Golden Steamer Red Bean Bun: Here's a classic Chinese bao favorite from Golden Steamer in NYC, filled with sweet red bean paste that is surprisingly mild in sweetness, especially compared to the typical sugar bomb you get elsewhere. Surrounded by soft and plump steamed white bread. This one is not bad, but it isn't especially interesting. If you like red bean buns, you will enjoy it, but it will taste like you expect it will. Costs under $1. 3.0/5.0
nyc buns chinatown goldensteamer red bean bun 3.0
Balthazar Blueberry cheese danish: Purchased from Harney & Sons tea shop in SoHo, this blueberry cheese danish from Balthazar was a delicious sweet treat. Flaky pastry with sugar crystals surrounds a sweetened egg and cheese custard. Fresh blueberries at the center are bright and fresh. A nice dessert to eat alongside tea, or by itself. 4.0/5.0
recommended pastry nyc dessert balthazar blueberry cheese danish 4.0
7th Ave Donuts and Diner French cruller: Here’s another donut from a 24-hour shop, this time based in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Mostly diner but partially donut shop, 7th Ave Donuts and Diner has a selection of unfussy classics from glazed to jelly to toasted coconut. I judged the quality of their donuts from their French cruller. Its thick vanilla icing was far too sweet, but the donut itself was surprisingly good, with its toasted exterior, crispy at the edges, but eggy, slightly raw custard-like interior. I would gladly come back fo... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended nyc donut dessert 7thavedonutsanddiner French cruller 3.5
The Donut Pub Blueberry donut: This 24/7 West Village donut shop has been open for over 50 years. I asked what the least sweet options were which led me to purchase this blueberry cake donut. I’m used to fried donuts with a light and fluffy consistency - their cake donuts are pretty much the exact opposite. Crumbly and a tad dry, the blueberry flavor was decent nonetheless, and it wasn’t too sweet. It reminded me of a less sweet version of blueberry flavored muffins I had growing up from Costco. I would say Donut Pub is a... (read more) 2.5/5.0
dessert nyc thedonutpub blueberry 2.5 donut
Cha Cha Matcha Matcha lemonade with mint: More mint than matcha, this chilled lemonade is refreshing but doesn’t quite hit the mark as far as green tea flavor. It has a slight bitterness that sets it apart from a normal lemonade, but it would be hard to guess it contains matcha if you were to drink it without first seeing its identifying dark green color. Purchased from the ultra trendy matcha shop Cha Cha Matcha, a cafe seemingly built for Instagram, replete with a faux living wall and lifestyle neon signage. 3.0/5.0
drinks nyc chachamatcha matcha lemonade mint 3.0
Golden Steamer Sweet pork bao: Here’s another bao from Golden Steamer in NYC. Filled with sweetened pork in a thick savory gravy, it’s like the enhanced version of a dim sum favorite. Lightly sweetened, pillowy white bread is the centerpiece - there’s much more of it than the meaty filling, and that’s fine by me. It costs $0.90. 3.5/5.0
recommended bao nyc bread goldensteamer sweet pork 3.5