Top 5 drinks to try at Vivian Lai’s new tea studio Teabrary
Don’t waste your calories.
Top 5 drinks to try at Vivian Lai’s new tea studio Teabrary
Photos: Alvin Teo
By now, you probably would have heard that Taiwanese-born, Singapore-based host Vivian Lai has opened a new tea studio, Teabrary in Singapore. Last week, we visited her store at the Esplanade Xchange, where we tried – we don’t kid – over 15 types of drinks recommended by the boss herself.
All those calories later, we came up with our personal list of the top five drinks you should try at the store. From traditional choices such as matcha lattes to trendy cheese-topped drinks, here’s Toggle’s pick of what you should spend your dollar on over at Teabrary.
For those who prefer to enjoy your tea at home, click on through to the end of the gallery to win for yourself a box of Teabrary’s Four Seasons Spring Oolong Teabags.
Read on for more.
#1 Garden Strawberry Green Tea Chessiato, S$6.50
Where do we begin? Not only is this drink delicious, but it’s definitely one for the ‘gram.
What we learned while we were at the store is that this drink is best enjoyed one layer at a time – start from the top, which is a fluffy blend of four cheeses, followed by a layer of strawberry slush, green tea, and strawberry jelly at the bottom.
Even when we didn’t drink it the way it’s supposed to, the sweet and savoury mix of drinks was perfectly refreshing for Singapore’s weather. We love.
#2 Shizuoka Matcha Latte, S$5.80
Available in both hot and cold versions, Vivian’s recommendation was to have it hot with pearls. After trying both versions, we agree. While the cold version had a delicate blend of the slightly-bitter matcha and milk, the hot version truly stood out.
Not only did the tea somehow taste even better, but the addition of the slightly-melted pearls made this drink something that we’ll crave for on a rainy day.
#3 Milk Tea with Pudding, Milk Tea with Crème Cheese, S$4.90 each
Now, hear us out before you think that we’re cheating by listing two drinks together. The milk tea in both drinks is exactly the same, and the only difference is the dessert that lies at the bottom of the drink.
For people who love cheesecake, go for the crème cheese as this is one way to cut the calories (and save a couple of bucks) by having hitting both your milk tea and cheese quotas.
For those who aren’t that fond of heavy desserts, go for the pudding as its lighter texture is something that won’t make you feel overly full, and yet still hits all the right spots.
#4 Signature Milk Tea With Pearl, S$4.50
It’s difficult to make a very ordinary-sounding drink stand out, but Teabrary managed to do just this.
Their tea, which is specially sourced from Taiwanese plantations that Vivian exclusively works with, is paired with premium milk. The pearls, Vivian shared, are cooked differently depending on which country the store is based in. They did a survey of local tastes to find out how Singaporeans like their pearls, and these pearls were just the right consistency even when served cold.
#5 Signature Fruit Tea, S$6.50
For the lactose intolerant or those who simply don’t like milk in their drinks, this one is for you.
Apples, oranges, pineapple jam, passionfruit jam, lemon juice and orange juice are added into this drink, which honestly didn’t quite taste like tea. Not that it’s a bad thing, however, as the medley of tastes were enough to keep us happily slurping until the bottom of the cup.
WIN: Teabrary’s Four Seasons Spring Oolong Teabags
Toggle is giving away 10 boxes of Four Seasons Spring Oolong Teabags, courtesy of Teabrary.
Answer the following question and the most creative entries will be picked to win. *Terms and conditions apply
Question: Which Teabrary drink you’d be interested to try and why?
Email your answer together with your full name as per your NRIC and email address to editor@mediacorp.com.sg with the subject ‘Toggle Teabrary’.
Contest ends October 16 and winners will be notified via email by October 18.
* Terms and Conditions
– By participating in this contest, you agree to our contest terms and conditions.
– This contest is open to Singapore residents.
– Entries submitted after the deadline will not be entertained.
– We reserve the right to pick final winners. No correspondence will be entertained.
– Entry submission forms that are incomplete will be disqualified.
– Previous week’s winners are not qualified to win.
– Each family is entitled to win only one contest every seven days. Persons who share the same registered address will be considered as part of the same family.
– Any proof-of-entry printouts cannot be used as proof that we received your submission.
– We reserve the right to change the terms and conditions of the contest without prior notice.
– Winners will be informed via email/phone call from which details of prize collection will be stated.
– Prizes not collected by the given date will be considered null and void.
– Prizes are non-transferable and non-exchangeable for cash.
– By entering the contest, you agree to be informed of any future promotion related to Toggle.
Teabrary is located at #B1-12 Esplanade Xchange and is open daily from 10am to 9pm.