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| Bubble Tea at SM Megamall |
Well, well, well, we meet again Bubble Tea, my first milk tea love. What separates Bubble Tea from all the other tea stops is that they're no noob in the Philippine market. They've been in Manila for more than a year and the fact that they managed to raise their prices all the while expanding and retaining their customer base is by far no simple feat. Back in 2009, their Large (which is actually medium in Serenitea) Royal Milk Tea is priced at 80 pesos, and their most expensive milk tea, the Coffee Milk Tea (which I have not tried!) sits comfortably at 100 pesos. Came late 2010, the prices got jacked up to flat 115/125 for regular and medium prices respectively across all the milk tea drinks. What turned me off with this move is the fact that I used to buy this stuff for 80 bucks, why should I pay 125 for it when its virtually the same? And with price in the equation, is Bubble Tea worth your money? Read more below.
Specifics
Location:
Megamall, Building A, Lower Ground near food court (other locations: SM North EDSA, Tomas Morato)
Concoctions: Milk Tea, Tea, Milk Tea Slush, Japanese Food
Type of
Service: Casual Dining
Target
Market: Yuppies, Tea Drinkers, Chinese
Price
Range: 115 to 150 pesos
Customer Experience
Compared to other tea stops that propose Chinese authenticity, Bubble Tea claims Japanese origin. The servers will greet you, "Irrashaimase!" once you step in and offer you their menu. What I loved about Bubble Tea is they improved their customer service after their price increase a year ago. The waitresses are always smiling and the new casual dining system just makes everything work more easily. You sit and no longer need to fall in line. Very convenient. The downside to this is that expect to pay more. For instance, the Royal Milk Tea you get here will set you off at 125 pesos, where as you get a (very) Large Earl Grey Milk Tea at Gong Cha with triple Js for the same amount. Kind of feels like ripping you off if you look at it that way. I asked the manager of Bubble Tea why their tea is more expensive than others and I was offered the explanation of the casual dining system and that their ingredients are imported from Japan. Besides, their tea comes with pearls by default so that shouldn't be so bad, though would have been better if you are given the option to throw those out and have pudding instead, right?
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| The star of Bubble Tea's menu |
Service is quite fast. The waitresses won't make you wait long before your order is served. Food is almost often served as fast as the drink you ordered. One misgiving I have is that often when you order a drink, they would miss giving you tissue. Yep. They sometimes miss, so if you're particular with that as I am, I suggest you always pay attention because the moment you start drinking that milk tea, you might forget about everything else.
Offerings
I've practically tried everything in Bubble Tea's menu, save for the Coffee Milk Tea which is just confusing (I mean coffee and tea in one?) and the hot teas. The Green teas I didn't spare either, though there's something so acidic about their Apple Green Tea that makes my stomach crunch with pain at the end of each medium-sized cup.
At this rate of familiarity, it is safe to say that it's hard to go wrong with Bubble Tea. Their Royal Milk Tea is just that: Royal. The milk and the tea just mixed right and not a hint too strong or too weak. It's like drinking something so refined, you can't tell the ingredients apart. The Royal Milk Tea is the base of all their other milk tea drinks and since it is good, every product derived from it is also good. Though, I tend to disagree with the Japanese Green Milk Tea, it's just not a good fusion. Royal, Taro, Strawberry, Chocolate, Almond, Jasmine, Honeydew Melon, you can practically have one everyday. As for their Cold teas, you can go Apple, Strawberry, Lemon, Yocca (Yogurt green tea), and Peach, all are terrific! Their milkshakes are good, too.
I haven't asked if we can remove the bubbles from the tea, but I guess you could. I once ate there with a friend who disliked the bubbles (tapioca pearls, that is), but we missed the chance of having them taken out. As far as I know, you can tweak the sugar level and even add pudding or vanilla ice cream (but seriously, vanilla ice cream?).
The best thing perhaps about Bubble Tea is that you can also order savory. They have dishes, Japanese Fusion dishes, ranging from Maki and Sushi, to baked rice melts. I thoroughly enjoy their Chicken Teriyaki Doria and their Curry plates, which comes with a side salad--which I don't eat!
The tea taste and the savory dishes just makes Bubble Tea one of the tea stops to beat in my list.
Competition
It's hard to really pin down who Bubble Tea is competing with directly. Their price point is way out of everyone's league, except maybe perhaps for Saint's Alp. You can perhaps think Bubble Tea is competing with Teriyaki Boy, which they edge out on by offering the current fad--Milk Tea. Then again if it's just milk tea and milk tea we're talking about, Bubble Tea is in a bit of a difficult position. Their prices are too steep compared to say Gong Cha or Serenitea. Happy Lemon is another story as Happy Lemon's milk tea offerings are, well, questionable at best, compared to Bubble Tea. Cha Time is of no concern, I already dubbed it as the "tea place to go to when there's just nothing else," and almost everyone I know agrees with me on that.
The good thing about Bubble Tea is that with these new competitors (milk tea stops), they made new products like the Yocca Green Tea (which is yogurt on your green tea, which is really good, and the Japanese Cream Cheesecake drinks (their version of Happy Lemon's rock salt and cheese), but where as the competition has "drinkable cheese," theirs is more of ready for the scooping. Yep. Stubborn as an ice cream, that cheese, though it's really good and pricey (135 bucks for a large cup).
Verdict
So like an estranged lover, I went back to Bubble Tea after trying all these other tea stops. Taste for taste, nothing beats these folks. Their service is also good and well beyond reproach. But with price in play, you would think twice. A similar tasting Earl Grey can be purchased at Gong Cha for a relatively lower price, so why bother paying 125? Then again, if I am in Megamall and it's fancy Milk Tea that I want, well, I know where to go.
Service - 4
Product - 5
Ambiance - 3.5
4.17 out of 5 stars.
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| Taro Milk Tea |
At this rate of familiarity, it is safe to say that it's hard to go wrong with Bubble Tea. Their Royal Milk Tea is just that: Royal. The milk and the tea just mixed right and not a hint too strong or too weak. It's like drinking something so refined, you can't tell the ingredients apart. The Royal Milk Tea is the base of all their other milk tea drinks and since it is good, every product derived from it is also good. Though, I tend to disagree with the Japanese Green Milk Tea, it's just not a good fusion. Royal, Taro, Strawberry, Chocolate, Almond, Jasmine, Honeydew Melon, you can practically have one everyday. As for their Cold teas, you can go Apple, Strawberry, Lemon, Yocca (Yogurt green tea), and Peach, all are terrific! Their milkshakes are good, too.
I haven't asked if we can remove the bubbles from the tea, but I guess you could. I once ate there with a friend who disliked the bubbles (tapioca pearls, that is), but we missed the chance of having them taken out. As far as I know, you can tweak the sugar level and even add pudding or vanilla ice cream (but seriously, vanilla ice cream?).
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| The Seafood Korokke, 5 pcs of potato balls with microscopic seafood in them, priced at 135. Can you believe that before it's only 60 bucks and does not go with that icky salad? |
The best thing perhaps about Bubble Tea is that you can also order savory. They have dishes, Japanese Fusion dishes, ranging from Maki and Sushi, to baked rice melts. I thoroughly enjoy their Chicken Teriyaki Doria and their Curry plates, which comes with a side salad--which I don't eat!
The tea taste and the savory dishes just makes Bubble Tea one of the tea stops to beat in my list.
Competition
It's hard to really pin down who Bubble Tea is competing with directly. Their price point is way out of everyone's league, except maybe perhaps for Saint's Alp. You can perhaps think Bubble Tea is competing with Teriyaki Boy, which they edge out on by offering the current fad--Milk Tea. Then again if it's just milk tea and milk tea we're talking about, Bubble Tea is in a bit of a difficult position. Their prices are too steep compared to say Gong Cha or Serenitea. Happy Lemon is another story as Happy Lemon's milk tea offerings are, well, questionable at best, compared to Bubble Tea. Cha Time is of no concern, I already dubbed it as the "tea place to go to when there's just nothing else," and almost everyone I know agrees with me on that.
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| The Black Tea with Japanese Cream Cheesecake. I say, yum! |
Verdict
So like an estranged lover, I went back to Bubble Tea after trying all these other tea stops. Taste for taste, nothing beats these folks. Their service is also good and well beyond reproach. But with price in play, you would think twice. A similar tasting Earl Grey can be purchased at Gong Cha for a relatively lower price, so why bother paying 125? Then again, if I am in Megamall and it's fancy Milk Tea that I want, well, I know where to go.
Service - 4
Product - 5
Ambiance - 3.5
4.17 out of 5 stars.
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