Once again I'm lost about how can the English press ignore a milk tea brewing competition in Hong Kong altogether. I mean, Suu Kyi and drug test in schools?! Move over.
Then again, you can argue to buy into the verdict of this competition, which took place over the weekend in a tea fair, is no less different than to trust what a couple says in the wedding ceremony about marriage. Granted, what the judges are sipping probably won't be equal to what ends up serving the everyday clientele, but apparently who's the king of xi mut lai cha, or pantyhose milk tea, is a very burning question for the locals: it has graced the headlines for pretty much all the local newspapers on Sunday.
But to fess up, these are just trivia. What matters most is who's the champion when it comes to the finest Hong Kong-style "silk stocking" milk tea. And herein is the lowdown in brief.
The king of pantyhose milk tea is a shop all the way from Hung Shui Kiu, Yuen Long -- no need to blush if you haven't got a single clue of its whereabout. Last time I check, it is the most isolated landmass of Hong Kong. Men live there still keep pigtail while women continue the practice of foot-binding. The name of the ranch chachaanteng is Tai Fat and their milk tea costs just HKD11.
The second best is a chain called Tai Hing Roast Restaurant. Their ice-chilled milk tea would definitely tickle you to death in the scorching summer if you are a big fan of it.
Still, the bombshell must be the 2nd runner-up as it was won by an obscure tuck shop in Sham Tseng, with their homemade milk tea selling at HKD68 per cup (yes, you read me right!). I don't know about you, but the idea that someone is peddling a cup of milk tea brewed with pantyhose and rust kettle at such a whopping high price in Sham Tseng doesn't stand well with me at all (check out the literal meaning of the place in English, if you'll excuse the pun!). One thing is certain, they'd better make it damn good, and damn good to the last drop because it will be stampeded by every milk tea lovers now that the beans are spilled.
[Pictures courtesy of Sing Tao Media and Tai Hing Group]
