Binggrae Samanco Brown Sugar Boba Ice Cream Sandwich: A Korean brand's take on frozen Japanese taiyaki featuring Taiwanese bubble tea, this trinity of representation incorporates milk tea ice cream alongside brown sugar "boba." Unlike the packaging would indicate, the split between ice cream and boba is not 50/50 but more like 90/10, with a thin layer of brown syrup containing popping-type boba that's neither chewy nor bursting, a texture all its own. Having experienced the Monaka Jumbo ice cream sandwiches in Japan, with its iconic crispy wa... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream 99ranch milktea binggrae samanco brown sugar boba ice cream sandwich 3.0
Coca Cola Coke Zero Sugar: I'm in the Coke Zero camp (I.e., I prefer it to Diet Coke for its better depth of flavor and less metallic taste). Though, to be honest, they both pale in comparison to the more fully body Coca-Cola, which unfortunately has too much sugar. Apparently, Coke improved the flavor of Coke Zero while also emphasizing that it's a zero-calorie beverage through rebranding, for those who were unaware. I didn't taste much difference from the original Coke Zero which is neither good nor bad. So if you w... (read more) 2.5/5.0
drinks soda cocacola coke zero sugar 2.5
Ginza Tokyo Sugar Butter Sand Tree cookies: Japanese sandwich cookies with a dense, crunchy exterior (somewhat flaky when you bite through it) and a cloyingly sweet icing in the middle reminiscent of cereal milk. Nice packaging, but disappointing flavor. 2.5/5.0
japanese cookie sugarbuttersandtree 2.5 foreign ginzatokyo sugar butter sand tree cookies
Häagen-Dazs Soybean Flour Brown Sugar Mochi Ice Cream (Hanamochi): The ice cream aisle in Japan consists largely of individual single-serving sized portions (kiddie-sized), whether for popsicles or regular ice cream. The most ubiquitous ice cream brand seems to be Häagen-Dazs, which has many exclusive Japanese flavors. Their Hanamochi series, originally introduced in 2015, features mochi-topped ice cream. The brown sugar soybean flour flavor I purchased has a peanut-colored powder that often coats traditional mochi treats. You ideally wait about 5 minut... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended icecream japanese coop hagendazs soybean flour brown sugar mochi ice cream (hanamochi) 4.0
Happy Ice Brown Sugar Boba Ice Cream Bar: This is the famed, verging notorious, Taiwanese brown sugar boba iced tea bar, containing tapioca balls, that have been sold out everywhere. The person who was able to purchase it did not reveal its source but did say that there were multiple boxes available at this unnamed shop in the city of Los Angeles. The bar is a true work of science, with the tapioca balls retaining its iconic stretchy and chewy consistency despite being embedded in a frozen ice cream bar that tastes exactly like br... (read more) 4.5/5.0
recommended icecream taiwanese boba milktea happyice brown sugar ice cream bar 4.5
Kung Fu Tea brown sugar ginger tea with boba: This hot beverage evolved over time, but for the worse. I really liked how the ginger flavor was prominent and unforgiving-perfect for cold winter nights. But as I progressed to the bottom of the cup, the drink became overly sweet. And the boba was terrible (far too mushy). For the tea alone, it was a 3.5, but with the boba, it comes down to a 3.0. 3.0/5.0
kungfutea tea boba drinks asian ginger brownsugar 3.0 brown sugar