Surprisingly.... just OK. Brown Sugar Boba…read more.. So many yelpers and grammers were raving about "The Alley"... like it was the next coming... then finally, had the chance to try it... since it's literally a block away from our hotel... it was... A. Total. Let. Down. Cute name... "deerioca"... but really, nothing amazing... it was a bit water-down. Well... compared to Tiger Sugar & YiFang in HK, this brand is like a KuFu Tea... mid-range. Definitely not spectacular like its competitors. Operation: order outside, wait for drinks inside. Decent. If you're around the area... Try it out.

The wait time was ridiculous. I was able to place my order fairly quickly, but the time it took to…read moreactually receive the drinks was unbelievably long. Although brown sugar milk tea was introduced in HK as early as 2018, I couldn't believe the hype was still real in 2019. The tiny space was packed with patrons waiting for their orders. I don't really remember which drink I got but I think it was the basic one: Brown Sugar Deerioca Milk. I love the logo on the uniquely shaped cups, I think it really allows the brand to stand out from its competitors. But I was also pleasantly pleased by how smooth the milk tasted. It kind of made the wait worth it because of the high-quality ingredients.

Since this place opened a few weeks ago, everytime I walk by during the work week, the lines and…read morecrowds are so long and so dense you would think that they are giving away free apartments here in Central. I am never one to wait in a line (life is short and I choose to not wait in lines), but by rare chance this weekend, we walked by and there was barely a line. When I asked my Chinese husband why this brand was so popular, he said that they are no more expensive than other bubble tea spots, but they use a better tea. Our tea drink cost $18HKD, plus an extra $4HKD for our pearl add on. You place your order from the street counter from their extensive menu, pay and then wait for your number to be called (they did request to see the receipt when we grabbed your drink, so be sure to not throw away or anything before you snag your beverage). The menu is in Chinese and English, it is clear to understand your options and you can always add pearls to any drink that might not already have them. Some drinks served with ice, others are not. We shared the lemon premium jasmine green teat (and added pearls) from the "suggested menu." It tasted like a really satisfying lemon shake-up (my Midwestern roots are showing!). Sweet, satsifying, very delicious. I also loved that it is served in a paper versus a plastic cup. An environmentally friendly niche can make someone like me more loyal to one brand over another. The shop is fronted by glass, so you can see the dozen or so employees almost surgically preparing the tea drinks. There were maybe 15 people mulling about ordering and waiting like us and it took maybe 8-10 minutes for us to get our drink. Not certain I would wait with the masses when they are super busy, but I will definately snag one on the times I see there is little to no line.

We took the red tea soy milk and lemon yakult drink. The red bean soy milk was amazing and the soy…read moremilk they use is of high quality: not too sweet and really has the soy bean taste. As for the other drink, they were too generous on the lemon so it was way too sour to drink it. The staff was friendly and the service was quick. Definitely one of my fave bbt places in hk!

Best. One. On my…read morehunt for my #brownsugarbobamilk in HK and Taipei, Tiger Sugar is my favorite. Hands Down. The best version there is. Not overly Milky - like "The Alley" A little more chewy on the boba - better than "Yi Fang" and a slew of imitations through out the night markets. Tiger Sugar makes 2 versions of this - with regular boba and tiny ones called "pearl boba". I looovvvvveeeeee BOTH version but slightly more addicted to the tiny pearl boba version. Seriously. Flan custard flavor in a cup! #dessertinacup

This is bomb dot com…read more It's looks like a rather simple drink so you may not expect much wow factor but that's exactly why you should try this drink! The bubbles are made from brown sugar then cooked in a brown sugar syrup concoction, then poured to line the cup with that distinct design and lastly, the milk! I think what makes this drink delicious is the milk, I'm not sure what kind they use but it goes really well with the brown sugar. Overall, definitely worth a visit! Also, it would be nice if they offer different milk options for the vegans out there!

This Gong Cha is located in the MTR Tung Chung Station. I can't imagine anybody riding the MTR just…read moreto get to this Gong Cha, especially with all the different locations splattered around Hong Kong. But there is a location all the way here, I'm guessing for convenience! With the shopping outlet just around the corner and the buses that lead you to different destination spots in Hong Kong, Gong Cha is sure to lure you to buy a drink, especially since the drinks are quickly made, everything's fairly cheap, and the drinks are always on point. After exiting the MTR and making a right, you'll see the small Gong Cha storefront. There are signs plastered all over the windows that advertise their top bestselling drinks, but everybody seemed to be ordering a regular boba milk tea, so I followed their lead. Yep, the best boba milk tea I've had during my trip to Asia. Comparing to Coco's in Taiwan, Gong Cha's milk tea was stronger and more flavorful, coming very close to Half and Half's boba milk tea back in the States. I feel like all the tea drinks I've had in Asia (with the exception of China) were smooth, and this was no exception. Milk tea was smooth and flavorful, boba was cooked perfectly and retained the chewy quality. Only minor complaint is that they don't have mini pearls. And of course you're able to adjust the sugar and ice levels. I almost always ask for less ice. Overall, a solid tea place. Super handy if you're on the way to the outlets and want to get something to drink. There are definitely busy times - when school ends, when there's a rush of customers who just got off the MTR, etc. - but the workers are pretty fast and you'll get your drink within a few minutes.

I got the passionfruit green tea with bubbles 1/2 sugar and less ice. Strong consistent tea and…read morenice chewy tapioca's. Price is better in Hong Kong compared to the states. The menu is on the glass wall outside of the store. Decide what you want before entering the tiny store, they're busy most of the time because it's located near the MTR.

got my order wrong. I mentioned that I wanted osmanthus oolong with fresh milk and perhaps due to…read morethe language barrier, it felt like it was just milk with some sort of other tea. Price wise it's similar to the USA so I rather go to another boba tea place when in Hong Kong. Wait time was also a bit long (not as bad as USA)

They recently opened up a store in NYC's Chinatown but I refuse to try it out since it's…read moreridiculously priced at $7-8 for a drink. Saw many locations in HK where it's only ~$4-5 USD for a drink so decided to give it a try! I really enjoyed my Dong Ding oolong tea with bubbles. Very refreshing and thirst-quenching and easy on the stomach. You can tell the tea is freshly brewed. Try to go during an off-time. We tried ordering at 6pm one day and were quoted a 30 min wait to which we politely declined and came back earlier the next day and got out order right away.

We were on our way to the Big Buddha and stopped here at the mall for a quick eats and grabbed…read moretea!! So glad they have a YiFang here! Just as good as the branch inside the Langham Mall in Mongkok. Line moves quickly - and the brown sugar boba is solid!

I haven't tried the one in NYC, but I tried the famous Brown sugar pearl with milk and the brown…read moresugar pearl with milk tea! Sugar level cannot be adjusted. I was very surprised because I thought that the brown sugar drink would inherently be very sweet. The one with milk was way too sweet but the one with milk was just right. The drink was very heartening and refreshing. It basically tasted like Bubble Milk Tea but on a different dimension.

So they have this chain/franchise in the United States too. There each drink costs 4$+, while here…read moreit is only 18hkd (2.5$). Thought the quality here would be the same as the one in the USA seeing that it's a franchise. Unfortunately it is not. #1 customer service here: rude. Tried to pay with a 500$ bill and asked if I had smaller denominations, which I didn't. Anyways she slammed my change onto the counter. #2 the pearls are all sticking together... Wtf. That usually only happens if the pearls have been sitting there for a while. Which means they weren't fresh or the employees didn't continuously stir them throughout the day. Because of the sticky pearls, I ended up with tons of pearls left after finishing my milk tea.

I ordered the peach green tea with no sugar. The quality of the drink taste just like the ones in…read moreCalifornia so it's mainly syrup with tea and sugar. Average at best but I finally got my tea fix. They don't take Octopus card, only cash or Alipay.

Sharetea is a big and successful franchise in Hong Kong and I can tell why after trying their…read moredrinks. First of all, for $20 HKD and such a large size for both milk tea drinks, it was an amazing deal. And for $22 HKD the kumquat lemon drink was also refreshing and fragrant. Sharetea impressed me so much because of the variety and the quality for the price. The amount of items you can choose from at a low price is awesome. And the milk teas actually taste like tea and not just milk like most boba places. Their milk tea and green milk tea were both sweet and milky while retaining the true taste of each type of tea. This combination along with the tasty texture of the boba really sells it for me. Their boba is a good size and flavor + there are so many!!! I've never gotten so much boba in a boba drink in my life! Secondly, the kumquat lemon drink was impressive because of how fresh the taste was. You can really tell it's made from real fruit and it's a great drink for sunny + humid day in Hong Kong if you're looking for something light. It's very sour though so make sure you like the taste of both kumquat and lemon before you order this drink. I'm so glad that sharetea is a chain in Hong Kong and hopefully they extend to the US where I reside because their boba drinks are phenomenal!

Oh, Sharetea. Thank goodness I can count on you to be good. Milk tea+boba = thumbs up. The…read moreworkers here also speak English, so HUGE plus. All the other customers that were there when I was there were English speakers, so I think they're used to tourists (especially since they're so close to Times Square). Only downside is you gotta wait on a crowded sidewalk for your tea....