Recently, I noticed that a cousin of mine have been raving about a certain drink that she can't seem to get enough of. It was iced cocoa with, of all things, rock salt and cheese, one of the bestsellers of Happy Lemon, which I always thought of as just another milk tea place. My first reaction was, huh? Salt and cheese in a chocolate drink? Nu-uh, not for me!
Then my curiosity got the better of me. I knew from watching cooking shows that chocolate tastes better when you put in a bit of salt as it makes the chocolate taste more intense. Plus picky little me has been prodding me for a while to try something out of my comfort zone. So while walking to the parking lot last weekend, I looked into the Happy Lemon store which I passed by countless of times in the past, saw the counter was empty save for a girl waiting for her drink, and decided on the spot to march right in and order a Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese.
 |
| Happy Lemon's bestselling Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese |
As the server handed me a large cup without a cover (the counter crew talked me into upsizing my order for a 10-peso difference), I noticed that the cream on top had a bit of powdered cocoa mixed with a teeny amount of salt. The cheese,however, was not visible to me. I asked for a cover and a straw since we were on our way home already and put in on, intending to drink it in the car. Then, I remembered another drink which tasted different when stirred, so I immediately took the cover off again and had a couple of sips. Hmmm... not bad. In fact, it was quite good! The sweet cocoa flavor is enhanced by the saltiness of the cheese and rock salt which sticks to your lips. The taste reminded me of the keso sorbetes of my childhood, the so-called dirty ice cream that was the staple of birthday parties where the ice keeping the ice cream tub cold is sprinkled with salt to delay melting. As a consequence, some of the salt sometimes get into the cheese-flavored ice cream, making the sweet, salty and cheese flavors blend together, but not in an unpleasant way. Then I gave the cup a good stir to mix in all the flavors, and it still tasted good. But it tasted better when you drink it straight from the cup sans the straw.
 |
| I can make out the salt crystals mixed with the cocoa |
A few days later, I chanced upon another Happy Lemon store with no waiting customers, so in I went. I ordered a couple of Cocoas, then noticed a new bestseller, Lemon Calamansi Tea with jelly. As it was a sweltering day, the idea of a refreshing citrus drink seemed oh-so-appealing to me. Without another thought, I ordered one, intending to drink it first and save my cocoa for later. (Tip: The cocoa drink still tasted good after being kept overnight in the refrigerator. Just make sure to tape up the hole for the straw.)
 |
| My Lemon Calamansi Tea |
The server asked me for the level of sweetness for my drinks (apparently it can be adjusted to one's liking), and I said everything 100%. Lucky, because the Lemon Calamansi Tea turned out to be really tart and citrusy with a slight bite to the tongue due the calamansi halves that were put in it. It was hardly sweet but it was very good, though I'm not sure if it would be a hit for those who are not so fond of tart or sour drinks.
 |
| My little boss doing a Happy Everyday! pose ;-) |
Aside from the drinks that I tried, Happy Lemon has quite a long list of drinks, neatly arranged into categories (or series as the menu says), perhaps to allow customers to easily identify each individual drink.
 |
| Got a Happy Lemon menu to check what's next on my must-try list ;-) |
So now my usual coffee break has taken a slightly different turn. Not saying that I'm giving up coffee (love my mochas and macchiatos!), but it sure is nice to have something different every now and then
 |
| Take a sip and enjoy! |
Photos by Myk and Shella Esguerra
Indeed, it's really yummy... ^_^
ReplyDelete