Update 19 Jan 2025: Machi Machi has closed.
Taiwanese bubble tea chain and Jay Chou’s favourite, 麥吉 Machi Machi, has landed in Singapore. With its legendary cream cheese foam and panna cotta milk teas, fans of the Taiwanese pop singer can feel one step closer to him by indulging in the same brand that was featured in his 說好不哭 Won’t Cry music video!
Anyone remembers buying the Blue Coral flavour from the very first generation of bubble tea shops in our childhood? Well, here to bring you on a nostalgia trip is Whale Tea 琉璃鯨, a Nanjing-based bubble tea chain with over 500 outlets in its native China.
Update January 2023: Truedan has closed.
If a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, a bubble tea shop by any other name would be just as delicious! Jenjudan 珍煮丹 , a popular Taiwanese bubble tea brand that made its first home in City Link Mall, has opened its second outlet at Orchard Gateway, under the new name Truedan.
Update January 2023: Xing Fu Tang has closed.
Bubble tea – or boba as they like to call it in the US – has been enjoying some kind of renaissance recently. From dingy neighbourhood joints peddling eyebrow raising flavours (Blue Coral, anyone?), to sophisticated franchises, this popular beverage has sure come a long way since its humble origins in Taiwan in the 1980s.
The latest addition to Singapore’s ever growing array of bubble tea chains is Xing Fu Tang 幸福堂. Opened one and a half years ago, this hugely popular brand has already opened close to 100 outlets in its native Taiwan, as well as Japan, Canada, and Thailand.
Update June 2020: Blackball’s Star Vista outlet has closed.
It’s been an overwhelming afternoon – travelling halfway across Singapore to pick up my graduation gown from school, dodging dozens of people bent on pitching all kinds of “post-grad” services and surveys, and trying to keep my cool, all amid the sweltering heat.
Naturally, a dose of me time was in order, so instead of taking my usual route home, I took a detour and ducked into Star Vista to escape the afternoon heat – and right in time for a cold treat!
Noooot quite!
Source: 9Gag
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