Mango Coco, Sydney

OMG.

Yup, that is all I have to say about Mango Coco.  A new Thai dessert cafe opened in Sydney.  OMG.

Yes, it has all the makings of something I'd love: desserts galore.  Ingredients like taro and pandan abound.  Very trendy smoothie drinks.  Asian baked goods. Ridiculous plated desserts.  Seriously, looking through the (many page) menu was like a dream come true.

But ... but how often do these sort of places live up?  Particularly brand new ones.  Why would I expect this place with virtually no reviews to be good?

I took a gamble.  It paid off.

My last two days in Sydney: as much Mango Coco as I could consume!

I wish I stopped in sooner.  I had only one night and one day left in Sydney, but I pulled off two quick visits.  I will be back, and in particular, I will make it to the full sit down restaurant.  Please, please, don't close on me before I return Mango Coco!

Setting

Mango Coco is located in Thai town, right next to my familiar haunts (my Thai hawker dessert cart is literally 2 doors down, Chat Thai where I often grab desserts has a location around the corner, Boon Cafe is next door ...), on Pitt St.  I discovered it by accident, while en route to my Thai hawker.

Note: I'm unlikely to venture *anywhere* else in Sydney for a Thai dessert in the future. I want more Mango Coco, and I want it now!

Thai Desserts.

At first glance, Mango Coco doesn't look much different than any of the other establishments in the area.  After all, Thai dessert carts line the streets, really.  And all seem to feature the same types of packaged desserts, likely even sourced from the same place.

Sure, the storefront is more appealing than most, but these goods don't look particularly unique.

And then ... and then you realize the epic creations that wait inside.  Mango Coco is like no other on the street (or in Sydney), or anywhere I've been ...

Cakes.

Want to get drawn in further?  Display cases full of bright colors of assorted cakes, easily available togo.

The cake lineup has all sorts of ... "monsters". Like the Foithong Monster (available in two sizes, the larger one is called the "mommy"). Pandan and durian make appearances too.

I think the most famous one of the moment is the Miss Durian, which, is supposed to look like a durian, thorns and all, and yes it has plenty of durian mousse inside.

Takeaway Ordering Area.

Ordering just drinks to take away, or picking up packaged items is easy, and, unlike many shops, there is no question where you are supposed to order.  Right here!

Seating Area.

For the main attractions, full on dessert cafe mode, there is a beautiful seating area.  Well lit, nicely decorated, and the yellow theme dominates.  Consistent look and feel to the entire place.  They even make exposed light bulbs look good!

Drinks

The drink lineup at Mango Coco is actually only a fraction of the menu, but it is where I started.  You can get drinks to dine-in, or to go, and the setup is actually designed for them to be primarily takeaway.

The drink menu is broken into 6 categories: mango smoothies, coconut smoothies, yogurt smoothies, and Sparkling Drinks, teas, and "Thai Drinks" (you know, lychee butterfly pea smoothies, thai tea frappes, and the like). 

I went straight for the decadent looking smoothies.   Not that they are made with junk food or anything, but these are not healthy smoothies.  These are intense.

The mango smoothies are made with mango puree and fresh mango, and come blended with many different options: coconut sago on top, young coconut or pearls at the base, blended with coconut cream and purple sticky rice, topped with cheese foam, and more.  Maybe these are reasonably healthy?

The coconut versions are what caught my eye however, made with coconut cream.  I wanted ... most of them.  Taro coconut, which looked loaded with taro pase.  The coconut sago super mango, with small sago blended with the coconut cream, and tons of mango on top.  Um, the coconut creamy pandan.  The salted egg coco smoothie (!).

Foi Thong Pandan Coconut Smoothie with Taro Balls (+Purple Sticky Rice). $9.80.

But I went for the most decadent looking one of all: the foi thong pandan coconut smoothie with taro balls.  The photo boosted a creamy coconut smoothie, topped with pandan cream, lovely purple taro balls, and a nest of foi thong.  And because I'm crazy, I added purple sticky rice as well (note: they don't really support add-ins, unlike most drink shops, they have only a preset menu, no toppings menu, or structure for charging for additions.  But they are new, and did it for me).

My drink was very carefully made to order, the purple sticky rice, coconut cream, and ice blended up nicely.  And then, beautiful green pandan cream scooped on top, a mound of foi thong added, and taro balls somehow perched on top without them falling in.  A pandan leaf finished it off.  It really didn't take that long to assemble, but it was clear that care was put into it.

I was extremely impressed with my drink (er, dessert, who are we kidding, this is not a drink!), but I do admit that my addition of purple sticky rice actually wasn't a great decision.

The coconut smoothie was very good - it was creamy, rich, indulgent, refreshing, and quite coconut-y.  It was extremely well blended, icy in the right way.  I think it did have some pandan in the smoothie too?  The sticky rice was good - it was al dente the way I like, and was very well blended.  I actually really liked how it got a bit icy as the drink sat a bit, and it was exposed to the icy filling.  But ... as I said, I think it detracted.  I tasted it, and although I liked the chew, I actually just wanted to taste the pure flavors better, the pandan, the coconut cream, the taro.  Because they were good, and the rice kinda muddled it.  Definitely my fault on that one.  It was still good, don't get me wrong, but I'd leave it off in the future.

The smoothie was good, but the toppings were ... fabulous.  The pandan cream was extraordinary.  Such strong pandan flavor, such rich cream.  I think it might have been coconut based too?  The drink came with plenty of it, and, nutrition concerns aside, I was thrilled.  It made me immediately want to try the pandan crepes, as they come with a big dollop of it on top.

The taro balls however were the showstopper.  Simply the best I've ever had.  Soft yet not mushy, pliable in the right way, and lovely taro flavor.  These were just incredible.  Slightly out of place perched on top here, but I didn't care.  I loved them.  The taro balls are featured in a number of other desserts on the menu (including the combo mango sticky rice which has just about everything delicious imaginable in it).  I must get them in another application, stat!

Finally, the foi thong, which was fine, and slightly savory-ish, a nice compliment to the sweeter ingredients.  I did get the smoothie not sweet (50% or 100% were the choices), but it was definitely still quite sweet.

Overall, this was delicious, and made me instantly vow to return the next day, and made me wish I was there with a group to try many, many more things.

Taro Coconut Smoothie (+ Pandan Cream). $7.80 + $1.

I did literally return the next day.  I'll admit that I was craving a yogurt drink, and taro in particular, so Mango Coco wasn't really the best choice of venue (they do have some yogurt items, but, it isn't the feature, and I think likely coconut yogurt?), and they have only one item with taro, but ... I dunno, I couldn't get that pandan cream out of my head.

So I got the one taro drink on the menu, the taro coconut smoothie, and, uh, added pandan cream on top.  This time I was charged $1 for the addition, and was rewarded with a pretty serious mound of pandan cream.

The pandan cream was just as amazing as the previous day.  Such lovely pandan flavor, so fluffy, just, incredible.  Move over cheese foam toppings, you have met your match!  I do still love savory fluffy cheese foam toppings but ... this was pretty fantastic.

The smoothie though ... well, I guess it wasn't what I was in the mood for.  I also didn't realize it wouldn't be more taro forward, and that it wouldn't have any mashed or cubed taro in it.  Like I said, I was craving taro ...  The smoothie base was just coconut cream and ice blended, like all the coconut smoothies.  It was really well made, the ice pulverized, nicely icy, but ... it was very strongly coconut, and that wasn't what I was in the mood for.

The taro layer was on top, and ... I just didn't really taste it at all, even though it was a vibrant purple.  I think it was blended with coconut too?  I wanted more taro, and more texture.

So, this let me down, but not because it was poorly made.  I wanted a taro forward item, with chunks or paste, and didn't really want coconut ... my bad for not just going to get the taro yogurt from Koomi like I was intending ... but that pandan cream was so good I almost didn't care.

Food

And then there is the food lineup, sweet, savory, full meals, epic desserts, packaged grab n go ...

Savory

There is actually a full Thai savory food menu, with traditional Thai offerings (e.g your basic curries, noodle dishes, fried rice) but also fusion dishes, like tom yum spaghetti.  I wished they had some appetizers or smaller plates, because I would like to be able to get a small bite of savory before diving into a dessert fest, but alas, they seem to only do main dishes (or a papaya salad I guess).

Breads

The front counter has some assorted bakery items, I'm not sure if they make them themselves or not.  None looked particularly exciting, but I almost grabbed a pork floss bun (with chili jam or mayo), or a loaf of pork floss bread, so I'd have something savory.  At last minute, I grabbed some sweet buns "for later", or just in case my sweet treat wasn't appealing.

Pandan Custard Buns. $3.90.

Buns come in 4 flavors: pandan custard, Thai tea, butter sugar, or cream.  The sugar coated ones did look good, but, clearly, there was only one option: pandan!

Buns come 2 to a container, and, tbh, didn't actually look particularly special.  Even Breadtop  and 85* Bakery Cafe look better.

But still, come on, pandan custard was too tempting to pass up.  It was easy to know which one was pandan, with the bright green cream spilling out.

Pandan Custard Filling.

I eagerly ripped into one.

The bread was soft, fluffy, slightly sweet.  It would be better warm, or toasted (like with the lava toast or toast hot pots), but I really just wanted a vessel for pandan custard, and it served that purpose.  I did warm the second bun in my mini-oven, and as I expected, it was even better warm.

The pandan custard was not quite what I think of as a custard, as it was much looser.  It was very different from their pandan cream from the drinks, grainier, more concentrated, but also not quite as strongly flavored, if that makes any sense?  It was very very sweet.  The color was very bright green.

And there was tons of it.  The buns were stuffed to the brim.  Almost too much given how sweet it was, but when I added some of the more mild pandan cream as well, it tempered it nicely.

This custard I believe is the same that is found inside the pandan crepes.

I enjoyed the buns, and I liked them more than anything from the Asian bakeries around, but if I were getting just one thing, I wouldn't pick them.  They were great for a take-home item though.

Plated Desserts

The dessert lineup, for dine-in desserts, is, simply put, epic.  Pages and pages and pages of offerings.  And it is all illustrated, to make it *that* much harder to pick.

Sooo many lava toasts, including a durian one, with durian ice cream, durian lava, durian sauce, sticky rice, mango pearls, and fresh fruit ...  Pages of bingsu, like the Coconut Lod Chong Bingsu, with pandan rice flour droplets, coconut cream, coconut jelly, coconut palm sugar sauce.  Churros with dipping sauces.  Filled crepes (with mango and sticky rice inside, or durian, pandan custard!).  

And then, the puddings.  Coconut pudding, mango pudding, thai tea pudding, but, they are not just puddings.  Take the mango one for example.  Sure, there is mango pudding, but it comes with coconut ice cream, taro balls, coconut sticky rice, fresh mango, and coconut cream sauce.  Or just fresh mango, milk sago, and rich mango sauce if you want the simple version.  Or paired with a mango sticky rice crepe and mango sorbet, if you just can't make up your mind, and opt for the Mango Paradise.  Same with the coconut pudding.  Yes, there is a base of coconut pudding, but also young coconut meat, fresh mango, mango jelly, mango sauce, sago, and coconut creamy sauce.

It is enough to cause even a good decision maker decision paralysis.  Oh, wait, there is also crème brûlée.  Coconut and pandan version of course.  And it comes with berries, mango pearls, and coconut gelato.

But alas, I never got a chance to dine in for these epic things, mostly because they really aren't designed for a solo person. 

Packaged Desserts

Along with the bakery breads and cakes, Mango Coco also has some Thai desserts packaged up near the register.  Most looked like exactly the same as found at every other shop on the street, same containers even, and I don't think they make them there.

But they also had one clearly Mango Coco branded item.  Placed strategically all along the front counter, clearly designed to be an impulse buy item, and, hey, I succumbed.

Mango Sticky Rice To-go. $8.

"Mango sticky rice is a traditional Thai dessert made with glutinous rice, fresh mango and coconut milk."

While the real dessert menu has a slew of creations with mango and sticky rice in them (seriously, the combo one with mango pudding, coconut ice cream, taro balls, coconut sticky rice, fresh mango, coconut cream sauce ...),  they also have pre-packaged simple ones available for grab and go at the counter.

Of course I grabbed one.  The packaging was well done: a base was coconut sticky rice, above that was cubes of fresh mango, and the coconut milk was in a separate container.  Proportions seemed spot on.

This was definitely very good.  Many Thai places around have mango sticky rice, and I often get it as takeaway, and none have ever been this good.  The quality of the mango is what sets it apart.  So very juicy, so very ripe.  Seriously fantastic mango.

The rice was good, coconut milk infused, good chew to it, slightly sticky.  I wanted it warm, so I warmed it up myself at the hotel in my portable oven, and it was better than way.  The rice was good, but not remarkable.

The coconut milk/cream was pretty standard, I almost wanted it to be salted or something to jazz it up, but, this was just classic coconut milk and completed the traditional style of the dish.

To my (now warm) rice and mango, I added a dollop of pandan cream from my smoothie, and some of the coconut icey slush from my smoothie, and really adored my more fully composed creation.  It was almost like one of their own restaurant creations!  But even just as it was, room temp, the quality of the mango really made it a tasty enough item as served, and it would be a good choice for a quick grab n go.

Packaged Snacks

And finally, there are a few packaged snacks, not made by Mango Coco (I later realized when I saw the labels said "It's Time for Thai", and listed Newtown as the location).  I grabbed a few of these as well.

Golden Bird's Nest. $5.

Another impulse buy on my part.  I didn't really know what Golden Bird's Nest was, or why I'd want it exactly, but it looked like a crunchy snack?

Which, it was.  Made from threads of sweet potato, sugar, salt, oil.  It was super crispy, but very sweet.  I wasn't sure when I was supposed to want it.  It wasn't really a dessert, but it also wasn't really a snack as it was so sweet.

I could imagine using it as part of a dessert, sprinkling it on things, or even sprinkled on a spicy curry to cool it?

Crispy .... Something?

I also grabbed the other snack item, this one not labelled.

I asked if it was sweet or savory, and was told it was savory.  I think she even said it was made from beans or chickpeas.

But it was not savory.   It was sweet.  Kinda like a waffle cone, studded with black sesame seeds, and coated in sugar.  Very sweet, very crispy, and would be fun on an ice cream sundae.  But totally not what I was expecting.

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Martabak Cafe, Sydney

On my recent visit to Sydney, a co-worker wanted to take us on an adventure to get martabak, at the aptly named Martabak Cafe.  Martabak is a Indonesian food, and although both savory and sweet versions exist, we were there to try only the sweet ones.  In particular, he really wanted us all to have the durian one, but, given my previous experience with durian, I wasn't particularly excited about.  But, I'm always up for trying new cuisine, particularly dessert.

The experience certainly was an adventure, but, I assure you, I will not be returning.  We did not enjoy this, and not just because of the durian.

Counter.

Although there is seating, all orders are taken at the register.

The sweet martabak is sold in half or full size (5 or 10 pieces), with an "original" or pandan flavor pancake, and with fillings of peanut, chocolate, cheese, and durian (or any combination thereof).  The menu also had plenty of savory items, and some drinks, but, we were there just for the sweets.

Service was ... not particularly good.  We had to repeat our fairly simple order of 3 items multiple times.  The card reader was broken, with no signage warning us that they were cash only (which, I'd understand if it had just happened, but our host told us that the card reader has never worked when he has visited).  Once we ordered and paid, we took a seat.  The food was delivered to the table, one item at a time (including drinks, so, we each got our drinks several minutes apart).

Es Teh Thailand. $4.95.

"Brewed tea leaf with ice & milk."

The thai iced tea was good, standard thai tea with plenty of sweetened condensed milk.  It was the tastiest part of our adventure.

Durian, Pandan, Half. $11.95.

The first item to arrive was the durian martabak.  We went for pandan flavored, because, well, pandan is a bit novel to us, and green is more fun?  Pandan is a $1 surcharge for any martabak.

I took my first bite, ready to find it repulsive.  It wasn't THAT bad.  At first.  I took a second bite, and then that funk hit.  Ugh, it was horrible.  Sorry, but durian is just not for me.

One co-worker, who had never had durian before, said it tasted like onion, which I kind of understand.

I couldn't get past the durian flavor (and smell) enough to evaluate much more about this.  4/5 of us hated it and didn't take more than a bite or two, but our host eagerly finished the whole thing.

Chocolate Peanut, Pandan, Half. $9.95.

Next we moved on to a more promising option: chocolate peanut.  We again opted for pandan.

I wasn't into the pancake part.  It was spongy and really oily.  I also expected a crispy exterior, and this wasn't very crispy.  Meh.

Chocolate Peanut: Inside.

But, you can't go wrong with chocolate and peanuts, right?

Well, first, the "chocolate" was a bit of a surprise.  The chocolate was ... chocolate sprinkles.  I expected chocolate sauce.  Or ganache.  Or, something more spread-like.  Instead, it was just a layer of chocolate sprinkles, unmelted.  I doubt there was any cocoa content in here.

The peanut was bits of peanut.

So, oily cake I didn't like, non-chocolate filling, and bits of peanut.  Really no redeeming qualities here.

Chocolate Peanut Cheese, Original, Half. $10.50.

Moving on, we picked a chocolate-peanut-cheese, just to try something totally different, with a mix of sweet and salty.  It was on the menu, so, it clearly must be a thing.

It again had the same chocolate sprinkles and ground peanuts, plus, shredded cheese.  Like the chocolate sprinkles, the cheese didn't melt.

I actually did like the flavor combination of sweet and cheese, as I like my sweet and salty, but the pancake again was awful, this time "original" flavored. It was even more oily.  So oily, and not in a good way.

Ojan took one bite of this one and immediately declared "I can not take a second bite of this".  And I assure you, he didn't.

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Bambu, Sunnyvale

Update Review, March 2019 Visit

On a recent visit to Mountain View, I was craving Vietnamese desserts.  I remembered Bambu from a previous visit (which of course I reviewed) to Sunnyvale, and was pleased to see they would deliver to my office, since I wasn't going to Sunnyvale itself.  To make it worthwhile, I ordered a few items, hoping some would keep a few days - a technique I started in Sydney, when I once accidentally ordered a crazy large drink, and realized I could save what I couldn't finish, and it was perfectly fine the next day, and then discovered all the "2 for 1 deals on bubble tea drinks in Sydney ... #stockUp).

I ordered via Doordash, and, well, it was a disaster.  The driver called me after the set delivery time (I had ordered at 11am for a 12:15 -12:45pm delivery), and he asked me if I had gotten my order.  I was confused, and said "no ...".  He told me Bambu said someone else already picked it up.  MANY back and forths with Doordash later, the items finally arrived at ... 2:35pm, causing me to need to run out of a meeting to fetch them.  I'm not sure who was at fault for everything, but, wow.  So much drama, and many, many back and forth exchanges with Doordash.  That part, I absolutely do NOT recommend.

But the goodies from Bambu, I do.

Smoothies (Sinh To)

None of us tried a smoothie on our previous visit, so I decided to mix it up and try smoothies.  I had no idea what style they would be (blended with ice? Non-dairy creamer? Coconut milk?), but the flavor lineup was pretty extensive and interesting.  As a bonus, all come with 2 free mix-ins (additional for $0.50).  Sadly, only the standard bubble tea mix-ins are available (e.g pearls, pudding, jellies), not things like pandan noodles.  Regular smoothies are $6, with the premium offerings coming in at $6.50.

I ordered two smoothies, and enjoyed them both (not at once!).  Bambu does a great job with the texture and blending of the smoothies, but both suffered from inconsistent prep (one had way too much topping, the other too much mix-in), and both were sweeter than I really wanted.  Still, I was pleased with them, and would get smoothies again.

Durian with fruit jellies, sea salt foam. $6.50.

Yup, durian.

I ordered a durian smoothie, because ... I dunno, can I say I was kinda craving it?  I was kinda craving it.  Can't really explain that, but I was.  Yes, durian.

I opted to add fruit jellies to sweeten it up and perhaps break the funk, and sea salt foam to try it as I adore these foams, cremas, clouds, or whatever places choose to call the savory-sweet creams they put on top these days.

The foam I was really excited for, but I didn't really care for Bambu's version nearly as much as other places.  Specifically, it wasn't much of a foam, it was much richer, denser, and not light in any way.  Slimy even.  I also didn't taste sea salt, but I guess it was a little savory.  And, as you can see, there was kind of a ridiculous amount of it.  Maybe they wanted to help cut the durian flavor?

The smoothie was perfectly blended, little tiny bits of ice-y, really almost like ice cream the bits were so little.  It didn't separate at all.  Very well made.  I think maybe they blend frozen durian?

And yes, it tasted, well, like durian.  Which I liked.  Funk and all.  Great texture, strong durian flavor, although sweeter than I was expecting, from whatever they blend in.  Is it coconut milk?

The jellies were what I expected, a rainbow mix, slimy, fruity, slurpy, and I appreciated them in the mix.

Overall, this was good, although I really did just want whipped cream on top, the sea salt foam was just too heavy.

Jackfruit with red tapioca, cheese foam. $6.50.

Just in case the durian didn't work out, I also ordered the jackfruit smoothie, planning to stash it in the freezer if I loved the durian one, and drink it later.  To that I added the red tapioca I remembered loving in the Fruit Lover Che, and the cheese foam, because, again, I'm addicted to savory foams!

Much like the sea salt foam, this "foam" was crazy heavy, crazy rich.  This one came with a more reasonable portion at least.  And like the sea salt foam, I didn't really taste the more savory cheese flavor I was hoping for.  The two foam varieties were actually indistinguishable.

Just like the durian smoothie, the texture was perfect, so well blended.  They really do a nice job on the blending of smoothies.  The jackfruit flavor was good, but this one was much sweeter than I wanted.  I ended up watering it down, and then adding some soy milk, and that created a really pleasant creation.

The red tapioca I again loved.  Crunchy inside (water chestnut?) and slimy soft tapioca outside.  So tasty.  Although this was loaded up with a too generous serving, I found myself wanting some sips without them, and it was hard to get that.

I did try freezing the second half of this, and, the smoothie froze fine, but the red tapioca got fairly gross - the texture was very offputting after a defrost.  I don't recommend that at all.

So again, another success, although sadly again the foam wasn't for me, and I did like it better once I reduced the sweetness by watering it down.  I wish Bambu offered sweetness adjustments.

Milk Teas (Tra Sua)

Bambu offers a large range of milk tea (or regular tea or fruit tea if you prefer), most available warm, cold, or some even blended.  When ordering online, there is no option to add any mix-ins/toppings, which seemed wrong to me, so I tried to add grass jelly by putting it in the notes.   There is also no customization about sweetness level nor amount of ice, both of which I also tried to add in the notes.

Taro Milk Tea. $4.25.

Taro milk tea is only available cold, unlike most of the others flavors, so, cold it was.  I hoped this meant that it was fresh taro milk?  Unlike many milk teas, it does not use black tea in the base, rather, it uses pandan leaf water, but I didn't taste the subtle pandan flavor.

I put in the notes that I wanted grass jelly added, and less sweet, and no ice (since I was going to drink it later).  It did show up with grass jelly and no ice, so, that was granted.  It still seemed very sweet to me, but that seemed to be a theme, and I'm not sure they do allow adjustments anyway.

Unlike the other drinks, this one arrived sealed, which is what I was hoping for, so I could stash it for later.

It was ... fine?  Not much notable to say, other than that it didn't seem like fresh taro, and I didn't taste the pandan.  Fairly standard taro powder tea.  The grass jellies were good, large size blobs, and plentiful.

Che

Of course, Che is the main attraction, and I decided to be boring, and get exactly the same type I had before.  I really was interested in trying something else, but ... I really liked it before, and wanted all those amazing fruity mix-ins again.

Fruit Addict Che. $6.

"Lychee, longan, red tapioca, jackfruit, palm seed, jello, pandan jelly, coconut and coconut milk."

Like last time, I again wanted the fresh taro added, so I added that in the notes, hoping someone would see it.  And I requested no ice, since I was planning to consume later.  Sadly, it came with ice and without taro.  Oh well.

It was just as good as I remembered, a layered creation, just so full of goodies.  In the bottom, mostly the pandan jellies, smooth soft noodles-like, and then a layer with pieces of jackfruit (love these!), slimy young coconut, and some whole lychees and longans, and then tons of the red tapioca above all that, with coconut milk rounding it all out.  I'm not sure I found any palm seeds nor jello, but its hard to tell sometimes what you are slurping up.

I again really enjoyed this, although I did find it sweet, it was a fun adventure, and I just wished I had the taro I requested.  I ended up adding scoops of the goodies into my other drinks quite successfully too.

Original Review, May 2018

After a fairly disappointing meal at Dumpling Depot near downtown Sunnyvale, my group wanted something to kinda make up for the lackluster meal.  We weren't necessarily hungry, or really wanting anything, except, well, a better experience.

I pulled up Google Maps, searched for "dessert", found only two places nearby (Pinkberry or Bambu), did a quick Yelp reference check on Bambu, and saw 4 stars.  People said it was a nice place to hang out, which also is what we were looking for, to continue talking, hopefully somewhere more comfortable than the cold sterile interior of the dumpling shop.  Ok, we were in!

I didn't entirely know what Bambu was, except that it looked like an asian dessert cafe.  That was all I needed really, since I love dessert, and trying unfamiliar desserts is always fun for me.

It turned out to be a surprise great pick.  Nice environment, friendly efficient service, and unique tasty treats.  I'll gladly return.

Front Counter.

The front counter had a display of cute macaroons (in flavors including durian!), and freezers with mochi ice cream (again, great flavors, ube!), but the real focus is on the drinks and desserts.

The menu has a slew of drinks (bubble teas, infused teas, milk teas, coffees, juices, smoothies), a single pandan waffle offering, and, a huge selection of signature chè.

I was tempted to get a taro smoothie with mix-ins, but, I wanted to be more unique.  I don't get chè often at all, and the others had never had it before, so, we all went for chè.

Cute Seating.

The interior isn't huge, but there were a couple different types of seating, including a small private back room, standard tables, and an area with couches.  We settled comfortably onto leather couches to await our desserts.

Our orders were quickly prepared and our number called out.

Fruit Addict Chè (+Taro). $5.95.

"Lychee, longan, red tapioca, jackfruit, palm seed, jello, pandan jelly, coconut and coconut milk."

For chè, the menu had at least 15 different pre-made combinations.  I started at the top of the list, and liked the sounds of the first one, the "Bambu Special" with coconut pandan jelly, longan, basil seeds, and coconut water.  And then I liked the next one.  And the next one.  And so on.  I really would have been happy with nearly any of them.  So many ingredients I love: taro. Pandan. Jackfruit. Jellies. Coconut milk or coconut water.  OMG.

I went for the "Fruit Addict" in the end, as it had a ton of things I wanted, but I added in taro, because I love taro.

It was a wonderful adventure of a dessert-drink.  Each layer was a unique color and texture, and it was incredibly fun to dig through, sip at, and just generally make a mess of as I discovered all the elements.    It was all in a sweet coconut milk base, topped with slush that melted in as we enjoyed.

The lychee and longan were perhaps the most boring, just whole pieces of fruit, sweet, juicy, but not very unique.  Same with the coconut, not fresh soft slimy young coconut as I hoped, but instead more mature large pieces of coconut.

The green pandan jellies were equally a bit boring, a bit chewy, fine, but not all that interesting.

Close Up.

But the jackfruit slices I loved, always a favorite ingredient of mine, my second favorite thing in the mix.  You can see a bit of orange on the left here, that is the jackfruit.

The red tapioca I also really liked, I think it was water chestnut bits coated in red colored tapioca, not just red tapioca balls.  They had a slight crunch in the center and soft exterior.  It reminded me of the Tup Tim Grob from Chat Thai in Sydney, but, actually good.  My third favorite element.

I know you are expecting me to say the taro I added was my favorite, but, it wasn't.  I wasn't sure what format the taro would be, little taro balls, taro flavored mochi, etc, but, it turned out to be a taro cream.  A bit odd actually, and not my favorite.  Interesting texture, interesting experience, but, not how I like my taro.

What was my favorite?  The palm seeds, although I only found 2 slices.  Soft, slimy, and sweet.  And just not something I have much.

Overall, this was a unique dessert for me, full of texture, ingredients I like, and surprise.  I enjoyed it, and would love to try more of this style of Vietnamese dessert.

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Samosorn Thai, Sydney

Samosorn Thai is a "thai local food hall", located on the side of the food court in one of the Westfield malls in Sydney.  It is a spinoff of the ever popular Chat Thai chain, which I've visited many times over the years for their fascinating desserts.

Just like with most of my visits to Chat Thai, I went to Samosorn just to pick up a dessert to go, but I did take in the atmosphere.

Setting

Samosorn is adjacent to the food court, but, off to a side, so it is able to have its own decor and distinctive area.

Register.

Samosorn is more casual than the Chat Thai locations, as there is no formal table service.  All orders are taken at a register, and you are given a number and can go sit at any open table.  Food is brought to the tables as it is ready.

The registers also have a few packaged desserts to grab.

Tables.

The full menu is on display above the little stations, as it is supposed to look like street food stalls, even though you order at the register, not at the stalls.  There is not a lot of space, and tables were snatched up as soon as they were free.  I was lucky I was planning to take my food to go anyway.

Food

My visit was on a very hot afternoon, and I had my eyes set on one thing only: a refreshing dessert.  I placed my order to go, and stepped off to the side to wait.

After about 10 minutes, and no sign of dessert, I asked someone if I was supposed to be waiting somewhere else.  She asked, "oh, do you want it now?"  Confused, I said yes?  A few minutes later, it was brought over, in a big bowl ... to eat there.  I explained that I had ordered takeaway.  She came back soon later with it packaged up.  I'm really not sure what I did wrong in the ordering process ...

Many of the desserts on the menu were the same as ones I had tried at Chat Thai, so I selected the only one I hadn't yet tried that also had ice as an ingredient, since I wanted something refreshing.

Ruam Mit. $6.

"An assortment of jellies, candied seeds and pandan noodles in an aromatic coconut syrup with shaved ice."

In some ways, the ruam mit was similar to the Lodt Chong Nahm Kati I had from Chat Thai, with a coconut milk base, shaved ice, and pandan noodles.  The pandan noodles were soft and kinda fun to slurp up.  The milk base was very sweet, but not too sweet.  The ice made it refreshing.

But instead of black glutinous rice and taro, I was supposed to have "jellies" and "candied seeds".  I did not really have those things, but that doesn't mean I didn't have interesting other things floating along with the pandan noodles ...

Ruam Mit: Inside.

What did I have inside, along with those light green pandan noodles?

Pink noodles, that were exactly the same size and texture as the pandan noodles.  I'm not sure what flavor they were supposed to be.

And then, slices of an orange fruit, I believe jackfruit?  This was similiar to the orange fruit I had in the khao dtom nahm woon, also from Chat Thai, before.  I really liked these.

And last, the pink balls, which I'm pretty sure were tapioca coated water chestnuts, just like I had in the Tup Tim Grob, except these were actually good.  They were crisp and crunchy, with a slightly soft exterior.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this.  It was refreshing on a hot day, sweet but not totally insanely sweet, and full of interesting ingredients of assorted textures.  I did still sorta wish it had jellies and candied seeds as described though, but as always, I didn't necessarily expect the dessert to match the description, this was a Chat Thai establishment after all ...

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Coco Leaf Dessert Cafe, Boston

It was a gloriously hot summer day in Boston.  I was loving every moment of it, and, as always when I visit the area during the summer, I pondered moving back east.  I miss summer, and in particular, the warm nights.

To celebrate the warm night, I decided to treat myself.  I'd already had ice cream earlier in the day, and, I was tempted to just get more soft serve (in particular, I found place with ube soft serve!) or bubble tea with all the goodies, as there are sooo many bubble tea places near where I was staying, but as I was browsing around on Uber Eats, one place jumped out: Coco Leaf.

Coco Leaf brands itself as a dessert cafe.  Now this is a concept I can get behind.  And not just any dessert cafe, a Vietnamese dessert cafe with plenty of treats perfect for a hot night.  I was in.

Worried about long lines, as I wanted to just pop over, get my chè and head back to the hotel to work (I know, bo-ring, but at least I'd get a nice evening stroll in!) quickly, I ordered in advance on Uber Eats (but, for pickup, not delivery, as I did want that stroll after all!).  The ordering experience wasn't great - there were a few chè that I wanted that weren't listed on Uber Eats, but were on their online menu.  I took a gamble, ordered a different one, and put in the notes that I wanted a different one instead.  This actually worked fine, my order was prepared quickly, and they did indeed make the one I wanted.  

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

Setting

Coco Leaf has two locations in the Boston area, the one I visited was on Newbury Street, right on the main drag.

Signage.

  Like many businesses, it was on the lower level, and had a sign up on street level to draw you in.

Outside Dining.

Coco Leaf is downstairs, with a patio area that isn't right along the sidewalk, which makes for a nice setting.  There was very little seating inside, but a decent amount on the patio.  This works great in the summer, although I wonder what it is like in the winter ...

Chè Menu.

"Chè is a Vietnamese word that refers to traditional Vietnamese sweet beverages, sweet dessert soups or puddings. Chè is most commonly made with mung beans, black-eyed peas, kidney beans, tapioca."

Coco Leaf has a lineup of milk teas, fruit teas, etc, but I was there for something you can't find everywhere: chè!  It had definitely been a few years since I had it, and there are easily 15 bubble tea shops within 4 blocks of Coco Leaf.  It is the chè that really sets Coco Leaf apart.  I appreciated the picture menu.

I was drawn in by many of the options, but I knew my focus would be on ones that incorporate taro, ube, and pandan.  

Dessert Case.

While most known for the drinks and chè, Coco Leaf does offer up a few other desserts, in a display case in front.  The creme brulee in particular actually looked pretty temping.

Other options were macarons, mango mousse tarts with lots of fruit and cream on top, and cakes.

I saw a reasonable number of people with these items, so perhaps they actually are worth a try?

Chè

Since I placed my order online in advance, I was able to look past the pastry case, and since I went there intentionally seeking chè and not bubble tea, I at least knew I wanted to order that.  There were several chè creations I would have been happy with, and I'd certainly be happy to return to try more, in particular, the halo halo!

Chè Okinawa: Ice on the side.. $8.

"Mochi, signature pandan jelly, purple sweet potato, taro and coconut milk."

Since my order was a pre-order takeout, they had the toppings/mix-ins packaged in one cup in the fridge waiting for me, and the ice separately on the side.  I arrived within just a few minutes of placing the order, but I appreciated this, as it meant my order didn't melt at all, AND I could add as much or little ice as I wanted.  Normally if you order in-person, it comes mixed.  I think I also got far more goodies as a result, as this cup was full, and there was no room for ice, and normally the ice is in it, so, less toppings? 

The ice was perfect, it melted quickly, no chunks, just perfect consistency.

Chè Okinawa: Taro, Purple Potato, Pandan Jellies, Mochi.

"Mochi, signature pandan jelly, purple sweet potato, taro."

So, the goodies.

The mochi were small size, assorted colors, soft, sweet, fairly standard, but good.  No better nor worse than most mochi.  They added a good texture to the drink/dessert. ***+.

Pandan jellies are their "signature" item, made in house, and were very good.  Super soft, nice chew, clearly freshly made, not just mass produced item.  Great to slurp up with my boba straw.  There was TONS of this. ****.

And then, swoon, the taro and purple potato.  HUGE hunks of both, and plenty of them.  They were soft but not mushy, savory which helped balance out the sweet coconut milk.  Very good, and I loved having fresh taro!  ****.

Chè Okinawa: Assmebled.

"Mochi, signature pandan jelly, purple sweet potato, taro and coconut milk."

Here you can see the fully assembled creation, although I devoured much of it before snapping this photo.

The coconut milk was very sweet, certainly sweetened, and the pandan jelly and mochi were both lightly sweet too, so it really needed the slightly savory taro and purple potato to balance it out.  I think actually some beans (red or white, they use both in their other creations) would be great in here.  It did trend a touch too sweet for me, and I'd prefer it less sweet (no option though to modify).

Overall though, this was fun to eat with a spoon to get chunks of taro/potato and ice, to slurp with a straw, and really, just enjoy.  It ate very well.

I actually had to dump out about half the toppings to add ice (and luckily had a freezer mug with me to dump them into!), so I was able to make a second serving later - score!  The value was clearly there for $8, as it was so generously loaded with things.

I enjoyed this, but, as I noted, I found it more sweet than I wanted, and I did find myself wishing for either a crunchy element (I'm not sure what exactly, it certainly doesn't quite make sense, but granola or cookie crumble or something?), or a savory milk foam / cheese top to balance out the sweet.  It was still quite good though, and I'd return to try others.

***+ overall, and a nice change from standard dessert offerings.

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Sunday Bakeshop

I love everything I know about Sunday Bakeshop.  Baked goods and snacks - two of my favorite things.  AND in flavors I enjoy?  Yes!

"Sunday Bakeshop is an Asian American, French inspired bakery that celebrates the ingredients and sweets we grew up eating. Our philosophy is to create fun, flavorful and unique pastries that span many cultures and techniques, while using high quality, seasonal ingredients.

Sunday Bakeshop invites you to enjoy life’s sweetest moments; and treat yourself to something delicious.  Make life sweeter! "

What does Asian American inspiration look like in a French bakery?  Think: ube twice baked croissants, kimchi corn cheese danishes, red velvet White Rabbit cookies, black sesame crispy treats, raspberry rose mochi cakes, and more.  Oh yes.

I haven't actually gotten the chance to try their baked goods, as they aren't carried near me, but I did get to try some of their snacks, and I was quite pleased.

Chex Mix

I'm no stranger to Chex Mix.  As in, I consume far more of it than an average human, even one who thinks they eat a lot of Chex Mix.  That said, I rarely ever eat the commercial Chex brand Chex mix, as, well, it really isn't that good.  

I've been spoiled by a mother who makes custom Chex mix blends for every person at Christmas, with our own favorite brand items and our own favorite mix-ins (e.g. different brand pretzels for me vs my sister, mine has chow mein noodles, wontons, corn nuts, wasabi peas, plantain chips, and the like, my sister's has Goldfish crackers whereas those aren't allowed anywhere near mine, I have brazil nuts and macadamias, my sister has other mixed nuts, my dairy free cousin has vegan butter instead, etc).  Spoiled, yes.  My doesn't just make the standard Worchetershire savory blend (although that *is* her classic mix), she also makes other savory versions (spicy! Truffle! Cheesy!) and loves trying out new sweet and decadent versions.

I've also been spoiled by working in an office that had an in-house pastry department that made snacks for our microkitchens, and for several years, they made homemade Japanese style furikake Chex mix every day that I was absolutely addicted to.  Once those glory days passed, my Japanese Chex Mix hookup was easy to find, as another one of the pastry chefs from my office started his own brand, and he makes Japanese style Chex mix in a slew of flavors (not just a sweet furikake version, but also a white truffle one, a spicy one, etc.  Stay tuned for the review of Mackbox, coming soon!).  And of course, I've tried a few other commercial versions too, like LoloYum, that I wasn't really impressed by.

So it suffices to say, that at any given time, I have at least 8-10 different Chex mixes on hand in my house (most will be vacuum sealed, and frozen, for longer term storage). I definitely didn't need to try yet another Japanese style Chex mix.  But, when I saw it offered from Sunday Bakeshop, I couldn't help but try it.

Furikake Chex Mix. $9.

"A throwback to the classic Chex mix but amped up with soy, seaweed, and a little spice. This makes for the perfect savory and sweet snack with a small kick."

The Sunday Bakehouse version at first seems much like my mom's, or MackBox's classic version, with Chex, honeycomb cereal,  bugles, pretzel sticks, and of course, TONS of furikake.  

I was surprised when I took my first bite though that I was actually distinct from other versions I have tried.  First, it was considerably more, uh, green.  It just had a lot more seaweed coating than others.  This gave a stronger vegetal taste.  Second, it was not nearly as sweet.  My mom's version is essentially candied, and Mack's is pretty heavy in the sugar, and this, while certainly still sweet, was a touch more savory than others.  And finally, rather than just blonde (corn or rice) Chex, they also use darker wheat Chex, which again, just made it a bit more hearty and savory overall (the honeycomb and bugle pieces were of course still more sweet).

I appreciated the subtle but noticeable changes from other versions.  I think this bag was intended to be more than one serving, but, um, mine didn't go that way.  Clearly, I liked it.  ****.

Popcorn

Probably my absolute favorite snack, and quite frankly, a bit of an addiction for me, is popcorn.  Sweet, savory, cheesy, spicy, decadent, I eat it all.  Never microwave popcorn though.  And generally frozen (it is crispier!).  I can go on and on about my love of popcorn, but, you've probably heard it before.  I obviously had to try Sunday Bakeshop's popcorn.

They always carry one signature flavor, pandan coconut, but from time to time offer others too, such as a spicy gochujang one, and I think I saw black sesame once.

Pandan Coconut Caramel Corn. $8.

"Twist of the traditional Cracker Jack that many of us grew up eating and love. A sweet and salty caramel corn with hints of coconut and exotic notes of pandan flavor."

Well, clearly I love popcorn.  And, I really enjoy pandan.  So this was a no brainer.  I had high hopes, and they were entirely met, even exceeded.  The popcorn had a lovely green hue.

The kernels were all large, fluffy type, quite fresh tasting.  Well popped, no unpopped or quasi-popped pieces.  The pieces were well coated in sweet pandan flavored glaze, real legit pandan flavor that I quite enjoyed.  Certainly sweet, but not cloying at all.  I didn't taste much coconut, but that did not bother me.   Most pieces were entirely coated, but there were a few that were only 70% or so coated, which I actually liked, to lighten it up a bit.

Overall, very good, and very easy to devour.  I'd gladly get this again.  ****+.

Cookies

They also make red velvet White Rabbit cookies and a more pedestrian brown butter chocolate chip.

Ube Snickerdoodle. $3.50.

"A cakey cookie with chewy edges flavored with ube and coconut."

"A chewy, soft baked cookie with mashed ube and shredded coconut, finished with sugar."

Snickerdoodles are basically at the bottom of my list of cookie preferences.  I like cinnamon in general, but, I just don't really ever recall liking a snickerdoodle.  So although I adore ube, I was slightly deterred by the "snickerdoodle" name to this.  

When I looked at the ingredients though, there was no cinnamon.  I thought that was kinda a defining characteristic of a snickerdoodle, so I'm not quite sure why they call this one?  Anyway.  It was an ok cookie.  Somewhat soft, somewhat chewy edges as described.  Very mild ube flavor, stronger coconut flavor/texture from shredded coconut, pearl sugar on top.  Basically a sugar cookie, with some interesting texture from coconut, mild other flavor, and purple hue.  Definitely not as powerful as I was hoping the ube would be.  ***.

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