New Bubble Tea Shop in Bedok!

Today, as I was walking home from the MRT station, I noticed quite a lot of people standing near the corner of one of the shophouses in Bedok Central. Out of curiousity, I walked nearer to see what was happening. Only on getting nearer did I realised that they were queueing for Bubble Tea. A new Bubble Tea shop has just opened here. It's called Koi Cafe.

Looking at the long queue, I decided to try it out as I had not had my Bubble Tea fix for some time now. I decided to order two, one for me and one for my sister. I ordered the Milk tea with Grass Jelly and Pearls... yummy...

I cannot believe it when they issue me ticket. My number was 738 and the queue number was 730. I still have to wait for 7 more customers before I get my tea. Business must be really good.

Koi Cafe is really costly. The two Bubble Tea cost me S$10 ie $5 each. The other shop nearby only sells them for like S$3.50 each. But after one sip, I understand the long queue. These Koi Bubble Tea obviously is something different, more fragrant and the grass jelly just flows into your mouth. The "pearls" are chewy too... wow... delicious. I'm sure my sister will love it too.

But at this price, I better not have it too often. $5 a cup is a lot to pay for Bubble Tea. I could have lunch and a drink and still have a little change left over. Scary but nice!

I like Bubble Tea!

The first time I tried Bubble Tea was after a year or so in Singapore. I was out with a friend and we were both thirsty and she decided we should share one. We knew it was quite costly and we could have water at a fraction of the price but then, we thought we should pamper ourselves a little. So we bought a "Red Tea with Pearl" at SGD2.50 per cup and shared between the two of us. Ever since then, I have been "addicted" and every now and then, when my pocket says "Yes", I would treat myself to a good cup of "Bubble Tea"!

I'm not sure what is the cause of the addiction but the feeling of chewing the "pearls" can be quite addictive. I'm not sure what they are made of, but good ones are always very chewy and difficult to break. I guess the addiction must be similar to those of chewing gum... you try to chew and break it but somehow it just stays there as long as you don't swallow it. The only difference between "Bubble Tea" and "Chewing Gum" is that to end the sensation in "Chewing Gums", you spit it out, while for "Bubble Tea", you swallow it! And of course "Bubble Tea" is legal in Singapore... unlike Chewing Gum! Or maybe its because the government here banned Chewing Gums that people take to liking Bubble Tea.

After having lost it's flavor with the crowd after the initial introduction, it's now making a slow comeback as I start to see more Bubble Tea stalls opening again. There are three in Bedok just walking distance from where I stay! I even remembered that while looking for a job some time back, I walked into one of these and asked if they were hiring foreigners!