Bonsai Kakigori Coconut Lime Crunch Kakigori: Located in the back of Canal Street Market, Bonsai Kakigori serves freshly-shaved Japanese ice desserts. Similar to Korean bingsu, the shaved ice has a fluffy consistency that's much lighter than Italian ice. At Bonsai, the shaved ice is piled high and served with a generous number of toppings. The Coconut Lime Crunch flavor had a coconut foam topping, toasted coconut flakes, lime zest, and toasted peanuts. Equal parts crunchy, creamy, and citrusy, it was well balanced and a treat to sha... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended desserts nyc japanese lime bonsaikakigori coconut crunch kakigori 3.5
Meet Fresh Sweet Potato Tofu Pudding: Meet Fresh is a sweets shop from Taiwan serving a variety of hot and cold desserts combining classic toppings such as mung bean, taro, and barley, along with glutinous rice balls, boba, and other chewy treats. Their first New York City location is around the corner from Cooper Union. I ordered the chilled version of their tofu pudding with sweet potato, which came with a small mound of ice, all swimming in a lightly-sweetened honey water. The sweet potatoes came in homely, large chunks, a... (read more) 2.5/5.0
desserts nyc taiwanese sweets meetfresh sweet potato tofu pudding 2.5
Mr. Wish Mango passion fruit babo drink with aloe: I was sad when I learned that Mr Wish in Flushing had closed, but the franchise has quickly expanded to many other locations in the city, so it’s actually easier to find now. I purchased a mango and passionfruit babo drink with aloe from the Williamsburg location. Originally I thought babo was a typo, but it’s a name they’ve given to their carbonated, non-tea fruit drinks. They just use fresh fruit, so I didn’t adjust the sweetness level. The textures in this drink, from the fruit pulp to th... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended nyc drinks brooklyn Williamsburg mrwish mango passion fruit babo drink aloe 3.5
Keki Modern Cakes Milk soft serve: When I went to Keki to try their cheesecake, they had a promotion where they were giving away free soft serve. Their only available flavor was milk, and while the texture of the softserve was good, it tasted very simply of rich whole milk. It’s not a flavor that develops in any way, and it was too rich for me, so I did something I’ve only done once before in the history of Tasty Snacking and threw it out. 1.0/5.0
avoid nyc softserve icecream chinatown kekimoderncakes milk soft serve 1.0
Keki Modern Cakes Cheesecake: Keki is a mini storefront in Chinatown selling a small selection of baked items. Their cheesecake must be purchased as a whole cake (no slices available). If you’re looking for a non-traditional dessert to bring to an event, this cheesecake may be it. It’s a Japanese style cheesecake, so it’s fluffy in texture, yet deeply rich in flavor. Definitely not diet food, but it’s so light and airy that you won’t feel heavy eating it. One of the more distinct and delicious cakes I’ve had in some time. 4.0/5.0
recommended nyc dessert cake kekimoderncakes cheesecake 4.0
Cones Lychee and ginger sorbet: Cones in the West Village never disappoints with its superbly fresh sorbets. I realize in the handful of times I’ve been to this independent ice cream shop, I’ve never had any of their actual ice cream because I’m always lured by their excellent sorbets. This time it was their lychee and ginger sorbets, which were both very sharp and clean tasting. The ginger had a great level of spice, which paired well with the tropical lychee scoop. Smooth and consistent texture as well. 4.0/5.0
nyc dessert cones lychee ginger sorbet 4.0 recommended