Nanzaro is one of those people who unselfishly volunteers his time helping people or be involved extra-curricula activities. He likes doing things like that. He had been spending a lot of time over months training for a first aid competition against some tough competition from St Johns Ambulance. In the days leading to the competition, I could see he was anxious and did not want me to ask him about the competition.

Well, his team did not win anything. Obviously the St Johns Ambulance groups swept the honors. After all this is a first aid competition. The Air Cadets did not stand a chance against the pros. But despite the results, I thought that his dedication to doing the best he can be is admirable.

The competition started in the morning and it lasted to late afternoon. When we picked him up, he was upbeat despite being soundly beaten. The first thing he said was “Taiwanese and Bubble Tea”. Suanne and I laughed at him, particularly at the bubble tea part. We had teased him before why he is not like other Asian boys who hangs out at bubble tea houses. He always says that only Asian girls hangs out in Bubble Tea houses and boys go there because they are forced to tag along.

Like Nanzaro, I do not find bubble tea houses appealing. But Suanne latched on to the suggestion. She said we should go to the Flo Tea Room because she remembers that they have free toasts in the afternoon. Moreover the Flo Tea Room was just on our route home.

It was quite a rush getting to the Flo Tea Room. You see, the free toast is available only from … 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM with every order of drinks of at least $3.50. We managed to get in at the nick of time — just 5 minutes before 5:00 PM.

The restaurant was half-full. It has a large dining area. Service was prompt and helpful.

First thing we asked of course was if we are too late for the free toast. We did not know what 5:00 PM means … whether it is get into the restaurant by 5PM, or order by 5Pm or pay by 5PM. The waiter was easy going and told us to take our time and that he will give us the free toast.

With that we took our time with the menu. Yeah, Suanne and I spend a lot of time reading menus and we hate being rushed.

It goes without saying that they have an extensive drinks section. The drinks are mostly in the $4.00 to $4.50 range. To me it is kind of expensive but when it also included the free toast, that is a good deal. It is not that I like toasts and sandwiches. I don’t. Suanne on the other hand loves bread and toasts.

Flo Tea Room’s menu also has a good variety of food too. They offer pretty much everything you will find in a cafe restaurant. Prices are mostly within the $7.00 to $10.00 range.

You can click on the menu pages above if you want to have a closer look.

I ordered the Lychee Soda which was $3.50 while Nanzaro ordered the Mocha Milk Tea with Pearl ($4.50).

Nanzaro said he did not like the pearl in his drinks because they have a floral scent in it. They are not those plain ones.

Anyway, the acceptance of black pearls are a mystery to me. I find that it is mostly the Asians that likes drinks with pearl. A lot of my non-Asian friends, particularly my colleague from the US, find it strange to suck on a wide straw with stuff in it. There was once I tried to be adventurous and ordered bubble tea for boardroom lunch. Most of my colleagues took just one sip and left it there. I had to get someone to go get cans of pop.

My Lychee Soda was a surprise. It came topped with whipped cream. The moment I stirred that into the soda, the drink overflowed. Made a mess.

But I like it. The light fizziness with the sweetness of the Lychee syrup, I thought was a good balance.

Both Nanzaro and I let mummy order the toast. She likes it and we let her order what she want.

So Suanne’s first choice was the French Toast served with butter and syrup.

It looked thick when served. It was light and so when we cut into it, it flattened easily. What we liked most was that they have kaya (coconut jam) filling in between.

The other one was the Thick Toast with Butter and Condensed Milk. It was broiled with caramelized top.

The condensed milk makes this a sticky toast. Their bread is light and fluffy and soft.

That was all Suanne and I had. Toasts. We were not really hungry and moreover, we try not to eat so much these days anyway.

Nanzaro did not eat lunch that day. His mind was not on food when the competition was going on. So naturally, he was hungry.

So he ordered the Spicy Crispy Chicken Set which is $7.25. This is a nice portion for a meal. Not too big, not too small. It is served with two sides of cabbage and sour cabbage and rice.

The chicken tasted more like sweet and sour chicken except that it is also spicy. It also had onions, green and red peppers which goes to Suanne. Nanzaro doesn’t like vegetables and Suanne doesn’t like to waste food.

They accept cash only.

This is not the first time we had been to the Flo Tea Room. We blogged about them about two years ago (see here). That was one of our earliest forays to a Bubble Tea house as a matter of fact.