We visited Bukit Merah's 'Song Joong-ki' for some pocket-friendly bubble tea and here's our verdict

In case you haven't heard, Bukit Merah's ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre has been gaining attention for having its very own Song Joong-ki lookalike. The best part? He sells bubble tea that'll give Tiger Sugar a run for its money.

Beautea, which has been open for nine months, serves up bubble tea at hawker-centre prices. They even have their own rendition of the trending Brown Sugar Pearl Fresh Milk drink which costs just $2.50.

That's not all. According to 8 Days, the store owner, Zhou Zhen Yang, 25, resembles Korean actor Song Joong-ki from "certain side angles". 

Cheap bubble tea and free eye candy? It almost sounds too good to be true so we went down yesterday (Sept 16) to take a look (and taste) for ourselves.

When we got there, it was close to 2.30pm. While the rest of the hawker centre was quiet, Beautea's queue was still snaking.

You can expect to wait around 10 to 15 minutes for your drinks if you stop by during lunch hour. Unfortunately some items on the menu and their regular pearls were already sold out when we were there, so make sure to get your bubble tea fix early to avoid disappointment. 

Out of the drinks that we tried, our favourite was the Brown Sugar Pearl Fresh Milk ($2.50). We had to get ours with white pearls as the tapioca pearls were sold out but it still tasted similar to the versions from other popular bubble tea joints like R&B ($3.80) and Tiger Sugar ($5.30), at a fraction of the cost.

Don't just take our word for it. According to Zhou, famed director Jack Neo is said to be one of his regular customers and is also a fan of the Brown Sugar Pearl Fresh Milk.

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We also enjoyed the Dirty Mango Fresh Milk ($2.50) which had mango syrup lining the cup and cubes of real mango in it. 

The Matcha Latte ($2.50 for a large cup) was also good value for money, although the matcha flavour could have been a little stronger.

Beautea also has a variety of other flavours for those that prefer milk tea, fruit tea, or even cheese-infused drinks.

Other more unique items on the menu include Mango Ice with Corn and Oatmeal ($2.50) and Chocolate Mint Milk Tea ($2.50) which was inspired by Zhou's own love for mint chocolate ice-cream.

But there's a sad story behind his solo foray into F&B entrepreneurship.  

Zhou told 8 Days that he had originally planned to open the store with an ex-girlfriend. In fact, the store name, Beautea, had originally been his ex-girlfriend's idea before the couple split about a year ago. Awww. 

And despite being one of the top students in his polytechnic, the China-born Singaporean PR dropped out and went to Shenzhen to learn the ropes from a friend who owned a bubble tea shop. He'd wanted to set up a business because he felt he was no longer young and hoped to retire early. 

Bubble tea aside, does Zhou really look like Song Joong-ki? To answer the question on everyone's lips — sorry to disappoint, but we don't see it.

Nevertheless, Zhou's scholarly looks, quiet charm and budget-friendly drinks are sure to earn him some fans of his own. In fact, he already seems to be pretty popular with the ladies — we spotted two women who lingered until closing time just to grab a photo with him.

And did we mention — he's currently single?

Whether you're craving some bubble tea that'll be easy on your wallet or a lunchtime view that's easy on the eyes, you'll find it at Beautea.

Where: #01-43 ABC Brickworks Hawker Centre, 6 Jln Bukit Merah, S150006

Hours: 11am-3pm; 5pm-9pm (Closed on Sundays)

kimberlylim@asiaone.com