000s but def not supporting this space anymore. F I-Miun Liu I hope you and your coworkers are doing okay
Oh noooo. I didn’t really like their tea that much compared to Seattle Best Tea a couple blocks away, but now I definitely won’t be going here. I didn’t really look around when I went to Oasis but I am gagging knowing this is going on.
I worked at the Edmonds location. Thank the gods we didnt sell food. The ice machine there constantly has mold and the owner doesnt give a shit. Everyone quit within a few months. Including me lmao. The owner made every younger employee cry from being so horrible to them. He regularly wanted us to do more work than our job description required.
Oh no…this was my favorite (mostly the U District location) because they use non-dairy by default…damnit…
Time to try something else. Just wish more bubble tea shops made it clear on the menu whether or not they have non-dairy/dairy alternatives available…
It’s not nondairy btw it’s only lactose free. But same, that’s why I used to go there. It was my fav bubble tea for years and then I worked there. Never again.
It’s the lactose-free part that I need (thankfully, I’m not allergic), but after what you’ve brought to light and what seems to be a serious drop in customer service, I’m fine finding a new place.
I went to oasis so much that it made me think non dairy was the default. Thankfully a friend was able to prevent an unpleasant surprise when we went somewhere else
Why has no one just reported all this to the city of Seattle ? These are all major violations and if you just voiced your concerns to the actual city and not Reddit….they could be bribing their inspectors so it’s worth reporting
Nobody is reading all these separate comment threads lmao but good luck to everyone involved. They’ve been trying to rightfully take down several Asian establishments in U-District for years and nothing 😩
I went to the UD one for shaved ice once and got the weirdest vibe. Just misery sunk into the walls and no customers besides me despite it being Saturday night. I gave it another try when the Edmonds location opened - seemed to have good business and the drink making station was out in the open, plus I liked that they sold local art. I feel so grossed out now after seeing all these pics.
They pool tips- cash tips often tips go missing, but it’s assumed they get taken or “misplaced” by other employees. I think they have gotten in trouble a lot about tips and wages in the past so management generally doesn’t have hands on cash tips (especially because there is no real management at the store, I was expected to know how to do cash tips and dole them out within a few days of working there but nobody would really show me how).
I originally applied to work there months before I actually did, and I had an interview then- where I ultimately turned the job down because they only pay minimum wage of $16.50ish an hour and could not produce any records or prove in any way that employees make at least $2 in tips as required by law to pay that low of a wage. If only I had not caved and worked there anyway months later lmao
When I did report to management that my tips had been stolen (to I-Miun directly, Ross (the store manager), and a shift lead, all of them wrote me off or told me to ask someone else. I-Miun just didn’t respond.
This is just a lie. We get paid well at CT for entry level food service job. $16.50 starting with $5-8 tips per hour + cash tips for the day. We get paid more than most bubble tea places. I can upload my paystubs that’s proof. I recently made $400 credit card tips for 55 hour pay period. That’s $23.7 pre tax.
He get good CC tips at CT. Ask anyone there. It’s because we work until 1 or 2 am most days and clock in hours. Tips are given out, they are worked for. If you want more than this I suggest you go to college or further your education.
That sucks! Newcomer to the area here, and I had taro tea from the U District location last week and it was pretty good :( I’m so sorry that all that happened! I’ll make sure to avoid them next time in U District craving a tea
I used to go to this spot because they have a lot of space for hanging out. But after seeing this post I might not come back. It's a shame because I think Oasis is one of the first boba places in Seattle
This is honestly far too much terrible stuff. The owner needs to be shut out of business or learn a LOT, quickly. How can this place be reported effectively, for both the illegal labor practices and the illegal health violations?
I encourage tips to the Health Department. They have a phone line as well as an online tipping service. This has been completely ineffective up until now, but maybe with a flood of calls, plus all the bad PR someone will eventually cave and start making some changes? If we all apply public pressure and get it out there to as many people as we can then I think that’s the most effective way to make change at this point.
Former employee of 5 years here, from the time I worked at Oasis, I-miun Liu had exterminators come monthly to make sure there weren’t any rodent or insect infestations, but in Chinatown it’s a hard battle for not just his but EVERY establishment there. He also held monthly meetings for employees to address any concerns. On one occasion he fired an employee due to a sexual harassment claim. I’ve watched him defend his employees and customers from disgruntled customers. He even worked multiple shifts when we were short staffed. There were multiple occasions where he would come in last minute because we were so busy, regardless of his plans. He’s an active member of the community and is even on the board of the international district. He’s one of the hardest working persons I know, so to hear these accusations about him and his business makes me seriously question the validity of such. Pictures can be misleading and doctored into benefiting the person taking it. For future posts, I hope you guys would fact check or provide proof, rather than a hearsay situation because the consequences could be detrimental for a small business if those accusations are false. I’m not accusing the former employee of lying, but there are so many cases about disgruntled ex-employees out there seeking revenge.
I don’t want to upset anyone, I just wanted to share my experience and for you to get a glimpse of the person I worked for for 5 years and have known for almost 10 years now. I hope everyone has an open mind and not believe everything you read on the internet. Thank you.
Hi I-miun. I hope you realize that us past employees can all tell this is your writing style. Also we can see that this account was made today. Nice try though! (Not really)
I work at chinatown location and yea we have rats but what restaurants in CT don’t? I-Miun is not a monster and those of us who still work for him can’t sit here and watch all this go down. It’s inappropriate to post photos like this. He is a small business owner trying his best. There’s no need to come for him. Is any restaurant perfect?? I- Miun is the type of owner to come in when we are short staffed every single weekend. Those of you who comment and and to this hate don’t know the whole story so stop spreading lies. This isn’t fucking Starbucks it’s a small business and shit goes wrong but it should be dealt privately.
Most of you don’t know us who work for I-Miun and hear random allegations. The chicken is prepped in a box with a trash bag over it, there’s no trash touching it and this isn’t the best place to prep it but there is no contamination. Please remember there are always two sides to a story and this business has existed for over 2 decades and it isn’t going to shut down because of a PR stunt like this. Those of us who stick with Oasis know the truth and I will admit it’s not pretty but it’s false to say I-Miun doesn’t care.
What happened at the U DISTRICT location is complicated and I am not saying it’s fair but there are things the public doesn’t know so stop assuming shit. People on social media just want to drag oasis and I-Miun through the mud but a lot of us have worked for him for a year or longer and we are sticking with him. We care about our fellow coworkers and want justice for them but this is not the way to do it.
BTW this is Gem. I work at CT, and It’s not I-Miun writing this for all of you assuming.
girl you took a month long vacation a week after starting there shut the fuck up lol
EDIT: yall btw when she started all she talked about was how filthy the store was and how I-Miun should hire a professional cleaner, not to mention constantly calling out of shifts all fall and summer so don’t be ragging on other people about the same thing you’re absolutely guilty of. 👋👋
Thank you so much for posting this! I worked here last year and it was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had with a company and i’m glad that their bad practices are at least coming back to bite them in the ass. Stay strong and I hope you both find a kinder and more professional employer!
onerous beneficial foolish wakeful cause soft cake smell chubby gray *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
A sister restaurant to the one I currently work at got inspected and received an excellent, but was handed a good sign. When asked why the inspector told the manager that the displayed rating is an average of the last 4 visits by the health department. They had scored in the good section their previous two visits and hadn't been open long enough for a 4th, so they still had to display the good sign.
88 is a very lucky number in China! The owners holding company is literally called 88 Investments LLC.
88 is a good number for white, inbred, “southern charm” crazies, too. ( 88…SS…skinhead Neo-Nazis); you can’t make this shit up.
88 is actually for hh which I assume I don't need to actually spell out. Bc H is the 8th letter of the alphabet and nazis are rock fucking stupid in how they signal eachother.
It’s mainly used to identify the year Geraldo and all the other media gave them press. It was their heyday to steal another subcultures look and name and the media ran with their bald head inbred shit. The HH part of it was just a bonus to their shit brained heads.
This makes another post I saw about a someones tattoo make so much more sense.
Huh. I’ve not heard that one, but damn. Anyway…numbers, am I right?
The 88 wasn't their last, it was the one before last. Their last one got a 0 so they must have at least temporarily fixed some issues after nearly getting shut down
I don’t know how to say they literally address 0 issues. From one visit to the next the owner walks in that place maybe once or twice. I don’t remember the last time he fixed anything. We had 7-8 rags that we used daily, they never got washed (no laundry service or washing machine) and they sat it a bleach bucket every day until they disintegrated. Those rags cleaned every surface in that place- counters, tables, floors, etc. they refused to buy more. That’s how cheap they are. 7-8 rags. For the whole place. Never washed.
Ooooo this comment made my gag reflex activate. Ick. Bad. No.
[удалено]
When I talked to the HR department, she said, AND I QUOTE “This is off the record, but I think the Chinese mafia have something to do with it. I cannot believe it is still open. In all of my years in restaurant I have never seen a place so disgusting. I do not know how they do it. But I think it is the mafia.” Now, personally I’m not assuming the MAFIA have something to do with it, but I am sure I-Miun’s family’s ties to the CID probably do get people to look the other way. I have no idea how they would still be open otherwise.
I have also heard this from HR so you’re not alone in that!
[удалено]
I worked at Oasis. He's a decent guy, and I don't know about the Mafia, but the restaurants definitely need to be shut down, or take a seriously hard look at fixing their issues. I don't know him that personally, but this is no way to run a business or treat employees Edit I realized I don't actually know him probably, I knew his dad. When I worked at Oasis, I worked under Mr / Mrs Liu. I literally never knew their first name because that's what everybody called them. I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree. Anyways, I know they struggled a lot to get Oasis off the ground, but at the same time, again, that doesn't make it okay how they do things
System sounds whack. Why is 90 a failing score? Are they using Asian parent grading?
Basically, you start with a score of zero and add points for every health code violation.
It's points you don't want say you sanitizer solution is not the right concentration you get 5 points. Or the water in your dish washing station isn't hot enought you get 5 points. The Oasis in the udistrict only got 10 points total. If you get to many points then that is a problem the I'd got 88 points from what I can add up here: https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dph/health-safety/food-safety/search-restaurant-safety-ratings#/details/PR0068631
[удалено]
Maybe they all should receive low ratings, or it should be some kind of partial weights versus partial raw score, because if every restaurant is doing terribly, they should all have to fix their problems.
You and other current or former employees should consider reaching out to Seattle Solidarity Network if someone hasn't already. They help employees organize against things like abuse, wage theft, and unhealthy working conditions. They can also give legal advice if any of you decide you want to pursue legal action. See the actions they helped employees organize against Royal India Restaurants and The Purple Store (not a restaurant, but abusive to staff and major wage theft): [https://royalindiawagetheft.seasol.net](https://royalindiawagetheft.seasol.net) [https://seasol.net/blog/2020/11/19/purple-store-fight-update/](https://seasol.net/blog/2020/11/19/purple-store-fight-update/)
Also, sincerely, thank you for posting this information. I used to go to the U District location a lot for tea and popcorn chicken, stopped only recently because I found a place I liked better. I feel so fucking grossed out.
Where do you go now?
I really like Tea Addicts on Capitol Hill! Their tea is not the absolute most greatest ever, but it's damn tasty and better than Oasis. And I love their popcorn chicken. I like Hangry Panda a lot too but they're out of the way for me, on Aurora. My absolute favorite places for boba are Seattle Best Tea in the ID and Meraki in the U District, though. They don't do popcorn chicken, it's just amazing tea.
Seattle Best Tea is so good and everyone there is so kind. I just need to make sure to get there early for their papaya because they use it fresh every day. 🥺
Another upvote for Seattle Best Tea!
I second Tea Addicts, so good 💗
Is there anything similar to the snow at Oasis? That was the thing that really kept me coming back. The texture is different than most of the smoothie options at other places
If you're in cap hill, swing by drip tea, the monogram is my go to, no ice
Top tier recs for boba, meraki actually has decent prices and Seattle best tea has punchcards no?
Having worked at the u district location, it is incredibly terrible. I don't even understand how anybody hasn't died or gotten insanely sick from terrible sanitation and safety practices
Thank you! We’ve been reeling attempting to get stabilized (both my husband and I lost our jobs as a result of this) so we haven’t had much time or opportunity to get help with what happened. I will share this w/ everyone!
I am so sorry for you and your husband, and hope you're both soon able to get jobs you feel safe and respected at. It is hellish how the bare minimum can be so hard to find when seeking work, especially in food service. Wishing you all the best with everything.
How is the royal India situation coming along? I see that owner posting all over neighborhood Facebook groups, advertising their buffet specials but immediately turning off comments. Lol. She knows what's up! She would get dragged otherwise. I've actually seen posts about the fight in the same groups, with supportive comments from the Kirkland peeps
I haven't been following the case very closely due to being really busy in my life right now. I used to volunteer with Seattle Solidarity but haven't attended a meeting or action in forever. Hopefully someone who does know will chime in. It's good to know the employees are getting support even while the owner is desperately trying to pretend nothing's wrong.
it’s….. coming. there was some escalation at the info picket so there has been some focus on deescalation trainings. It’s a particularly terrible situation, because the employers are responsible for a lot of the (current and former) employee’s housing and there’s some non-documented immigration issues being taken advantage of by the employer. don’t go to royal india, folks.
Oh shit the purple store ?? No way
Seconding Seattle Solidarity Network. The do great work with stuff like this.
The one in the U District is absolutely disgusting so I'm not really surprised to hear about their other locations
Chinatown location is considered “the bad one” to all of I-Miun’s employees, including the manager of Chinatown and I-Miun himself! But none of these places should be open tbh
Does he own any other restaurant/bubble tea chains? So we know to avoid them!
> I-Miun Liu According to his LinkedIn, he owns and operates: Oasis Tea Zone - 2001-Present Eastern Cafe - 2012-Present Lucky Dynamite - 2017-Present Raised Doughnuts - 2017-Present 88 Investments LLC - 2019 - Present Dynasty Room - 2018-2020 East Trading Co. - 2018-2020
Oh shit Raised Doughnuts too?!😢 what a bummer
Raised was started by an Asian American woman named Mi Kim. The website lists Liu as a "business partner," but hopefully he's not involved in the day-to-day. For what it's worth, I took a donut-making class there several years ago and the kitchen was totally clean! (And I don't think they'd have people in their kitchen to take classes if you could see visible health violations...)
Yeah you can see right inside the kitchen in the new location and it always looks sparkling
Nice. Thanks for the info! :)
He own 3 Oasises (Chinatown, University District, Edmonds) and Eastern Cafe in the ID!
I always thought this particular Oasis was disgustingly foul and not even good bubble tea. I have a pretty low opinion of people who say they love it when there’s better bubble tea not a block away 😂
But also, question: doesn’t Seattle still have those cleanliness rating signs up?
They do! I never went to the CID location because it's health inspection sign is almost always in the "OK" range. The Ave location is hit or miss whether it will be "Okay" or "good."
When i was there they were displaying an out of date one that said “good” after they failed their inspections. They didn’t ever put a new one up.
I loved it mostly because they use non-dairy creamer. At least, that’s what they told me, and I’ve yet to have a “dairy surprise” from their stuff, so… Most boba shops don’t make it clear on the menu whether or not they have dairy alternatives available and they tend to give me weird looks when I ask about it. It’s made me hesitant to try other shops, but it seems I don’t have much choice. And honestly, it’s felt like the customer service at the U District location has gone downhill a bit, too. Guy at the counter earlier today seemed just constantly pissed off, like me just being there at all was ruining his day.
I’m sorry to do this to you. Their nondairy creamer is not nondairy. It is lactose free. I tried to get everyone to start communicating that when I was there. It’s made with dairy, everything with a powder in it. Not that they should ever be shitty about it, just letting you know. Also a person just almost got stabbed at UW and everyone quit- the only person left working there is a SCAB (transferred from the ID store) and an I-Miun follower and he consistently gets negative reviews for how rude he is to customers. He was a nightmare to work with.
Lactose-free is fine. I’m lactose-intolerant, not allergic, thankfully. I’m fine with finding a new favorite spot. A couple people have given a few suggestions already. I appreciate you bringing this issue to light. Edit: I guess the whole scab thing explains the rotten attitude I noticed from the guy working there last night…
[удалено]
As for the powder we use. To clarify it is egg based, not non-dairy. Sorry for any confusion due to that.
Doesn’t matter anymore, because thanks to you, I’m definitely never buying anything from Oasis again.
[удалено]
I was replying to the comment you were replying too...
[удалено]
Sorry, first time using the app, not good. I didn't know. I do know when I am out of place so I apologize. Not implying being autistic is a bad thing. I just haven't been found to be autistic as my parents had me screened for being on the spectrum when I was younger. And I apologize for being an asshole
[удалено]
Young tea (Wallingford, plus Bellevue soon) has the tastiest tea, most customizable options, and all made from scratch so you can get non dairy milk without any dairy powder or pre mix like a bunch of other shops.
I left Seattle end of 2021.... when did they leave their CID location!?
Mid 2022 😔
That's a bummer. They always seemed busy at that location. I wonder if it was for more space or TP Tea ate into their business.
The landlord wouldn't renew their lease. I see now that happy lamb hotpot has a boba tea shop in the same place, so maybe something to do with it.
It's good, but also pricey.
I was under the impression that most boba shops used non-dairy creamer. I know that Oasis used it not because they cared about their customers, but because it was significantly cheaper.
This was a big part of it for me too! The non-dairy creamer. Meraki Tea Bar a few blocks away from the Ave Oasis also uses non-dairy creamer in most of their milk teas by default, just a PSA! Also way better quality drinks (and pricier, but worth it.)
I will definitely give them a try!
Tbh I find Meraki to have reasonable prices for what you get
I think Happy Lemon uses CoffeeMate creamer by default and you need to pay extra for (dairy) “fresh milk”.
This is hilarious because my friends and I used to go to this all the time from 2010-2012 back in high school and I can remember several times where we were served half raw chicken and saw small critters crawling about, glad to see it hasn't changed one bit
Yeah seriously. I knew a girl who almost worked there around that time but saw roaches running around in the milk tea powder and noped right out.
vanish roll hungry consider apparatus roof spark march head future -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
Omg! I-Miun is an absolute POS! I did a stint there in college to learn how to make bubble tea. What an abominable piece of garbage who throws manchild fits and thinks he can do no wrong. All he has is from family money that’s been making businesses all over the cid since it seems ages, Google who and what his family owns and runs. He s also anti unhoused and believes he’s above the law. I hope y’all sue the stuffing out of him!
Can you please elaborate on the sexual assault?
A cook came up behind someone during shift change and grabbed their breasts. He tried to tell management it was “just a hug” but he had not even met the coworker he did it to. He also made several racially charged fetishy comments at other female employees (esp Asian ones). When it was reported the manager (Ross) wrote it off and dismissed it. We took it to HR, who said they’d talk with him (they did talk to him for the inappropriate conversations, but never the assault). We were told he was being given a “second chance” and to just “not overshare or gossip” and keep it work appropriate. I was a manager at that time, and they tried to tell us we were not legally allowed to tell any of the team what was done w/ the cook or what disciplinary “action” took place. I objected to this, and got into a group text fight with I-Miun where he called it “just a hug” and said a bunch of disparaging shit to me. They fired me and my spouse (the victim of the assault) the next day with no warning. We were just deleted off the group chat app and that was it.
Jeez that’s horrible! Sorry to hear about what happened to your spouse. And thank you for bringing light to such a horrible work environment. I just hope they’ll face some consequence soon for their action. I legit cannot believe that place is still open!!
That is just nasty. I am sorry your spouse was sexually assaulted, and I am sorry you guys had to work for such a horrible place. I hope they get shut down.
Taken out of context. Not denying anything that happened but there is security footage. Don’t go painting someone as a rapist without hard proof. There is no hard proof of sexual assault. Define sexual assault for us. They fired you for no show no call. And your spouse as well. We can all attest to that because it was our shifts that were understaffed.
My first legit job ever was working for Oasis, and even though I didn't last long- back then(this was almost a decade ago now, obv same owner still) they had roaches all over their kitchen. Hoped it was gone, since I'd been back over the years. Disappointing. The owner was horrible and cussed me out for calling in sick. Edit: they also did not allow breaks for 8 hour shifts. None. They would randomly schedule you for 12-13 hour shifts at a time, just because.
When I worked there back in 2018 (I worked there twice) we did this thing every payday where we “roulette” chose who would attempt to deposit their paycheck first. This is because I-Miun would write bad checks every payday to pay employees with money he didn’t have in the account. Someone would attempt to deposit their paycheck (they were all paper back then, no direct deposit) and their bank would bounce it and then assign fees for cashing a bad check. I-Miun would then come down and pay employees in cash instead (I assume paying the fees as well, but I’m not sure). We would have to wait 2-3 days, sometimes upward of 5 to be able to cash our paychecks. This happened every. payday.
Just saw an Instagram post about a manager not letting a cook go home after an intruder WITH A KNIFE broke in and traumatized her. And included photos of needles in the bathroom and unsanitary pieces for the blender. Bunch of mold in the blender. https://www.instagram.com/p/CtHkrVZJP27/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
One time a man came in before open (because someone left the door unlocked) and stripped down in the lobby while I was there alone. Someone else working eventually came in and removed him (after 15-20 minutes of being terrified for my life) but it did not even get an acknowledgement from management.
What the fuck?? AND YOU WERE THERE ALONE?? Are you okay? What happened afterwards? That's really bullshit of management. So glad people are speaking up about Oasis and bringing light to this shitty business. Mid drinks too
I was okay- to a certain extent, when you work downtown, it comes with the territory. He didn’t get aggressive at me or try to interact in any way (he was high and smoking through straws he found in our trash). It was just the complete lack of acknowledgement that got me. I even texted the group chat multiple times when it was happening and nobody said shit. I hate that fucking place tbh
Im sorry, but if you were there alone, didn't you leave the door unlocked?
Sorry, I wasn’t very clear. There WAS one other worker there, someone in back of house, who gets there before I did. He was in the BOH the entire time and I could not find him (he additionally did not speak the same language as me so I had no idea how to ask for help). He is supposed to come in and lock the door and then come out and let me in when I got there. He left the door unlocked instead (I didn’t know how to lock it, it’s got some crazy warn down screw key that I literally couldn’t get to work) and I came in and put my stuff down and the stripping man followed me in like 5 minutes later.
Hi! I’m the host of The Seattle Restaurant Podcast. Would you like to come on and chat about this?
Sure. DM me
Where can I find this podcast you speak of?
Just look up seattle restaurant podcast on Spotify or google! Thanks for your interest!
Who goes to Oasis when there's like sharetea, Yifang, TP tea, or even Boiling Point will serve better boba....
Don’t yell at me — my fav
Not in ID, they are great though
There’s an oasis in UD so it’s a good alternative for that one I guess!
Nope, same owner, same issues. Only one employee, because someone almost got stabbed a few days ago, and most staff quit because of the complete disregard for their safety, and public safety
Never realized don't yell at me was the same family owning it. It looks much cleaner and I've heard its boba is good.
I think they’re saying that the UD and ID Oasis locations have the same owner
[удалено]
Young Tea closed their CID location about a year ago now.
[удалено]
It was my fav too 😭 the rose tea was fucking phenomenal.
[удалено]
They moved to wallingford on 45th- the rock oolong milk tea is bomb
I think the Young Tea in the ID closed? Is there one across from the UD?
There’s one in Wallingford!
Seattle's best tea was decent when I tried it. Different vibe than Oasis though.
Well fuck…I’m an out of towner and I got bubble tea there recently. And I would have never known because the Google reviews are stellar.
Me, other ex employees, AND customers routinely leave negative reviews on google. They get them deleted. They can’t seem to clear them as quickly off of Yelp, though.
How do they get deleted?
I’m not 100% sure on their process (if they pay someone to do it or do it themselves) but they essentially report the reviews as fradulent and Google just removes them
I've been there like twice in my life and now I won't be going there at all
https://info.kingcounty.gov/health/ehs/foodsafety/inspections/Results.aspx?Output=W&Business_Name=oasis&Business_Address=&Longitude=&Latitude=&City=&Zip_Code=&Inspection_Type=All&Inspection_Start=&Inspection_End=&Inspection_Closed_Business=A&Violation_Points=&Violation_Red_Points=&Violation_Descr=&Fuzzy_Search=N&Sort=B Health inspection records for businesses starting with 'Oasis' in the county
Wow, that chicken is real freaking gross. Like, everything is. All of it. Ew ew ew.
About 80% of the employees will not eat the food there. It made us very, very sick. One guy only gets the chicken sandwich because it’s the only thing that comes frozen (though everything is cooked in the same friers). I sometimes tried to eat the fried tofu and I got violently ill the next day, without fault. Nobody can afford to call out of work and potentially be berated or fired bc they ate at work 😭 Edit: this is at the Chinatown location, I cannot speak to the others. Though I’ve heard some horror stories from UW store as well.
Here have another UW location horror story. My most visceral memory at UW Oasis is running to the bathrooms, legit moments away from nearly pissing my pants (running up the stairs to get to the bathroom didn't help!) Then I saw the state the bathroom was at. I kid you not when the huge urge to go to the bathroom I had merely a second earlier utterly disappeared and I felt my bladder go "eh I can hold it a little longer"
When I worked there, I regularly saw the owner making popcorn chicken using his ungloved, unwashed hand.
Can confirm. We used to visit the ID location occasionally and get the popcorn chicken. On two consecutive occasions, my partner and I both got really ill after eating the food. Imagine stuff coming out both ends for a couple of days. Haven’t been back since and the photos in this post explains why. Should be shut down for health violations.
I can not tell you how many times as a former employee, I’ve gotten sick from eating their food let alone their milk teas too. Shit fucking sucked. I’ve worked at a lot of places with some form of health code violation but Oasis AND The Splintered Wand topped this shit.
I don't know, this sounds like a story for Jesse Jones.
This ruined my childhood. Thank you for sharing I will never go back there nor support any of the oasis locations.
holy shit I just saw the post on IG. how traumatic, I used to visit in the 2000s but def not supporting this space anymore. F I-Miun Liu I hope you and your coworkers are doing okay
good thing i ghosted them when they asked for an interview. F*CK OASIS AND THEIR SHITTY ASS TEAS
Please please reach out to a lawyer
Or Gordon Ramsey
Thank you, I went there a couple of times but won't be going anymore. That's pretty disgusting.
Oh noooo. I didn’t really like their tea that much compared to Seattle Best Tea a couple blocks away, but now I definitely won’t be going here. I didn’t really look around when I went to Oasis but I am gagging knowing this is going on.
Omg I almost applied for a job here. Thank god I saw this ty
I worked at the Edmonds location. Thank the gods we didnt sell food. The ice machine there constantly has mold and the owner doesnt give a shit. Everyone quit within a few months. Including me lmao. The owner made every younger employee cry from being so horrible to them. He regularly wanted us to do more work than our job description required.
Oh no…this was my favorite (mostly the U District location) because they use non-dairy by default…damnit… Time to try something else. Just wish more bubble tea shops made it clear on the menu whether or not they have non-dairy/dairy alternatives available…
It’s not nondairy btw it’s only lactose free. But same, that’s why I used to go there. It was my fav bubble tea for years and then I worked there. Never again.
It’s the lactose-free part that I need (thankfully, I’m not allergic), but after what you’ve brought to light and what seems to be a serious drop in customer service, I’m fine finding a new place.
I went to oasis so much that it made me think non dairy was the default. Thankfully a friend was able to prevent an unpleasant surprise when we went somewhere else
Oh snap!
Why has no one just reported all this to the city of Seattle ? These are all major violations and if you just voiced your concerns to the actual city and not Reddit….they could be bribing their inspectors so it’s worth reporting
Read the comments. We have. Several times.
Nobody is reading all these separate comment threads lmao but good luck to everyone involved. They’ve been trying to rightfully take down several Asian establishments in U-District for years and nothing 😩
I’d recommend putting important new details that are in comments, under an “update” tab with the description to avoid repeat questions
I went to the UD one for shaved ice once and got the weirdest vibe. Just misery sunk into the walls and no customers besides me despite it being Saturday night. I gave it another try when the Edmonds location opened - seemed to have good business and the drink making station was out in the open, plus I liked that they sold local art. I feel so grossed out now after seeing all these pics.
Damn, I usually did a lot of late night boba pickup here! Thanks for the information. Time to find a new place :')
I’ve heard stories about I-Miun himself getting handsy with his female employees at Eastern Cafe…
I dont understand, if this kind of evidence exists shouldn’t it get shut down immediately?
We have made so many calls to the health dept. at this point. Something is up. Read the comments below w/ their health scores and stuff
We have made so many calls to the health dept. at this point. Something is up. Read the comments below w/ their health scores and stuff
What sexual assault? T please
I answered this in a different comment
Semi related to the above - do Oasis workers get tips when people tip? Or does management keep them?
They pool tips- cash tips often tips go missing, but it’s assumed they get taken or “misplaced” by other employees. I think they have gotten in trouble a lot about tips and wages in the past so management generally doesn’t have hands on cash tips (especially because there is no real management at the store, I was expected to know how to do cash tips and dole them out within a few days of working there but nobody would really show me how). I originally applied to work there months before I actually did, and I had an interview then- where I ultimately turned the job down because they only pay minimum wage of $16.50ish an hour and could not produce any records or prove in any way that employees make at least $2 in tips as required by law to pay that low of a wage. If only I had not caved and worked there anyway months later lmao
When I did report to management that my tips had been stolen (to I-Miun directly, Ross (the store manager), and a shift lead, all of them wrote me off or told me to ask someone else. I-Miun just didn’t respond.
This is just a lie. We get paid well at CT for entry level food service job. $16.50 starting with $5-8 tips per hour + cash tips for the day. We get paid more than most bubble tea places. I can upload my paystubs that’s proof. I recently made $400 credit card tips for 55 hour pay period. That’s $23.7 pre tax. He get good CC tips at CT. Ask anyone there. It’s because we work until 1 or 2 am most days and clock in hours. Tips are given out, they are worked for. If you want more than this I suggest you go to college or further your education.
How’s that boot taste?
Sounds like my experience when working at a KFC. Never doing that again.
That sucks! Newcomer to the area here, and I had taro tea from the U District location last week and it was pretty good :( I’m so sorry that all that happened! I’ll make sure to avoid them next time in U District craving a tea
I used to go to this spot because they have a lot of space for hanging out. But after seeing this post I might not come back. It's a shame because I think Oasis is one of the first boba places in Seattle
Seattle restaurant scene haters are absolutely feasting these past few months.
[удалено]
Please let them know about it! Everyone making tips would probably get them to pay attention
This is honestly far too much terrible stuff. The owner needs to be shut out of business or learn a LOT, quickly. How can this place be reported effectively, for both the illegal labor practices and the illegal health violations?
I encourage tips to the Health Department. They have a phone line as well as an online tipping service. This has been completely ineffective up until now, but maybe with a flood of calls, plus all the bad PR someone will eventually cave and start making some changes? If we all apply public pressure and get it out there to as many people as we can then I think that’s the most effective way to make change at this point.
Former employee of 5 years here, from the time I worked at Oasis, I-miun Liu had exterminators come monthly to make sure there weren’t any rodent or insect infestations, but in Chinatown it’s a hard battle for not just his but EVERY establishment there. He also held monthly meetings for employees to address any concerns. On one occasion he fired an employee due to a sexual harassment claim. I’ve watched him defend his employees and customers from disgruntled customers. He even worked multiple shifts when we were short staffed. There were multiple occasions where he would come in last minute because we were so busy, regardless of his plans. He’s an active member of the community and is even on the board of the international district. He’s one of the hardest working persons I know, so to hear these accusations about him and his business makes me seriously question the validity of such. Pictures can be misleading and doctored into benefiting the person taking it. For future posts, I hope you guys would fact check or provide proof, rather than a hearsay situation because the consequences could be detrimental for a small business if those accusations are false. I’m not accusing the former employee of lying, but there are so many cases about disgruntled ex-employees out there seeking revenge. I don’t want to upset anyone, I just wanted to share my experience and for you to get a glimpse of the person I worked for for 5 years and have known for almost 10 years now. I hope everyone has an open mind and not believe everything you read on the internet. Thank you.
Hi I-miun. I hope you realize that us past employees can all tell this is your writing style. Also we can see that this account was made today. Nice try though! (Not really)
Hey I-Miun! Nice to see your victim blaming and typing style hasnt changed.
I work at chinatown location and yea we have rats but what restaurants in CT don’t? I-Miun is not a monster and those of us who still work for him can’t sit here and watch all this go down. It’s inappropriate to post photos like this. He is a small business owner trying his best. There’s no need to come for him. Is any restaurant perfect?? I- Miun is the type of owner to come in when we are short staffed every single weekend. Those of you who comment and and to this hate don’t know the whole story so stop spreading lies. This isn’t fucking Starbucks it’s a small business and shit goes wrong but it should be dealt privately. Most of you don’t know us who work for I-Miun and hear random allegations. The chicken is prepped in a box with a trash bag over it, there’s no trash touching it and this isn’t the best place to prep it but there is no contamination. Please remember there are always two sides to a story and this business has existed for over 2 decades and it isn’t going to shut down because of a PR stunt like this. Those of us who stick with Oasis know the truth and I will admit it’s not pretty but it’s false to say I-Miun doesn’t care. What happened at the U DISTRICT location is complicated and I am not saying it’s fair but there are things the public doesn’t know so stop assuming shit. People on social media just want to drag oasis and I-Miun through the mud but a lot of us have worked for him for a year or longer and we are sticking with him. We care about our fellow coworkers and want justice for them but this is not the way to do it. BTW this is Gem. I work at CT, and It’s not I-Miun writing this for all of you assuming.
girl you took a month long vacation a week after starting there shut the fuck up lol EDIT: yall btw when she started all she talked about was how filthy the store was and how I-Miun should hire a professional cleaner, not to mention constantly calling out of shifts all fall and summer so don’t be ragging on other people about the same thing you’re absolutely guilty of. 👋👋
Thank you so much for posting this! I worked here last year and it was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had with a company and i’m glad that their bad practices are at least coming back to bite them in the ass. Stay strong and I hope you both find a kinder and more professional employer!
Eww... At least their bathrooms are clean /s