Steap Lychee Love Tea: I’ve been searching for a quality bubble tea shop in Chinatown, San Francisco and tried this modern bubble tea spot on my most recent visit. Steap prides themselves on highly customizable fruit and herbal teas. The lychee love drink is a jasmine and green tea mix containing lychee jelly (I also ordered boba as an add-in). You could taste the ambition, as the tea was not as sugary as what you might find at a nearby chain, but it taste a bit diluted, and the boba was too soft. The search conti... (read more) 2.5/5.0
drinks bubbletea greentea jasmine chinatown sf boba steap lychee love tea 2.5
Yaya’s Herb and garden vegetable popcorn : More herb than vegetable, this popcorn tastes strongly of oregano and olive oil. Because of its one-dimensional taste, it has been sitting in my pantry for several months now, an unheard of amount of time for any snack in my apartment. Would not recommend, but the popcorn otherwise (fluffy and light) is good enough that I would consider trying Yaya’s other flavors. 2.5/5.0
berkeleybowl yayas herb vegetable popcorn 2.5
Marukyo Black Sesame Funwariyaki Dorayaki: Dorayaki is a delicious filled pancake dessert from Japan that has no equivalent in American pastry (as far as I know). The closest likeness I can think of is the Whoopie Pie, though dorayaki has a bean paste filling rather than cream, and the ratio of cake to filling is slimmer. Berkeley Bowl sells an assortment of refrigerated cakes in their Asian grocery aisle, though I have normally been wary of these silica-packet-filled packaged snacks. I was intrigued, though, by this black sesame ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended berkeleybowl japanese blacksesame marukyo black sesame funwariyaki dorayaki 3.5
Asha Tea Kiwi green tea: I’m pretty certain this is the last seasonal flavor of fruit tea I had yet to try at Asha, the Bay-area-based tea shop. Like the others, this tea has fresh fruit mashed to a pleasant pulp, which adds texture to each sip. The herbal tea is of clear quality, and the kiwi flavor is slightly tart and fully refreshing. 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks berkeley ashatea kiwi green tea 4.0
Kettle Dill Pickle Potato Chips: Thoroughly enjoyed this take on pickles, which captures the tangy and savory qualities of a quality brine. It tasted a bit like combining sour cream and onion, minus the sour cream, but then adding salt and vinegar, but with a pepperiness that is unique to this flavor. Like other Kettle chips, the krinkle cut is thick and substantial and a bit too hearty for my personal taste. But if you enjoy pickles and don't have one to accompany your lunch, this bag of potato chips will be a tasty sub... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended chips kettle dill pickle potato 4.0
Calbee Hot Garlic Shrimp Crackers: Another unexpected take on this classic Chinese shrimp cracker, this time "hot garlic." Ridged crisps are tossed in a tangy seasoned coating that is unmistakably garlic but not particularly spicy. Somewhat reminiscent of a sweet paprika flavor mixed with MSG. Same delicious savory shrimp flavor. I don't know if I like it more than the original, but I don't regret trying it either. 3.0/5.0
berkeleybowl seafood chinese calbee hot garlic shrimp crackers 3.0