LiHO Vegan and Dairy-Free Options | What to Order

Can you drink at LiHO without dairy? Yes, comfortably, if you know which third of the menu is yours. Can you drink there as a strict vegan? Also yes, with more care, because bubble tea menus hide animal products in places nobody warns you about: the foam is cheese, the Yakult is a dairy drink, and some avocado drinks are built on milk. This guide walks the menu honestly, section by section, including the awkward questions, because being caught out at the counter is nobody’s idea of a good afternoon.

One ground rule first: LiHO does not certify any drink as vegan, and drinks are prepared in a shared space with shared equipment. Everything below is about ingredients, which is what most dairy-free and vegan drinkers manage by. If your requirement is medical (a serious dairy allergy), treat this page as a starting point and confirm at the outlet before ordering.

The Safe Zone: No Dairy by Design

Pure teas. Jasmine Green Tea, Oolong and the pure tea range are tea, water and your chosen sugar level. That is the whole ingredient list. Dairy-free and vegan, full stop, from S$2.80, the cheapest safe order on the menu.

Fruit teas. The Fruitea range, including the Singapore Fruit Tea (S$4.90), is built on tea and fruit, no milk involved. One question worth asking for vegans: some fruit drinks in the bubble tea world are sweetened with honey. If honey matters to you, ask at the counter for the specific drink, it takes ten seconds.

Oat Milk Tea range. LiHO’s Fresh Milk and Oat Milk section is the dairy-free drinker’s home turf: Oat Milk Da Hong Pao and Oat Milk Jasmine (S$5.90) are made with oat milk rather than dairy, with the roasted, round flavour that makes oat milk the best plant milk for tea. Order them plainly, no cheese foam, no cheese ice cream, and they stay dairy-free.

Jelly toppings. Aiyu jelly and herbal jelly are plant based jellies and the natural topping choice here. Pearls and golden pearls are tapioca based and generally vegan friendly too, they are the classic bubble tea topping for a reason.

The Dairy Zone: Skip or Swap

Anything CheezHO

The cheese foam is real cheese and dairy. It is also LiHO’s signature, which is the tragedy of this section, but there is no way around it: cheese drinks are out for dairy-free and vegan drinkers.

Classic milk teas

The standard milk tea base is a creamer style base, which typically contains milk derivatives. This is the question to ask at the counter: whether your outlet can build your drink on oat milk instead. The oat range exists precisely for this, so start there rather than negotiating a classic.

Yakult drinks

Yakult is a fermented skimmed milk drink. The Yakult series is dairy by definition, however light and fruity it tastes.

Cheese ice cream topping

Dairy, as the name confesses.

The Grey Zone: Avocado and Brown Sugar

The Avocado Garden needs care. Avocado itself is a fruit, but the drinks are builds: CheezHO Avocado carries cheese foam, and avocado blends at most chains involve milk or yoghurt style bases. Brown Sugar Pearl drinks are typically made with fresh milk. If avocado is the drink you want, ask at the counter what the base is and whether it can be made with oat milk, and skip the foam. Some days the answer will be yes, and those are good days, because a well made avocado oat drink is genuinely excellent.

Dessert style specials (Kaya Toast Milk Green Tea and friends) are milk tea builds: assume dairy unless the counter tells you an oat version is possible.

Your Order Scripts

At the counter, these sentences do the whole job:

• “Oat Milk Da Hong Pao, Medium, thirty percent sugar, less ice, no toppings.” (Dairy-free, done.)
• “Singapore Fruit Tea, thirty percent, with aiyu jelly.” (Vegan friendly build, ask about honey if that matters to you.)
• “Jasmine Green Tea, zero percent, extra ice.” (The zero worry cup.)

Our Verdict

Dairy-free at LiHO is easy: the oat milk range plus the whole pure and fruit tea board gives you a dozen good drinks without a single awkward conversation. Vegan at LiHO is workable with two habits: default to pure teas, fruit teas and the oat range, and ask the two short questions (honey in the fruit drink, base in the avocado) whenever you step outside them. LiHO will never be a vegan cafe, but a vegan can drink well here, and that is more than most bubble tea counters in Singapore can honestly say.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does LiHO have oat milk?
Yes. The menu has a dedicated oat milk range, including Oat Milk Da Hong Pao and Oat Milk Jasmine at S$5.90, alongside the fresh milk versions.

Are LiHO pearls vegan?
Pearls and golden pearls are tapioca based and generally considered vegan friendly. Aiyu and herbal jellies are plant based as well. Pudding toppings at bubble tea chains can contain egg or milk, so ask before adding pudding if you are strict.

Is the cheese foam dairy-free?
No. CheezHO cheese foam is a dairy product. There is no dairy-free version of it on the menu.

Can I get a vegan drink at every LiHO outlet?
The pure tea and fruit tea ranges are everywhere. The oat milk range is a standard menu section, but stock can vary at the smallest outlets, so a pure tea is the fallback that never fails.