Sweet Sydney's Chocolate Chip Brownie: Purchased this brownie from the vending machine at work on a rare day I was craving chocolate. Upon first bite, though, I knew it was a mistake. I'm sure refrigeration came into play, but the texture was hard, and it was insanely sweet, like eating pure sugar. (There's 27g of sugar in this square). Definitely did not need the addition of powdered sugar on top. Standard chocolate flavor. A snack that is certainly not worth the money or calories. 2.0/5.0
dessert chocolate glutenfree sweetsydneys chip brownie 2.0
Blockheads Black sesame shaved ice with red bean, rice cakes, almond jelly, and condensed milk: Finally got to try this LA-based Taiwanese shaved ice chain. The black sesame ice cream had decent flavor but the texture was not as fluffy as I knew it could be given my recent experience at Powder in San Francisco. At Blockheads, they make their rice cakes in house, which are essentially tang yuan (the mochi-like glutinous rice dumplings that often accompany red bean soup). I expected their almond jelly to be almond jello, but it was more like the harder gelatin cubes often used in Asia... (read more) 3.0/5.0
dessert icecream asian losangeles shaved ice rice cakes almond jelly condensed milk 3.0 redbean blacksesame blockheads
Blue Star Donuts Buttermilk Lemon Poppyseed Donut: Portland is pretty serious about donuts. On my latest visit, I saw a much higher percentage of commuters eating donuts for breakfast than I have witnessed in any other city. So when I was about to fly out from PDX and realized there was a Blue Star next to ticketing, I willingly went through security a second time in order to see what all the fuss was about. There were many flavors I was interested in trying, from their strawberry-rhubarb jam-filled pastry to a more traditional donut ring ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
sweets dessert portland bluestardonuts buttermilk lemon poppyseed donut 3.0
Powder Black sesame Taiwanese shaved ice with mochi: During my childhood, my family would visit Taiwan every few years, spending several weeks in the scorching heat of the summer months. Once in a while, we would be treated with the best cure for a heatwave: baobing, or Taiwanese shaved ice served alongside a variety of toppings like peanut and red bean, all saturated with a sweet syrup that flavored the ice crystals. In anticipation, we would watch as a machine transformed a large block of ice into a heap of snow, spinning into a sharp rotar... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional sanfrancisco powdershavedice blacksesame powder black sesame taiwanese shaved ice mochi 4.5 dessert frozen
Cheeseboard Sticky Bun: I wouldn't say I have a sweet tooth, but I can enjoy sweet things. I definitely have a preference, though, for lighter desserts. This sticky bun from Cheeseboard falls on the opposite end of the spectrum. Soaked with a buttery glaze and topped with chopped pecans, it's the type of sweet that will actually induce a physical reaction, as your body and teeth rejects what it knows is not good for it. Because the sticky bun is from Cheeseboard, I have some confidence in the quality of the ing... (read more) 2.0/5.0
dessert pecans nuts bread bakery baked sweets cheeseboard sticky bun 2.0
Benkyodo Co Mochi: One of the original mochi shops in the US, Benkyodo in Japantown, SF opened back in 1906. Today, the storefront is an odd mix of diner counter, Asian 7-11-type snacks, and fresh made mochi. All of their mochi come in cupcake liners and taste very fresh because they are. The texture is softer than I personally prefer, and there is a little too much starch that coats your mouth with each bite. But I did enjoy that they were not overly sweet. The best was certainly a mango mochi that had f... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japantown sanfrancisco japanese sweets dessert benkyodoco mochi 3.0