The Cantonese chain restaurant Kowloon House has been in the Philippines for a long time — for over 50 years, to be specific. A 24-hour joint that serves siopao (pork buns) and dim-sum, for many Manileños, it’s become the default spot for satisfying late night food cravings or post-drinking sessions.
However, it only very recently caught up with the milk tea trend. Now on soft opening is its shop called BoBa Milk Tea, located in Kowloon House’s West Avenue branch in Quezon City.
Its 1-liter milk tea instantly became viral when it was shared by Kowloon’s Facebook page on Wednesday. Which got us wondering, is it worth the hype?
Off we go to get our hands on one of these XL boba teas — because, bigger doesn’t always mean better … right?
Right now, Kowloon House only offers four milk tea flavors, Classic Milk Tea, Brown Sugar Milk Tea, Wintermelon Milk Tea, and Caramel Milk Tea.
Prices for the medium and large ones range from PHP65 (US$1.23) to PHP80 (US$1.51), while the one-liter milk teas are priced at PHP85 (US$1.60) to PHP90 (US$1.70).
It’s already a win in terms of pricing as other milk tea shops offer their large-sized milk teas at PHP100 (US$1.89) and above.
All their milk teas come with pearls but customers can order extra sinkers for an extra fee. Additional pearls are priced at PHP15 (US$0.28), brown sugar jelly at PHP20 (US$0.38), and coconut jelly at PHP20 (US$0.38).
We tried the one-liter Brown Sugar Milk Tea (PHP90/US$1.70).
Its taste is comparable to the higher-end milk tea brands. It has the right amount of sweetness, pearls are big and chewy, which is surprising given its price.
The sweetness isn’t as consistent, probably because much of the ice melted before we even managed to finish it.
It’s been half a day and we’re still sipping on it.
So yes, we have confirmed that Kowloon House’s milk tea isn’t all hype — it’s actually quite good, which means that it’s totally worth it for its price. It’s great for sharing too, if you don’t want to guzzle that much milk tea in one go.
FIND IT:
Kowloon House West Avenue is at 16 West Avenue, Quezon City
Open every day, 24 hours
Phone: (02) 372-3685
