Manila had this milk tea craze and everyone went crazy for it. Except me, though. I've never really…read morebeen a milk tea aficionado. It's nice and creamy, yes, but I'm not addicted. We could co-exist, milk tea and I, but if they suddenly disappeared from the face of this planet, I wouldn't notice. Unlike, if that happens to ice cream, I'd go crazy. Cha Dao happens to be near where I live and we'd occasionally grab some milk tea there. Then one day, they were serving Sugarlick ice cream too. Now I'm all "Cha Dao is my favorite milk tea place everrrrrr." PROS: They offer milk tea in a lot of different flavors, and a lot of them are unique Cha Dao offerings; You can stay indoors and enjoy their air conditioning, or at their porch. It's very conducive for just hanging out or doing your stuff since it's peaceful, comfy, and quiet; They have Sugarlick homemade artisan ice cream! It comes in all awesome flavors like Nutty Salted Caramel and Mango Torte. Each scoop fills up the entire cup! CONS: It's not a really good place for snacking. They have some cookies and their awesome ice cream, but they don't have your common café pastries. TL;DR: Come for the milk tea, stay for the Chocolate Cookie Dough ice cream. Stay for the Wi-Fi too.

And here we have yet another Maginhawa milk tea regular. It's lasted pretty long, too which should…read moresay something. Of all the milk tea joints, Cha Dao and Tea Please are the two places with the most diverse menus so if you're tired of your usual choices, there's always these guys. Where Tea Please has more adventurous flavors, Cha Dao offers more variations. You have your usual fruit teas and black teas and green teas... but they have things like Strawberries n' Cream, Chocolate Strawberry Yakult, Wintermelon Salted Caramel... the list goes on. Be prepared to spend a few minutes looking the menu over, trying to decide if you want your usual or if you'd like to try something new. Whatever you pick though, it's all good. The flavors are there and aren't overpowering whatsoever. I'd say this is where to go when you want something close to your usual flavor but don't want something too foreign. Also, this place is pretty good to hang out with friends but if you want munchies, better bring your own. (Or you could buy barbecue from the Grill Queen next door, your choice.)

With the many milk tea places around the area, Yi Fangs brown sugar milk tea and Signature fruit…read moretea are consistently good. Sugar level like any other place can be varied to taste, I usually go for the 30%, which is the lowest setting, though my sibling would go for the 100%, which he feels is better value as reducing the sugar level equally reduces the brown sugar syrup (which is amazing).

One of my personal favorite with the many versions of teas in the metro that originated from…read moreTaiwan. The Fruit Teas are a refreshing choice but also tried the taro drink and it did not disappoint.

For me, they have the best brown sugar bubble tea in Manila. The addition of creme brulee makes it…read moreextra special. SM stores even does promos with them.

While visiting the Quezon City area in the Philippines, I decided to stop by the Gong Cha kiosk for…read morea House Special Milk Black Tea, and I'm so glad I did! The drink was great, and at just 120 pesos (about $2 USD) for a large, it's an incredible deal. Their classic milk tea with pearls is always a favorite--perfectly balanced with the right amount of sweetness and a generous serving of chewy tapioca. I also love their matcha milk tea and the variety of toppings, like aloe vera and brown sugar boba. The kiosk is clean and well-maintained, and the staff are friendly and efficient. Even when it's busy, the drinks are made quickly and taste just as amazing. If you're in Quezon City and craving affordable and delicious bubble tea, you should give them a try.

Love tiger sugar. Way cheaper in Asia than the us. Tried the cookies and cream brown sugar frappe…read morethis time.

Some customers ahead of us were ordering by the bulk! Wow! Our line was short since we tried after…read more9:00 pm. Brown Sugar Pearl Milk was creamy, sweet, just right and worth trying, but not worth lining up for if there were ten or more people ahead of us. Five or less people would at least get me tempted to try joining the line.

This place was one of my first milk tea experiences. Given the fact that I practically lived off…read moremilk tea for years afterward (and still do on occasion, might I add), this probably means it was a pretty good experience to start. As far as the menu goes, Zen Tea has a pretty good selection. Apart from a few not-commonly-seen variants (Bandung and Horlicks to name a couple), they also have a list of flavors called Personalitea which is made by combining a couple of the flavored syrups they have. Unfortunately, without a way to decipher which is mixed with which (from my experience, at least), I haven't really experimented with them. I usually go for either the Carnival (Caramel milk tea), Horlicks or lychee. As for price, again, another good place to get a decently sized drink for under 100php. This is also one of the cozier branches. There's something about the chairs they've set up and the layout I rather like. With plugs and wifi, all you need is a drink and your laptop and you could spend a whole afternoon there. Though Simple Line is still my go-to milk tea place, I do admit I go back to this particular Zen Tea from time to time.

Get Autumn! My…read morenormal tendency when drinking milk tea is to always go for the wintermelon in the menu. The first time I tried wintermelon flavored anything was this wintermelon juice they were selling at school. Since then, I was hooked. I keep ordering wintermelon flavored milk tea when the milk tea shop has them. Zen Tea's wintermelon, or Autumn, is easily one of the best around. Zen Tea has probably the best pearls of any milk tea shop around. I mean, I rarely get any of the other flavors, but the Carnival flavor, which is Caramel is also pretty solid. Zen Tea offers a pretty big variety of flavors. There's nothing particularly special about the shops, but most branches are cool and are good studying areas.

I love bubble tea. So much so that when I was in Taiwan I had 1 every day I was there.. did my body…read morehate me? Yes, but did I enjoy it? YES! Anyways, I didn't drink nearly that much when I was in the Philippines, only twice but this place was by far the better of the 2. They have a lot of your standard flavors that most other tea places would have but this place does something special. They have an option to add cream cheese to your drink! You're probably thinking wait what?? Cream cheese is for bagels, cheesecakes, and for some of you eating it right out the container.. not judging.. but here it can be in your milk tea too. The American in me was so excited! I got a regular milk tea with boba and cream cheese, and the cream cheese has a separate drink opening so you can sip that on it's own. Soo tasty, like it wasn't too sweet, just enough to keep me satisfied and want to go back everyday for the rest of my trip. I didn't.. but I did think about it hahah. My friend got a cheesecake tea and it wasn't as good, the texture was off, there's literal bits of cheesecake floating around in it, but it was still ok. She was supposed to be an expert on the place, sometimes sticking with your favorite order instead of something new isn't always a bad thing. Definitely 5 stars for friendly service, great tea and they have them scattered throughout Manila. If you come across one give it a try!

Among all the sprouting milk tea places, especially the ones with creative names, I consider this…read moreas one of my faves. I was even glad that when it opened in the East Wing, its interiors and overall design matched the chic ambiance of its location. I love the simple garden theme with suspended "cage chairs" reminiscent of a Miley Cyrus video from way back when. Place is also perfect for casual conversations with friends or a place to hang out while waiting for a movie. Lately, I've ordered nothing but their Cookies and Cream Milk Tea. It may sound weird to some, especially to those with sensitive tummies, but it tastes really amazing. Crushed oreo cookies with assam milk base and a scoop of ice cream just works really work together. For munchies on the side, I always go for their Chicken Chops. The salty and peppery coat complements the sweetness of the drinks. For ultimate enjoyment: bite, sip, repeat.

Always picked. Near the ice rink so you'd think it won't be--but it is on any climate it seems…read more Their Okinawa Milk Tea is apparently their best caffeinated. Pearls == boba for those used to the term. No sugar is needed as the non-fat milk and sinkers will provide that sugar boost that you minimally needed. They also take senior discount cards if you happen to be with family.