Kung Fu Tea Lychee tea with boba and lychee jelly: Purchased from the Kung Fu Tea in Edison, NJ, this tea drink was far too sweet despite specifying 25% sweetness. The boba was also disappointingly soft. The jelly, though, had a decently firm bite. It's too bad there is so much variability with drinks from this chain. 2.0/5.0
drinks tea kungfutea lychee boba jelly 2.0
Kirks pasito passion fruit soda: Continuing my sampling of Australian carbonated beverages, I purchased this tropical soda to pair with some fish and chips. The soda is sickening sweet but does have a passion fruit flavor, even if it's artificial. On closer inspection, I found that Kirk's is owned by Coca-Cola, though it is from Queensland, Australia. 2.0/5.0
kirks soda drinks passionfruit 2.0 kirkspasito passion fruit
Breadtop matcha red bean bun: Breadtop is an Asian bakery chain in Australia. There is one close to the hotel I'm staying at in Brisbane, and it offers staples like sausage buns and sesame balls but also modern takes, like this matcha red bean bun. Unfortunately, the bun was unsuccessfully; the dough had very little matcha flavor, and the red bean filling was overly sweet and uninspired. The dusting of icing sugar made it messy to eat, without much added flavor. 2.0/5.0
breadtop bakery bread matcha redbean asian australian 2.0 red bean bun
Kutoa chocolate banana bar: This do-good company feeds a child in need for every bar sold. The bars have a dense texture and contain a substantial amount of protein (5g) and fiber (3g). It contains ingredients as varied as pea crisps, date paste, and brown rice, on top of the expected oats, chocolates, and bananas. To be honest, I was pretty revolted after my first bite, as it had a strange health-food flavor, but I quickly got used to it. Beyond that, though, I can't say much about the desirability of this imbalanced ... (read more) 2.0/5.0
kutoa leanbox 2.0 avoid chocolate banana oatbar bar
Danone cherry yogurt: Beyond the foreign labeling, this joghurt tastes just like regular Dannon. On the sweet side, with a thin consistency and a couple slivers of fruit. 2.0/5.0
dannon yogurt cherry 2.0 danone
Brooklyn Soda Works lemon and thyme soda: About five years ago, I had a fantastic bottled apple ginger soda from Brooklyn Soda Works at a restaurant in NYC. Since then, I've been looking forward to my next opportunity to try a different flavor from the brand. I also backed them on Kickstarter a few years ago. When I found myself at Smorgasburg for the Brooklyn Record Flea, I visited their tent and purchased a $4 cup of lemon thyme soda. Unfortunately, it was not very good. The lemon was faint, and the soda could use more sweetness t... (read more) 2.0/5.0
brooklynsodaworks soda drinks lemon thyme 2.0 smorgasburg