SINGAPORE - By Monday (June 5), all bubble tea outlets under the Taiwanese Gong Cha franchise will be converted to a new home-grown brand LiHo.
LiHo, Hokkien for "how are you", will be run by RTG Holdings, the same company that first brought Gong Cha to Singapore back in 2009.
LiHo's offerings are similar to Gong Cha's, with the addition of new-to-market cheese teas in various flavours. Cheese tea, or tea topped a layer of frothy, whipped cheese and milk, is also popular elsewhere in Asia, from Guangzhou to Kuala Lumpur.
At LiHo, its cheese topping is a combination of different types of cheese including Gouda.
The Straits Times asked four young people aged 21 to 24, to pit their favourite Gong Cha drinks against the LiHo alternatives in a video taste test, as well as try some of the new cheese tea additons on the menu.
They also compared LiHo's Busy Bee Green Tea with Gong Cha's Honey Green Tea; and LiHo's Fresh Lemon Juice with Golden Ai Yu with Gong Cha's Lemon Juice with Ai Yu Jelly.
Prices at LiHo start at $2.20 for a cup of tea.
