Taiwan's Tiger Sugar, popular for its brown sugar boba fresh milk, set for Nov 3 opening

SINGAPORE - Craving something sweet, creamy and chewy, all at once?

Popular Taichung brand Tiger Sugar will be roaring into town on Saturday (Nov 3), with doors to its Capitol Piazza outlet set to open at 11am.

The Straits Times first revealed the location of the brand's flagship store here early in October, after Tiger Sugar hinted on Facebook that it would be entering the South-east Asian market.

The outlet is located in the basement of the upscale mall, within minutes from City Hall MRT station.

Fans of its best-selling brown sugar boba fresh milk with cream mousse drink are known to have stood at least an hour in line at its outlets in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The beverage is crafted from dark brown sugar syrup, fresh milk, cream mousse and dark brown sugar boba pearls of two sizes.

There is also a milk tea or tea latte option, with a choice of black or green tea. Prices range from $3.50 to $5.30.

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Creating the drink from start to finish requires around 10 staff members and three hours, Tiger Sugar Singapore founder Trevor Fong told ST at a media tasting on Thursday.

This involves cooking the boba pearls in small batches to ensure that they remain fresh.

Throughout the day, this process is repeated almost every hour.

The beverage is then assembled in about six steps, with a specially trained staff member assigned at every stage.

A staff member also does a quality control check, before it is handed over to the consumer.

Mr Fong, who is the managing director of Clover Lifestyle - the Singapore parent company of the brand - said that the brand's focus on quality and authenticity goes down to even the type of ice it uses.

The shape of ice is similar to the ones typically drunk with whisky, he said, adding that this would best retain the temperature and flavour of the drink, especially in Singapore's hot weather.

In July, Mr Fong made a 10-day trip to Taiwan, where he received training on each aspect of the beverage. This even involved practical and written tests at the end, he said.

Those looking for a warm pick-me-up can also opt for a hot version of the drinks, though consumers will not be able to select their sugar or ice levels.

"We have done a lot of research on what tastes the best, so I would say, leave it to the professionals," said Mr Fong.

A part of the drink's appeal among the younger crowd and Instagram users is when the dark brown sugar blends with the thick milk in the cup to form distinct "tiger stripes", he added.

"Each drink is created by hand so no two 'tigers' are the same," he said.

He added that the best way to enjoy it is to first shake it 15 times so that the drink mixes well and the boba becomes chewy and tasty.

If left on its own, the stripes are said to fully dissolve within three minutes.

Come December, Tiger Sugar will be opening its second outlet here in the city area, which will be near an MRT station too.

From this Saturday to Tuesday, Tiger Sugar will be giving out a temporary tattoo for every drink sold. There will be only 200 tattoos available each day.

The Capitol Piazza outlet will be open daily from 11am to 10pm, while stocks last.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.