163 Vietnamese Sandwich milk tea with boba: When I end up in Chinatown, I always attempt to find a decent bubble tea shop. Did I find it in this highly rated spot? Alas, no. The tea was diluted, the sugar crystals not fully dissolved such that every few sips, I'd get a crunch. The boba was even worse, with a mushy texture that was far too soft. Which leaves me with the question: is there any decent bubble tea to be found in Boston's "Chinatown"? 1.5/5.0
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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
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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
Cheng Kang Rare Soybean Drink: I'm not sure what makes it rare, but I recently discovered that Asian grocery stores stock several brands of "rare soybean" soymilk. This one is from Taiwan, and I purchased it at Hong Kong Supermarket in Chinatown. I thought the bean flavor of the drink was very familiar and overall ok, but it was heavily sweetened, so I wouldn't get it again. 2.5/5.0
drinks chinatown hongkongsupermarket chengkang rare soybean drink 2.5
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
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Elbow Bread Sweet Potato Pretzel: Straight from the oven, this sweet potato take on a classic pretzel was pretty much flawless – great amount of chew, just enough seasoning, and a subtle sweet, roasted flavor you're unlikely to find anywhere else. I love pretzels, and I'm pretty sure this is the best one I've ever had. New from Elbow Bakery at the border of Chinatown / LES. 5.0/5.0
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