grass jelly – Jellybeans in the City

Enjoy Thai milk tea at home with Jelly G

Despite the increasing frequency of rain showers in the metro, the times when the sunshine peeks through the clouds are the instances when we need something sweet and refreshing to quench our thirst, right?

Have you ever tried Thai milk tea? Unlike the more prevalent boba milk teas, Thai milk teas have actually been around a lot longer, have a myriad of health benefits and are also available in wondrous variety.

Local chain Jelly G, which has been operating since 2000, specializes in Thai milk tea, making its signature drinks from strongly brewed black tea spiced with anise and tamarind seeds and sweetened with condensed milk.

Together with fillers such as grass jelly, cassava pearls, yogurt, basil seeds, coconut jelly, egg pudding, cream cheese and poppers, the resulting drinks showcase the distinct exotic taste of Thai milk tea as well as introduce new ways to enjoy this traditional Southeast Asian drink that will appeal to Pinoy taste buds.

Over the years, Jelly G’s presence in malls have made this Thai delicacy more easily to Filipinos, and now, with heightened restrictions on dining out due to the pandemic, it can now be delivered to your home for you to enjoy with your family.

Really, now would be a great time to expand the family’s flavor horizons and say “Sa wa dee ka!” to new drink experiences by trying out some of Jelly G’s unique drinks such as:

Blueberry Milk with Coco Jelly and Cream Cheese. A sweet and tangy fruity drink with slivers of chewy coco jelly and topped with cream cheese.

Black Forest with Poppers. A rich chocolatey drink with tiny globes of fruity poppers.

Red Velvet Thai Milk Tea with Grass Jelly and Cream Cheese. A creamy dessert-like take on Thai milk tea made more nutritious with addition of grass jelly and richer with the addition of cream cheese.

Want to expand your Thai food adventure even more? Pair your Thai milk tea with traditional Thai dishes, also available from Jelly G.

Place your orders now by messaging +63 925 7816237 on Viber or via GrabFood or FoodPanda.

To know its latest promos and offers, follow Jelly G on Facebook or Instagram.

Check out my previous posts on Jelly G:

Disclosure: Product samples were provided to facilitate this feature article.

Have your drink your way at Make Your Own Cafe, Maginhawa

With the proliferation of milk tea places all around the metro, how does a new player stand out from the pack?

By hingeing its bets on its sinkers – those little add-ons that you put into your milk tea.

Make Your Own Cafe’s unique selling proposition is its unlimited sinkers (at Php20 each) which include homemade boba pearls (in original, honey and espresso flavors), egg pudding, nata de coco and jellies (in grass, coffee, brown sugar varieties), Oreo crumbs and more.

Add these decision points on top of the drink options on the menu – which include milk teas, fruit teas, fizzy pops, blended ice, cheese + tea, coffee and hot drinks – and you’ll soon find yourself overwhelmed with all the choices before you.

During a recent foodie meetup at the cafe’s newly opened branch in Quezon City’s famous Maginhawa Street, my foodie friends from #SaanSaPH and I were faced with the same quandary: which drink to choose from such an extensive plethora of choices.

My advice for your first time at Make Your Own Cafe? Be adventurous and go for a flavor you’ve never tried before. That way, your MYO experience is as unique and memorable as the cafe itself.

My chosen drink was the Spring Jasmine Cheese (Php120 regular | Php130 large). The light, floral and fruity tea was given an added richness by a thick, creamy and decadent layer of cheese foam. Its taste reminds me of the freshness of spring, while the cheese foam provides a slightly salty contrast to the tea.

My friends and I enjoyed our chosen drinks while sharing the snacks provided by the cafe which included:

Wings (Php176 for 6 pieces; in garlic parmesan, buffalo, sweet and spicy, barbecue and sriracha honey flavors)

Cheese Quesadilla (Php105)

Cheese Nachos (Php105)

Backyard Barbecue Burger (Php180)

Bacon Cheeseburger (Php210)

Pastas (Php180 each, which include Aligue, Truffle and Longganisa Aglio Olio)

Dessert Cakes: Sans Rival and Blueberry Cheesecake

At Make Your Own Cafe, you get to choose from a wide selection of drinks and truly make it your own, plus you can enjoy it with such tasty dishes.

(Photo Credit: Bebe Co)

Thanks to Kian of Kianventures for extending the invite and the awesome people behind Make Your Own Cafe for the warm welcome and the yummy food!

This Make Your Own Cafe branch is located at Ground Floor, Maginhawa Street, Sikatuna Village, Quezon City, open daily from 6am to 12 midnight. For food and franchise inquiries, call +63 2 9689696 or +63 917 6779696.

Disclosure: Together with other food bloggers of #SaanSaPH, I was invited to attend a foodie meetup held here wherein in food drink items were served to allow us to sample the fare. These were not paid for by the attendees, including myself.

Check out my reviews of other milk tea joints:

Mother-Daughter Milk Tea Break at Macao Imperial Tea, SM Manila

After attending a KIX channel event at SM Manila Activity Center, my daughter #ExhibitA and I looked for somewhere to rest and relax before braving the traffic going back home.

We spotted this branch of Macao Imperial Tea after going up a couple of floors. There was a long queue at the counter but we saw some hope of getting some seats at the back. (Which we did, thank heavens!)

#ExhibitA ordered a Grass Jelly Milk Tea (Php110) and while I got a Cheesecake and Pearl Milk Tea (Php120).

My daughter’s Grass Jelly Milk Tea had a slightly bitter and herby aftertaste while my Cheesecake and Pearl Milk Tea, on the other hand, had a subtle sweetness with some rich frothiness from the cream cheese (which is actually one of my favorite things).

Despite the crowd, we were able to enjoy our drinks in relative comfort, and in a trice, we were ready to journey on home.

This Macao Imperial Tea branch is located at Fourth Floor, SM City Manila, Ermita, Manila. Other branches may be found at:

RTT Building, Tomas Morato Corner Timog Avenue, South Triangle, Quezon City (read my review here)
Ground Floor, Unimart Supermarket, Oranbo, Pasig City
Ground Floor, Circuit Makati, Olympia, Makati City
Calle Bistro, Ground Floor, Ever Gotesco Mall, Commonwealth Avenue, Old Balara, Quezon City
Fisher Mall, Quezon Avenue, Del Monte, Quezon City
780 Banawe Street, Banawe, Quezon City
Second Floor, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Binondo, Manila
Third Floor, Main Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Mall of Asia Complex (MOA), Pasay City
308 Aguirre Avenue, BF Homes, Parañaque City