Kopitiam Lychee Bandung: Kopitiam is everything I want in a restaurant – it's unfussy, always introduces me to new flavors, is dependably delicious, and a great value. And I love their drinks, which are always served in pouches. Their current seasonal drink consists of lychee and rose syrup, with a generous helping of whole pieces of lychee fruit. I'd normally find it a little too sweet, but with the extremely hot weather in NYC, it was the perfect thirst quencher. Its floral notes are present but not overly dom... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended drinks nyc malaysian kopitiam lychee bandung 3.5
Manna House Bakery Scallion and Ham Roll: I was on my way to Golden Steamer when I passed Manna House Bakery ~2 doors down on Mott St that had a small queue of older Asian customers. Locals don't normally wait in line, especially in places as impatient as Chinatown, so I decided to stop in and check out their selection. The cash-only bakery is very narrow, yet has an impressive selection of traditional Chinese pastries like pineapple bun, sponge cake, egg tarts, and more, all thankfully labeled both in Chinese and English. I left ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended chinatown nyc mannahousebakery scallion ham roll 3.5
Annie's Really Ranch Crackers with Hidden Veggies: I generally enjoy Annie's crackers and was excited to try this flavor I hadn't seen before. I've had many types of vegetable-based snacks, which seems to have expanded substantially over the past decade (cauliflower, chickpea, beets, etc.), but my flavor baseline for mixed veggie crackers is super basic: Nabisco's Vegetable Things, or veggie cream cheese. I was hoping for more of the latter with Annie's combination of veggies with ranch, and they did not disappoint. The texture of the crack... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Happy Lemon Ube Green Tea Smoothie with Rock Salt Crema: Ube, green tea, and salted cream seemed like an unlikely combination, but one that I felt of all chains, Happy Lemon could probably pull off. This smoothie tastes much more of ube than green tea, and with its vivid Grimace purple color, it would be hard to know that it contained any matcha at all. The ube slush was rich and very filling, with a fairly mild flavor that's still immediately identifiable as ube. This was probably the best use of the rock salt crema I've had, which I've been s... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended drinks saltedcream happylemon ube green tea smoothie rock salt crema 3.5
Lay's Grilled Squid Flavor Potato Chips: Purchased at HMart, these substantially ridged potato chips feature a sweet and savory flavor that's a little smoky and a lot of umami. Akin to a sweet teriyaki glaze. I especially liked the texture of the ridges, whose valleys and mountains are about 3x as deep as Ruffles. Worth a try if you're into seafood flavored snacks. 3.5/5.0
recommended hmart lays grilled squid flavor potato chips 3.5
Trader Joe's Ridge Cut Potato Chips with Horseradish and Chives: I really enjoyed this fresh take on sour cream and onion. The horseradish flavor is spicy but palatably so, and the chips have a great texture – not too thick and more crispy than crunchy. Definitely recommended for anyone who likes sour cream and onion but would prefer a tangier, sharper flavor. 3.5/5.0
recommended potatochips traderjoes ridge cut potato chips horseradish chives 3.5