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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Wat Mongkolratanaram Khanom Krok: My first exposure to this Thai street food was at Wat Mongkolratanaram, a buddhist temple in Berkeley right around the corner from Berkeley Bowl. Every Sunday, they host an outdoor market serving a variety of dishes, including pad thai, thai iced tea, curry, and beef noodle soup (a non-vegetarian buddhist meal). Along with these entrees are two desserts: mango sticky rice and khanom krok, the latter of which is $6 for 8 pieces. Khanom krok are a mash up of pancakes and rice pudding served... (read more) 2.5/5.0
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Lush Gelato Mango Sorbet and Ricotta Lemon Zest Gelato: Located in the back of The Epicurious Garden in Berkeley, this Lush Gelato location has a rainbow assortment of sorbets and gelatos made with ingredients proudly sourced from local farms. (This all sounds very befitting for a spot in the Gourmet Ghetto, I know.) I sampled the Vietnamese cinnamon (which tasted like Cinnamon Toast Crunch) before deciding on their mango sorbet and ricotta lemon zest. For all three flavors, I found them to be overly sweet for my taste, and while the texture w... (read more) 2.5/5.0
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John's Ube Ice Cream: Neighboring the Berkeley Bike Station is a small ice cream shop named John's with barely enough room for two sets of freezers and a single-file queue that regularly extends well past the doors. Given the size of the establishment, it wouldn't be inaccurate to credit these lines simply to space limitation rather than the quality of John's products. But a comic-sans printed sign outside the door advertises what is likely the biggest draw: $1.50 scoops (the $0.50 handwritten and appended to t... (read more) 2.5/5.0
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Sweetheart Cafe Avocado Slush with Boba: A creamy drink that tasted more like milk than avocado. The standout component was still the boba, which remains singular in its chewy consistency. Overall, though, I would recommend another beverage at this Berkeley favorite just a block away from Sather Gate. 2.5/5.0
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TeaOne Buckwheat Purple Yam Milk Tea with Boba: Located on Telegraph on the edge of Berkeley's campus is TeaOne, yet another bubble tea shop in Berkeley. I decided to try their Buckwheat Purple Yam milk tea because it's a flavor I haven't seen elsewhere. Unfortunately, it is a flavor that probably shouldn't exist elsewhere because it has a starchy, grainy texture almost reminiscent of sesame breakfast porridge you get in powder packs at Asian grocery stores. The boba was also overly soft, with little discernible taste. 2.5/5.0
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