R&B TEA INDONESIA - THE BEST BUBBLE TEA IN TOWN?
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In the midst of chaotic time there's a really happy news, at least for me: R&B TEA is OPENING REAL SOON IN INDONESIA!!! R&B has a special place in my heart because it's currently at the very top of my list for THE BEST BROWN SUGAR MILK DRINK, I remember vividly the very first time I tried R&B in Singapore (their Marina Bay Sands branch) and two years ago they were the first to start the brown sugar with cheese brulee topping and gained quite a recognition! Anyway for those who wonder what "R&B" is actually, it stands for Rex and Bruce, the owners who are Taiwanese who opened up bubble tea shops in China, as this post is being typed there are currently more than 600 R&B branches spread all over China, Singapore, Vietnam and now Indonesia! YAY! It's opening July 4th 2020!
...BUT the question is: is the one in Jakarta as good as the one in Singapore? I was so damn lucky to be invited for an exclusive preview two days ago (thank you R&B team) and I am super excited to share this review because I want eatandtreats readers to be the first to virtually experience R&B opening with me, I don't normally feel this excited about an opening that I want to be so involved, but this is R&B, honestly during the tasting I gave them so much pressure, the state of flavor needs to match the SG standard, even though I have to tell you something before I start this review: the milk they're using here is different than the one they're using in Singapore, they use "Meiji" milk in SG and sadly we don't have any here, but from what I've tried, it's definitely not disappointing and still pretty creamy!
I am sure you all wonder about the pricing and I can leak that info for you: it's almost HALF cheaper than the SG price! That's a good start for this review!
Captured two days ago sorry for the lame phone quality, I didn't have my wide lens with me that day, I can say they're 50% done with the construction and moving pretty fast, less than two weeks before the grand opening!
The right top pic is the boba machine, it looks like this Japanese bamboo steamer: PRETTY! - anyway photo taken using my "TOKYO" Instagram story filter *promo ;P*
There were three drinks presented for me, the purpose of me coming is not only for the exclusive preview but they also asked for my honest opinion, and it is the review I wrote in this entry.
Brown Sugar Boba Milk with Cheese Brulee - IDR 38,5k
In Chinese this drink is called "A Tiger Taking it's Journey": pearls cooked with brown sugar (and brown sugar glaze for that pretty look), poured with chilled milk, topped with cheese brulee then torched for a layer of caramelized brown sugar crust. So far for "their style", this is the best brown sugar bubble that I've had, the brown sugar flavor is beautifully infused to the bubble (no wonder because they actually spent 3 freaking hours cooking the boba), and texture wise the bubble is soft and chewy! I suggest trying their warm brown sugar boba before mixing everything, I literally had no problem with this, even for not using the same milk, this one tastes 90% like the one I had in SG (can't 100 cuz milk), this drink is creamy with sweet-savory flavor, the cheese brulee is not overly milky and cheesy so when I drank it, it didn't bloat me the f out, I love the flavor contrast of this drink: you get the sweet caramelize fragrant brown sugar, what a balance to the sweet & salty drink and cheese brulee. A solid 9/10!
If you notice I wrote "their style" because I realize there are some brands in the biz with their own approach like Kokumi (and I love Kokumi too and their style is different with modern approach), R&B style is the more classic one: very Chinese & Taiwanese style.
I keep on texting the owner to keep up with the quality of this, especially since this is the signature product and because they can't fuck up the grand opening! Anyway aren't you happy that this is only IDR 38k (honestly I wouldn't mind at all to pay more for this!!!), unfortunately they won't be serving the large size like the one I had in Singapore (the large size is S$6.5 in SG).
That top layer is one of the highlight of this drink: the caramelized brown sugar crust for that aroma and delicate burnt flavor (in a good way).
GRAPE YOGI - price to be confirmed
This is the first time I tried their Grape Yogi drink, heard it's quite successful abroad and I kinda get why: it's this refreshing grape drink with creamy thick yogurt that's not overly sour (maybe I like it just a tad more sour but I'm fine with this state), this drink is not yet final because it's supposed to have grape chunks and the grapes were not available that day, but the jelly topping tho! WOW I LOVE IT, it's this long cylinder shape with this firm but chewy texture, overall it's simple but spot on.
OOLONG NO. 23
Save the best for last? Just when I prepped myself to be most impressed by their Brown Sugar Milk, this one takes the cake, turned out this one left a very special impression from the tasting session that day!
The high grade no. 23 Oolong tea topped with milky tea cream (I mean perfectly milky thick tea cream with stronger oolong tea flavor in ratio), I love how this drink is overall sweet with this dominant tea flavor along with this sheer hint of bitter note at sips, but that's the charm! I would hate it if this drink is "just sweet" with no layers. This is personally my NUMBER ONE pick that I would recommend you guys ordering when R&B opens! Don't forget to follow me on my Instagram (@eatandtreats) for more upcoming updates on R&B, anyway I can't form my final opinion yet, but based on the three drinks that I tried, R&B is definitely one of the strongest newcomers, they're not playing!
There's no rule when it comes to drinking this, I drank it through the hole on the cup cover because I want to appreciate the tasty thick cream first, then followed by the tea. I am really craving for this right now, holy moly.
I am definitely going to update this post with more drink recommendations, anyway on the day of tasting the team proposed a giveaway collaboration that I believe is going to be LIT! Stay tuned for THE BIG giveaway that's coming Sunday, June 28th 2020 on my Instagram! You definitely don't want to miss it!
Until the next update!
Read my Singapore Food Diary post where I talked about R&B for the very first time -> HERE
R&B Tea Indonesia
Mall Emporium 2nd fl.
Jl. Pluit Selatan Raya No. 47
Jakarta Utara 14440
Average spending for two: IDR 100k
Dresscode: none
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