Purple Kow Roasted Oolong milk tea with boba: Originally from San Francisco, Purple Kow is a bubble tea shop that also has a location in downtown Berkeley directly adjacent to Top Dog. It serves its drinks in distinctly short and stout containers that are more like buckets than cups. Many of their milk teas are made using organic milk products. I ordered my roasted oolong milk tea with soymilk and 20% sugar and ice. The drink was very mild, tasting mostly of faintly sweetened milk and less so of tea. Their boba are miniature compar... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks boba bubbletea pearls oolong milktea asian berkeley purplekow roasted milk tea 3.0
Korean Plaza Market Lotus paste pastries : These baked goods from Koreans Plaza Market have a buttery, soft exterior similar to moon cakes and a generous amount of white lotus paste inside. The filling has a starchy consistency, almost like biting into a softened Japanese sweet potato. Miniature size makes them good for snacking. 3.0/5.0
recommended sweets pastries korean asian koreanplazamarket lotus paste 3.0
Yoshimi Yakitokibi: Several months ago, I wrote a review of Trader Joe's mochi rice nuggets, a fried savory glutinous rice snack unlike any other mochi I had eaten up to that point. Irregularly shaped, almost like golden nuggets, they were crunchy and dense - the polar opposite of the chewy texture I associate with mochi. Recently, I was gifted a bag of corn-flavored fried mochi crackers, brought back all the way from Japan, where this particular flavor can only be purchased in Hokkaido. The texture and shap... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese corn hokkaido mochi crackers friend asian yoshimi yakitokibi 3.0
Benkyodo Co Mochi: One of the original mochi shops in the US, Benkyodo in Japantown, SF opened back in 1906. Today, the storefront is an odd mix of diner counter, Asian 7-11-type snacks, and fresh made mochi. All of their mochi come in cupcake liners and taste very fresh because they are. The texture is softer than I personally prefer, and there is a little too much starch that coats your mouth with each bite. But I did enjoy that they were not overly sweet. The best was certainly a mango mochi that had f... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japantown sanfrancisco japanese sweets dessert benkyodoco mochi 3.0
Koreana Plaza Market Mochi: Inside the Koreana Plaza Market in Oakland is a small cash-only bakery with a variety of asian sweets, including lotus-paste-filled pastries (review forthcoming), pineapple buns, and almond cookies. I purchased a pack of two red-bean mochi (despite the oven-fresh sticker on the packaging, I'm pretty sure they were steamed). The mochi are about 125% the size of packaged mochi. Biting into a piece, I could instantly tell that it was very fresh. The glutinous rice flour had a bit more resis... (read more) 3.0/5.0
oakland sweets dessert japanese koreanaplazamarket mochi 3.0
I Heart Keenwah Aged Cheddar flavored quinoa puffs: Cheese puffs that substitute quinoa for corn and thus have a more substantial amount of protein (5g). About the size of a quarter, these crunchy bites have a flavor strongly reminiscent of aged cheddar boxed mac and cheese powder (the nice Amy's kind, not Kraft). Ends with a punchy peppercorn kick. Bag contains few servings (3). Worth a try if you're looking for a slightly healthier alternative to cheese puffs. 3.0/5.0
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