Shake Shack Hanukoncrete: This special edition custard from the Shake Shack is available until December 14th and consists of vanilla custard, pieces of donut from The Doughnut Project, and a strawberry syrup, all topped with powdered sugar. The powdered sugar felt like an unnecessary flourish as the dessert was sweet enough without it, but the combination of donut, rich vanilla custard, and sharp and tangy strawberry was surprisingly delicious. The best part was definitely the vanilla custard, which was very smooth. 3.5/5.0
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T-Swirl Crepe Creme brulee crepe: One of the mini-crepes available at T-Swirl, the creme brulee is filled with a custard-like creme filling and bruleed to order. The crepe was satisfyingly eggy and slightly chewy, while the creme brulee was a rich treat. The best part to me was the crepe, and I would have preferred slightly less filling, but overall this snack was a good value. 3.5/5.0
recommended dessert nyc tswirlcrepe creme brulee crepe 3.5
Besfren Taro and matcha soft serve: I stumbled upon this tiny pastry shop on my way to Penn Station from KTown and was impressed with the quality of their soft serve. Served in a large but slightly pricy cup (at $5.50), the purple and green ice cream swirl is well balanced and perfectly smooth. The creamy, slightly vegetal flavor of taro works surprisingly well with bitter matcha. My only quibble is that the way the soft serve was swirled gave it a hollow center, so I think a third of the cup I received was just an air pock... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Bao Tea House Rose pudding bao: A special Valentine's day menu item at Bao Tea House in the West Village, these buttery rose pudding baos have a custard-like filling somewhere between whipped cream and pudding. It's light in texture, but quite rich in flavor and tastes deeply of rose On top is a satisfying crumble coating. Overall, the dessert stands out to me with its combination of baked and creamy textures, but it's on the rich side altogether. 3.5/5.0
recommended nyc dessert baoteahouse rose pudding bao 3.5
The Doughnut Project Hotteok Jeju Noodle Bar Donut: I got this donut exactly a week ago on the last day it was available from The Donut Project in the West Village (sorry for the delay in posting!). I had only ever had Hotteok once from a boxed mix from HMart, and not surprisingly, this donut interpretation from Korean ramen noodle shop Jeju Noodle Bar was much better. The dough had a great consistency, with a crisp griddled-like exterior and soft interior filled with a sweet crushed peanuts mix. Topped with a berry-jelly syrup and pistach... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Amausaan uji Matcha Matcha Ice Cream: Green-tea-flavored soft serve from Japanese sweets stand Amausaan uji Matcha in the Richmond district of SF (they also have a location in Berkeley). At $5, this large portion comes in a waffle cone and is topped with matcha powder. Most of the bitter matcha flavor comes from the powder, but the ice cream is creamy and smooth; the cone is standard in both flavor and texture. I enjoyed it overall, but sampling it at the Berkeley location the next day, I found the ice cream to be too sweet, ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
sanfrancisco sf dessert icecream amausaanujimatcha matcha ice cream 3.5