V^3 Utopia Tour - Original Milk Tea

We here at V^3 have planned another mission in the quest for all things good in Perth by presenting to you, the V^3 Utopia Tour!

The execution is simple. Over the coming months, we will sample ALL flavours of bubble tea available at utopia and rate each for the common good of beverage awareness. All flavours will be judged by their texture, presentation and most importantly taste. Any ill effects that result after consumption will be noted. A rating system of x/10 will be implemented.

So let us begin the tour!
With an extensive flavour menu, the choices are hard to come by. Thus, we will start off with the one and only original milk tea.

Original Milk Tea



A traditional blend of the commonly consumed English black tea (or of similar variety) and milk. The simplicity of this beverage makes it a safe choice to select. I am usually more partial to black tea without milk and sugar as most purist enjoy their tea straight. However, this drink is served chilled and therefore the addition of milk and sugar does not result in a sickly warm and sweet drink. It actually enhances the flavours and gives it a smoother texture. What it lacks though, is a kick of uniqueness and quality. In other respects, it offers a fresh fragrance of tea that can be enjoyed by all those who love infused beverages. The only way to improve this drink is to use higher quality teas such a Benoist or Twinings Earl Grey (both recommended by the British royal family). Nevertheless, it makes a satisfying bubble tea.



This drink is recommended with sago.
V^3 gives Original Milk Tea 6/10

What flavour shall we try next? Leave your comments or a flavour request to contribute in the quest for bubble tea goodness.

V^3 Drink Review: Canned Coffee

For those of us who have busy lives and need that quick caffeine shot, there are alternatives in the form of canned coffee. I heard about these being quite popular in Asia, so I hunted around to find three examples of canned coffee in order to see what all this hype was about.

Well firstly, energy drinks such as Red Bull (read as: “Red Bullshit” because it does not work) are not as popular in Asian culture as the coffee counterparts. Since Asians enjoy their coffee night and day, I have high expectations for these coffees in a can.

Dydo コーヒーBlend Coffee

This is a cold milk coffee originating from Japan that is rather dilute and sweet. It tasted less milky and more watery. After drinking this coffee, my body filled with stimulant but the pay off was a sickly stomach. While the taste is acceptable, the watery blend with milk is not good on the stomach. I would not recommend this drink over freshly made coffee. 2/5.

Cafécino Espresso & Milk Double Shot

This is a product of Taiwan and tastes far better than that Dydo junk. Less dilute and more sweet it's quite a nice light blend that has a more authentic taste of Asian milk coffee. Cafécino has emulated the taste well but still, nothing beats the original stuff. 3/5.

Cafécino Espresso Double Shot

This is one is by far the better tasting coffee of the latter. Made of coffee beans, water and sugar, I guess you cannot go wrong. The coffee was the non milk variant and tasted very similar to the ice coffee they serve in Vietnam. Albeit, for an espresso it is a little diluted, but I prefer my espressos that way instead of the hardcore shots. 3.5/5.

Needless to say, canned coffee is crap (read as: inferior) compared to the fresh roasted and blended alternative. The Cafécino Espresso Double Shot was a bare pass, but still does not compare to what any of us can make at home. I suggest you stay away from canned coffee unless you intend to review it.

However, If you are so inclined to try these, canned coffe is available at most Asian Groceries.

V^3 Drink Review: Sosro Green-t Original

The Asian grocery store is a wonderful place, you often find golden products, which revolutionise your life, like mi-goreng, vitamilk... and so forth. However, today was not one of those days. While scanning the fridge I noticed this drink I have never seen before; Sosro Green-t. Looking for an opportunity to review a new drink, I decided to purchase it. You may be familiar with the Sosro brand for their famous "TehBotol" drinks, which is consumed like water in south East Asia. However, this drink is a disgrace to the Sosro name.

Do not buy this drink, you have been warned!


So why is it that this drink is so unsatisfying? Well for starters, mass manufactured and bottled green tea has never been up to par with traditional green tea, so there's an immediate loss. But my main gripe about this particular tea is that its flavour was quite too woody. It tasted like someone had boiled a bunch of twigs and sticks in a pot of water and packaged it as Green-t. A disappointment indeed...

Here’s a look at the nutritional information.


As you can see:
0 g Fat
0 mg Sodium
0 g Carbohydrates
0 g Sugar
0 g Protein
0% Good taste.
Even bottled water will have more nutrients (2.3mg Sodium, 0.5mg Calcium) than this brown stick brew.

So after all that, is there really anything good about this drink bottle? Well yes, the bottle itself is quite a nice design, the cap is sturdy and opens and closes in a twisting mechanism. The lable is a funky "Green-T" ( Tea truncated to T) to emphasise the hip originali-T of the product. Even so, the drink still gets a rating of negativi-T. Therefore, I do not recommend you purchase this particular Green-t.

Save your money for the real deal. Grab some soymilk instead. V^3 gives this drink 0.5/5

V^3 Drink Review: VitaMilk Soy Milk

So I was at the local Asian grocery shop and it was quite a hot day. Taking advantage of this convenience I decided to quench my thirst with a good helping of creamy white liquid protein (Soy Milk). Now there are various brands on offer in the wonderful world of soy milk. One that I should draw attention to is the unique taste of VitaMilk.

This is Product description provided by VitaMilk Co.
"Vitamilk regular is a delicious, creamy drink that is full of the goodness from soy. It has been Thailand's most favorite soymilk for almost 50 years. Enjoy it hot or cold. Vitamilk has a long shelf-life. It can be kept fresh without refrigeration. Regular Vitamilk is available in 200 ml, 250 ml, and 1,000 ml UHT cartons, 300 ml non-returnable glass bottles, and 210 and 280 ml returnable glass bottles."

Delicious and creamy indeed. When I first graced the drops of soymilk into my mouth, a soothing texture of creamy goodness filled my thoughts (could such a flavour really exist?). The milk is just the right level of sweetness, not to thick, and not too dilute like it's Yeo's competitor. Some may say it's too sweet, but I think a creamy drink should be... The taste is indeed true and rich.

Here are some details on the nutritional value for the health conscious.
Vitamilk UHT is made from soymilk 89.5%, sugar
8%, vegetable oil 1.5%, and whole milk powder 1%, and contains no preservatives.

Per 100 ml
energy 80 kcal
protein 2.5 g
carbohydrates 10 g
fat 3.5 g
cholesterol 0 mg

I feel like I could chug these down all day. Compared to other brands, I have become more partial to Vitamilk and its sweet and creamy taste, that is why it is Thailand's number 1 soymilk! no doubt.

If you have tried this drink before, what are your thoughts? How does it stack up to its competitors? Does a better soy milk exist? (no never!)
Try it next time you adventure to the Asian grocery store.

V^3 gives VitaMilk a 4.5/5

V^3 Drink Review: Westcoast Watermelon - Java Juice Perth

It's quite a hot day today, and what do people do on hot days? Well I for one sleep. But for those who are out and about, and you happen to find yourself near one of the many Java Juice joints in Perth, I would recommend trying this flavour I tried awhile back.

Westcoast Watermelon $5.00 for a Regular

So whats inside of this drink? well contrary to its name, this drink isn't entirely water melon juice. With a mixture of apple, lemon and said watermelon, the drink is quite refreshing and tangy. It leaves a nice fruity after-taste which Sean exclaims as "Orgasmic" (read as "delicious"). Personally, the only let down of this drink is that I found it a little too sweet for my palate, and on a hot day, that could lead to more thirst. In which case, you return to java juice to grab some more delicious westcoast watermelon. Very sneaky they are... (It's a conspiracy!)

The drink is a great refresher, although the ingredients are way above market value, at $5 it's well worth it. but who would bother to buy some apples, watermelons and lemons to make juice when they're in the city (maybe Sean...). 4/5

Stay tuned for more upcoming reviews!