Fans bewildered after all S'pore Gong Cha outlets replaced homegrown brand LiHo

Taiwanese bubble tea franchise Gong Cha will be replaced by a homegrown tea brand LiHO, with all 84 outlets in Singapore affected com Jun 5, 2017. 

The change was a decision by Rodney Tang, founder of RTG holdings which is responsible for bringing in the franchise back in 2009.

He had decided to make the switch after finding out Gong Cha’s parent company, Royal Tea Taiwan had been bought over by Gong Cha Korea.

LiHO, which means 'How are you?'in Hokkien aims to introduce to the local palates cheese teas and smoothies. 

Tang vouch for the new creations, saying that by adding cheese to traditional tea, it’ll bring out the lightness and slight bitterness of the drinks.

Items on LiHo’s menu include Cheese Guan Yin, Honey Milk Tea with Cheese, Cheese Yam Smoothie with custard pudding and Hot Cheese Jing Syuan Tea.

Scores of fans took to social media to say their goodbyes.

Said one netizen: "Say goodbye to your once favourite drink."