A Tea Party

This was the greatest discovery ever! 🙂

Dante and I, after a long evening of walking the streets of downtown Hongkong, we wanted to get a refreshing drink.  We didn’t want milk tea because it would just make us more thirsty.  So we decided to get this drink called, Strawberry Olay.  We had no idea what it was.  It just sounded refreshing like the generic red iced teas from the grocery 🙂

There was not much translation in their menus.  So when we saw the word, Strawberry, we immediately chose that.

Ordering tea was never this complicated.  Haha! Hot or cold? With or without sinkers? Sugar levels? What flavor? What size? Volume of ice? 🙂

When we got our drink, we were both a bit disappointed.  Oh no, we thought. It’s milky… We were expecting a glass of a typical iced tea.

Hooray for Strawberry Olay!

IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIP.

It was strawberry tea mixed with Yakult.

When we finished this glass, we just had to order another one.

As soon as we got back to Manila, we immediately searched for our regular supply of Yakult Teas!  We went to the Gong Cha in SM Mall of Asia but unfortunately, they did not have Yakult Teas there 😦 We thought we would never taste this Yakult Tea ever again… Until, Serenitea opened along Rada Street in Legaspi Village, Makati.

They had YAKULT TEA!!! 🙂 They have it in several flavors but no strawberry.  I tried the Green Apple Yakult Tea and…

IT WAS LOVE AGAIN AT FIRST SIP.

Do you guys remember my past post on Hongkong streetfood? About the fried tentacles in curry powder seasoning?  Well, the flavor of these chicken chops from Serenitea comes close!  Sooo good with the Green Apple Yakult Tea.  These chicken chops are a must-try! 🙂

I got my good friend, Merry, HOOKED 🙂

My dear friend Merry and her lovely daughter, Noelle 🙂

These tea places have become such a big hit here in Manila 🙂  And I always go to just one tea place now ever since I discovered the Green Apple Yakult Tea of Serenitea 🙂  But I’m always willing to try something new, especially when I’m forced to.  My husband and I, after going to two branches of Serenitea – one did not serve chicken chops and the other had a really long line, decided to try a new bubble tea place at the Fort called Tokyo Bubble Tea and we weren’t disappointed 🙂

Ordered a large almond milk tea

Dante ordered the Yocca, a yoghurt drink.

Takoyaki: Grilled octopus-filled balls made of pancake batter topped with mayonnaise, katsuobushi and sweet soy sauce 🙂

Chicken Tory Fry: Crispy battered chicken pieces served with mayonnaise dip

Both Takoyaki and Chicken Tory Fry came with a Japanese Salad 🙂

There are still so many tea places to try out there! 🙂 If you have a tea place and serve Yakult Tea, let me know and I’m there! 🙂

A Walk in Mongkok :)

When in HK, Mongkok is a must especially for these two.  It’s just about three to four stops via MTR from Tsimshatsui Station 🙂 It’s where all the toys and shoe stores are.  Toys for the big boys.

Before anything else, Gong Cha stop first, for a tall glass of cold milk tea 🙂

Planning our agenda for the afternoon.

Oh but wait….second stop: fried tentacles in curry powder seasoning!  THIS IS CRISPY, CHEWY, SALTY GOODNESS in a brown paper bag 🙂 ahhh, I want one now! There is something similar to this though in Serenitea. Try their chicken chops 🙂 I will have some today!

Not too adventurous to try these delicacies.

But this we cannot miss.  Third stop: Cold noodles.  (We just actually had lunch.)

We chose Octopus.  Spicy.

Cold noodles in spicy sauce with octopus.  Winner!!! 🙂

My brother Chris cannot decide. Red or blue?! 🙂

Blue.  Ready to rock his gigs 🙂

Time to head back to the hotel now to meet the folks and Damien for dinner 🙂 Yes, eat again! 🙂

There is also a ladies’ market in Mongkok.  But be careful.  Since it’s a tourist spot, a lot of the sales people start at a really high price 😦 Be firm.  Just pretend to walk away while you haggle 🙂 Prices get lower as you walk away 🙂