The Bubble Tea Sucks

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The Bubble Tea Sucks

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The Bubble Tea Sucks Reviews

mshum mshum
3 reviews
Feb 10, 2006
I am sorry for the trauma that this will cause to some people, but after a week of scouring, bubble tea is not only scarce but of very poor quality in Hong Kong, one of the cities that spawned it.
 
I was shocked, appalled, and ultimately defeated as I searched fruitlessly for it. Among the plethora of malls, outdoor markets, and countless other venues that sell food, bubble tea was not found. It just wasn't "in" I was told. I did find one "chain", St. Alps or something, their logo was a green footprint, but it all doesn't matter. They sold 6 types of the most common flavours of bubble tea (taro, watermelon, you know the drill), at a relatively high price $18 HK for a small, and most damning of all, their tapioca was horrible. It was soggy, it lacked taste, and it got stuck in the straw - an experience best avoided. Indeed, the best bubble tea in the world may now be in Toronto.
 
So where, you ask, can you turn if you are in need of a succulent synthesis of beverage and snack if the bubble tea is undrinkable?
 
A thankfully numerous dessert chain called "Hui Lau San" in Cantonese, but lacks an English name that I am aware of. Fear not, I had the foresight to take a picture of the restaurant's name, which you should promptly transcribe and show to passerby so that they can point you to it. If you look closely at the photo, underneath the name, are placards with pictures of the various drinks they offer.
 
All of them are tasty, from my firsthand experience.  There is a mango, coconut milk, slush combination that I am particularly fond of - chunks of mango substitute tapioca. Other combinations of traditional Chinese desserts such as Red Bean have been mixed with fruits (also common to Chinese foods) such as mango, pineapple, sugar cane (fruit?), and have been topped with tapioca-substitutes such as mango chunks or sago.  They are cold, and are usually half slush. All for a low low price of $18 HK for a regular.
 
Search for them, and I urge you try all the flavours. As if the product itself wasn't good enough, they offer discounts when you buy more than 1 at a time. They encourage you to buy 4, at which point the discount far outweighs the calories you may be consuming.
 
Where to search? My main place (and where the picture was taken) was right across from Times Square, but they are at almost every commercial place.
If in need of bubble tea, print
mingshi says:
You can buy bubble tea from the Mongkok streetstall vendors for $5.

Bubble tea is not of HK origin anyway, it's a Taiwanese import.
Posted on: Feb 01, 2008
megkuuu says:
yes, i love hui lau san too. everytime i go back, i visit at least once...a day possibly~
Posted on: Jan 08, 2008
angusyeung says:
Hi all,
I've added the shop location of Hui Lau Shan (only Kowloon & Hong Kong Island) in google map, please visit the following link.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=113993118101286492099.000442fd95244ad8a6f3a&ie=UTF8&z=11&om=1
Posted on: Jan 05, 2008
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