Fragrant Milk Green Tea

Fragrant milk green tea
$12 (includes an extra $2 for bucketful of black bubbles)
Gong Cha (Prince Edward)

Gong Cha opened a few weeks ago and it, like other bubble tea stands in the area, draws huge crowds, no matter the time of day. I dropped by this morning to treat myself to a post-race bubble green tea.

The Good:

• A sign of good customer service, the cashier smiled at me while she was idling; it always good to see happy employees. Furthermore, I was able to take photos of the store without anyone yelling at me.
  
• The lid is snazzy. Never before have I seen such a vibrant, ornately branded bubble tea plastic covering!
• The tea was good; and indeed, drinkers have the option to order it with less ice and less sugar.

The Bad:

1. I had to pay an extra two dollars for bubbles; and I ask myself, why do I have to do that when all the other stands throw those in at the $10 price point?
2. No chop card

Overall, I can see what the fuss is all about: a brand new shop with excellent branding-cum-aesthetic appeal; good customer service; and undoubtedly fine drinks!

Pearl Milk Green Tea

Pearl milk green tea
$10
Taiwan Drink House (Prince Edward)

The last thing to do this evening is to recount how customer service at the Taiwan Drink House - the vendor that had already won me over with its delectable $9HKD snow white milk tea - burnished its reputation all the more in my heart; for as I had egregiously blundered, so a staff member at the house naturally saw an opening to make a difference, that positive differentiation being a champion in the hyper-competitive market for pearl milk tea in Prince Edward.

Admittedly, I don't puncture vacuum-sealed lids well. So true to form, on my first attempt to use the pointed end of my neon pink straw to create an aperture, I only met failure - the tip of the straw crumpled against the rock-hard surface of the lid. A few more futile jabs later, I decided to switch tactics, and flipped the straw around, employing the circular end of the straw for some battering ram action. It had to work, I thought to myself.

Indeed, it did - too well, in fact. The straw punched through the taut plastic covering so well, and with such vigor that it blasted straight through the side of the cup! Milk tea began bursting forth from the cup as though from a broken dam, quickly covering and flooding the counter. I had an O Jeui2 (:-O) moment.

Thankfully, that mild-mannered cashier who had taken my order called out to his colleagues, ordering them to clean the mess with much rapidity. He also chipped in with his wet rag, sopping up the creamy mess which had begun to drip onto the floor. Furthermore, and this is what really surprised me, he told me that they would make another one for me, and to prove it, he shouted to the staff in the back to fix up another pearl milk green tea. This benevolent act verily impressed me, this calculated, charitable customer service, especially in the wake of my unbelievable ordeal at the R:FM2 store this week (details on that forthcoming). The Taiwan Drink House, I conclude boldly, not only offers great tea at the right price, it also employs people who care about and have the audacity to create an excellent customer experience!

Taiwan Drink House

 

White Snow Pearl Milk Tea
$9 (special price)
Taiwan Drink House (Prince Edward)

The third combatant in the Prince Edward Milk Tea Wars presented a formidable product, fitted with an aggressive price point and shielded by excellent customer service.  First of all, despite being deluged by orders, which seems to be the case at all these tea stands, the cashier asked me if I would not only prefer less syrup but also less ice - a new development in my milk tea- drinking experience to which I readily voiced my agreement.  Furthermore, undercutting all competitors in the area by at least $1, the Taiwan Drink House's bargain basement price of $9 for the snow white milk tea, still served in the standard 700cc container, guaranteed value for my money.  The accoutrement for the product was ideal, to be sure, and all that was left to determine in this contest was whether or not the taste would actually deliver the decisive blow to its competitors.

The outcome, a few sips later, had been determined.  The flavor of the milk tea was milder than the rest, and nowhere close to overwhelming.  The confluence of diminutive bits of ice and a generous heaping of white pearls, moreover, gave my molars quite a workout, dividing its attention between the tasks of crunching and chewing.  It was the pearls themselves which at last I found the most gratifying, so delectably sweet were they that they could power the drink, I believe, without the accompaniment of any syrup at all.  I had a winner in my hands, an ingratiating drink that did all it could - successfully - to please.

More Bubble Tea

Venti-class plastic cup

Menu-cum-chop card

Bubble tea
$12
Little Egg (Prince Edward)

I tried another bubble tea place in Prince Edward last night, this one being right behind exit B2, next to the Ireland Potato. A venti-class pearl milk tea costs two dollars more at this vendor, but I think the price increase is warranted as I found, compared to the $10 Tea place, less ice and more precious, ebony pearls in my drink. Besides, I could actually consume those big, globular pearls through my straw this time, whereas in my previous experience at that other stand, the pearls were left to rot at the bottom of my cup because there was too much ice, and I was given such a narrow straw. I'll see if there is any additional improvement in my drinking experience at the next stop on my bubble tea tour.

Bubble Tea

This is about the size of a venti at Starbucks.

Fastidious management and tracking of orders

A menu-cum-frequent user card

Bubble tea

$10
Tea (Prince Edward)

I finally had a chance to stop by the tea stand that stands between my home and the Prince Edward MTR station.  On any given day, a crowd anxiously huddles in front of it, desperate for their tea fix, and at last, I got a chance to share their sentiment.

The serving size is enormous; the price is ridiculously competitive; and the service is swift, though not necessarily friendly.  I was pleased with my experience and will return.  To be sure, there is a lot of value in a $10, venti-sized serving of bubble tea - nevertheless, I'm afraid if I consume more frequently, I'll be ambling down the slow road to type-two diabetes, regardless of how little sugar they add!

Around the Pioneer Center in Prince Edward, there are several bubble tea competitors.  I'll check them out in due course and report my findings.