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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Fentons Creamery Strawberry Sorbet: Before I left the East Bay, I wanted to try the ice cream at Fentons Creamery, an Oakland institution that opened its doors back in 1894. It's a classic family-friendly diner, like what you would imagine Friendly's was like before it became a national franchise. The ice cream flavors are, for the most part, traditional Americana, with flavors like heath bar, cookies 'n cream, and rocky road. Sitting down with my cup of raspberry sorbet, I overheard another patron, cone-in-hand, reprimandi... (read more) 2.5/5.0
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Freezing Point Creamery Matcha Rolled Ice Cream: Originating from Thailand, rolled ice cream is a technique for making fresh ice cream from scratch to order. Liquid ice cream base is poured onto a cold metal pan (think crepe-grill-sized) and is then mixed, scraped, and chopped by hand before its spread into a single, solidified layer. At this point, the scraper is used to roll the ice cream into individual pieces resembling fruit roll up / mini crepes, looking nothing like your typical scoop of ice cream. I ended up at Freezing Point Cr... (read more) 2.0/5.0
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Koreana Plaza Market Mochi: Inside the Koreana Plaza Market in Oakland is a small cash-only bakery with a variety of asian sweets, including lotus-paste-filled pastries (review forthcoming), pineapple buns, and almond cookies. I purchased a pack of two red-bean mochi (despite the oven-fresh sticker on the packaging, I'm pretty sure they were steamed). The mochi are about 125% the size of packaged mochi. Biting into a piece, I could instantly tell that it was very fresh. The glutinous rice flour had a bit more resis... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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La Farine frangipane: Excellent pastry. Flaky crust topped with almonds. Inside is fluffy and light. Center has lightly sweetened almond paste. Some parts of the exterior are dark, but they're caramelized rather than burnt. Very sizable and filling for the price ($2.95). 4.5/5.0
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Little Giant Ice Cream Thai Green Curry and Key Lime Pie Ice Cream: Known for unusual flavors like asparagus and beez cheese (a combination of goat cheese, honey, and black pepper), Little Giant Ice Cream, located on Telegraph in Oakland, did not disappoint, particularly with the well-balanced Thai green curry ice cream. Equal parts savory and sweet, it's a creamy concoction where the lemongrass is unmistakable, and while it's vegan, it's incredibly smooth. The key lime pie was quite good but did not quite hit the same high point largely due to its slightl... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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