Bubble tea brand makes Hong Kong milk tea ‘fashionable again’ by mixing style and tradition

Hong Kong firm Silk aims to take the city’s milk tea global like chai and English breakfast. The first step? Reclaiming it for young people

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Published: 12:45pm, 13 Mar 2025Updated: 7:33am, 14 Mar 2025

On the ground floor of a tenement building in Hong Kong’s Kennedy Town neighbourhood is a curious shop that attracts crowds on a regular basis.

While its concrete walls and wooden benches might upon first glance date the store to the 1960s, its bright bubble tea logo makes clear this establishment belongs in the 21st century.

This is the first “boba house” from Silk, a Hong Kong bubble tea brand that launched in September 2022. Since then, the company has grown to six locations – five in Hong Kong and one in Singapore – and established itself at the intersection of tradition and modernity.

Take, for example, its Smooth King signature drink, which combines Hong Kong-style milk tea made from a 50-year-old recipe with honeycomb, tapioca pearls and a cheese cloud foam.

Many of Silk’s menu items are interpretations of Hong Kong dishes and drinks. Photo: Silk

Silk’s new Kennedy Town location – which officially opened on February 15 – features design elements that nod to Hong Kong’s past alongside more contemporary touches.

The old-school window frames are reminiscent of those typically seen in tong lau – tenements built in Hong Kong from the late 19th century to the 1960s – but the use of black paint lends a sleek, modern feel.