Yes, Singapore is going through a serious bubble tea craze now. CHICHA San Chen (吃茶三千) has recently opened its third outlet at Boon Lay MRT Station. This is just after the recent launch of their outlets at 313@Somerset and Jem shopping mall. Update 29 June 2019: CHICHA San Chen has opened its fourth outlet at AMK Hub!
CHICHA San Chen (吃茶三千)
There are tea leaves samples for you to smell
The staff brewing our teas
CHICHA San Chen (吃茶三千) is a famous Taiwanese bubble tea chain with over 200 stores in Taiwan and China.
It is known for its “brewed to order” bubble teas, meaning that you can customise the drinks based on your preferences.
The tea bases are first brewed using a high-tech tea machine. It was pretty cool to see the staff brewing the tea in front of us.
After that, you can add on milk, honey, juices, tapioca pearls, konjac jelly, etc to complete your bubble tea.
According to the company, this “marries the best of bubble tea with traditional tea”. After trying the CHICHA San Chen bubble teas myself, I can testify to the veracity of this statement.
The Boon Lay MRT Station outlet is the bubble tea chain’s third branch in Singapore. It opened its first flagship outlet at 313@Somerset in May this year.
The Boon Lay branch is a takeaway shop. The wife and I visited this branch on a weekend afternoon and there was no queue at all.
This was a pleasant surprise because we had to queue for about half an hour at the Jem outlet.
And when we visited the 313@Somerset outlet, we decided to skip the drink because the queue was horrendously long.
Menu (Click to enlarge)
Full Menu
Popular Items
The menu offers six tea bases: Green Tea, Osmanthus Oolong Tea, High Mountain Pouchong Tea, Black Tea, Dong Ding Oolong Tea, and Cassia Black Tea. Each tea base costs $3.20.
After selecting the tea base, you can choose to add on a flavour like milk, honey, cream, passion fruit, mango, etc. Each flavour costs $1 or $1.50 on top of the tea base.
Finally, you can add toppings like tapioca pearls, konjac jelly, coconut jelly, or grass jelly at $0.50 or $1 per topping.
If you can’t decide, the shop has various recommended combinations like the Bubble Milk Tea (Black Tea + Cream + Bubble), Dong Ding Oolong Fresh Milk Tea, and Cassia Black Tea with Mousse. See picture of “Popular Items” above.
Sugar level options are 100%, 50%, and 0%. It is possible to request for less ice and even hot tea.
Bubble Milk Tea
The wife and I ordered the Bubble Milk Tea ($4.50) on our first visit. This signature drink comprises black tea added with cream and bubble pearls.
The drink was smooth and creamy. The black tea flavour was quite strong and sweet, but it wasn’t overwhelming.
The highlight for me was the tapioca pearls. CHICHA San Chen pearls are made in Taiwan but freshly cooked in Singapore. They are covered with a layer of caramel.
The pearls were soft, chewy, and sweet. They are 1.5 times larger than the usual size which made it even more satisfying to chew on them.
On the whole, this was a safe and pleasant drink that should suit most palates.
High Mountain Pouchong Tea With Honey
I also tried the High Mountain Pouchong Tea With Honey ($4.70). This tea was extremely refreshing and is perfect for drinking in Singapore’s hot weather.
I have a sweet tooth so I decided to add on honey, though I only requested for 50% sugar level. It complimented the tea base very nicely.
If you are looking for the ultimate thirst quencher, go for this option.
Cassia Black Tea with Fresh Milk
The Cassia Black Tea with Fresh Milk and Bubbles ($5.20) was decent.
The cassia tea flavour was sweet and aromatic, with slightly bitter undertones. The fresh milk gave the drink a sweet flavour.
This was a pleasant drink though it was not as satisfying as the Dong Ding Oolong Tea (see below).
Dong Ding Oolong Fresh Milk Tea
The Dong Ding Oolong Fresh Milk Tea ($4.70) is definitely our favourite drink at Chicha San Chen!
The oolong tea had a sweet, aromatic and full-bodied flavour. I liked how it stood up perfectly to the sweet taste of the fresh milk, creating a wonderfully fragrant and well-balanced bubble tea drink.
Conclusion
Compared to other bubble tea shops in Singapore, I feel that CHICHA San Chen has best managed to retain the rich fragrance of tea in their drinks. The company has put effort into brewing high quality teas so that their bubble teas are not just sugary concoctions of syrups and tapioca pearls.
CHICHA San Chen (Boon Lay MRT)
Website: https://chichasanchen.com.sg
Address: Boon Lay MRT, 301 Boon Lay Way #01-16, Singapore 649846
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm
CHICHA San Chen (Jem)
Address: Jem, 50 Jurong Gateway Road #L1-17, Singapore 608549
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm
CHICHA San Chen (313@Somerset)
Address: 313@Somerset, 313 Orchard Rd #03-41, Singapore 238895
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm