Milk tea Monday

My colleagues are big foodies. That's why they get a Las Vegas high-kick whenever I bring back food from Manila. Each time I go home for work or a weekend off, they're always asking: "What did you bring this time?" So it comes as no surprise that people here usually buy food for no reason at all. They just like the sight of greasy dimsum and ice-cold drinks laid out for everyone to partake in. Today, somebody bought Milk Tea for the whole team.

Locals commonly call this: Tong Nai Tsa or Iced Milk Tea. I've long seen people holding these glasses of light brown liquid with sago at the bottom. They serve it in most coffee shops and restaurants, so it's an ubiquitous part of Hong Kong culture. (Arnitos! I used "ubiquitous." All I need to do now is use a sentence with the word "diaphonous.")

Upon first glance, it looks like Zagu, albeit a bit more liquid-y. It looks sweet and refreshing, although I haven't tried it yet. Despite it being available for every Tom, Dick and Harry, there was never any motivation for me to spend a few bucks to try it. I'm happy with my Tong Leng Tsa, so it was really unecessary. But since it was given to me for free today - and it's impolite to refuse - I took it as an opportunity to finally acquaint my palate with this unmistakably Hong Kong drink.

And how does it taste like? Strange! First, it wasn't sweet at all! It tastes like someone took a bag of Lipton Tea, shoved it in cold water and mixed it with Bear Brand powdered milk. It tasted herb-y with a hint of creaminess. It's an odd combination made even more strange by the fact that it's bereft of sweetness. Heck, if it were sweet, maybe it would taste better.

The redeeming value of this Milk Tea drink is the big sago at the bottom.

It tastes just like the sago back in Manila. Feeling and tasting these sweet pearls brought me back to those days in Megamall when we'd line up for 30 minutes just for a taste of Zagu. I'd usually do that with my San Miguel friends, and any memory involving my SMC friends are good memories.

So, what's my verdict on this Milk Tea? I wouldn't want to try it again. In fact, I only finished 1/3 of the glass then sneakily threw it away. Maybe I shouldn't have given up so easily and added sugar so it'll suit my taste. But I didn't feel like it today, so I just discarded the glass.

Even if the taste wasn't stellar, the memories that the sago brought back was well worth the experiment. And given that, I'd say that this Milk Tea was half as good.