The Alley Luxe: Brown Sugar Fresh Milk + European Pastries At Instagrammable Cafe In Orchard

I’ve never been a big fan of overly sweet drinks. However, the recent bubble tea craze has got me suffering from a serious case of FOMO. With the hype around The Alley, I couldn’t help but join in.

Following their debut in Jewel Changi Airport, The Alley has just opened another outlet in Singapore.

The Alley Luxe sits in a bright space on the third level of Cineleisure Orchard. You can bask in the warm sunlight while sipping on your favourite bubble tea drinks.

This outlet is actually the Taiwanese bubble tea chain’s very first flagship store in Singapore.

Not only that, but The Alley Luxe is also the brand’s first-ever premium lifestyle concept cafe.

In addition to their lineup of Insta-worthy drinks, The Alley Luxe also serves up a range of delicate and delectable baked goods. They bake these pastries in-house so you can be sure they’re super fresh.

From croissants to cruffins to kouign-amann, you’ll be surprised by the many kinds of pastries they offer.

I particularly liked the Pain Au Chocolat (S$5).

Soft and flaky, the croissant was super addictive.

The bitter notes of the chocolate within were very prominent, which is great for dark chocolate lovers like me. It also complemented the savouriness of the outer pastry well.

The only gripe we had was that they didn’t fill the croissant evenly. As such, one side of it didn’t have any chocolate sauce at all.

Our favourite pastry, however, was the Kouign-Aman (S$4.50).

True to its famous title of “the fattiest pastry in all of Europe”, the pastry was astoundingly huge.

They sprinkle cinnamon powder over the thick pastry, giving it an alluring floral scent which kept us going back for bigger bites.

The pastry was remarkably dense, with a firm chewiness which I enjoyed very much.

It also had a strong buttery flavour which hit all the right spots.

The Alley Luxe also serves up a range of Cruffins (S$5 each).

From Lemon Curd to Salted Caramel to even Kaya, choosing your favourites won’t be easy, I’ll tell you that!

Of course, we couldn’t possibly leave without trying The Alley’s famous bubble tea drinks.

We got their signature Brown Sugar Deerioca Fresh Milk (S$5.30) to try, the drink which took the world by storm.

The drink comes with Japanese-grade fresh milk, as well as their housemade brown sugar pearls.

They brew these pearls for four long hours using all-natural brown sugar, which gave them an intense caramel flavour.

The pearls were perfectly chewy too, which appealed to me since I love bubble tea pearls with some bite.

The fresh milk was nothing to rave about, so we agreed that it was the pearls that carried the drink. The decadent sweet flavour and chewy texture became more prominent as we took more sips. We finally understood what the hype was all about!

The Garden Milk Tea (S$5.30) was something which intrigued us since we first laid eyes on it.

With a milk tea base, the drink comes with a layer of crushed Oreo bits on top.

A mint leaf then completes the drink, making it resemble a mini potted plant.

Unfortunately, however, the drink fell short of our expectations.

While the milk tea possessed a notable bitter flavour from the tea, it had too thin a consistency. It was very watery, as a result, which didn’t go well with the crumbly Oreo bits.

This drink was a huge miss, sadly.

We went for the Snow Strawberry Lulu (S$6.30) next, hoping that it’d win back our hearts.

The drink had a bright reddish hue which made it stand out from the rest.

Apparently, there are four layers in this immensely-popular drink. The bottom layer consists of strawberry puree, followed by black tea and oolong tea. A delicate layer of cream cheese tops off the drink.

As we took our first sips, the drink instantly took us back to our childhood days.

The familiar sweetness, as well as the slushy consistency, reminded us of popsicles! We also tasted bits of actual strawberry in every mouthful. The tangy notes went extremely well with the savoury and rich cheese.

Last but not least, we got the magical-looking Northern Lights (S$8.80) from their Aurora Series.

Fusing both fruit and tea, the Aurora series is most famous for its absolutely pretty drinks.

The swirls of purple, blue and red hues were so pleasing to the eye.

Unexpectedly, the drink brought back some childhood memories once again.

This time, the profound sweetness and fruitiness of the drink reminded us specifically of Want Want Tube Jelly (吸的冻).

That said, however, its relatively steep price tag meant it was a one-time experience. We probably wouldn’t splurge on it again.

Compared to the other bubble tea franchises, The Alley Luxe is definitely a step up.

I can foresee many students, even myself, frequenting the store for their addictive Brown Sugar Deerioca Fresh Milk. Their pastries are pretty decent too, so make sure you give them a shot!

Expected Damage: S$3.50 – S$8.80 per item