Acme Bread Almond Plum Pastry: Sometimes when I have a bad day, I'll stop by the Ferry Building in San Francisco and grab a small snack. On my last trip, I purchased a small almond plum pastry, priced at just a little over $2. Inside were warmed, fresh slices of plum, while the pastry itself was flaky on the outside but comfortingly soft on the inside. Dusted with just a bit of powdered sugar, the pastry was faintly sweet yet distinctly almond-flavored. One of the more perfect little bites I've had this year. 4.5/5.0
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Amausaan uji Matcha Matcha Ice Cream: Green-tea-flavored soft serve from Japanese sweets stand Amausaan uji Matcha in the Richmond district of SF (they also have a location in Berkeley). At $5, this large portion comes in a waffle cone and is topped with matcha powder. Most of the bitter matcha flavor comes from the powder, but the ice cream is creamy and smooth; the cone is standard in both flavor and texture. I enjoyed it overall, but sampling it at the Berkeley location the next day, I found the ice cream to be too sweet, ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Asha Tea House strawberry black tea with grass jelly: A small tea shop with locations in Berkeley and Sam Francisco, Asha offers several milk and fruit tea options. I was thoroughly impressed with the strawberry tea I ordered, which contained real crushed strawberries. The strawberry seeds added great texture, and the grass jelly complemented the herbal black tea. While the strawberry "purée" was on the sweet side, the rest of the drink appeared to be unsweetened. Highly recommended. 4.5/5.0
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Belly Good Cafe & Crepes Adzuki, Srawberry, and Green Tea Crepe: On my most recent trip to San Francisco, I found myself in Japantown hungry for a mid-day snack. A quick search revealed that the highest reviewed spot was a crepe stand by the name of Belly Good, located in the food court on the upper level of the shopping complex. While I have a healthy skepticism when it comes to Yelp reviews, it is impossible not to notice a place that has 4.5 stars and over 1,000 reviews, especially given its unassuming storefront and questionable photo menu. I also r... (read more) 0.5/5.0
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Benkyodo Co Mochi: One of the original mochi shops in the US, Benkyodo in Japantown, SF opened back in 1906. Today, the storefront is an odd mix of diner counter, Asian 7-11-type snacks, and fresh made mochi. All of their mochi come in cupcake liners and taste very fresh because they are. The texture is softer than I personally prefer, and there is a little too much starch that coats your mouth with each bite. But I did enjoy that they were not overly sweet. The best was certainly a mango mochi that had f... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Boba Guys Strawberry Tea Fresca with Almond Jelly: I've only ever had milk teas at Boba Guys up to this point, but their strawberry jasmine tea fresca was excellent, and I will definitely be back to try others. Similar to Asha tea, they use fruit puree so that it has a bit of texture. The almond jelly is soft and tofu-like, and just a tad grainy. Overall, the drink was very fresh and well made; faintly sweet. Highly recommended. 4.0/5.0
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