Ando Patisserie

I have a New York based friend and coworker who loves baked goods, and Asian flavors, as much as I do.  We regularly drool over places together. One place she's been wanting to get more goodies from is Ando Patisserie, a pretty pricey option, for fancy Asian desserts.  She previously had a few things at a party once, and has wanted to go back since.  So when we had some budget left over for a team event, it was no question where we were ordering from.  Ando Patisserie, as we are both too frugal to pay these prices normally ...

"Classic french patisserie twisted with asian flavors and ingredients. The one and only in New York city."

Ando has an interesting space in the market, with a classically French trained pastry chef, who focuses on Asian flavors and ingredients (including, yep, taro, durian, pandan, and the like).  Nearly the whole menu sounds pretty amazing to me. We ordered a variety of items, hitting all areas of the menu.

Earl Grey Portuguese Custard Tart.
$12 ($15 DD). Only sold in pairs.

"Custard Infused With Earl Grey Tea, Boba Marinated In Brown Sugar, Cocoa Powder."

We didn't actually order these initially, but one item we ordered was out of stock, so we subbed this in instead.  I'm not someone who really cares for black tea, so this wasn't exciting to me, but the boba topping was certainly unique in this application.

These weren't great.  The tart shell was fairly standard, slightly flaky, relatively fresh.  As I sorta expected, the earl grey flavor wasn't compelling to me, and it was more of a pudding than a custard really.  I had Lelecha egg custard tarts (for the second time) the next day, and those were just on an entire different plane of existence than these.  The boba, while novel, were kinda hard and didn't seem particularly fresh.

So overall, meh for me.  Low 3/5, maybe even lower.  My least favorite item we got.  Not sure why they are only sold as a pair.

Durian Parfait. $18 ($22.50 DD).

"Layers Of Durian Fruit, Durian Custard, Chiffon Cake; Topped With Fresh Cream & Soybean Powder."

Ah, yes, durian.  My friend was even more excited than me to get this.

It was good, although not anything more than the sum of its parts: light chiffon cake, lots of cream, durian.  It had just a bit of funk, legit durian, but not over the top in your face stinky.  A nice intro level durian treat.  Not too sweet.  The soybean powder on top made it more savory too.

I enjoyed watching another co-worker, who had not previously experienced durian, try this.  His face was more of confusion than repulsion, which I think is more of a testament to how mild this was, than his tolerating legit durian.

If you want durian and cream, in a not-too-sweet, not-too-intense way, get this.  3.5/5.  My third favorite item we tried.

Taro & Mochi Parfait. $15 ($18.75 DD)

"Layers Of Taro Paste, Fresh Cream, Chiffon Cake, Mochi Topped With Fluffy Pulled Ham, Nori Flakes, and Remoulade Drizzle. "

Far more exciting for me was the taro & mochi parfait.  I love taro (hence the label on my blog), but even more, I ADORE pork floss, and of course I was excited for nori and remoulade.  This one I can imagine really turning some people off, as it is confusingly sweet-savory, but I really liked it.  

Creamy taro, decent taro flavor, but not super strong.  Gooey sticky mochi that made it a bit hard to eat, but was great texture.  Mmmmm, pork floss.  Meh boring chiffon cake.  Another not very sweet item, and one I think made a good snack, but would be a bit odd for me as a dessert or as part of a meal, as it really walked that sweet-savory line.  Also, the remoulade drizzle was so minimal it really had no impact on taste nor on adding a creamy element.

This too wasn't really greater than the sum of its very good parts though.  Good for a taro and pork floss craving, but not going to change your world. 3.5/5.  My second favorite item.

Black Sesame Lava Cream Crepes Roll.
$18.00 ($22.50 on DoorDash).

"Black Sesame Cream Wrapped in Layers Of Crepes With A Black Sesame Lava Center; Topped With Soybean Powder."

This one was my request, and I enjoyed it the most.

Lots of flavorful black sesame cream.  Thin delicate crepes.  Again, not overwhelmingly sweet.  A somewhat simple dessert, but just full of black sesame flavor, and I'm a sucker for cream, so, I liked this quite a bit.  4/5.  My favorite item.

Basque Combo. $36.

"Creamy, rich cheesecake with a caramelized top, perfect for a sweet indulgence."

And finally, the basque cheesecake.  The basque cheesecakes are available in several flavors, including original, matcha, thai tea, yuzu lemon, and gway hua oolong.  $15 each for a slice, $80 whole, or as we got it, $36 for a combo of small slices of 4 of their choice.  I'm not entirely sure what our 4 were, taking my best guesses, I think we had the original, thai tea, matcha, and oolong.

None of them seemed particularly basque style to me.  Yes, they had no crust, but they didn't have the gooey creamy center, and really just seemed like regular, crustless, cheesecake.  Barely scorched on top.  They came topped with some cream, pomegranate seeds, berries, and flowers, which I know was supposed to be a nice presentation, but the big leaf in particular was not practical in any way, not edible.  All had fairly mild flavors.

Pretty average, but pricey, cheesecakes.  My least favorite items, and really, I was grumpy at the promise of basque style not living up.  Low 3/5.

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Metro Hong Kong Dessert

You would probably suspect that Metro Hong Kong Dessert, is, well, a dessert cafe, likely an asian one.  Which is ... sorta accurate.  They *do* have desserts.  But they actually have a full savory menu, including standard Chinese stir fry dishes, noodles, fried rice, steamed rice rolls, baked, fried, and steamed dim sum, porridge, bbq, plus, um sandwiches (literally, an American club sandwich?) and french fries, and more.  The sweet side of things is equally extensive, with milk or fruit tea and boba drinks, smoothies, mochi, egg waffles, and sooo many puddings, stews, taro ball/glutinous rice/glass jelly based desserts, and more.

Given my love for desserts, puddings, and taro, of course I was drawn in.  The restaurant is in San Francisco's chinatown and had very little curb appeal.  It didn't even seem particularly, um, clean.

Encounter #1, February 2021

For Chinese New Year, the downtown association was trying to help revitalize Chinatown given the aftermath of the pandemic, and they arranged a crawl to several different restaurants and shops.  You got a passport that you then redeemed for tastings at the different stops.  One of my stops was Metro Hong Kong Dessert, and I was so excited for, well, fun dessert.

Chicken Wing.

The first item in my goodie bag though?  A bbq chicken wing.  Doh.  I hate chicken!

I still tried it, and the bbq flavor was actually really quite good.  But it was still a wing, and still very much not my thing.

Normally part of the BBQ chicken wings and thigh 7 piece combo for $15.95.

Mango Sago Soup (Sample-ish).

Next up though I did have a dessert item, the mango sago soup.  Served in a small portion, not their normal serving.

It was very good, but very sweet.  Basically, well, mango puree, soft pliable small sago, a few small pieces of mango.  Sweet and a tiny bit tart.

I liked it.  3.5/5.

Encounter #2, September 2025

Several years later, I encountered Metro Hong Kong Dessert again.

Assorted Goodies.

I attended a small gathering where we had baked goods from Eastern Bakery, and desserts and boba drinks from Metro Hong Kong Dessert.  I tried several items, skipping the boba drinks, and instead focusing on the "real" desserts.  Here you can see the full portion sizes.

I didn't get to try the mango pudding (front cups), but tried both of the sago soups (bigger round bowls), one was coconut juice sago, the other mango coconut juice sago.  Both were good - definitely sweet but not cloying, lots of coconut flavor, soft, not stuck together, little sago.  Not much sago, mostly just soup, and not quite what I was looking for, as I wanted more goodies, or at least, more sago to make them more like a pudding (but, to be fair, these were on the menu as soups, and they had other pudding options).  Both were very large portions, hence why myself and others split them, and the $6.95 each price seemed fine, although there wasn't much to them really.  I still did quite enjoy.  3.5/5.

Grass Jelly Taro Balls. $7.95.

For my main event, I went with an item from the Taiwanese dessert section of the menu, the glass jelly taro balls.  It had far more than just glass jelly and taro balls, as you can see here.

The base was the grass jelly.  Big hunks, pretty standard grass jelly, dark black.  You can't see it here, but there was a significant amount of it at the base.  It was good, refreshing, and not something I have often so I liked it.  Then there were black large size tapioca balls that frankly weren't very good - they were stuck together, not particularly soft.  I assume the same as used in their drinks, and I'm glad I opted to skip the drinks.  The red bean was fairly standard too, mostly whole little beans, not mashed, quite savory.

And then we get to the fun stuff.  Hunks of taro, soft but not total mush.  Taro balls and sweet potato balls that were both fairly soft and pliable, both savory too. Again, all fairly standard for this style of dessert, not particularly remarkable, but not things I have all that often.

The base broth was very plain.  I expected it to be sweetened, but it didn't seem to be, besides from the brown sugar syrup like boba pearls come in, but mostly, it was just a dark low flavor soup.  The net result is that this actually ate really quite savory, very little sweetness.  I liked the different textures, and the adventure of eating it, but didn't find the actual taste all that compelling.  I added some of the (very!) sweet mango and coconut sago soups to it, and enjoyed it considerably more that way.  Is that just my American palate so used to very sweet desserts?

Anyway, fun, and loaded with mix-ins, but not something I'd get again.  3/5.

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Urban Ritual

Urban Ritual is a tea/coffee shop with locations in San Francisco, San Mateo, and San Jose.  I've been aware of the business for a few years, drawn in by some of their more unique bubble tea adjacent drinks (like the mango sticky rice drink with rice milk and coconut milk, the black sesame rice ball drink with drinkable mochi in it, another with pandan & corn milk (!), and others with brûlée of all sorts).  They do of course make more traditional tea drinks, for the less adventurous.  

I still haven't been to one of their shops, but I recently attended an event that had drinks catered from Urban Ritual, and I was thrilled to get my top pick of drink from the lineup.  I loved my drink, and now do intend to make a proper visit!

Feed Me Ube! (Rice Milk, Add boba). $7 + $0.75. 

"Ube Creme brûlée, taro chunks, coconut milk, and a choice of rice milk or whole milk."

Oh be still my heart!  Ube AND taro AND creme brûlée, all in one creation?  I have dedicated labels on my blog for each of those because I adore them, so this was a trifecta of awesome in my mind.  I opted for the rice milk version.

For mix-ins, Urban Ritual offers standard honey boba or crystal boba, lychee, grass, or osmanthus tea jellies, aloe vera, mochi, and creme brûlée pudding.  I normally would have picked crystal boba or the mochi perhaps, but our drinks were pre-designed by the event hosts to use standard boba, which I was happy enough with.

There is no need to draw this out further.  This.  Was.  Glorious.  I had high hopes, and it exceeded them.  The rice milk was the perfect backdrop for it, very mild, light horchata vibes.  There was no option to modify the sweetness, but it didn't need modifying.  The base was not very sweet, but just sweet enough to be more enjoyable than plain milk.  The coconut milk was a minimal component, just there to round everything out.  So, the top 50%, actually just pretty enjoyable rice/coconut milk.  But of course, the rest of the creation is where it gets more interesting.

At the base of the cup was the standard boba.  They were the right kind of soft, no hard centers. Some were clumped together, but I blame that on the fact that we had a huge delivery order, so likely less freshly made than if I had gotten it as an individual at the store.  The boba were fine, but not actually needed in this drink.  I'd leave them out in the future (or, try the mochi or lychee jellies most likely).

Above that is where things got really special.  The mashed taro (not very visible here, but it was a less vibrant purple) and the ube creme brûlée.  The taro was exactly what I expected from decent fresh mashed taro.  I quite enjoyed it, and it went really nicely with the rice milk.  I would have been happy enough with this drink at this point, just a taro rice milk/coconut milk boba, and given it a nice ****.  But then there was the ube creme brûlée, and ZOMG, that stuff was magic.  Glory.

The ube creme brûlée managed to have incredible creme brûlée flavor, as in, I swear I could taste the sweetness from the caramelized top, and a lovely custard that wasn't too eggy, AND it had very strong ube flavor, making it sorta like a very sophisticated creme brûlée, AND it had an incredible consistency, soft and actually still in chunks, so you could suck it up with the wide boba straw, or use a spoon to pluck it out and enjoy that way.  It was incredible, and I've really never had anything like it before.  I would love to be able to just order a dish of that!  ***** that stuff, really.

So overall, all very good components, that went well together, and introduced me to the concepts of both ube creme brûlée and creme brûlée hunks in a bubble tea drink (I've had pudding bits before, but they weren't quite like this) ... just a winning creation all around, and I enjoyed every sip/bite.  I'd gladly get it again.  Very high ****+.

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Ho Ho Té, NYC

Ho Ho Té is a bubble tea and snack store in NY in midtown.  They have no website, and I think they operate primarily for delivery and tourists who stumble in.  I got a chance to try out a dessert from them this summer, when I was visiting and ordering sushi on DoorDash, and took advantage of the "add a treat" feature to add on a treat from a nearby business.  I know little else about the place, other than that they have a number of taro items, which is what caught my eye.  Give the name, I think the bubble tea is likely their primary business?

Taro Puffs. $5.50.

"Flaky taro puffs filled with a smooth, creamy taro paste, presented with a light sprinkling of sesame seeds."

The puffs arrived in a cute little package, 2 to an order.  They were not warm.  The color was sorta grey purple.  They didn't look particular attractive.

I bit in and was pretty let down.  The pastry was not very flaky at all.  It didn't taste particularly fresh.  Highly mediocre pastry, and no real flavor to it.  **+

Taro Puffs: Inside.

Inside was generously stuffed with taro paste.  It was fairly standard taro paste.  Decent flavor, not too sweet.  The taro paste was fine, but not remarkable.  ***.

Overall, a very low ***.  I wanted it fresher, warmer, flakier.

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Sweet Lu, Sydney

When I visit Sydney, I often find myself having the opportunity to order cake for my co-workers.  This important task ranges from smaller 20 person parties, to those of about 100 or so.  At this point, when the locals see me in the office, they ask when cake day is.  Yes, I have a reputation.  Over the years, I have sourced the goods from a variety of places, having settled on Saga Bakery the past few years for the true show stoppers.  Before that, when Uncle Tetsu first opened in Sydney, I introduced my team to that style of cheesecake.  This time, when I visited, it was time to introduce my co-workers to another trendy dessert: crepe cakes.

I was talking to one of my teammates based in Sydney, and he mentioned never having a crepe cake before.  I explained that the trend had taken off in the US a few years prior, and Sydney, with all its trendy desserts, must clearly be on board.  I immediately started looking and found very few places offering crepe cakes, only two actually. I was surprised, because the dessert game in general is so strong in Sydney.  Give it another year?

Anyway, one of the two choices was Sweet Lu, with a convenient location in Chinatown.  I went to visit my first night in town to scope it out, and the lines were long, the place was bustling.  Definitely a good sign.  

"Treats for every occasion bringing warmth and sweetness to your life."

Sweet Lu is not just a bakery, it is a "Boutique Dessert House", offering cakes, filled croissants, and their signature item, little egg tarts with interesting toppings, such as durian marshmallow or boba pearls, in addition to the crepe cakes I was seeking out.  I am *very* curious about the tarts, particularly as I have a hard time imagining the durian and marshmallow combination ...

"Handmade with love using premium ingredients showcasing the best our local farmers have on offer. Perfect for any occasion!"

Sweet Lu has been in business since 1997, and prides itself on quality, local ingredients.  I tried a number of items, and every single one seemed like it had been baked fresh that morning, the fruity elements were perfectly ripe, and the cream was rich in all the right ways.

Delivery Packaging.

Since I ordered multiple full size cakes, I had them delivered, which was easy to arrange directly through the bakery online.  My jaw dropped when I saw the cakes lined up in my building reception.  Each one came on a sturdy base, with a clear plastic box around it, bound by ribbon, with a custom cake serving set on top.  They were remarkably well packaged and displayed, and I really appreciated that I didn't need to transfer to another tray or platter to serve.

Party Kit (included, or $15 additional).

"Big gathering? Create the perfect place setting for your celebration. Each pack contains our premium signature Sweet Lu serving knife, candle, plates (x5) and forks (x5)."

Each cake came complete with a party kit, with 5 tiny little plates and 2 prong forks, a birthday crown, candles, and matches, and a serving knife.  While I didn't need the birthday components, and the plates were far too tiny for our desired portion sizes, the cake cutter in particular was a very welcome addition.  The server and forks all had custom Sweet Lu branding.  

Awesome to have this included, and you can purchase extra sets for $15. 

Chiffon Cakes

Sweet Lu does not just make the crepe cakes I had sought out, they also make chiffon cakes (and I suspect made those long before introducing crepe cakes).

"Light as air Chiffon cakes laced with fresh whipped cream in a range of flavours. Perfect to enjoy for everyone!"

Sweet Lu's chiffon cakes are all elaborately decorated, with interesting fillings and flavors.  On the fruity side there is wintermelon, blueberry, strawberry, rose and lychee, and fig and berry.  Chocolate lovers have the Oreo chocolate, and for the truly over the top there is the earl grey milk tea cake with "oozing molten earl grey lava custard centre".  I was tempted to get the later for my group, but, I worried it would be too messy.

I got one full size chiffon cake for my group, along with 2 additional slices for myself.

Strawberry. $12.80.

"Our Signature Strawberry chiffon cake layered with fresh strawberries and clouds of fresh whipped cream."

The most boring, and lightest, of the cakes was the strawberry chiffon, with layers of plain chiffon cake, strawberries, and whipped cream.  The cake was light and airy, chiffon style, not a dense American style butter or sponge cake.  The whipped cream was fresh and fluffy.  The strawberries were juicy and ripe.  It reminded me a bit of strawberry shortcake when people make it using an angel food cake rather than biscuit base.  The ratios of cake to cream were exactly as I wanted.  

The elements of this were all good, but its not a cake I'd pick for myself, as when I want cake, I want dense buttery sponge cake with copious buttercream, not something light like this, and when I want fruit and cream, I want a shortcake biscuit with it, not chiffon cake.  But nothing to fault with the execution of the cake, just a preference thing.  My least favorite, but still a good cake.  ***+.

Rose Lychee. $12.80.

"Pillowy soft chiffon cake with Lychee and finished with Rose Cream."

Next up was the rose lychee chiffon cake I had considered getting for my group, as it sounded great to me, but, no one else was interested in rose and lychee flavors, so, I got a slice just for myself.

The construction of this cake was less perfect than the previous, with some layers of the chiffon cake thicker than others, and quite a bit of back frosting/cream.  The cake however was much the same, light and moist, same with the cream.  In with the cream was sweet and fruity fresh lychee, and everything had a subtle, floral, lovely rose flavor.  This one ate a bit sweeter than the strawberry cake, but still wasn't an overly sweet cake.  The lychee added nice texture as well.

The rose and lychee were a sophisticated and inviting flavor mix, and I liked this one considerably more than the strawberry cake, even though, on the surface, they were much the same.  ****.

Fig & Berry Cake. 8 inch. $169.00.

"Fresh figs topping pillowy soft chiffon cake layered with fresh raspberries, blueberries and strawberries encased with cheese and raspberry fresh cream." 

For my group, I went for a crowd pleasing non-controversial flavor that still sounded good to me, the Fig & Berry cake, which sounded much like the strawberry cake, but, with raspberries, blueberries, and figs on the top, and instead of just plain whipped cream, it had cheese and raspberry cream.  It was a beautifully decorated cake, dusted with icing sugar as well.  It was however lacking any of the promised figs.

This was our highest priced cake, at $169, but, it was clear more effort went into the decorating of this one.

Berry Cake: Cross Section.

Here you can see the construction of the cake.  Again, three layers of light, moist chiffon cake, with plenty of raspberry whipped cream all around and in-between the layers.  The fresh fruit element (berries only, no figs!) was the decoration on top, and continued in the center of the cake between the layers. 

I felt much the same way about this as I did the strawberry cake.  Yes, the chiffon cake was a nice chiffon cake, and the cream was so fresh, but ... that's just boring to me.  The fresh fruit was nice, and all perfectly ripe, but it would have been better to have the berries not just in the center, and more distributed to the edges between the layers.  I didn't taste the listed cheese element in the cream either.

So, not quite as described on the menu (no fig, no cheese), and a touch boring, but nothing really to fault with the execution of what it was.  I liked it slightly more than the one with just strawberry, ***+.

Crepe Cakes

"Alternating layers of delicate golden handmade crepes and fresh pastry cream to create a light mille crepe cake. Elegant and delicious!"

Crepe cakes are available in a variety of flavors, none very "vanilla", as the most basic is the soy custard flavor, and the variety ranges from light and floral rose or osmanthus, to the risky like durian.  No taro, black sesame, or pistachio though, which let me down, as those are my top picks for crepe cake flavors in general.  My group picked the earl gray as their top choice, which wasn't my top choice, so I also got myself individual slices of others.

The crepe cakes were all very consistently well made.  Paper thin layers of fresh, not dry, crepes, the right balance of cream between the layers.  The flavors were more subtle than other brands of crepe cake I've had.  Definitely not too sweet.  But I've been spoiled by having Lady M crepe cakes, and, well, they are a reason they are so famous.  Others can be really well executed, like these, but, Lady M is just a class apart.  

Earl Grey. 8 Inch. $118.

"Earl Grey crepe cake, fresh cream infused with Earl Grey tea layered with Earl Grey tea jelly." 

Earl grey is certainly not the flavor I'd ever pick, but my co-workers all had this as their top pick, so I got it for the group.  Of course, I did still try it.

The full cake was $118, in AUD, so much cheaper than Lady M.  Individual slices are $12.80 each.

Earl Grey.

The crepes themselves were clearly fresh, not dried out, delicate.  The cream was faintly earl grey flavored, lightly sweet.  Construction was well done, lots of layers, perfect balance of crepe and cream.  The jelly on top had a slightly stronger earl grey flavor, although it too wasn't all that strong.  

Overall, a well made crepe cake, but flavor was very mild.  My least favorite of the four flavors I tried.  **** for construction, **+ for flavor, ***+ overall.

Osmanthus.

"Aromatic osmanthus crepe cake with fresh floral notes topped with fresh whipped cream and an osmanthus glaze."

One of my co-worker's second pick was osmanthus.  Again, not what I'd pick, but I got him a slice, and of course I still tried it.  Again, the construction was well done, perfect balance of cream and crepe, and all was clearly fresh.  The flavor was lightly floral and lightly bitter, which, I guess is what osmanthus is?  I'll admit I haven't had much osmanthus flavored stuff in my life.  The jelly on top was again more flavorful than the creme layers.

Overall, another **** execution, *** for the interesting but mild flavor, ***+ overall, and above the earl grey for me because the flavor was more complex and novel.

Rose.

"Elegant rose cream with rose lychee jelly vanilla crepe cake."

Next was a slice for me of my top pick of the crepe cakes that Sweet Lu offers: rose cake.  This was a lovely cake, again, nice construction, clearly fresh, good layers.  The lychee jellies added a touch of sweetness and a bit of a textural focal point.  The rose flavor was reasonably strong, I don't think I'd want it stronger because rose is so powerful.  It was the sweetest of the cakes I tried, mostly due to the lychee jellies.  The jelly on top, again, a nice extra burst of flavor, and flower petal garnish made it look quite elegant.

That all said, the rose crepe cake from Lady M really was another notch above this, with more delicate crepes, thinner layers, and stronger flavor.  There is a reason Lady M is so well known.

This was my favorite of the crepe cakes from Sweet Lu, and I'd gladly get it again.  ****.

Soy Custard.

"Golden vanilla crepe cake with soy cheese custard garnished with clouds of fresh whipped cream dusted with roasted soy bean powder."

My last slice was the soy custard, which I got mostly out of curiosity.  It sounded simple and plain, but, I do really like the flavor of soy, and "soy cheese custard" was just too interesting to turn down.

It was fairly hard to describe, certainly the most plain, but somewhat stronger tasting, if that makes any sense.  I wouldn't identify the taste as particularly soy nor cheese, but it was more like the taste of the custard from creme brulee?  The filling between the layers seemed thicker, more custard like in this, than the others that seemed more like whipped cream.

I enjoyed this, again due to the excellent construction, but I did want fresh fruit to jazz it up a bit.  ***+.

Other Cakes

In addition to the crepe and chiffon cakes, Sweet Lu also makes some hybrid cakes, sponge cakes, and, for those who love Durian, and cheesecake, a durian cheesecake, topped with big hunks of fresh Musang King durian.  Sadly, I could not convince anyone else to go that route.

Strawberry Matcha Crepe Chiffon.

"Double your enjoyment with both crepe and chiffon cake! Premium grade matcha crepe layered with matcha infused cream on top of layered chocolate cream and chocolate chiffon cake with strawberries and garnished with pistachios."

If you can't decide between chiffon or crepe cake, get both!  And throw in a chocolate cream layer as well.  That is what you get with the strawberry matcha crepe chiffon cake.  It has a chocolate chiffon cake base, a matcha crepe middle layer, and chocolate cream top, along with fresh whipped cream, strawberries, and pistachios.

I'll admit that this seemed like too many competing elements.  Chiffon cake and pudding and crepes?  Matcha and chocolate and strawberries and pistachios?  That's ... a lot.  The matcha and chocolate in particular I just couldn't imagine going well together.

It actually worked fine, although some elements simply faded away into the background.  I saw the dusting of pistachio crumble on top, but didn't taste it at all.  The single strawberry was just garnish on top.  Likewise, the chocolate chiffon cake was entirely lost for me.  So, they didn't compete, but were pretty lost.

The matcha crepe cake layer was excellent, again, really nice execution on the crepe cake, and the matcha flavor was intense.  I liked the chocolate cream too, rich, mild milk chocolate flavor.  They were ok together, but, I do think I'd enjoy them more separately.  

Overall, an interesting cake with many components, and I enjoyed it, but likely wouldn't get again.  ***+.

Taro Cake. 8 inch. $139.

"Taro cake layered with coconut jelly and sea salt cream, garnished with coconut and nut flakes."

And finally, even though no one else wanted it, I got the cake I was most interested in, the taro cake.  I love taro, I like coconut jellies, and I love sea salt cream, so, this sounded pretty perfect to me.  It was a square cake rather than round, and came garnished with coconuts and seeds, and a few bits of gold leaf.  Definitely a less stunning presentation than the others, but it was, hands down, my favorite.

Taro Cake: Cross Section.

The cake was again a light chiffon I believe, thinner layers than the other cakes.  It mostly just served to provide a touch of structure to the cake, and little else, which I didn't mind.  

That is because the main component was the two taro layers.  Beautiful purple color, creamy, fabulous real taro flavor.  I believe it was sweetened mashed taro, perhaps with some cream in the mix too.  Truly delightful.  It was frosted with white cream frosting, which Sweet Lu described as sea salt, but I didn't detect much of.  The cream was a great compliment to the rest of the cake.  The coconut and seed garnish was great for a touch of texture.  I never found any of the coconut jellies that the menu said it would have.

Overall, a great cake.  Such wonderful taro flavor, and yay for cream.  I'd get this one again and again, no question.  ****+.

Signature Favorites Tasting Set.  $118.

"ONLINE EXCLUSIVE combination 10 of Sweet Lu's most popular cake slices.

The Tasting Set features a variety of one to three slices each of our favourite cakes available on the day. This may include Signature Strawberry cake, Strawberry Matcha Chiffon cake, Rose Crepe cake, Soy Custard Crepe cake, Earl Grey Tea Crepe cake, Rose Lychee cake. "

Sweet Lu is kinda my hero.  They make a full size cake that is made up of slices of their signature cakes.  Cheaper than getting 10 slices by the slice, and far more fun than getting a whole cake of just one flavor.   Our set came with two each of the strawberry and rose lychee chiffon cakes, and two of the rose crepe cake, along with slices of osmanthus, earl grey, soy custard, and the strawberry matcha chiffon.  It gave me a great chance to try several I wouldn't have normally picked.  I'm all for frankencakes.

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Koomi, Sydney

Update Reviews - 2023 & 2024

November 2023

When I was in Sydney prior to the Pandemic, I discovered, and fell in love with, Koomi.  It was the first place I ever liked a yogurt drink of any kind, and it re-defined what these could be.  I tried after that yogurt and rice drinks all over Sydney, and in the US, and just never cared for them (even at the famous Yomie).  But Koomi ... Koomi was just unlike anywhere else, and I adored it.  See below for my original review.

And yet, when I returned to Sydney in August last year post-Pandemic, and then again earlier in 2023 in February and March, I failed to go back to Koomi.  My brain was broken - I knew I thought that Koomi was amazing, but I'd since had so many "meh" yogurt and rice drinks, I thought it must have just been a phase I was in back then.

And then, this visit, I decided to return.  Spoiler: it is still as glorious as ever.

Town Hall Location.

A few things have changed however.  Koomi's original Sydney city location is closed, and they only now have a small shop underground near the Town Hall station.  They no longer have froyo, and they no longer have foam as a topping.  These two things detracted me, but, I need not fear.  It is still amazing, even without the aesthetically pleasing shop location and two signature items.

Mango Moo (no sugar).
Add Purple Rice $0.80, Add Coconut Jelly. $0.80.

For my drink, I had the hard choice I always seem to have of mango or taro, but decided that mango was the right choice, because mango in Sydney is just so dramatically better than in the US, and because I had literally just ordered a taro cake for a party the next day, and would certainly be getting my taro fill.  I added purple rice as I always do, and, on a whim, added coconut jelly too (I was thinking about aloe vera, but the person taking my order suggested the coconut jelly instead, so I took her suggestion).  As always, I did it not sweet.

I'll admit that this seemed different than my memory of Koomi (and not only because it came in a different cup).  It seemed more like a smoothie at first.  I thought I remembered the yogurt being thicker and richer.  And I thought I remembered far more mango.  But, a few sips in, I didn't care.  My brain again couldn't stop thinking, "How is a yogurt drink this good?".  I don't know the answer, besides that Koomi clearly uses quality ingredients, and they really do combine into magic.

The yogurt is rich and smooth and nicely tart.  The mango sooooo ripe, so sweet, so juicy, so, uh, mango flavored.  This really likely would be fine with nothing more added, maybe sprinkle some coconut flakes on top and call it a day.  But I added the purple rice, which was perfectly a bit al dente and slightly sticky, added incredible texture.  I would get this again no question.  The coconut jellies were standard quality, nothing special, but, they did add bursts of sweetness and a fun slimy component.  I'd consider them again, or try another mix-in for fun.

So yes, every component was great, and together they were even greater.  It was somewhat refreshing.  It was somewhat dessert-like.  It was pretty filling.  I'm not sure really how one is supposed to work these into their regular daily eating, as it isn't really quite a meal, seems like a lot for a snack, and can be way too filling after a full dinner.  But maybe if are were someone who eats a light lunch, no lunch dessert, and then wants something later afternoon before eating a later dinner, it could do the trick nicely?  Or, I'm sure there are plenty of people who skip a meal and consider this one.  For me, one who eats breakfast, late morning snack, lunch, lunch dessert, afternoon snack, dinner, and dinner dessert, it doesn't fit easily into that schedule, so I tend to have half as a lunch or dinner dessert (and often add whipped cream and other toppings to push it even further into dessert land), and then the other half the next morning for breakfast (and add some granola and more fruit).  Morning me is always happy with that decision.

Overall, a winner, and I'd get it again, and was definitely tempted to return the very next day.  ****.

February 2024

Another visit to Sydney, another last minute impulse swing by Koomi.  I did again try to ask about the difference on their menu between the "Koomie Yogurts" and "Koomi Smoothies", even using a specific example of the "Mango Moo" (yogurt) and "Mangonificent!" (smoothie), but got nowhere.  The first was described as mango and yogurt, the second as sweet yogurt and mango, blended with ice.  I said, "Oh, so the Mango Moo isn't blended?" but then was told that it is too.  I asked if it was different yogurt in the two drinks, and was told no.  So ... both are the same yogurt, and mango, and blended ... but they maybe sweeten the later more?  But you can also adjust the sweetness ...  I'm still really not sure.

Mango Moo (No Sweet). $10.
+ Sticky Rice ($0.80) + Konjac Jelly ($0.80).

I went for my regular choice: the Mango Moo, with sticky rice, not sweet.  I also decided to add konjac jelly this time (last time I added coconut jellies, which was good, but, hey, why not try more things?).  The konjac jelly turned out to be crystal pearls, large size, and lots of them.  They were fine, but not what I actually wanted in my yogurt.  Oops.  I wouldn't get those again most likely.

The base drink was a frothy tart yogurt.  Blended with the sticky rice, which added nice texture throughout.  Not sweet, just as I asked for.  But it still seemed like what I'd consider a smoothie ...

The mango was hard to get to, all at the base.  It was fresh, juicy, and only slightly sweet, actually a bit tart itself.  Since I didn't add sugar, this meant the whole creation was pretty savory, with the only real sweetness coming from the pearls, which were considerably less sweet than something like coconut jellies.

I did struggle as I usually do to know where to fit this into my life.  It wasn't a dessert.  But it was more than a snack.  But also not a meal.  I ended up having some the next morning with berries and granola as a yogurt bowl, and that was quite delightful, and used most of the sticky rice and mango with some cream top from Sharetea to make a dessert.  I still really liked it all, I just don't know quite when and how to properly eat it!  One of these days, I'll try either sweetening it and making it more dessert-like, or potentially having a super light lunch and enjoying it after?  Still, great yogurt, good mix-ins, a regular for me.  ****.

Original Review, 2020

Sydney has a lot of bubble tea shops.  Seriously, bubble tea has ... exploded, everywhere.  Some neighborhoods have a bubble tea shop literally every other storefront.  The more recent trend though?  Yogurt drinks.  Yogurt and rice drinks that is, which burst into town with Yomie's Rice X Yogurt (which, um, I hated by the way).

Yogurt drinks, rice drinks, really did not seem like something I'd ever like, but, I finally tried one in 2019, and Koomi, and, well, my world changed.  I adore it, and now yogurt rice drinks are one of the focuses of my return visits to Sydney.  I've since explored many different shops in Sydney, but none compare to Koomi.   It really is just the best.

"The brand is featured by yoghurt, adopts the addition of different fruits, and innovatively add purple rice, enriching the taste of drinks and bringing consumers different taste experience."

Koomi is a franchise, with 4 locations in Australia, all in the greater Sydney area, plus one each in Thailand and the Philippines.

Setting

I visited one of the first Koomi locations, the main one, in Haymarket in Sydney.  It has zero curb appeal, without much street front itself ... as ...

Beauty Products?

Koomi is located at the front of a beauty store.  Certainly an odd setup, but the others who ordered before me did go browse, so, maybe this is a concept that I just don't understand.  I just waited patiently for my order.

The ordering process was easy, at the little counter, and it was prepped within a few minutes.  Orders were called out at the side window onto the sidewalk, which was nice so everyone didn't crowd around the beauty store.

Cow.

Is this Koomi?  I don't know.  But I decided this was Koomi.  A cute fellow, perfect for snapping your Instagram photo with.  Their cow theme *is* the brand, giving it brand recognition instantly, a clever touch from their marketing department.

Drinks

The menu at Koomi consists primarily of yoghurt drinks.  It isn't like Sharetea/CoCo Fresh/etc, with huge menus, many styles of tea, hot and cold options, etc.  There is no tea.  No milk.  Only yoghurt.  The drinks are all served cold, because, well, yoghurt.

Ok, technically, there is one tea, oolong, available as milk tea with mousse.  And one hot drink, taro milk.  That really is it, for drinks.

Menu.

There are 15 yoghurt drinks listed, all of which can have sugar level adjusted, and a few mix-ins added (sticky rice, oats, red bean, boba, taro, yoghurt foam, and froyo).  And that is basically it.

So many of the drinks sounded fascinating.  I was originally drawn in by the signature Stick-On-Me Purple Rice Yoghurt, but the Chunky Purple Taro Yoghurt sounded right up my alley.  And, although I don't normally go for the fruit offerings, the Red Ninja Dragon Fruit Yoghurt or Luscious Mango looked pretty awesome.

The final part of the menu is froyo, with exactly two options, neither of which had any description: Snowy Fuji Fro-yo and Fiery Vesuvius Fro-yo.  My Instagram stalking had shown me what the Snowy Fuji was though, and it is what had originally attracted me to Koomi in the first place.  Taro mash base, a layer of red bean, a layer of mango cubes, sticky rice, and then ... yogurt frozen yogurt, and a cone perched on top.  Basically, all the best mix-ins/toppings, parfait style, with froyo.  Oh yes.  My stalking also revealed a lot of people saying it was great, but a meal basically, huge, and just full of things.  I still can't quite figure out what the other froyo is, but it is layered, has boba, and some kind of drizzle ...

My first visit, I sampled the froyo, and found it quite enjoyable.  A tart style, but smooth and creamy, rich, not icy style American froyo.  I'd gladly get a creation with this sometime, but the weather was quite cold when I was there, and I never found myself actually wanting froyo.

Anyway.  I focused on the signature yogurt drinks.

2019 Visits

I first discovered Koomi in 2019.

Chunky Purple Taro Yoghurt + Black Sticky Rice + Yogurt Foam. No Sweet. $6.90 + $0.90 + $1.

For my first creation, I knew I wanted taro, but I also wanted sticky rice, and I wanted to try their version of foam.  So ... the "Chunky Purple Taro Yoghurt" it was, with sticky rice and foam added.

My drink wasn't exactly photogenic, not like many of the others with layers of fruit and bright colors, it was just white yogurt, pale purple taro, and some vaguely black rice visible.  I couldn't see the foam, the difference between the yogurt and foam was nonexistant, not like a tea drink with a layer of foam perched on top.  

Oh well, I wasn't getting this for Instagram.   I was getting it for taste.  Not that I really knew what to expect with taste either.  I've never had yoghurt drinks before, well, besides smoothies I guess.  Or Indian lassi.  But nothing like this.

I took my first sip.  Well, huh.  It was ... refreshing?  Which is an odd thing to say about yogurt, I know.  It was thick, rich, but ... refreshing.  Not too thick.  Not too rich.  Tart, but not too tart.  Slightly sweet, but not really.  So hard to describe.  I can see how it would be great with the fruit bases too.  I liked it.  I still can't be sure I ever distinctly tasted the yogurt foam vs the yogurt base, but I think the very top was lighter and fluffier?

The yogurt was novel, but the rest of the drink was also quite fascinating.  I loved the black sticky rice.  Just the right level of chew.  The drink had plenty, most sips had noticeable sticky rice, but it didn't overwhelm.   Turns out, yogurt and rice really is a great combination.  No wonder this trend is taking off.  I could tell that even just a yogurt and rice drink would be good.

But of course, I had the taro too, as I had picked the Chunky Purple Taro as my actual selection.  The base of the cup was a huge pile of taro mash, clearly actual fresh taro mash, and tons of it.  There was more throughout the drink.  Mostly mash, but some chunks too.  Soft, slightly sweet, and, well, it tasted like taro.  I liked it as well.

While this was a refreshing drink, it was also quite heavy, and felt like a meal.  That much yogurt, rice, and taro ... it added up fast.  I don't know the exact amounts, but I think it easily had ... 1.5 cups of taro and a cup of sticky rice?  And the rest was yogurt.  That ... isn't really a snack.  I think adding both heavy carbs, while I liked them both, is a bit much.  I'd consider getting fruit and rice in the future, or just the taro on its own.

The base drink was $6.90, quite reasonable for a drink of this style, and the add-ons were $1 for the foam, and $0.90 for the sticky rice.  I realize now if I had ordered the Stick-on-me Purple Rice Yoghurt for $6.30, and added taro ($1), that would be cheaper than the $6.90 chunky purple taro with $0.90 rice ... no idea if the "recipe" would be different?

Luscious Mango Yoghurt + Sticky Rice + Yoghurt Foam.  No Sweet. $6.90 + $0.90 + $1.

I couldn't resist.  I went back the next day to try the mango drink.  I again added sticky rice for the texture, and foam.

And ... um ... I didn't really like it.  It honestly seemed entirely different, more like what I had expected, actually.

The rice wasn't as chewy, and it was just ... bits of rice throughout.  Everything I loved about the chewy bits of rice from the other drink was missing.  The yoghurt base was more sour, thicker, and ... icy?  Was it ice blended and I didn't notice the first time?  Not refreshing, just, sour yogurt.

And speaking of sour ... the mango.  I was very excited for ripe, sweet, juicy mango and instead this was kinda mango mush, and so very sour.  Maybe it was frozen? Is that where the frozen bits came from?  I rather hated the mango.  Granted, it wasn't mango season.

On the plus side, I did distinguish the yoghurt foam from the rest of the drink this time, and yes, it was lighter, fluffier, and sweeter.  I liked it a lot

But wow, what a difference in the two drinks, and this one left me uninspired to return.

Except, I didn't throw it out.  I just put it in my fridge.  A few hours later, I had a few more sips.  I ... liked it more.  I know they say to drink within 2 hours, but, the rice had settled, gotten stickier, clumpier, in a way that I liked.  The mango still was really sour, and I couldn't get past that.

But I still didn't throw it out.  The next morning, after a disappointing breakfast, I went back at it.  And this time, I really enjoyed it.  Even the mango.  Maybe the mango steeped in the yogurt overnight and mellowed it out?  The yogurt seemed even thicker, and I liked that too.  And the rice, even clumpier, more chew, and I liked that.

So, um, this is a funny review, but I ended up really enjoying it, just, mostly as breakfast the next day.  I'd love to get this again when mango is in season.

Valentine's Rose + Taro + Black Sticky Rice + Yogurt Foam. No Sweet. $6.30 + $1 + $0.90 + $1.

I moved on from Koomi over the next few days, determined to try some other options.  I had a purple rice yogurt (with taro and rock salt cheese foam added) from The Moment, that was nearly as good (review soon!).  I had a purple rice blended with yogurt (with taro pearls and cheese foam added) from my old favorite Bubble Nini Tea, but really didn't care for it.  My final night in town, I finally waited in line forever at Yomie's Rice & Yogurt, the original yogurt rice drink shop in Sydney, and ... hated it. .

I couldn't end my trip with such a sad experience, so I power walked the two blocks to Koomi, where there was no line at all, and put in an order for another drink, even though I had the Yomie drink still in hand, only a few sips taken.  It was ready within just a minute.

And it was the best of my trip.

I knew I wanted the black sticky rice and taro and yogurt and yogurt foam, and was tempted to just get my original creation again, or perhaps try the dragonfruit, but ... I'm not sure why, I decided that the Valentine's Rose might be an interesting option.  Rose and taro just sounded like an award winning combo.  And the sticky rice of course.  And the yogurt foam, since I adore that.  As always, I went for no sweet.

The rose base was still plenty sweet, sweeter than the others I have ordered from Koomi, but not nearly as sweet as the Yomie one I loathed, nor as sweet as the Bubble Nini one that was just far too sweet for me from the honey.  I'd prefer less sweet, but this was fine.  The rose flavor was quite lovely, not too floral, if that makes sense.

The taro was again a generous portion, all in the bottom, fresh taro, mashed, sweetened.  The taro did go well with the rose, just as I expected.  The black sticky rice was also as before, slightly clumpy, which I liked, and nice chew to it.  It was mixed in initially, but I found that, like before, I preferred when it settled.  I only had half of it that night (since I did have the Yomie too), the next morning the chewier rice was even better.

One thing that was different was the packaging - instead of sealed like my previous two, it came with a lid, perhaps because it was overfull from all the mix-ins?  I actually liked the lid, as I was able to take my first sip through the hole in it, rather than threw a straw, and get just a lovely mouth full of the yogurt foam.  Love the foam, although it is less savory/salty/cheesy than many others.

Overall, this was another winner, quite pleasant, rose + taro went together as magically as I hoped, and the yogurt + sticky rice + foam combo is still one I'm into.  I'd probably go back to my original, or try another fruit in the future, unless I was really craving rose.

2020 Visit

Another year, another trip to Sydney, and of course Koomi was very high on my priority list.

Luscious Mango Yoghurt + Sticky Rice + Yoghurt Foam.  No Sweet. $6.90 + $0.80 + $1.

When I arrived I was planning to get taro, but ... fruity mango just sounded so good.  Except of course, given my memory of the last time I tried it.  I asked how the mango was, "is it really sweet right now or more sour?" and the worker told me it was crazy sweet, juicy, and ripe.  Well, I was sold.  I wanted Koomi to have a chance to redeem itself in the mango department, plus, I was craving mango.

I went for my old standard recipe of adding the sticky rice, the yogurt foam, and getting it not additionally sweetened.  It was made to order fairly quickly.

I took my first sip and ... wow!  Yes, it was everything I wanted it to be.  The mango was indeed ridiculously sweet and juicy, just, exactly what I wanted.  Probably *too* ripe if you were just eating the fruit, but inside here, it was perfect.  

The yogurt was sweet, rich, slightly tart, sorta healthy tasting but indulgent at the same time, and fabulous.  My brain still did the "how do you like a yogurt drink this much?!" dance over and over, but, well, it is just delicious.  So very hard to describe, as it is somehow refreshing but nourishing, healthy by dessert-like ... and yes, technically, a "drink".  I was drinking it through a large boba straw after all.

The straw was great for getting the bits of rice too, which added some texture and chew, a bit of starchiness.  Not necessary for the drink to be a success, particularly with such good mango, but, a nice addition.  And of course, the foam on top, slightly fluffier, slightly more savory, than the yogurt, and fabulous too.

I have only good things to say about this, as a drink, or, as I enjoyed it even more, by the spoonful so I could get entire bites just loaded with mango.

The price was $0.10 less than the previous year - the rice got cheaper!

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