Golden Steamer Red Bean Bun: Here's a classic Chinese bao favorite from Golden Steamer in NYC, filled with sweet red bean paste that is surprisingly mild in sweetness, especially compared to the typical sugar bomb you get elsewhere. Surrounded by soft and plump steamed white bread. This one is not bad, but it isn't especially interesting. If you like red bean buns, you will enjoy it, but it will taste like you expect it will. Costs under $1. 3.0/5.0
nyc buns chinatown goldensteamer red bean bun 3.0
Kirin Rich Green Tea: If you can believe it, I have a months-worth of backlog for snack reviews. I purchased this bottle of green tea back when I was doing a retreat at the Recurse Center. I liked buying large bottles of green tea to drink at work for cost-effectiveness, and I found that the best selection could be found at Hong Kong Supermarket in NYC's Chinatown. I typically purchased Ito-En teas, but I decided to give this slightly less expensive bottle of green tea a try. It was decent, but more bitter th... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks matcha chinatown kirin rich green tea 3.0
Calbee Grill-A-Corn Barbecue Flavor: Chinese corn chips that have a sweet barbecue flavor, a bit reminiscent of Shacha bbq sauce but more seasoned. The packaging suggests a grilled corn on the cob flavor, perhaps similar to that you can find, brushed with Shacha sauce, in night markets in Asia. Overall, a decent flavor, but not one I'd likely return to. Purchased from Hong Kong Supermarket. 3.0/5.0
chinese chinatown hongkongsupermarket calbee grill-a-corn barbecue flavor 3.0
Fong On Sweetened soy milk: I really love Asian soy milk, so I was looking forward to this housemade bottle from Fong On in Chinatown. The 16oz bottle cost a little over $2. I purchased the sweetened version, which tasted just like the soy milk you buy from street vendors in Taiwan; beany but loose in viscocity, very sweet but also thirst quenching. Overall, I liked it, but it was definitely on the sweet side - not something I could drink in a single serving. 3.0/5.0
chinatown nyc soy milk chinese fongon sweetened soy milk 3.0
Chung Chun Rice Dog Sweet Potato Corn Dog: The first time I came across Korean corn dogs was in Shin Okubo, the Korean district of Tokyo. I had wandered into the neighborhood at sunset and was surrounded by neon signs and endless stalls of street food, all labelled in languages I couldn't translate but could generally tell what region of the world they represented. That's how I learned that fried cheese on a stick, and hot dogs covered with deep fried diced potatoes resembling an ear of corn from Willy Wonka, was a popular Korean j... (read more) 3.0/5.0
chinatown seattle korean corndog chungchunricedog sweet potato corn dog 3.0
Beard Papa's matcha cream puff: The Japanese cream puff chain Beard Papa's has made it to Boston, with a shop in the heart of Chinatown. I purchased a green-tea flavored puff, which was flaky on the outside and soft on the inside. The puff oozed cream, but the flavor was very light. So light there was basically no discernible green tea flavor. The color is the only indication of its supposed flavoring. Overall, it was not bad for a cream puff, but disappointing as a matcha dessert. 2.5/5.0
beardpapas pastry dessert creampuff matcha 2.5 boston chinatown cream puff