Ice & Vice Nankhatai n' cream ice cream : Ice & Vice currently has a variety of Cookies and Cream riffs, ranging from sweet potato and sesame to tomatillo and blue corn. The version I ordered combines chai with bits of pistachio cardamom cookie. The single scoop was pricy, but the portion was generous. It has a smooth consistency with a concentrated spiced flavor that worked really well together. I did find it to be overly rich, and that combined with the large portion size made it feel a bit samey as I was reaching the end, so I wo... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Nature's Soy Black sesame soy milk: I love Asian soy milk, which tends to be a lot less sweet and taste of actual soybeans/tofu compared to American soymilk (there's a very good chapter on this in the book Organic inc.), so when I went to Hong Kong Supermarket in Chinatown NYC, I checked out the refrigerated, fresh soy milk options. This brand happened to have black sesame and matcha soymilk, two of my favorite flavors. Since the half gallons we're quite large and black sesame is a bit more unqiue for this category, I purchase... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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Chinatown Ice Cream Factory Ginger and Black Sesame Ice Cream: I finally made it to Chinatown Ice Cream factory, a shoebox-sized shop that specializes in Asian flavored ice cream like durian and Thai iced tea. It reminds me of Garden Creamery in SF in terms of selection. The ginger ice cream was impressively smooth and had a pleasant ginger flavor, though I personally would prefer it to be spicier and less sweet. The flavor of the black sesame ice cream was very special - quite savory, and sprinkled with real black sesame seeds, it was nutty and not t... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Dominique Ansel Bakery Peach Creme Fraiche Mousse Cake: This teardrop-shaped dessert consists of a lemon cake with peach compote, all covered in a thin shard of pink-striped chocolate. It had a sharp, acidic flavor, and technically, the cake was soft and moist. But I couldn't help but wonder what exactly this dessert was trying to accomplish. While I hadn't had anything like it before, I wouldn't say it was particularly satisfying; it exists in its own world that's not quite delicious, yet not really challenging enough to stay in my memory. 3.0/5.0
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Dominique Ansel Bakery Chocolate Hazelnut Hedgehog: I like cute things, and snacks are no exception. This very precious chocolate hedgehog was one of the desserts normally exclusively available in Japan that was offered at Dominique Ansel Bakery this weekend as part of their 7-year anniversary. The hedgehog consisted of a mix of hazelnut, milk chocolate, and coffee-flavored mousse covered in a chocolate shell and chocolate shards. Overall, I found the chocolate dessert to be pretty good and not overly rich, but it isn't one of the better c... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Dominique Ansel Bakery Blooming Matcha Latte: To celebrate their 7th birthday, the Dominique Ansel Bakery in Soho recreated several desserts normally exclusively available at their other locations around the world, including Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo. This blooming matcha latte from Japan consists of a marshmallow whose petals unfurl when placed into the hot beverage. At the center of the sakura marshmallow is what seemed to be a sugar cube, acting as the pistil. The beverage itself has a rich but slightly bitter flavor distinct... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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