HiTea - Brisbane

Always on the look out for new bubble tea places, I was quite keen to try out Hi Tea, which had opened along Edward Street, opposite Queens Plaza at the end of last year. Adam and I had initially been keen to try when it had the buy one get one free promotion when it newly opened. Unfortunately when we went, the store appeared fairly incomplete with unfinished paint and a very limited selection of drinks, which is why we didn't get it at that point.

Walking past a week or so ago, we were pleased to see it up and running, but I was even more thrilled to see that it was a Hong Kong style tea store, so we checked it out after work.

The menu was fairly simple, with your typical fruit teas, bubble teas and the option of cheese foam.

What had my interest though, was the Chinese menu on the wall which wasn't available in English. It contained a considerable amount of HK style drinks like HK milk tea and yin yuang, a blended coffee milk tea which I love, in addition to sweet dessert soups. Naturally, I ordered from this  menu.

Initially, I had not intended to order any food to have at the store, but once I laid eyes on their dessert cabinet, I knew there was no way I could resist.

Grabbing one of the seats inside, I found it adorable that the tables were numbered with mahjong tiles, it definitely made me feel all the more at home. Our drinks came out fairly soon after ordering. It was nice to see them in proper glasses rather than disposable plastic ones when we opted to dine in.

 

With coffee being out of stock, I had the traditional HK milk tea, whereas he had the Silky Cake and Oreo milk tea with extra pearls. Usually getting my fix of HK milk tea at Coffee Square, I was interested in their rendition of a classic. Unfortunately for me, it fell a little short and tasted more like Taiwanese milk tea with its lighter taste and milkiness rather than the strong in your face taste of HK milk tea. Adam's silky cake turned out to be more or less a creme brulee tea milk tea which he really liked. 

Our shared dessert was the inconspicuous black cylindrical cake which opened up to show a glorious double matcha cheesecake centre. With a lighter layer at the top and a stronger, more intense bottom, it had just the right amount of sweetness and I loved every bite.

Price Range: $5 - $15pp

Taste: 7/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10