Trying Out Happy Lemon

Everyone loves Happy Lemon, to the point that I have yet to taste it. My friend told me to get the one with rock salt and cheese, screw lactose intolerance, but with it being a popular brand, I never got the chance to actually taste it. The Greenhills store was perpetually filled during the rare times I visit Greenhills. When I was in Singapore, even the Happy Lemon over there had long lines, so I never bothered lining up.

When I heard that Happy Lemon opened in Rockwell, I decided to go give it a try when a day that I had patience to line up if I'm not in a hurry. On that day, it was a weekend and the lines were horrendously long.

So that's the famous rock salt and cheese. Interesting. And the lemon-shaped smiley is very inviting.

Surprisingly, even if the lines were long, service was fast. I guess these guys are trained to work fast due to the long lines. I'm known to be quite adventurous with my orders, and sometimes I make the mistake of getting a very strong order so I conceded to ordering the bestsellers. For the Rock Salt and cheese, I was recommended the Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese (the green tea variant seemed like a no-no for me) and for milk tea, Oreo Milk Tea was the choice.

As our orders were, sumunod na ko sa uso.

I was expecting grated cheese and rock salt bits on the rock salt and cheese drink. I was surprised to find a creamy liquid on top of the chocolate drink with a sprinkling of chocolate powder. Actually, the creamy liquid is the rock salt and cheese part. The rock salt obviously has dissolved into the cream cheese resulting in a mix of sweet-salty-rich flavor. The cocoa part tasted like Chocolait, actually, and I was glad that there was no irritating powder bit. The Oreo milk tea really had Oreo bits rather than powder. I like that I get the real thing though.

My verdict? The Oreo Milk Tea didn't cause me to gag with the sweetness or richness and for some reason for both flavors, I didn't find myself rushing to the bathroom after, or maybe because I'm starting to get immune to the stomach-churning effects of dairy already by taking it in. The Rock Salt and Cheese drinks are supposed to be taken in without stirring straight sipped from the cup instead of a straw poked in. It was mellow in sweetness but very rich, and the saltiness of the rock salt and cheese balanced the sweetness of the chocolate. Flavor was very mild though.

I was expecting a mind-blowing reaction after sipping the drinks though, due to the long lines, but it was just nice and okay for me. I'd go back here on a day where lines aren't long or if I have the sudden crave. In fact, Avy and I were here last Thursday. Her favorite had brown sugar and I think I'll try that soon.

Did Happy Lemon leave me smiling? It did of course, or else I wouldn't come back. It's also pretty affordable too as even the large drinks didn't cost me more than Php 100 (unless I get an add-on). I just get the regular-sized drink due to the richness so I don't get the "cream overload". But otherwise, I like it. And it's organized too.