Xing Fu Tang opens bubble tea stall at Hougang coffee shop

For the bubble tea-starved fanatics out there staying in the North-east, Xing Fu Tang has opened a new outlet at Meng Kiat Hock Kee coffee shop at Blk 682 Hougang Avenue 4 on May 14.

Based on images circulated on social media, the popular Taiwanese bubble tea franchise shares a stall with Pontian Wanton Noodle at the coffee shop.

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However, the brand has not officially made any announcements about its sudden and slightly peculiar opening on their social media accounts. The Hougang outlet is already listed on GrabFood though.

AsiaOne's requests to find out more about this new outlet were turned down, with the brand citing that they were currently busy due to hectic preparations to comply with circuit breaker rules.

They also alluded to preparations for full operations scheduled in June.

As it is, a seemingly endless queue of bubble tea lovers, standing at least one-metre apart, of course, have already flocked to the store.

And the images, which have been circulating on Facebook, have sparked mixed reactions from users.

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Some questioned the stall's legitimacy, while others found the new outlet to be a 'clever' work around by the brand.

There were also criticisms launched at those who were part of the long queues as there are still high numbers of new coronavirus cases daily.

Due to the tightened circuit breaker measures, standalone F&B outlets that sell only beverages were made to close from April 22, including bubble tea shops as well.

However, bubble tea stalls located in hawker centres or food courts are allowed to remain open.

ALSO READ: Here's where you can still get R&B Tea, Gong Cha and other BBTs during the circuit breaker extension

Aside from Xing Fu Tang, other popular bubble tea shops have found their own way to get around the circuit breaker measures, with many jumping on the collaboration bandwagon.

This includes Gong Cha, who is selling their drinks together with Professor Brawn Bistro at the Enabling Village, Koi, who has partnered with online restaurant Grain to offer their bubble tea and CHICHA Sen Chen who is working with Yu Kee duck rice.

Time will tell what the next innovative way of selling bubble tea in Singapore will be before the end of circuit breaker.

Click here for AsiaOne's Circuit Breaker Survival Guide (CBSG)

joanwong@asiaone.com