Most of the large tea in Coco is in the range of $5 to $6. My 3 guys cost $6.40 because of the toppings. Coco’s large size drink uses the long and narrow deceiving cup. It is because of this, I prefer Chatime over Coco. All prejudice aside, Coco’s drink has a good flavour. They are not aiming to be the top of the line bubble tea place, but they are the good enough tea shop when it’s convenient to you.
RedBeef noodle Kitchen serves authentic Taiwanese food, but everyone mention their price whenever this restaurant is talked about. It seems like customers are always willing to eat sub-par food in exchange for a lower price point. In my experience in talking to restaurant owners, I found out that the last little extra mile of quality always requires a disproportionate large amount of effort. I don’t think RedBeef is expensive for the quality they provide.
We arrived at No1 Beef Noodle House and realized their new menu looks very similar to Myst Asian Fusion on Kingsway. Then I found out the owners of these two restaurants are brothers. I am very troubled by how they added the Northern Chinese dumplings and cold flat noodles on their menu. Seriously, what is Northern Chinese food items doing in an authentic Taiwanese restaurant’s menu? I’m not sure if this is the first step of No1 Beef Noodle House turning into a do-it-all Taiwanese Cafe. In terms of food, the items we ordered still has good Taiwanese flavour. The mini lamb hotpot still tastes as good as before. I hope they continue to strive in the things they are good at, and not sway too far from their origin.
I guess there are advantages of being an establishment with no similar stores nearby. That must be how Presotea was able to survive thus far. This tea station failed in all aspects of our review except for the service. I have not seen any bubble tea franchise do this bad. Customers paying for $7.04 per cup definitely deserve better. They can improve on either larger-sized drinks, cheaper price, more balanced flavour, or higher quality topping. Even if they only pick 2 items to improve, Presotea’s drink would be acceptable. For now, I cannot recommend them.
QianDao hotpot is a nice hotpot establishment in Surrey T&T Supermarket. This restaurant offers natural and refreshing broth base for you to cook your raw food. The broth was very enjoyable before you move on to cooking. Once the cooking starts, this advantage diminishes as not much of the broth’s flavour gets carried to the food especially with the sauce from the condiment station. Service wise, the staff came to refill the broth at least 4 times but only came to refill the tea once at the end of our meal. This is likely to be a business decision to sell more drinks. The meat is pretty fresh but the assorted balls are expensive for what they are. Our visit cost us $40 per person with the majority of the cost coming from the broth. The combo can get you a cheaper meal. However, judging from the other customer’s order, they don’t not look like a good deal. Overall, QianDao has quality, but the cost is also pretty high.
To be honest, Potelicious’ food tastes mediocre because more than half of the items I’ve ordered lacks flavour. Their spicy sauce are tasty. Most customers probably use condiments to make up for the taste. The sausages are and chicken are tasty and I enjoyed the stinky tofu’s texture. I can understand their popularity based on their low price and large portion. You really can’t get the same food quality elsewhere for the same amount of money you’re paying here. We recommend Potelicious for people who can eat a lot, but don’t have unrealistic high expectation for the taste.
If I was the emperor to receive this cup of tea as a tribute, I would have wiped out their civilization really quickly. Perhaps my expectation was set too high after reading Gong Cha’s business philosophy. Unfortunately, they did not live up to the standard they have set out on their own website. Today, I have had a cup of tea that fails at the forefront of the tea’s body, the topping, and even the size. I cannot think of any reason to recommend Gong Cha.
Chef Liu Kitchen is a nice little stand in the food court. The cost of their food at $13 per person is considered average in 2019. They have certainly got the taste aspect down, but the food lack the finer details. This restaurant is perfect for customers not in pursue for superb food. Everything here is good, but not extraordinary. It’s “good enough” if you’re not picky.
Peanut’s Bubble Tea holds a lot of history and memories for many. Emotions asides and focusing on the assessment point of view, this bubble tea stand provides lots of value. True that my passion fruit green tea was made of syrup, but the $3.25 with pearl drink is still unbeatable. Getting the flavour just right without modification is another feat where many others fail. When one cup of bubble tea elsewhere can buy you two cups of drinks at Peanut’s, I have to recommend it.
