Tokyo Bubble Tea's Milk Tea Tower

Marielle

The milk tea craze hit us hard this year, with various milk tea brands popping out of nowhere with flavors you never knew could go with tea! Tokyo Bubble Tea, however, has been around longer than most milk tea establishments. I frequent TBT for their yummy katsudon and Yakinuku Beef Rice, perfectly paired with any cold milk tea drink.

Last Month, my friends and I decided to try their Milk Tea Tower with three flavors to choose from - royal, pearl, and chocolate milk tea. The tower is PhP699 and is good for 6 – 8 persons. We chose Royal Milk Tea, a right level of sweetness that goes well with the salty and tangy taste of most of their jap dishes. They gave us glasses with ice, and served the pears separately. 

We didn’t think we could finish the whole thing, but we ended up savouring it up to the last drop! Perfect for barkadas catching up on a lazy afternoon. Cheers!

Therese in the Philippines: UniversiTEA

Milk teas are so popular in the Philippines right now that different branches are opening left and right! I remember when Happy Lemon's Rock Salt with Cheese drink became popular, and when I heard about it, I also wanted to try it.

Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to drop by any of their branches. Luckily, this milk tea shop in the University of the Philippines Diliman offers the same drink (and for a cheaper price at that)! My friends and I tried this a month before I left the Philippines (so that was around June).

This one is the Cocoa Rock Salt with Cheese drink. It costs PhP 60, if I remember correctly. It was my first time to try the rock salt with cheese, and I must say, it's yummy! I drank it without the straw, of course! It's better enjoyed that way.

It's located somewhere beside Lutong Bahay (near Shopping Center), in JP Laurel Street. They also have branches in Taft and Legarda. You can check out their Facebook page.

Therese in Taiwan: 85°C Cafe

Not to generalize or anything, but I'm pretty sure that a lot of us are familiar with Starbucks Coffee, am I right? Well, have you heard of 85度C Cafe (85°C Cafe)? It's this Taiwanese coffee shop that's very popular in... where else? Taiwan!

They have over 300+ branches here, and according to their website, they also have branches in Australia, USA, and China.

My cousins like to drink their teas topped with sea salt whipped cream. I guess you could say that it's the Taiwanese version of the Philippines' rock salt with cheese drink. When I heard about it, I wanted to try it for myself.

I got the cold version (there's also the hot version) of the Sea Salt Green Tea (30NT ~ PhP 45)

Look at that yummy sea salt whipped cream! I'd prefer to have this with milk tea rather than plain tea, but it's yummy nonetheless. The drink had the right balance of sweetness, bitterness, and saltiness. Plus, it's fairly cheap.

Another thing we've tasted at this cafe is their 8-inch Classic Tiramisu cake. My aunt bought it for my birthday! Hee.

8-inch Classic Tiramisu cake | 480NT (~ PhP 720)

I don't really know how much a cake sells for in the Philippines (because it's been a while since I've had any) so I don't know if this counts as a bit on the expensive side or just right.

It was very delicious though! Tiramisu is one of the cakes I love (aside from cheesecake), and this one was just right! The cake wasn't soggy (cos I've had soggy Tiramisu before) and it wasn't so sweet. Buon appetito!

Saint's Alp Teahouse

It was my first time to try Saint's Alp Teahouse. I brought my family to Saint's Alp Katipunan, located right above the Fullybooked branch along Katipunan Avenue, in front of Ateneo. I have been really curious about this place, as I have tried other milk tea and tea stores which have taken Manila by storm, and sprouted like mushrooms everywhere you look. Lucky for tea lovers like myself, we have a lot of options to choose from.



Saint's Alp Teahouse has a nicely decorated interior, which provides comfy seats and great ambiance. It isn't just a tea shop, because it also offers a variety of food and beverage items for customers to choose from (which is also good, come to think of it).




And since I had Php 1000 gift certificate to use that night, I browsed through a very long menu, and decided to order these for the family to try:



We ordered the 2 Taiwanese Breaded Chops (Chicken and Pork) with Marinated Minced Pork add ons (Php 195 + Php 60 = Php 255): Quite honestly, I like the chicken better than the pork. The chicken chops were okay, but with the minced pork combined, it was good and filling. We also got a Large Chicken Breast (Php 110) to add on to the chops.



An all time Filipino breakfast favorite, the Beef Tapa w/ Garlic Rice & Egg (Php 195), I think, was the better choice. The tapa was soft, tasty, and flavorful.



For cheese lovers, you might want to try their Cheesy Tempura Balls (Php 90), which is a good appetizer. Watch out for the oozing hot cheese, if you don't want to scald your tongue. It's fried cheese in light tempura batter.



A must try off their menu is the Matcha (half-and-half) Peanut Butter Toast with Tea (Php 90). Matcha flavor and peanut butter with honey green tea equals perfect combination. The toast is a perfect snack, combined with a perfect hot tea, which is flavorful.




The drinks reminded me why the place is called a teahouse. Surely, I can say that the beverage is good. As for drinks, we got the Almond Milk Tea (Php 115) and Blueberry Double Chocolate Sorbies (Php 130). The almond milk tea is a refreshing taste, something different from what I have tasted so far. I think it's good for almond lovers, or those who want the tea taste hidden. The Blueberry Double Chocolate Sorbies is one of the best iced blended drinks you should try in Saint's Alp. Who would have imagined blueberry and chocolate (double) actually works. It's a little sweet for my taste though, other than that it's a perfect cooler!



Last, but definitely not the least. This is the star of the night. The best drink I have tasted in Saint's Alp Teahouse. It's actually not a tea-based drink, but it's great for coffee lovers, like myself. Sumiyaki Coffee with Coffeeagar (Php 150). Really good strong coffee with coffee jelly on ice. Yummy! :)



Saint's Alp Teahouse
2/F Regis Center, 327 Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City
G/F Forbeswood Parklane, Rizal Drive, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Tel#: 990-2194 (Katipunan), 478-7135 (Fort Branch)
http://www.saintsalp.com.hk/