This branch officially opened last March, and is open everyday from 11am 'til 5am of the next day. Last Saturday, my sister and I decided to give it a visit, and because we walked from EDSA Ortigas 'til we reach the branch, we were in dire need of some cold drinks.
This branch may be small, but it does have two floors. The second floor is an al fresco area for people who smoke or would like to feel the natural air, and there's also an al fresco area outside the building. The one in the ground floor only had two tables, plus a long table with bar stools. Since the ground floor area had air conditioning system, sister and I preferred to stay there.
It was both our first time to visit any Moonleaf Tea Shop branch. I was thankful that they had a huge menu and there weren't that many flavors to choose from, making selection a little bit easier. I also liked that the drinks were prepared in front of you, ensuring everything is clean.
My sister went for the Wintermelon Milk Tea, her usual choice of milk tea flavor. She has this personal project - tasting all the wintermelon milk tea she can, finding which one serves the best one. I, on the other hand, chose the Passionfruit Yakult, because I do love Yakult and I always go for Yakult flavored drinks if it's available.
Moonleaf may be a tea shop... but I appreciated that they also offer non-tea drinks to satisfy different customers. I do drink tea, but I am not much into milk tea, and that time I opted not to go for any tea drinks, because tea has this effect of calming me, and because I only had two hours of sleep the previous night and I still have to travel more than two hours, I don't want to feel very sleepy while traveling (funny, tea has caffeine, yet my sister and I do feel sleepy after drinking tea).
Their drinks only has one size, and price range from 55 to 100 pesos. Some drinks have add-ons, but for most drinks, you may opt to have some add-ons. Pudding, pearls, and nata de coco are +15 pesos per serving, aloe vera is +20 pesos per serving.
My sister's drink had pearls, while my drink had nata de coco. The Wintermelon Milk Tea tasted like the typical wintermelon milk tea, and my drink tasted so good! I was able to taste the passionfruit and the yakult, and while the passionfruit flavor had the usual sour taste, the my preferred amount of sweetness as well as the sweetness of the nata de coco blended really well. Even my sister was raving about it.
Aside from drinks... Moonleaf Tea Shop also offers snacks - pasta, pastries... even corndogs!
It was twilight when we arrived at the shop, and because my sister will sleepover at her friend's house and I didn't want mom to cook my dinner, we decided to have early dinner at the shop. We shared a serving of Tuna Alfredo Pasta, which tasted really good. There weren't that much tuna chunks in it, but the sauce was delicious, and we loved the garlic bits and the chunky tomatoes. One container is good enough for two people to share.
We also shared a slice of Double Fudge Brownie, which was chewy yet soft to the bite, and had just the right amount of sweetness. I also bought a piece of Butter Sambos, but I wasn't able to photograph it before we ate it. It tasted okay.
One cute thing at the shop was this wall of messages from the customers. At the base of the board were different note pads and markers (as well as push pins), so if you feel like putting a message, feel free to do so.
My sister and I planned to walk back to EDSA Ortigas from the shop, so we decided to take out another cup of drink. She quickly made her choice - Hakka Milk Tea, as the staff said earlier that it was one of the bestsellers, while I took my time choosing which one to order. While choosing my drink, another staff was busy opening a can of Aloe Vera, and I asked the staff if it tasted good. The friendly staff was quick to say yes and even encouraged me to try it out. I asked if it will go well with any drink or it only goes well with a particular drink, and she suggested that I try out Honey Aloe Vera drink (pictured above) so I could really taste the aloe vera because the drink itself was light making the flavors of the aloe vera stand out. I took her word for it.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to drink it while walking and while traveling back home, so it was already the next day when I got to taste it. The picture above had ice crystals because I placed it in the chiller when I got home and I drank it afternoon of the next day. It was surprisingly refreshing, and yes... light. It was like drinking honey flavored water, but much better. The aloe vera bits were indeed delicious, and I knew right there and then that the next time I visit any Moonleaf Tea Shop, I'd go with the aloe vera.
Moonleaf Tea Shop in Ortigas Home Depot is located near Mini Stop. For inquiries and deliveries, please call 904-3100, or like their Facebook Page for more updates.
PS - This branch has a strong WiFi signal, so you can share pictures while you sip your drinks.
I come from a family who loves cooking and eating. I never had any formal training in cooking and that I taught myself how to cook based on the handed down recipes, but I could say that I can cook good food. In 2008, I started documenting my food trips for my