Snowdays Creamsicle shaved ice with coconut ash condensed milk: A collaboration between Korean fast-casual chain Korilla and Taiwanese shaved ice shop Snowdays, this dessert combines orange creamsicle shaved ice with a drizzle of black charcoal-colored condensed milk, giving it the appearance of Korilla's tiger mascot. Available exclusively at the Korilla stand at Madison Square Eats, a single-size container costs around $7, which is quite expensive but can also easily be shared among a small family. Overall, the dessert is not bad; the milky coconut p... (read more) 3.0/5.0
desserts shavedice taiwanese nyc korilla collab snowdays creamsicle shaved ice coconut ash condensed milk 3.0
Bao Tea House Chocolate Milk Bao: This is a special at Bao Tea House in the West Village that will be added to the full menu soon (in that way, it’s more of a preview than a special). Ordered in sets of two, the chocolate baos are coated in melted milk chocolate and slices almonds, with chocolate chips and a cream filling. I’m not a very big chocolate fan, so this wasn’t really a dessert for me, but texturally I liked the combination of crunchy and soft. The cream filling was a bit overwhelming though; it felt more like calo... (read more) 3.0/5.0
manhattan nyc desserts sweets baoteahouse chocolate milk bao 3.0
Rabbit Rabbit Tea Japanese buckwheat milk tea with almond pudding: A caffeine-free option at bubble tea shop Rabbit Rabbit Tea, located at the edge of Union Square. It tasted more of milk than buckwheat, but it did have a familiar Asian breakfast porridge vibe to it, reminiscent of powdered grain packs you mix with hot water. The tea was so so, but the almond pudding was quite good - it had a distinctly non-dairy-milk nutty quality and a soft, slick texture. Overall, though, I probably wouldn't come back to Rabbit Rabbit gven the quality of this drink alone. 3.0/5.0
drinks milktea nyc rabbitrabbittea japanese buckwheat milk tea almond pudding 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
Raaka Oat Milk Dark Chocolate: I've been buying chocolate bars once in a while during my weekly grocery trips to the Park Slope Food Coop. This one from Raaka checks all the boxes in terms of guilt-free snack purchases (organic, single-origin, etc.), with the inside label covered in facts about where the chocolate comes from and how much it costs to produce. The packaging waxes on about using unroasted beans as a way to bring out the "brighter, bolder, and fruitier side of cacao." This particular flavor is described as... (read more) 3.0/5.0
chocolate parkslopefoodcoop darkchocolate organic raaka oat milk dark 3.0
Meiji Tanpact Cheese Biscuit with Milk Chocolate: I think I'm naturally sensitive to packaging design given my interest in visual design, but being in a foreign country where I don't know the language further deepens my reliance on food photography to make purchasing decisions. When I saw this box of biscuits, I assumed that they were plain crackers with a one-sided chocolate coating. It was only when I got home that I saw the smaller image underneath the product name showing 3 types of cheese (what appears to be blue cheese, gouda, and br... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese inegaya meiji tanpact cheese biscuit milk chocolate 3.0