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
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Wonderful Dessert and Cafe Grass jelly drink with boba: Wonderful Dessert and Cafe is a small shop lined with bulk candy bins. Counter for bubble tea in the back. Painted window signage declares that this shop has the "best tapioca in town." In actuality, it was one of the worst I've had from any establishment, with a mushy texture and no flavor. The herbal jelly tea was no better, with a medicinal metallic taste. Was hopeful given high online reviews and this store's location in Inner Richmond, which feels the most like Flushing, Queens as I've... (read more) 1.5/5.0
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50 Tea Longan Red Date drink with grass jelly: On my last visit to Oakland, iTea was out of ice and only offering hot beverages. Given the beautiful weather, I decided to go across the street to a new tea shop instead. Named 50 Tea, the shop is iconic Chinatown – half of the storefront is for tea and ice cream while the other half is for purchasing various goods like DVDs and small trinkets and gifts. Their walls are covered in hand-written menu additions with distinctly Asian flavors like winter melon and sour plum. I opted for thei... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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Asha Tea Grape Oolong tea with grass jelly: For whatever reason, this fruit tea is a $0.25 less than many of the other fruit teas on Asha's menu. It has a milder flavor than the Asian Pear oolong, with bits of grape skin at the bottom to remind you that you are, in fact, having a grape-flavored drink. This helps because the fruit flavor, while light and refreshing, is difficult to pin down. Their homemade grass jelly has a slippery soft texture that easily compliments the tea. 3.0/5.0
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i-Tea Avocado slush with grass jelly: If you follow Tasty Snacking, you will have gathered that I am in love with this Bay Area bubble tea chain. I've had a lot of bubble tea in my life (an embarrassing amount, in fact), both in Asia and in the US, and i-Tea is as good as it gets. On my last visit, I ordered an insanely good avocado slush with a generous helping of grass jelly. Very fresh and creamy, and pleasantly sweet at 30%. The grass jelly had a delicious herbal flavor that complemented the creamy avocado well. Their j... (read more) 5.0/5.0
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I-Tea Roasted barley milk tea with grass jelly: Returning again to the Kearny St. location of this bubble tea chain, I decided to try a drink with 0% sweetness and opted for the roasted barley milk tea. Like the last drink I had from i-Tea, the grass jelly was excellent. However, I found the tea to lack flavor, verging on bland. This may be my fault, since there was no sugar, but places like Asha do a fantastic job with barely sweetened teas, so I think this particular flavor just might be not so great. Still, there are other better o... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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