Cream Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich with Chocolate Chip Cookies: For the past few weeks, I've passed this popular Ice Cream shop on my way back from Amoeba in Berkeley and always noted the long lines. At around 10pm last Friday night, it took me 8 minutes in line to get to the counter, where I was greeted with an overwhelming scent of butter and baked goods. While the menu lists over 20 flavors, only about 10 are actually available at any given time. I ordered their mint chocolate chip ice cream with two chocolate chip cookies for a surprisingly low pri... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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Miaow Miaow Cuttlefish Flavoured Crackers: From a wall of tempting Asian snacks at Tokyo Fish Bowl in Berkeley, this particular bag caught my attention, first from the cute cat-accented logo and then its intriguing seafood flavor. I am a huge fan of Asian seafood snacks, and this particular one is from Malaysia. Unlike more familiar shrimp crackers, the chips are thicker and curl almost onto themselves like curly fries. The tentacle-like indentations mean that more seasoning is caught in the crevices, and there is a ton of sweet a... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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Ici Coconut passion fruit sorbet: Ici is an ice cream shop in Berkeley started by a former Chez Panisse pasty chef. Its menu consists of elevated classics made with quality ingredients. The coconut passion fruit sorbet I ordered had a vibrant orange hue and was more tart than sweet, with an acidic passion fruit flavor and smooth coconut finish. The balance was slightly off, as it was more sharp than I personally prefer, but the most disappointing part was the texture, which was varied and mostly too icy. The homemade cone, t... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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U Cha Barley milk tea with boba: Continuing my bubble tea taste test across Berkeley, I found myself at a popular tea shop named U Cha on Bancroft. Their expansive menu has the fruit and milk tea flavors you expect from a Taiwanese-style chain. I ordered their barley tea with boba at 20% sweetness with little ice. The flavor was familiar but watered down and over-sweetened; the boba was too chewy. With better options, this one is a pass. 2.0/5.0
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Bernie's Best Organic Autumn's Best Apple Cider: I live very close to Cheeseboard in Berkeley and hadn't had their pizza since I moved in. On a whim back from running errands, and noticing there was a shorter line than normal, I stopped by this popular spot to re-taste the pizza I found exceptional five years earlier. To accompany the pizza, I grabbed an apple cider I hadn't seen before from their drinks fridge: Bernie's Best. The drink lists no nutrition facts, only that the cider is made fresh with apples from Pomo Tierra Orchards in Yo... (read more) 5.0/5.0
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Sharetea Hokkaido black milk tea with boba: I stopped by this branch of Sharetea to scout out tea shops in downtown Berkeley; this one is located right on the edge of campus. Coming in around lunchtime meant there was a sizeable line of college students, and it took about 10 minutes total from getting in line to retrieving my drink. Their menu has several variants of classic black milk tea, including Hokkaido black tea, which supposedly has a roasted brown sugar flavor. Though I ordered it at 30% sweetness, it was more sweet than I wo... (read more) 2.5/5.0
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