MANILA -- Pretty and sweet are two words that best describe the drinks in Xing Fu Tang, one of the growing number of Taiwan milk tea franchises to land in the Philippines.

Meaning “the hall/realm of happiness,” Xing Fu Tang aims to carve its share of the market, relying on various unique selling points, including its version of the viral sensation that is brown sugar milk.

“What’s unique is the quality of our boba. We cook the boba in front [of our customers], stirring it with actual brown sugar and not just brown sugar concentrate,” explained Janica Lao, chief operating officer of Xing Fu Tang Philippines.

Tapioca pearls are made and cooked with Taiwanese sugar in a big giant wok in front of customers on-site. An order of Xing Fu Tang Brown Sugar Boba Milk uses this caramelized sugar to create the “tiger streaks” in the cup that the milk concoction is known for.

Topped with cream and bruleed sugar, the Brown Sugar Boba Milk has chewy pearls, creamy caramelized flavor and milky flavor in spades, without being overwhelmingly sweet.

But if you’re looking for something with less milk and more tea, the Brown Sugar Boba Black Tea Latte is a great alternative.

“When we give it [brown sugar boba milk] to the customer, the boba is still hot, still chewy. There’s a real difference,” said Lao.

The tea, on its own, is a point of pride for Xing Fu Tang. The Black Cup series showcases this, as green, oolong, black tea, and tea mixes (green tea and oolong, roselle tea and black tea) come to customers in a reusable expensive-looking black and gold cup.

Although if you’re reading this for the next colorful drink to feature in your Instagram account, Xing Fu Tang’s drink menu has you covered.

For some non-dairy options, the Grapefruit Green Tea is pink, unabashedly sour with fresh grapefruit slices in the cup, while the Soda and Handmade Jelly is refreshing, blue, and sparkly with edible glitter.

It’s the striking ombre effect that makes the next three drinks Instagram-worthy. The first two are milky drinks created by topping two layers (a bottom layer of strawberry boba then a milk layer) with either matcha tea in the Matcha Boba Milk or strawberry tea in the Strawberry Boba Milk.

The last ombre drink is the most Instagrammable of the lot. Xing Fu Tang’s Mango Smoothie and Rabbit Panna Cotta has strawberry pearls in syrup and a mango slush layer that uses local mangoes. A cute rabbit panna cotta sits on top, separated with the rest of the drink by a thin layer of plastic.

To enjoy the drink, you use your straw to poke the rabbit straight into the lower layer to get a multi-layered sip. And yes, it sounds quite barbaric, but you’ll get over it once you get a sip of our delicious Filipino mangoes.

While it currently has only two branches -- Promenade in Greenhills, and The Podium in Ortigas -- Xing Fu Tang is gearing up to steadily expand with a branch opening soon in McKinley Hill within the year.