Happy Lemon is located at Greenhills Promenade, right smack in the middle of two popular coffee shops. It’s a franchise owned by Chris Tiu (yes, THAT Chris Tiu) and some of his friends from Xavier (I guess that clues you in on why it’s in Greenhills).
The first time we checked it out, I had the Milk Tea with Oreo Cookies and Cream, priced reasonably at P90 for the regular size. Though the “best-seller” based on the review from OAP’s site were the variants with rock salt and cheese, I was as iffy as trying out the tea-based variants. I thought the cookies and cream might lessen the taste of the tea, but for a non-tea drinker like me, it was still strong. But I didn’t take that against Happy Lemon, (haha poor judement, Melai) I’ll just read the rest of the menu carefully next time.
COFFEE WITH ROCK SALT AND CHEESE ROCKED MY TASTE BUDS. The second time we went there, I went with my gut-feel to try that flavor out. Actually it was toss-up between that and the cocoa flavor. From then on it was a love affair with coffee/cocoa with rock salt and cheese <3 Just don’t ask for a straw when you order it though. The cheese and rock salt forms a froth on top, and it’s meant to give a nice contrast to the base of the drink (coffee, cocoa or green tea).
I’ve yet to figure out (read: imagine) how the rest of their flavors taste like (Lemon Yakult, anyone?). But ambiance-wise, Happy Lemon scores better than your usual coffee shops. The crowd that we see on weeknights (around six or seven p.m.) are in the 20s-30s mix, some even bring their kids along. There’s an area for those who’d want to smoke, while the area inside sits a good 10-15 people. Last I checked there’s no WiFi (free or otherwise) but it’s not really much of a put-down.
Price-wise, it’s just right considering it’s an imported franchise. There won’t be too much regret if you didn’t like it on the first try (though I highly doubt that would happen!) Definitely cheaper than the regular-sized frap you’d usually get. It’s a really great alternative if you’re beginning to get tired of your coffee routine.
I hope the owners consider opening a branch in Tomas Morato, but for now I’d definitely go out of my way to drop by their (so far) one and only branch in Greenhills! :)
Hope this adds to the reasons why you should stay happy!