Chronicles of Cheese Tea

Students these days are really lucky, considering the type of F&B establishments that have opened up in campuses of the late. Located within SPROUT at Temasek Polytechnic, MAO Milk Bar is opened by the same folks behind Fat Cat Ice Cream Bar (the same premises is also home to Fume by The Burning Oak as well). Offering cakes, ice cream and bubble tea options to students on campus, the focus of MAO Milk Bar would be their bubble tea menu with its variety of flavoured pearls that is made in-house.

Going for the flavoured foam items which I am more familiar with, the Oolong Tea here comes with a floral fragrance — pretty aromatic though not the roasty type that some may prefer. The brown butter foam helped to add rich, creamy and savoury note to the entire deal much like how a macchiato would, further enhance with a hint of vanilla. Only qualm was how aerated the foam was; no doubt my personal preference would be for something more similar to that of a mousse, but the bubbly and inconsistent texture of the foam was something I was not too fond of here and could be improved on. Still, a relatively decent (and indie) option compared to other more commercial joints, and a good addition to the campus.

Seems like one can never finish trying the various Cheese Tea shops around Suntec City — there just seems to be one coming up in the area every few months.

Saw the hype on social media about the various items that they have, but the Oolong Cheese Tea is certainly not the Bubble Tea Revolution that they seem to hold their name to. The tea was fragrant with a slight roastiness, but the body could certainly feel a little more fuller, while the cream cheese felt more cream without much cheesiness; didn’t carry that pungent punch as much as I wish it should. Coupled with the fact that there isn’t a choice to state your preferred level of sweetness (at least not visually stated on the menu nor was I being asked about it at the counter), and that it comes with the usual cup lid rather than the one that usually comes with cheese tea which makes it hard to enjoy the cheese tea at its best, it is one that I would give a miss on.

Thought their Mountain Top Green Oolong Tea was interesting but kept with the Tea King Red Oolong Tea for consistency’s sake. If anything, sweetness level can be requested here though it’s not upfront on the menu board (not that I had noticed); the friendly staff here went with my request for 0% sugar level.

The tea itself was pretty fragrant here; it’s aptly strong and aromatic without leaving much of an aftertaste — one that I would certainly go for if I needed cold Oolong tea. The cream cheese, however, was a little frothier than expected; a little faint at the start and with the cream mixed into the tea pretty easily. That being said, most of the cheese just sat on top of the tea after a long while; all that is left after finishing the tea would be the cheese, which is left to savour at the end.

The grand ol’ dame of Cheese Tea in Singapore — had tried LiHo’s version very early on but it’s definitely since been a while before I tried out the other variants of Cheese Oolong Tea available all around.

I must say I was actually pretty surprised that LiHo’s variant is pretty respectable amongst the few I have tried — or maybe it has something to do about them being the first to bring Cheese Tea into Singapore that they had set the basic expectations of the beverage. The Jing Syuan Oolong doesn’t leave much of a lingering aftertaste at 0% sweetness, though I would say that it could have been a little more outstanding if there was more depth for the tea aroma. Having LiHo’s variant quite a few times before writing this, it can be said that LiHo’s cheese curd is somewhat thicker than most — the cheese somewhat ends up in globs, proving that hint of savouriness throughout the entire cup; those from other places tend to carry the cheesiness at the start, only to run out of cheese midway. LiHo’s variant sees the cheese going on at the start and near the finish, though the cheese doesn’t really quite integrate with the tea to form a milkier concoction — something that would work well for those going for the cheese like me though!

Trying out this new stall at Raffles City since they carry Cheese Teas. To be frank, I am usually more into the cheese than the tea aspect; I actually found myself liking the tea more than the cheese at Muyoo. At 0% sweetness, the tea is pretty fragrant in aroma without leaving a bitter aftertaste; something I found pretty enjoyable, but the cheese was a tad too milky — only survived a couple of sips before it all ended up in a mix of tea and milk. Rightfully though, it does add that milkiness to the tea, but I just wished for more of that cheesy flavour to go around.

From Supertea at Millenia Walk; a new bubble tea kiosk serving up tea and dirty buns with a small dine-in area at the back of the shop.

Went for it wanting to try the Dirty Bun but ended up being more impressed by the Oolong instead. If anything, the Dirty Matcha Bread carried a texture of a stodgy neighbourhood bakery bun — a little stiff and a bit dry; the Matcha also didn’t really quite pull off, mostly drowned in the white chocolate that is smothered above. The cream within was exceptionally disappointing; carried that promising green hue that speaks of matcha aesthetically but just bland in taste.

Oolong Cheese Tea was good however — admittedly, going for 30% sweetness was a mistake for how the savoury and smooth layer of cream cheese above felt like it needed something sweeter to compensate for the savouriness, but both elements were good on their own; the tea being especially aromatic on its own. Would probably be tempted to get one again if I were to pass by again (which is, well, pretty likely!).

Found R&B Tea’s variant of the Oolong Cheese Cream Tea to be extremely similar to Supertea’s variant — both uses the same tea leaves, while I have also noticed Supertea having a stock on R&B Tea’s cups in the stall while sipping on this.

Must say that after trying a number of versions of similar drinks, R&B Tea/Supertea’s variants still rank pretty high on the list — really liked how they are able to do 0% sugar here, while the tea, whilst being fragrant, doesn’t come overly strong considering how there isn’t an evident bitter tea aftertaste despite finishing the entire cup. The cream cheese comes decently thick here; while it does mix into the drink after a while, it’s not too clumpy, while one is still able to sip on it for a while before it gets mixed into the tea. The cheese also comes with a slight tinge of sweetness instead of being more on the savoury side; matches the 0% sugar tea well.

Wanted to try their Jing Syeun Oolong Tea + Cheese but the order was keyed wrongly by mistake and ended up with this. Not sure if the tea actually comes sweetened here for the tea aroma isn’t particularly strong for this one, though the cheese is noted to be not too thick here. In fact, the cheese actually mixed into the tea well; one would find themselves able to sip on both a good proportion of tea and cheese at the same time instead of gulping on copious amounts of cheese and having no cheese left by the time they reach the tea.

Appreciate the fact that U-Cha carries a pretty wide range of Oolong Tea of different origins, as well as offering flavoured Oolong Tea as well. Opted for the Phoenix Oolong Tea; the staff recommended it as one of the more intense Oolong Tea that they carry. That being said, the Phoenix Oolong Tea carries a pretty punchy aroma, though does leave a lingering aftertaste in the mouth. The Cheese comes pretty decent; thick, rich and creamy; slightly savoury and goes well in between the Phoenix Oolong Tea to remove any bitterness from its finishing notes.

Quite into Cheese Oolong Tea and decided to go around to try various ones from different stalls. True Boss’s variant comes pretty affordable, considering the smallest size costs $2.90 — not a fan of the Cheese Milk Foam, which was a little too airy and light; lacks the thick and rich cream that comes with other similar beverages from other joints. The LUGU Oolong Tea also comes sweetened at default with no option for the patron’s preferred sweetness level; more of the purist here so would have appreciated an option to go for 0% sweetness.