Bengong Black, Sydney

Update Review March 2020

This is a tale of woe.

My second to last night in Sydney.  Running out of time to get all the things I so badly wanted.  I had to prioritize, and, even though the weather turned cold, I was out of time to get cold treats, so, I set out to get the ice cream I had been eyeing all week.  The taro soft serve from Ben Gong's tea.

Oh yes.  The seasonal special was ... taro!  I adore taro.  I adore soft serve.  I was too good to be true.

Except, well, it wasn't.  Everything about the experience really was unpleasant.  The line to order was long.   The staff gave me mis-information when I asked questions.  My order took 33 minutes to be ready (!).  And the taro soft serve sundae?  Really not delicious.

Ben Gong is off my list in general now, no need to return here, as there are just too many other good places.  But if you want to read my original reviews, when I tried a variety of amazing sounding, but not particularly great baked goods, a yogurt tea that I really didn't care for, and a mediocre soft serve, you can start there.

Taro Blast Sundae + Extra Toppings. $8.80.

Bengong has soft serve, but, with very limited options - several pre-designed sundaes, and that is it.  No customization.  Still, I tried to add sticky rice to the pre-designed Taro Blast sundae.

I was told that I could not add toppings on since it would be "so full".  I suggested putting in a separate cup then, and said I'd add them on myself.  This request was accommodated.

Note: I'm pretty sure the meager portion of sticky rice I was given would have fit with no problem. 

I added the cheese foam too, since I was getting a separate cup anyway, and maybe that wouldn't have fit, but, the rice, all I originally asked for, certainly would have.

Anyway.

Taro Blast Sundae. $6.80.

So, the seasonal special, the Taro Blast Sundae!  I was excited, although from the photo on the menu I couldn't quite tell what was in it.

"What is in the Taro Blast Sundae?", I asked.  "Ice cream" was the answer.  Just "ice cream", no more words were provided.

"Is it taro flavored ice cream or vanilla?  What toppings does it have?", I pressed. The photo certainly looked like purple-ish ice cream, and the photo looked like it had taro cubes, and some other things perhaps.  "Just taro", was the reply.

Well, ok.  I still got it.  As I mentioned above, I tried to add sticky rice to it, since I thought it would just be taro soft serve and taro cubes, and that was met with resistance due to cup fullness concerns.  Um, this cup was not exactly overflowing.

Anyway.  The soft serve was pale purple, and I guess was supposed to be taro flavored, but the flavor was so incredibly mild it was basically non-existent.  It was creamy, and melted fast, but it certainly didn't boast much taro flavor.  There also wasn't much of it.  The cup, it turned out, wasn't actually just full of soft serve.  

The edges of the cup were lined with some kind of taro paste.  The bottom 1/4? 1/3? was just taro paste.  There was a tiny scoop of it perched on top too.  Now, this could be a good thing.  I love taro, as I said. I love the taste, the consistency, everything.  And if the taro soft serve was lacking much taro flavor, clearly this would fix it, right?  Yeah, no.  It also didn't taste strongly of taro, and certainly had ... something added to it.  It was not just taro, clearly.  It was thick, and just odd with the soft serve, but worse, just wasn't good.  And there was so much of it.  There were no cubes like in the photo on the menu.

And then, the component that really ruined it for me ... the boba.  Yes, the boba, and tons of their syrup.  "Just taro" "ice cream" turned out to have the boba in there too.  I would have asked to have it left off if I had known.  The brown sugar syrup went horribly with the very little mild taro flavor there was.  And the boba weren't great, chewy but not in a good way, they just didn't seem fresh.

It is hard to explain just how poor this tasted, and how very sad it made me.

Black Sticky Rice / Cheese Foam.  $2.

At least the cheese foam and sticky rice would be tasty right?

I added the sticky rice, eager for some texture.  Alas, the rice was not very good either - not mushy exactly but not al dente, and also not sticky, and just, well, some mediocre cold rice.  Boo.

And the cheese foam?  You guessed it.  Lackluster.  It wasn't very frothy, and it certainly wasn't very cheesy or savory.  It just seemed like deflated whipped cream.

I tried so hard to assemble some bites of some of this that I'd like, after waiting so very long, but alas, it just truly was not good.

Original Review, October 2019

Ben Gong's Tea is a chain from China, founded fairly recently in 2014.  It isn't a huge chain, with only 15 locations in China, and, uh, 2 in Sydney, which is where I discovered it.  The original Sydney location is in Burwood, but I visited the newest location, dubbed Bengong Black..

Location

Bengong Black is located in the new section of Darling Square, an area that was entirely different just a year ago, and is now quite walk-able, and filled with very attractive storefronts, featuring new branches of many successful Sydney area businesses.

I still don't quite understand why it is "Bengong" Black vs "Ben Gong's" Tea, but, every reference I have seen uses one word for this location, vs two words for the others.  I'll just go with it.

Store Front.

Many establishments in the area have outside seating, but alas, Bengong Black does not.  Only inside, so minus one point for that, although there is plentiful communal seating just a short walk away, which we were able to utilize.

Baked Goods

The majority of the space inside the shop, besides the seating, is occupied by bakery cases, all self-serve.  Unlike many larger asian bakeries, the items were all already individually wrapped, although trays were provided to put your selections on.

The baked goods lineup at Ben Gong drew me in even more than the soft serve ice cream and drinks, actually.  Why?  Well, I love asian baked goods, but the Sydney staples of Breadtop and 85°C Bakery Cafe just haven't been winners for me (although I did like the Pasadena location), even though they are everywhere in the city.

Offerings were mostly sweet, but the requisite cheese hot dog was certainly there for a savory (and a ham and cheese bun, a prawn roll, etc).  My favorite ingredients of taro, ube, and pork floss were front and center.

Making decisions was hard, and I returned several times to try more items.  All were fine, but, I won't feel compelled to try more.

Brown Sugar Taro Mochi. $4.20.

The first thing I tried was this sweet bun, named "brown sugar taro mochi".

I was drawn in to this for the taro, always a favorite ingredient of mine, even though I really had no idea where the taro would be, and was confused that it was called "mochi"' when it looked like a soft bread.  I also didn't quite know why it had the dark coating ... was that brown sugar?

I'm still not sure what it was that dappled the outside.  It did not seem to have a particularly distinct taste, and my brain kept wanting it to be black sesame, but alas, it was not.

The bread was fine, slightly sweet, soft, pleasant enough.  Not stale.  Better than 85*.  It was well stuffed, only the first bite or two had no filling, after that, the filling took center stage.

Brown Sugar Taro Mochi: Brown Sugar Inside

At first, even once I had taken several big bites, and ripped off chunks, I still could not find the taro.  There was certainly a sweet, sticky, brown filling, but taro?  I didn't find it right away.

What I did find I guess was the brown sugar filling, it tasted sorta like black boba pearls, but, it was syrup-like paste.  My brain was confused by the familiar taste, but unfamiliar form factor.  I call it a syrup, but that isn't quite accurate.  It was thick, and ... glutinous.  Was the mochi aspect in here?  It was odd, no question, just something new for me.  I don't think I liked it.

Brown Sugar Taro Mochi: Inside.

As for the taro, once I did find it, there really was a very, very generous portion of taro mash inside, it just wasn't distributed to the top where I started.  It didn't need more, there really was plenty, and it was good, sweet, taro mash.

I warmed my bun up later, and liked the taro even more warmed up.

So overall, I had a ok soft bread, a strange brown sugar filling, and enjoyable taro.  It didn't add up quite as I wished though.  I needed something, and in my head, I just really, really wanted some cream to have with it.

Salted Egg Pork Floss. $5.80.

Next I went slightly savory, going for a pork floss option.

Pork floss shows up in several items, such as the basic pork floss bun, or a spicy one, or a tempting sounding one with taro and pork floss.  But I wanted the most interesting sounding of all: salted egg yolk and pork floss.  I kinda have a thing for salted egg ...

The bread itself was again fine, soft, slightly sweet.  Not really remarkable though.  It was coated with a little salted egg yolk, which mostly just made for messy fingers, rather than gave it much flavor.

Salted Egg Yolk Pork Floss: Inside.

But of course, while the bread being soft and fresh is important, I was most interested with what was inside.  

I ... was very underwhelmed by this one.  There was a mound of pork floss, and there was some mash that was slightly egg yolk tasting.  Both were salty and slightly savory, and both were very dry.  I really wanted to taste more egg yolk.  But really, it just ate ... boring.  Dry bread, dry fillings, nothing really that interesting.

I tried dipping it in some curries, and in some sauces, but it just never really got much better.

Star Fall. $4.80.

Back to sweets.

Uh, yeah.  I got the rainbow bun.  Called a "Star Fall", as if that helps understand what it is.  I had to ask.

The answer, I was told, is a salted egg custard.  Given that I like custard, and I like salted egg, this certainly sounded fascinating.  Plus, if nothing else, the 'gram would like the brilliant color, right?

I don't think the bread was actually a different flavor than the others, but it really did seem like it had a slightly more subtle, sakura like flavor.  I'm sure that was in my head due to the coloring.  Anyway, another fine bread base, although it seemed sweeter, moister, softer, and I liked it more than the others.

Star Fall: Inside.

Inside was the goodness, although this one was less well stuffed than the others.  Maybe just due to its massive size and large cavity inside?

It was ... well, a salty egg yolk custard.  Creamy.  Rich.  Salty.  Savory.  Sweet.  I loved it.  Chunks of the soft sweet bread slathered with that custard were just delicious.

I really enjoyed this item, and rather inhaled it.  I kept trying to save a chunk for later, and really should have, given how large it was, and how much I had just eaten prior to trying it, but ... it was just too good to put down.

Hands down favorite item, and I'd likely get it again.

Drinks

Most people seem to go to Ben Gong's Tea for the drinks, all of which are made to order.

Drink Menu: Part One.

The drink menu is fairly large.

First up is the fruit ranges.  "Fruitea Fresh" is fresh fruit iced teas, the lightest option.   "Fruitea Smoothie", are fruit & tea smoothies, interestingly topped with cheese foam by default.

Other cheese topped options are the "Cheezo Tea", basic jasmine/oolong/matcha topped with cheese foam.

These all allow sugar and ice level customization, and are served cold.

Drink Menu: Part Two.

Drinks get more interesting on the second page.  Here you find the "Wuwu Handcraft" range, which turns out to be brown sugar pearl milk teas, in classic black tea, matcha, or just milk base, with or without taro or purple rice added.

Next up, "Tea Cubes", which are smaller drinks, just classic black milk tea or matcha tea, with your choice of flavored konjac jelly inside.  I really wished you could add these jellies to other drinks, as I liked the sound of the lychee or coconut jellies.

And finally, "Shaking Yoghurt Tea", drinks made from yogurt and tea base (I think green tea?).

Seasonal specials rounded out the menu, and in October, strawberry was the theme: strawberry wuwu fresh milk, smoothies, shaking yogurt tea, ice cream sundaes.  Berries, berries berries.

When I headed to Bengong Black, I was planning to get the "Wuwu Taro Purple Rice Milk", as I really like taro, and have been into drinks with purple or black sticky rice in them on this trip, but ... my other random obsession this trip was yogurt drinks, so, at last minute, I went for one of those instead.  The purple rice shaking yogurt tea would have made the most sense, the most like the other drinks I had liked, but ... I don't know what happened, I kinda accidentally ordered a seasonal fruit one instead, even though ... it didn't seem like anything I'd like.  And, spoiler, I didn't.

I'd still consider returning to get a rice drink, but I wasn't particularly inspired by seeing other drinks being made either, and wished they had more customization options (e.g. add taro to the purple rice shaking yogurt tea).

Seasonal Special: Berries Shaking Yogurt Tea. $7.80.

Well, um ... I'll just cut to the chase.  I hated this.

It did look pretty, when it was first served.  Fresh berries (strawberries and blueberries) in the very base, a layer of yogurt, a layer of berries, and then the mixed up tea / fruit / yogurt drink.  It quickly looked gross, as it separated out, and had chunks of yogurt all floating around, but, at very first, it was appealing. 

The idea is to shake it to mix it all up, hence the "shaking" name.

I first used my straw to get the layers separate though.

The fruit was fine, soft, mushy, stewed in sweetness, but I think fresh (not frozen) fruit.  Very, um, fruity.

The yogurt was just yogurt.  Just generic as can be, fairly thin, fairly runny, fairly tart, yogurt.  Nothing special about it, at all.  I was really hoping for something creamier, richer, more interesting (like the Koomi yogurt - review coming soon!)

And finally, the majority of the drink.  I was told it did have some tea (I think green?) although I didn't taste it.  It was very, very sweet, very very fruity.  Except for the fact that it also was yogurty.  I guess it tasted like a smoothie, but like one that wouldn't stay mixed together well.

I did shake it.  And shake it more.  And more.  But it just kept separating out, into a watery fruity layer with floating chunks of yogurt.  I wouldn't mind the horrible look if I liked the taste, but I also just didn't like it.  At all.  The watery fruity layer tasted like the top of jam or jelly when you make it, the part you normally skim off.  Major meh.

Now, granted, I don't like smoothies, and I don't generally like yogurt, so maybe this is expected, but, the other yogurt drinks I had in Sydney I really did like.  

Clearly, this wasn't for me, and certainly did not leave me inspired to try any other shaking yogurt teas, or smoothies, from there.

That said, I did love the plastic reusable bottle, and gladly kept that for future use.

Soft Serve Ice Cream

And, last but not least: soft serve ice cream, a passion of mine.  Bengong Black always carries a basic vanilla flavor, plus a seasonal flavor.  I was sad to see the black sesame from a few weeks before my visit was replaced with the seasonal strawberry flavor.

Soft serve is available quite simply in a cone, no toppings, or, as a pre-designed sundae.  No options to craft your own, which I think would be great given all the toppings and mix-ins they have available.

One sundae is always available, the vanilla based "Wuwu Oreo Sundae", and two seasonal options were also offered, both featuring strawberries - one used the strawberry soft serve base (the "Strawberry Supreme Sundae"), and the other used vanilla base, plus fresh berries and agar.  Since I wasn't really excited about the berries, the Wuwu Oreo is what I got, even though I wasn't actually excited for Oreo either (but I knew that was a minor component).

Wuwu Oreo Sundae. $5.80.

The soft serve was good.  Just simple vanilla, but it was perfectly creamy, sweet, and fairly vanilla flavored.  Not bad at all.

At the base of the sundae was brown sugar boba, although you can't see them here.  There was a standard scoop, just like in a bubble tea.  Does "wuwu" mean boba?  I haven't really been into boba lately, but I did like the idea of the boba in the sundae.  The boba was fine, nicely chewy.  The brown sugar flavor I certainly prefer over standard tapioca pearls.  

The brown sugar syrup drizzled throughout added a really lovely flavor.  I would never think of using this as an ice cream sauce, but it really worked.  I'm inspired to add it to future ice cream sundaes.  It was also fun for my brain to compare the brown sugar flavor here, as a syrup and as pearls, to the paste from the brown sugar taro mochi ... this was so much more successful for me.

And finally, a bit of Oreo crumb on top, that honestly just was odd, chocolate cookie and brown sugar are not a combo that made sense to my brain.  The crunch was nice, but, meh.

I felt it needed just a bit more oomph, so I added licorice sprinkles that I had with me, and that really did help.  More brown sugar syrup, or, the ability to add lychee or one of the fruit toppings (or cheese foam?) on top would really make this incredible.

Overall, I'm glad I tried it, but I wouldn't get it again.  Good enough soft serve, and a new inspiration for use of brown sugar sauce, but Sydney has some outstanding soft serve (creamier, more intense flavors, etc), and I'd rather get those if I wanted soft serve.

Cakes / Desserts 

The final offering at Bengong Black is cakes and other desserts, all displayed behind a glass case and fetched by the employees.

Pretty Cakes.

They looked fine, but I had a hard time wanting a cheesecake or tiramisu, when I had so many other unique items to pick from (even though they did have matcha red bean cake, and a cute strawberry mousse).

When I brought a group of co-workers with me, one got the black forest cake, but didn't comment on it, so I can't imagine it was particularly notable.