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!

Kimchi

 

Kimchee
$21.90 (originally $24.90)
Taste (Kowloon Tong)

This brand of kimchee is not sweet but tangy, which when it comes to kimchee is a taste of which I am not too fond; to be sure, bristling on my tongue as though soda pop, the kimchee tastes almost carbonated. The brand advertises itself as full of lactobacillus, so maybe that has something to do with the kimchee's unique feel inside my mouth. The kimchee, furthermore, rightfully warns consumers that it is mildly spicy -- it packed a kick that the kimchee which I bought at the food fair lacked.

Mushroom and Chicken Congee

Mushroom and chicken congee (with peanuts and extra spring onions)
$7.5
City University of Hong Kong canteen

Although the canteen vendor has changed recently, an upstart having usurped Maxim's place in the kitchen, the congee still remains the same.  The physical consistency of the congee, to begin with, is itself rather diluted than thick - there indeed seems to be more water than rice boiled in the mixture; and the value of the product is not in that boiled rice, of course, but in the bits of chicken meat and mushroom, dashed with plenty of peanuts and spring onions, that can all be had for less than one US dollar.  Consequently, though I would gladly prefer to pay the same price for some plain congee at another restaurant that I frequent and whose porridge is as thick as a creamy soup, to the extent that a person enjoys the generous portion of toppings included in the canteen congee, the meal can be considered a success.

Yogurtime

Yogurt (Eurotart flavor)

$28 - medium; 1 topping
$35 - large; 2 toppings
Yogurtime (Soho)


Anne and I had just finished our delicious dessert at Berrygood when I suggested that we try out Berrygood's new competitor - that night on full stomachs, even.  She ungrudgingly agreed, so with her blessing we set out to find the place first, since neither of us knew where to find this mythical competitor.  Thankfully, one clever kebab tout later - I suppose foodie news spreads as quickly as the evening revelry in Soho - we had arrived at our destination on Elgin Street.


The interior was capacious - too capacious, Anne remarked.  We settled down on the flimsy plastic chairs to the side, and I went ahead to the counter.  The menu was meager, to say the least, made all the more so with the egregious use of four illuminated panels above the counter, only two of which displayed menu items, in gigantic letters.  I took my strawberry-covered yogurt back to the seating area where Anne and I subsequently resumed our marveling at the austere layout.  At the time, we could no more understand it than commercial suicide:  there was so much unused capacity in such a prime location that, we wondered, it would be impossible to generate the revenue necessary to pay the high rents.  Soon enough, however, seemingly regular customers began flooding into the restaurant and occupying that barren wooden floor as though for a dance with a heaping of yogurt in one hand.  Maybe the business can be sustained, on second thought.

Personally, I preferred the distinct tartness of the Berrygood yogurt to the insipid flavor of the Yogurtime Eurotart, not least for the freshness that Berrygood product insinuates, that sour yogurt is more natural than sweet yogurt, indeed.  Nonetheless, despite the unctuous flavoring of the yogurtime product, I can appreciate why people could become regular customers, especially if they are nearby and need a quick fix everyday:  saving five dollars on a large yogurt is no small feat, and I believe that neither the wallet nor the waistline shall be the worse for it!

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.

많은커피

Cappuccino

1,900 원

Sweet Buns (명동역, 서 울, 한 국)

조지아

800 원

GS25 (홍 대, 서 울, 한 국)

GS25 Coffee

Ridiculously Cheap (Was it 350 or 750?)

GS25 (홍 대, 서 울, 한 국)

I've lately been really crawling down the coffee price ladder in Korea. First it was the fixed price cappuccino at Sweet Buns inside the Myeong-dong subway station; then, still not satisfied with a hot cup of joe at a decent price, I switched to the canned stuff, hitting up a GS25 for an 800won can of cold Georgia coffee. At last, unable to stay awake in class, I resorted to one of those mysterious plastic cups in the convenience store, inside of which I found an instant coffee packet and a stirrer. How far have I fallen!?

Trust me: coffee doesn't taste much better the more expensive it becomes; but I guarantee that the less you pay for a cup of joe, the less likely it will taste like a cup of joe! The 350won cup of instant coffee tasted as horrible as if maggots were just shoved down my throat; and what's worse, I still couldn't concentrate in class! So, I've learned to pay enough for at least a can of coffee, if not the authentic, steaming hot stuff made right before your eyes.

Mocha by UFC

Mocha by UFC
Inexpensive
Jusco supermarket (Lam Tin)

(6/5/09) Both the mocha and the latte flavors carry a strong peanut taste; and I am not sure whether this nutty quality is intended, or whether it is the result of poor quality drink manufacturing.