Cha Mulan 茶木兰 (Chinatown Complex)

There has been quite a bit of talk about a particular beverage shop that had made its appearance in the local hawker scene of the late — having first established its presence at Blk 216 Bedok Food Centre and Market as The Flower Mulan 花木兰药铺莽饮, these folks had recently expanded their operations with multiple locations across the island. Now re-branded as Cha Mulan 茶木兰, these folks can be found at ABC Brickworks Food Centre — their latest stall at the time of writing being their Chinatown Complex Food Centre location, though there are also outlets in Ang Mo Kio and Marine Parade in the pipeline as well. Their stall at Chinatown Complex Food Centre takes over the former premises of the now-defunct Crispylicious Burger 中华肉夹馍 in the red zone of the food centre; it is quite impossible to miss Cha Mulan considering how very few hawker centre stalls are decked in a pastel pink colour scheme from its facade to its fittings inside — there is also a bit of likeness in its branding against some commercially-run brands as well. Being a stall that serves up tea offerings with a focus around peach gum, beverages at Cha Mulan is split across categories of bases such as Beauty & Collagen, Wellness Series and Milk Series; patrons would first choose their desired base before choosing the type of tea and stating the desired sugar level and ice level.

We went with the Collagen Mulan for our base; whilst we did not specify for the type of tea to go for, we seemed to have been served with their Artisan White Peach Oolong — this would be their signature Tea offering; we left the sugar level at the default level of 50% which is also the maximum that one can opt for here, whilst also went with regular ice as well. The menu describes the Collagen Mulan to come with elements such as premium peach gum, ruby goji berries and more peach gum. Overall, we liked how this felt like a healthier rendition of the usual peach oolong tea that one can find at stores specialising in bubble tea offerings all around — despite us typically being folks going for 0% sugar for our beverages at other establishments, we could still detect the tea notes in its finish whilst going for 50% sugar for our order; definitely not too sweet for us though we would prefer it to be at 25% for it to just pull through a bit more per our usual preferences. Regular ice still sees quite a fair bit of tea in the cup — this is despite the tea featuring elements like peach gum and goji berries that adds on to the volume of the contents in the cup. The peach gum and goji berries add an element of chew almost similar to that to tapioca pearls, though way more healthier given the lack of excess starch and sweetness coating them — quite a genius move that makes such tea offerings feel like a less sinful treat; the health properties of peach gum and goji berries being a huge plus point. With prices starting from $4.90 for their Radiant Mulan, Cleanse Mulan, The Voice Mulan and Eagle Eye Mulan to $6.90 for the Silk Mulan (i.e. essentially the Collagen Mulan with milk added), prices of the beverages do seem a little pricey for an establishment in a hawker centre setting — still pretty worth the spend considering the premium ingredients that makes it healthier than the average cup of bubble tea that costs about the same anyway!