rinnah's consumer views|a straight talking, tell-it-as-it-is consumer lifestyle blog

When I first came to Singapore, I observed a strange phenomenon at the place where I stay. There are many shops all selling bubble teas within the same vicinity. In fact, on a routine walk to/from the MRT station, I pass no fewer than five different shops specializing in bubble tea drinks (not counting the drink stalls at the food court).

There are many contenders for the title of best bubble tea and in the name of blog research (and pure curiosity) I tested a few of the more popular/well-known brands – Koi Cafe, Gong Cha, Chatime and Ochado. The irony is that I seldom think of buying bubble tea back home in Malaysia, but yet in Singapore, here I was, standing patiently in queue with 15 other people for bubble tea. To ensure fairness of my taste test, I ordered the same drink from all franchises – no fancy schmancy specialty teas, just plain straight up milk tea with pearls and less sugar.

(Erm, I have no photo for Gong Cha, Chatime and Ochado simply because I forgot to take one. #bloggerfail)

What did my not-so-epicurean tastebuds think?

Chatime’s tea seemed to be least refined (tasted like they used cheaper tea leaves to brew) of the four contenders. Ochado’s roasted tea version was the smoothest and most to my liking. Koi and Gong Cha were better than Chatime, but ultimately forgettable. Despite my order of half-sugar, Chatime was also the sweetest mix (maybe to hide the taste of cheaper tea?) and therefore got booted down to the bottom of my bubble tea list.

I can safely say that I prefer the quality and texture of Koi’s pearls (tapioca balls) overall. Gong Cha’s pearls were a wee bit rubbery, as were Chatime’s. Ochado fared slightly better due to the smaller size of their pearls and I even tried their famous pop-egg pearls (which contain coffee syrup). While I liked the concept of the pop-eggs, it was way too sweet for my liking – like taking swigs of syrup straight from the bottle.

Now, if only I could merge Ochado’s roasted milk tea with Koi’s pearls I would be one very happy bubble tea drinker.

My first encounter with Lemongrass House was when I accompanied Beetrice to their Raffles City outlet to choose a birthday gift for a mutual friend.

My first impression was that the shop smelled wonderful – like a spa, thanks to the essential oils they sell. So I was naturally ‘enabled’ into picking up something to try in the form of their Pomelo Aromatic Room & Pillow Spray. Their sprays are touted as one of the Top 5 best selling products.

My room in Singapore tends to be a wee bit stuffy because it’s not positioned to catch the breeze unless there’s a really strong wind blowing. Thus, smells do tend to linger on for some time. That’s where the Pomelo room spray comes in handy! I usually spritz the room spray onto my curtains and lightly onto my sheets and immediately get the delightful aroma of freshly peeled pomelos. Citrusy scents do wonders for uplifting the senses.

The only thing I would like would be for the scent to remain longer as it dissipates quite quickly – within 15 minutes of spraying. I usually don’t spray too much at a go as well, because my sinuses don’t take kindly to scent. I figure it will take me some time to finish up my bottle as I got this in October 2011 and have only used up about 1/10th of the bottle thus far.

For those who are interested, Lemongrass House claims that this spray is sulphate free and paraben free and it’s never been tested on animals. Yay for an eco-friendly brand!

Yes factors : Refreshing scent, variety of scents to choose from, eco-friendly
No factors : Scent doesn’t linger on long enough, only available in Singapore

Ingredients : Orange peel infusion, stearyl alcohol, tween 20, pomelo essential oil

Directions : Lightly spray these all-natural botanical mists on bed linens, in the car, or any place that needs a fresh scent. It naturally relaxes and uplifts your mood.

Packaging : 120ml

Recommended retail price : SGD 15.00