N.99 Fresh

During my vacation in Oahu, I visited N.99 Fresh to try their silk stocking milk tea on the recommendation of fellow Unilocalers that said it was the authentic tea. Although I have never tried the tea in Hong Kong, there are plenty of HK style cafes in San Francisco that make such a good tea that I am convinced of its authenticity without having tried it from its source.
What makes HK milk tea authentic? I’d say it is the type of tea leaves used and the brewing method (the «silk stocking» strainer). HK milk tea is brewed with a blend of at least three grades of Ceylon black tea (Broken Orange Pekoe, Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings, and dust… roughly 60% dust). It is potent, aromatic, and pleasantly astringent, nothing like the mediocrities served in most boba shops.
N.99 Fresh brews an authentic cup. It is a shame that they did not have hot milk tea. The flavor profile of the tea changes slightly when cold, so it is harder to judge whether the aroma and body was spot on. That said, the iced milk tea was very aromatic and slightly citrusy. A little on the sweet side, but not overly so. I would’ve liked a more potent and astringent tea. But overall, a decent job.

Healthy, fresh, and refreshing smoothies & drinks here! I enjoyed their V2 & V11 smoothies, I forgot what V2 was called, but it was mixed with kale, pineapples, bananas, lemon, and others. The V11 was their Mango smoothie and both were delicious. The owner was really nice, and informative on all of the smoothie and drinks. I can’t wait to try their other drinks, I love their fresh ingredients philosophy, and I will definitely be coming back! ^_^

I get my green smoothie drink here as I head to my art studio in Chinatown. Love that they use Fresh produce… whatever you want. just ask and they’ll add it to any of their drinks. Love that it’s always super smooth as they use a Vitamix. I choose a smoothie drink then ask them to add in [they do this for FREE] what I want like: Kale, spinach, avocado, mango… you get the picture. Always delicious, always healthy. No powder used. They use Agave sugar… you can ask them to add No sugar if you choose. Get the drink you want and drink to your daily Health. Very inexpensive… large is under $ 4.And they do a stamp card, where after like 6 stamps. you get a Free drink of your choice. Where can you get all of this for that price nowadays? From a Produce market… which is what they run next door. Here’s to your Health!

New spot to quench my thirst. For $ 4 I get 2 drinks? Yes, please! I’ve only tried the papaya milkshake but I’m hooked I think. Someday maybe I’ll feel adventurous and try something else… maybe. The service is friendly and the place is nice and cool (temperature), a nice place to hang out when it’s hot out and you need a break from the sun and something chilly to ingest. Cool! The place is bright and only a few tables and chairs but the times I’ve been there there’s always someplace to sit. In any case, if you’re in Chinatown (aka Hobotown) you’re probably walking around anyway so it’s not a big deal if you can’t sit down. But if you’re there, they have WIFI if you need to go online and check-​in, or update your status, basically disconnect from humanity and the real world, then well, they got you covered ~ at least you’ll be refreshed, coolin’ out, and still have some paper in your pocket leftover.
My only knock is this… I wish I didn’t have to have 2 plastic cups (environment issues abound) to get my shake on. I tried to suggest putting my 2 shakes in one large cup, but I think I’d get less and so my greed told me to say «oh, nevermind» to the lady. I felt guilty… but my thirst was appeased… and I forgot all about it at the moment…
Update: Sadly BOGO no mo’. But I gave them one more star to make it 5. Reason: they have a rewards card, so every drink gets a stamp, and after 6 smoothies, get the 7^th free. Got 2 drinks one visit so just 3 more to go!

There was one reason why I gave this place 5 stars. I personally saw the worker grabbed 2 chunks of durian fruit and added it to the blender for my Unforgettable Durian smoothie.
So if durian is not in season, they will not make that drink. It validates their claim that «we use only real, natural goodness from the Provider above.»
I want more of that real, natural goodness from the Provider above.

Come here for authentic Hong Kong-​style milk tea!
I stopped by per John N.‘s recommendation, and I’m ecstatic I did. After ordering the classic milk tea, I watched the owner pulling the tea from a sackcloth strainer resembling a silk stocking — the key feature of authentic Hong Kong-​style milk tea.
Amidst all the sugary concoctions that pass for milk tea around O’ahu, N.99 is the first I’ve tried that delivered truly good milk tea — the kind in which rich tea is the forward flavor rather than any added sweetener. The tea flavor was distinct, and the texture was noticeably smoother than all the powder-​laden milk teas you might’ve tasted elsewhere. The sweetness was just enough to give the milk tea a richer flavor rather than overpower the tea.
The only downside to this place was their lack of boba. Hopefully they decide to add that to their menu soon though, as they’d be great toppings for their milk teas as well as real fruit smoothies!
I got two iced milk teas for about $ 3.00 because of their BOGO free summer deal, but finally finding good milk tea on the island was truly priceless.

Stumbled upon this place while my brother was getting a haircut across the street. Normally they don’t open on Sundays, but today was special. They opened not too long ago so they have a pretty sweet special going on right now. Buy one get one free! Three options available for this: original Hong Kong style milk tea, iced honey lemon, or papaya smoothie.
I suggest if you’re a first timer and putting a somewhat complicated order, bring a Cantonese speaker along. I speak Cantonese but I prefer to order in English. I asked her for three original HK milk teas and one iced honey lemon and there must have been some miscommunication as our conversation went like this:
Me: Hi, could I order one iced honey lemon and 3 original HK milk teas? *points to the menu as I order*
Owner: Okay, one lemon tea and 3 papaya smoothie?
Me: No, one iced honey lemon and 3 milk teas
Owner: Okay, 3 lemon and 1 milk tea?
Me: Nooo, 3 milk teas and one lemon
Owner: Okay, okay.
Now I’m thinking «I hope she gets it right…» So we wait. She makes one iced honey lemon drink. So far, so good. This tastes pretty good! It’s like a sweeter version of lemonade — light, sweet, lemony, very refreshing. I would get this again. Then we wait. The owner asks her little helper (daughter) to grab some more lemons. I wonder if she needs to refill her stock. She proceeds to cut them and I hear her ask her friend/​sister to make lemon iced tea in Chinese. I interrupt her and clarify my order in Cantonese. She was like «Ohhhhhhh! Okay, 3 milk teas.»
So after a bunch of miscommunication, we finally got our order. The milk tea was not what I expected… It doesn’t taste like Taste Tea, Mr. Tea, Coffee or Tea, Kung Fu Tea, or any of those places… If I had to put it into words, it would taste like a Chinese version of Thai iced tea. It had spices and milk (not powdered), but it just wasn’t what I was looking for.
Total came out to $ 6.50 for four drinks (a steal!) because of the buy one get one free deal.

Tried their milk tea and liked it more than most places!
They actually use that milk tea stocking !!

I’m so glad they opened up! I live right across the street so I’m always in search of drinks around the area and its funny how it’s so hard to get a decent cup of Hong Kong style iced milk tea, unless it’s in a restaurant, and for the record I refuse to go to Regal Bakery (you can read my past review if you’re wondering). I also ordered their papaya smoothie and what I love about this place was that they have so many different options of fresh juice. Seems like there are more juice joints opening around town such as HiBlend and Salted Lemon on Liliha, same here they have their own selections of fresh juice like watermelon, apple, etc. they even make celery juice! Offering healthy drinks to their customers seems like it is a priority here, using ingredients such as the freshest fruits and organic milk in their coffees, teas, and smoothies give it that extra creamy flavor.
I really do hope this place does well, owners are nice, place is clean, and a lot of different drinks you can choose from that you can’t find at other smoothie joints around the area. They also offer a stamp card! yay! i
See pic attached :)

DURIAN SMOOTHIES! HK MILK TEA! ORGANIC!
New business on Maunakea, open since Sunday.
Open 7 days a week, 8:30 a.m. — 4 p.m.
Located at the beginning of Maunakea on the left, next to Wongh BBQ and Wong Market. Pay lot (the first one on the left) is conveniently located just before it, or go for street parking – they’re fast with the drinks and you can get in and out quick. Organic smoothies; proof of produce visible. Offering HK style teas/​drinks, and durian. Yes, durian.
Ordered my standard iced milk tea. No powder used that I could taste, asked the clerk and she confirmed no powder. Very strong tea taste. Low ice is their default, but you can get more if you want (nope, thanks, great just the way she served it). $ 3.25 iced, $ 2.75 hot. Would order the milk tea again. I like the low ice, maybe because it doesn’t dilute the flavor but more likely because I hate it when tea shops water down drinks. No watering down here, though. I really want to try their organic durian smoothie (and will probably have to drink it outside, away from others, on a non-​working day, but I don’t care), and their grass jelly drink.
Sweet customer service. They really care about whether you like the taste, ask you after you order to please try it – and want you to be happy. How cool is THAT? Four stars for product, customer service. Would happily move it to 5 if they keep up the quality… and if the durian is all I hope it will be.
No tax charged, but that may have been accidental as a new business working out kinks.
Wi-​fi, but it is a tiny shop – a couple of café tables, so not for huge groups to hang out. Perfect for you and a buddy, though.
Cute, offering something a little different and newer on Maunakea. A great complement to X-​Way, also on Maunakea, and their cool turtle jelly.
Credit cards accepted.
Will return.