The Alley Lujiaoxiang Melbourne

I recently tried this bubble tea shop for the first time in months and was pleasantly surprised. The staff was very friendly and even spoke Mandarin, which was unexpected. They were patient and provided excellent service as I took my time choosing a drink. I was impressed by the freshness of my drink, which I kept for three hours. The store's decorations were also quite nice.

Today, the cashier/staff at the counter was extremely rude to all the customers. She had a monotonous tone, no smile, was intimidating, rushed, overconfident, and most of all, did not seem to know the menu. When I ordered the brown sugar deerioca tea, she told me they didn't have it and argued with me without checking. After a frustrating exchange, I ended up ordering a chocolate deerioca instead. I will still come back for the drinks, but next time I will bring a photo of the brown sugar milk tea that I saw advertised in the shop a few months ago. I give 5 stars for their deerioca, 4 stars for the service (usually), but only 1 star for today's service.

I absolutely loved this restaurant in Maribyrnong (there was always a line when it first opened), but now that it has calmed down and opened a branch in the CBD, I am thrilled! My go-to drink here is the brown sugar fresh milk tea because the pearls are soft and chewy, and the combination of brown sugar and fresh milk is delicious. You can also stir it for a lighter flavor, which is great for those who prefer less sweetness.

The Alley LuJiaoXiang QV – Rating 5 <br/ I decided to try the Signature Brown Sugar Deerioca for my first Alley experience. Though the pearls were soft yet chewy and the fresh milk created a creamy taste, I didn’t particularly enjoy it. Felt like I was drinking sweet milk even after mixing, was ashamed that they don’t offer customised sugar levels. <br/ <br/ The store presentation was beautiful with a couple of seats for customer to enjoy and the staff were very nice, hence I decided to try something else on their menu a few weeks later. I also tried Royal No 9. Milk Tea and added pearl toppings. I highly recommend this drink, the aroma of the tea was distinct, plus the texture of the pearls makes this drink something to crave for. Hence now I frequently order this drink whenever I visit Alley.

Had the brown sugar and milk deerioca and it was really nice and creamy. The service was good and we liked the drink. Might be better if we can control the ice and sugar levels of the drink as I prefer it to be less sweet.