Showing posts with label Chinese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese. Show all posts

2012 gastrobits awards

>> Tuesday, January 1, 2013


After some a short absence, I was compelled to make an update based on my 2012 year end awards.

Looking back at 2012, it was the year where I truly embraced food writing. I set a torrid pace to start the year and then experienced some burn out as we neared the end. Looking back at all the photos, there's so many good dishes that I had during the year. For this year's awards, I've decided to just highlight the best dishes and assign them some arbitrary awards.

Best New Restaurant - Akinori Sushi

Akinori opened just recently has and has been serving an inspired trendy style of high quality sushi. If you like your sushi in the kaiseki style (some hot dishes as well as sushi), then Akinori is the place to experience omakase done right.

Best Vegatable Dish

carrot - TBL3 @ George's California Modern
The carrot cooked from the coffee crust grill was an amazing preparation. The carrot was prepared to actually taste similar to meat in heartiness and texture. The flavors meshed together incredibly well.

Best Ethnic Thai

som tum muazuar - Zabb Elee (NYC)
This papaya salad from Zabb Elee was a masterpiece. There was a wide range of flavors and textures while delivering a rich thai flavor. Best of all, it only cost $10. Unfortunately, you'll have to fly to New York City to sample this dish.

Best Ethnic Latin

octopus - Mision 19 (Tijuana)
The octopus from Mision 19 had a variety of latin flavors with incredible technical execution. Each octopus was cooked very well and had a complex range of sauces to highlight the flavors and texture of octopus. Not only was this dish the best Latin, dish but it was one of the best dishes of the year.

Best Ethnic Chinese

famous prawn in hot wok - Lao Hunan (Chicago)
The prawns were cooked perfectly in the hot wok and had a great balance of flavors and spice to resemble Thai food to some extent. The accompanying garnish added a lot of flavor in the form of herbs and spices to add depth to the dish. 

Best Noodles

tonkotsu ramen - Tsujita (Los Angeles)
The tonkotsu ramen at Tsujita packs a might flavor punch as the broth is boiled for 60 hours prior to serving. The result is an extremely thick and luxurious essence of pork flavor.

Best Ethnic Italian

tagliolini nero - Balena (Chicago)
The squid ink pasta from Balena was sauced perfectly and contained a great amount of flavor of both sea urchin and crab. This is pasta cooked properly

Best Ethnic Japanese

matsutake mushroom soup - Akinori
The matsutake mushroom soup was full of fresh seafood cooked to perfection along with a slow cooked mushroom soup. The flavor of the mushroom transferred well into the broth and was an extremely surprising and fulfilling highlight to the omakase meal.

Best Sandwich

porchetta sandwich - Ariccia Italian Market
The porchetta at Ariccia is amazing in flavor. Recently, the pig was changed to a local acorn-fed pork, which has imparted even more flavor into the finished porchetta product.

Best "Pizza"

tuna crisp - Flavor Del Mar
With nothing comparable to Pizzeria Mozza, the best "pizza" I had was the tuna crisp at Flavor. The mix of the tuna with the umami crisp underneath was the perfect bite.

Best Raw Preparation

raw beef - Totoroku
The raw beef dishes were all amazing at Totoroku, but none were more impressive than the beef throat. The yield to serve a table of 4 requires the slaughter of 1.5 cows. The throat has an incredible balance of natural fat with a pure beef flavor. I enjoyed the raw beef throat even more than the finest toro.

Best Seafood Dish

salad of dungeness crab - A Simple Supper with Gavin Schmidt
The dungeness crab salad capture the pure essence of crab flavor to explode in my mouth. The accompanying spring vegetables really highlighted the sweetness of the crab dish. To top it off, there was some special preparation to the gelatinous wrap that could only be served in an underground dinner.

Biggest Surprise Dish
chanterelle stew - George's California Modern
I didn't eat this until there was 38 minutes left of 2012, which was the first surprise. The second surprise was the incredible unctuous texture of the dish. It was simultaneously rich, while being anchored with the earthy flavors. Each bit was also incredibly light and delightful.

Best Dessert

watermelon, prosciutto, love & break dancing - Evolve Explore Your Senses
The dessert from Jeff Bonilla was not only one of the best desserts, but also nearly the best overall dish I had all year. It combined elements of the savory prosciutto to enhance the sweetness of the watermelon. Every bite was light and packed full of flavor.

Best Overall Dish

smoked beef tongue - TBL3 @ George's California Modern
The beef tongue in this dish had a delicious smoky flavor, but it was the brandade cream that really highlighted the dish. Each bite of this dish was a party in my mouth.

Best Overall Restaurant - George's California Modern

With another awesome TBL3 and a well executed New Years Eve, George's California Modern takes home the title of best restaurant 2012. George's raised its gastrobit rating from gigabyte to terabyte and includes a great wine list worthy of the oenobyte. Last but not least, I had an incident during my New Years Eve experience that was handled masterfully by the front of house. Another food writer commented that it was a "Michelin move," and I agree.

Read more...

Joe's Shanghai (Midtown) - Interrupt

>> Thursday, November 29, 2012

Date of Dining: 10/6/2012
Price: $4-10 appetizers, $12-30 entrees
Location: 24 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019
website

The Quick Bit

+ high quality xiao long bao
+ good service for comparable class restaurants
Δ portions could reflect the price better

While I was in New York, I wanted to make a stop to visit one of the famous Chinese restaurants in the city. Unfortunately, the threatening weather influenced me to change from a visit to Chinatown to a restaurant closer to the hotel as I didn't want to get stuck and lost in a rain storm.
Luckily, one of New York's Chinese institutions had a branch close to my hotel. Joe's Shanghai was founded in 1995 and has been recognized as one of the city's best Chinese restaurants by the New York Times, Gourmet Magazine, Travel and Leisure, and Zagat. While these accolades may not be quite as recent, I felt that it would still be a good opportunity to sample what the city had to offer in its Chinese cuisine.

mixed seafood asparagus chowder
As the weather was cold and raining, it was absolutely vital that I got a soup to warm up and feel comfortable. This soup accomplished that perfectly as it was heated to nice hot temperature. The mix of vegetables and shrimp was a nice combination as the sweetness of the peas and carrots complemented the sweetness of the shrimp while the mushrooms added some earthiness to balance things out.

crab meat with pork steamed soup buns (xiao long bao)
Joe's signature dish is the soup dumplings, which are offered as just pork or a pork and crab mix; We opted for the pork and crab mix. The dumpling skins were hand made and were extremely delicate - almost translucent, but retained enough strength to hold in the soup within each bun. The amount of soup, the flavor, and the stuffing were all in perfect harmony to give a great bite. These xiao long bao were of the same caliber that I enjoyed at Shanghai's top xiao long bao establishments (Jia Jia Tang Bao). Overall, I was extremely pleased with these soup dumplings.

seafood rice cakes
Because of the Shanghai namesake, I decided to order the rice cakes, which are a classic shanghai dish. The rice cakes were not overcooked and aside from the liberal use of soy sauce, the dish was well composed and enjoyable.

Conclusion

While I was unable to make it to Chinatown during this visit, the quality of Joe's Shanghai gives me hope for future visits. I enjoyed most of the dishes, and the signature soup dumplings were an absolute delight. If I had one complaint about the restaurant, it's that the restaurant seems suck in the nineties as far as the ambiance and plating of the dishes. While the taste of the food remains at a high quality, the feeling of walking into an older time period may be somewhat of a turnoff for the younger crowd, especially in the middle of midtown.

Read more...

Chef Chin (Convoy)

>> Monday, September 24, 2012

Date of Dining: 9/21/2012
Price: ~$6-9 for veggies an appetizers, $10-15 for entrees, market price for seafood
Location: 4433 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 92111
website

The Quick Bit

+ outstanding Shanghai style preparation
+ diverse menu with many great options
+ well balanced Chinese dishes
+ low corkage fee
Δ seafood shells could have been pre-cracked better
Δ service could be more attentive
Δ menu items could reflect real names instead of coming up with cute pseudonyms

After showing what San Diego has been missing in the Chinese food scene, I thought it only fitting to show what San Diego has recently come into in comparison.  Chef Chin (formerly Chin's on Convoy) came about as a result of a schism in the ownership group of Chin's. One side of the group wanted to expand the restaurants out past San Diego while the other side wanted to stay focused in one area. As a result, Chef Chin was born as it was bought out launched as a pilot restaurant for the new imperialist owners.
Perhaps the most important change the new regime made was to import an accomplished chef from Shanghai to run the restaurant. While the menu ranges to many Szechwan cuisine as well, Chef Chin really specializes in Shanghai style cuisine. The essence of Chinese cuisine is to create very balanced and well-rounded dishes; each dish must achieve great balance on its own and stand on its own. This is what allows several courses to be set in the middle of the table at once for a family style meal as each dish has its own distinct flavors that sets it apart from others.
In order to get a good sense of the menu and lay some dining plans for the next months, fellow writers Rodzilla and Yao from {insert-food} joined me for this meal. Somehow we were branded the "ultra secret dinner club" from this. One interesting tidbit from this Shanghai restaurant is that the water is served iced instead of boiled - traditionally Shanghai restaurants serve hot water only to show it has been boiled.

Appetizers

pickled spicy cucumber
The cucumber was pickled in the Chinese style so that it had an tremendous balance between sour, sweet, and spicy. All the elements came together with the underlying sourness to really open up the palate and serve as a great amuse.
pickled jellyfish head
While there is some inherent flavor in the jellyfish, this dish is really all about the texture. The crunchy yet spongy texture of the jellyfish has a fun interplay on the textural senses in the mouth and served as a nice starting point for the meal. 
roast beef and ox stomach mix
This appetizer was more of a Szechwan style appetizer. With an underlying but light sense of heat along with some light Sichuan peppercorn oil, this dish laid a base for the future spicer dishes to come. The hearty proteins were also indicative of the future protein courses.
smoked fish
To round out the appetizers, the smoked fish really brought the progression to a point where the meal could be eaten and enjoyed. The fish had the great depth of flavor from the smokiness, the sweet glaze really complemented all the flavors. While there are bones in the fish that can be eaten, this should still be done with caution and only after much chewing.
green jade fish soup - fish, egg, chinese mustard greens
The green jade fish soup rounded out our appetizers. While all the appetizers were good, this dish really brought everything together; it was almost like it signaled an end to the first meal so that a second meal could begin. With most of the appetizers being cold, the soup really warmed the up the core of the body and brought an immense satisfaction to the palate.

Seafood

Bi Feng Tang Crab - crab with golden garlic
Shanghai is known for crab dishes. Moreover, Shanghai restaurants are known specifically for Bi Feng Tang style crab. In this style,the crab is fried along with a lot garlic so that everything is a nice golden color. The garlic and sugar impart a deeply rich and complex flavor that permeates through all of the crab.
While this particular preparation of the crab was slightly overcooked, all of the elements in the flavor were still present. The garlic really imparted a large amount of flavor into the crab, which made it especially enjoyable to eat. Most surprisingly, despite the frying technique there was very little remaining oil in the preparation.
zhao pai lobster 
While this lobster doesn't really compare with the one from last week, its preparation was still the best I have seen in San Diego. An integral part of a Chinese restaurant's success is being able to order high quality live seafood dishes as these dishes are celebratory in nature. This dish fulfills that need, making Chef Chin a great destination for a Chinese meal.


Entrees

braised pork with preserved vegetables
This dish is perhaps the signature dish at Chef Chin as it is featured prominently in all the marketing. This dish also delivers as it was my favorite dish of the evening. The pork belly is braised until it is fork tender and smothered in a sweet yet complex sauce that really complements the flavor of the pork. While this dish looks intensely rich, it maintained a great sense of balance and was still easy to eat.
Szechwan spicy intestine hot pot
While I am a fan of intestines, I generally prefer the dry style. This was probably the least favorite dish of the evening as the wet style of hot pot required a large amount of garlic to neutralize the resulting flavors.
chinese squash with preserved shrimp
In contrast to the intestines, the Chinese squash was beloved by all. This was definitely in the top three dishes of the night as the Chinese squash contained an intense depth of flavor. Almost every person at the table who tried this for the first time had a verbal explanation of surprise when tasting the squash flavor.
braised tofu in spicy bean sauce
The braised tofu was also a favorite at the table. The tofu was really seasoned well and the sauce made the dish very tasty. The accompanying mushrooms really enhanced the flavors of the dish to give it a meaty flavor even though this dish was entirely vegetarian.
sauteed lamb slices with cumin and scallions
This was another favorite at the table. The lamb was cooked incredibly tender and the cumin imparted a nice complement to the gamey flavor in the lamb. This also served as the "red meat" of the meal as there was very little otherwise.
ma la fragrant pot - chili, shrimp, pork, tripe, celery, lotus root
While this dish is one of the signature dishes at Chef Chin, this time I did not agree with the outcome. The flavors of dish suggested that it had been prepared previously and left at the hot plate to die. The shrimp was egregiously overcooked and the dish lacked an overall vibrant zing. While our table did not have the space for the dish, I would have preferred that they brought out the plate and allowed for people to decide how to consolidate dishes and make space.

Dessert

black sesame soup rounds with fermented rice soup
To finish off the meal, we got the Shanghai rendition of a classic Chinese dessert - soup rounds. The soup rounds are small rice dumplings that were filled with a sweet black sesame filling. What made this dish particular to Shanghai was the use of the fermented rice in the soup, as fermented rice is a key ingredient to Shanghai cuisine. I really enjoyed the soup rounds and thought that it really rounded out the meal well.

Conclusion

Chef Chin is the best Chinese restaurant I've eaten at in San Diego. With the authentic flavors and diverse menu selection that is generally prepared well, this new restaurant venture is poised for success. If you want a taste of real Shanghai cuisine, do not miss Chef Chin. While there are still some kinks to work out, mainly with the service, the restaurant is poised for success.
Until Chef Chin works out some of the service issues (which turned into food issues), I can only award it the megabyte award.

Read more...

Tan Cang Newport Seafood (Santa Ana) - Interrupt

>> Sunday, September 16, 2012

Date of Dining: 9/15/2012
Price: $14.99 per pound of lobster, $8-14 other per dish
Location: 4411 W. First Street, Santa Ana, CA 92703
website

The Quick Bit

+ great lobster
+ other dishes are also prepared well
Δ parking lot could be larger
Δ could accept credit cards
Δ service could be more "above the board"

When people ask me for a Chinese restaurant recommendation in San Diego and I am unable to (in good conscience) make a recommendation, the followup question is usually, "why not?" Tan Cang Newport Seafood in Santa Ana epitomizes what I would expect from an equivalent Chinese restaurant in San Diego.
First, let me start with this; the food tastes absolutely amazing. There are a lot of problems with this restaurant. It's crowded and a little dirty, the service is typical of Chinese restaurants, the parking lot is too small for the crowds, and they only accept cash. However, let me end with this; the food tastes absolutely amazing.

Live Seafood

zhao pai lobster - lobster, ginger, scallions, chili
I set aside the live seafood as a section because any self-respecting Chinese restaurant will have a great selection of live seafood. These selections can include lobster, crab, spot prawns, geoduck, and fish. Tan Cang is known particularly for their lobster, but the other seafood is good as well.
The lobster was prepared in the "zhao pai" style, which is to say it is fried and then sauteed with ginger, scallions, and chili. The succulent flavor of the lobster is really complemented by the aromatics. While American lobster is usually enjoyed with clarified butter, the Chinese preparation of lobster imparts a rich and complex flavor throughout the entire lobster. This is partially due to the lobster being chopped into pieces first so that the sauce can permeate through the entire animal. However, the lobster is still cooked to perfection and the meat retains a nice delicate yet chewy texture.
To eat the lobster, the waiters gave separate plates for the shells, which were removed at an appropriate pace as we accumulated shells. This was actually quite excellent service compared to the typical restaurant.

Regular dishes

clams in black bean sauce - onions, bell pepper
While Tan Cang usually nails this dish, this particular evening did not go over too well. There was too much cooking wine used in the sauce that a large alcohol taste permeated throughout the dish. This marred an otherwise excellent preparation of clams.
pea sprouts - garlic
The pea sprouts dish was another setback on the evening and an example of the "typical service." We wanted to order the "big pea shoots" but were informed that they only had the sprouts. When I tried to change the order, the waiter had already closed the ordering process and walked away.
There was nothing wrong with the preparation of the pea sprouts except that we didn't want the dish. They were perhaps slightly overcooked but were flavored well.
kung pao chicken
While you may ask why I order kung pao chicken, it is Tan Cang's best non-seafood dish. The chicken is incredibly flavorful and is cooked to maintain a nice tenderness in the center. The kung pao flavoring is spot on and has the exact balance of sweet with spicy. 

Conclusion

While Tan Cang Newport Seafood has a variety of "typical Chinese" issues to sort through, the quality and flavor of the food was excellent. They were so good that one actually can ignore all the problems. With the relatively cheap price of the lobster compared to the quality, Tan Cang delivers an extremely satisfying meal.
For the lobster and kung pao chicken that I just can't get out of my mind, Tan Cang Newport Seafood receives the megabyte award.

Read more...

Del Mar Rendezvous - Restaurant Week Fall 2012 + Giveaway

>> Thursday, September 6, 2012

Date of Dining: 9/4/2012
Price: $30 for 3 course prix fixe
Location: 1555 Camino Del Mar Suite #102, Del Mar, CA 92014
website

The Quick Bit

+ good tasty flavors
+ trendy chinese food
+ great service and great restaurant acoustics
Δ desserts could have been less sweet
Disclosure: This meal was provided as part of a media preview event by the restaurant
In preparation of Restaurant Week Fall 2012, Del Mar Rendezvous has been putting on a media blitz by going for a lot of coverage to preview their Restaurant Week menu. For a restaurant that San Diego magazine has voted Best Chinese in San Diego for three years running, you would think is unnecessary, but they did it anyway. You can see what my fellow food writers Rodzilla and Erin thought of their meals as well. Just like those other writers, I will have details about my giveaway later in this post.
This was my first experience at Del Mar Rendezvous, and I really appreciated the background that was given by the manager. There has been a long standing rumor that Rendezvous was owned by the same owner as Dumpling Inn on Convoy. Chef Mark Sun, the original chef of Dumpling Inn, first retired after opening that restaurant before being lured out of retirement to open Del Mar Rendezvous. He then passed the reigns of the restaurant to his nephew Tony, who was also the head chef at Dumpling Inn for four years. Today, Chef Tony remains the head chef of Del Mar Rendezvous. The style of Del Mar Rendezvous is to have modernized Chinese cuisine using the freshest and best ingredients.
Like all restaurant week menus, Rendezvous offers a 3 course meal with appetizer, entree and dessert, but only for $30. Additionally if you make it to the restaurant between 4-6 and mention "6 before 6" you can get either of the two restaurant week upgrades for $6 (normally $12). They also offer a lunch option that includes a noodle dish with appetizer or dessert for $20. Finally, Rendezvous is running restaurant week for 3 weeks - starting 1 week early and ending 1 week later (Sept 8-30) - so there is plenty of time to visit.

Appetizers

steamed dumpling sampler - har gau (shrimp), su jiao (vegetable), xiao long bao (pork)
The xiao long bao were excellent and the best I've had in San Diego. They really highlighted the entire dish. When I bit into it, I was able to sip the succulent and rich pork broth, and the wrapping was the perfect size and thickness. I would put these xiao long bao on par with Din Tai Fung in Los Angeles.
yu hsiang eggplant - eggplant, garlic, szechuan chili paste, soy, sugar, vinegar
One good rule of thumb is the order the "weird" item on the menu as it is usually something the chef really wants to prepare. I followed this rule and ordered the eggplant in this case and wasn't disappointed. When the eggplant arrived, it was extremely fragrant. The sauce reminded me of some dishes I had in China with a nice sweet and spicy contrast. Eggplant is usually an item I would never order from a restaurant, but I was happy to get this dish. I do wish that there was some rice to come with the because the sauce was so tasty and would have benefited from having some rice to carry on the flavors of the sauce.

Entrees

mongolian rack of lamb - lamb, green beans, bell pepper
The lamb was cooked to a nice medium rare, and was extremely flavorful. The sweet sauce added a real asian flavor to the dish, as I was constantly dipping the riblets to get more sauce. While this dish adds a $12 charge to restaurant week, it is normally $36 on the menu, so ordering this as the "6 before 6" special would give a "free" appetizer and dessert.
san bei ji (3 cup chicken) - chicken thigh, basil, garlic, ginger, red chili
This dish had to be special ordered, and I was glad that I did. This was easily the best dish of the night. The chicken was extremely tender despite the braising process, and was flaking off the bone. Rodzilla's review expands on how impressive this feat was. For my part, I was happy with how authentic the flavors to this dish were. This was not one of the "modernized" dishes, but that was a good thing. I especially enjoyed that the bones were left in the chicken as this is unheard of in most Chinese restaurants that cater towards Americans. Chicken is another dish that I would never order at a restaurant, but I was again extremely happy for ordering this.

Dessert

mango sorbet - mango sorbet, whipped cream
The portion size of this sorbet was extremely large. The mango shell was actually hollowed out and contained sorbet all the way down. This was an extremely generous portion and would be great for lovers of sorbet.
xiang jiao - egg roll, banana cheesecake, cinamon, powdered sugar, cream, caramel, chocolate
We decided to try the banana cheesecake roll dessert to finish off the meal as there actually is a similar Chinese dessert. This take really did modernize the classic dish as the egg roll paper was deep fried and extremely crunchy. This dessert should be versatile enough to appeal to lovers of bananas as well as cheesecakes.

Giveaway

I am allowed to give away a full meal for two at Del Mar Rendezvous during the Fall Restaurant Week Period (Sept 8-30, 2012), which includes upgrades. My family members, other food writers, and their significant others are not eligible to win the prize.
To enter the contest, please post a comment with your favorite Chinese dish in San Diego and where to get it. All entries must be submitted by 11:59pm PDT Sunday, September 9. Please make sure I have your contact information if you are submitting an entry so I can inform you that you have won.

3 entries were received (combined 3rd and 4th replies)
Congratulations to Grace Liu! You will be contacted to receive the prize.

Conclusion

Overall I was impressed with the food at Del Mar Rendezvous. I ordered two items that I would never order in a restaurant, but was happy with their flavors. I especially enjoyed the san bei ji preparation, and would order it again. The xiao long bao were also easily the best I've had in San Diego. While the food is not necessarily the most authentic Chinese food (this will be covered soon), it was definitely a very tasty and enjoyable experience. Another great quality of Rendezvous was that my party was able to talk normally and be able to hear the other side - this is a great rarity in San Diego restaurants.

Read more...

Half and Half Tea House - Interrupt

>> Monday, August 13, 2012

Date of Dining: 4/1/2012
Price: $2.85-$3.85 + $0.50 extras
Locations:

  • 141 N. Atlantic Blvd #112, 91754  (reviewed)
  • 3007 E. Huntington Dr. #104, 91107
  • 17575 Colima Rd. #C, 91748
  • 18558 Gale Ave. Unit #152, 91748

The Quick Bit

+ great boba drinks
+ drinks are made to order
Δ waiting times can be shorter
Δ phone in orders could be finished upon arrival

When I was in high school and in the prime of my geekiness, a certain Chinese food trend swept through Southern California; boba. As a young man with knowledge of the food trend, I suddenly found myself being asked about food from my culture for the first time in my life. I also found that others seemed to enjoy my explanations.
Embracing the role of the avid boba junkie, I tried all the various boba shops that popped up around town and recommended certain ones which I thought were better than others; it was perhaps gastrobits R&d only I didn't know it at the time.
When I went to college, the boba craze was still strong and I even joined a club with the slogan "bobalicious." I found myself with like minded individuals who all loved boba. I was even told of a story where one of the club members was playing basketball at the gym wearing the shirt and he was playfully given the nickname bobalicious for the session. Ever since that time, I've tried to curtain my boba consumption - it more or less lined up with my metabolism slowing down as I aged. 
It was with some trepidation that I was thrown back into the boba world during a recent visit to LA. While certain fields seem to never advance, boba drinks have continued to evolve over the years. The current lead innovater is Half and Half Tea House. With four locations in the Los Angeles area, they serve the widely accepted best boba drinks.
Half and Half's innovation is that instead of sweetening the tea itself, the tapioca pearls (boba) are dipped into honey before being added to the cup. This form of sweetening gives a more natural and rich flavor to the entire drink.
milk tea with coffee jelly, and honey boba
For my experience at Half and Half, I went with the most popular drink - milk tea with coffee jelly and honey boba. From the first sip, I knew that this drink was extremely special. The flavors were purer than any other boba drink I had previously savored. I felt like I have a flavor explosion and complete re-discovery of the boba drink when I enjoyed this cup. The inclusion of the coffee jelly was key as it added a nice smoky depth to the drink. The tapiocas were prepared perfectly and I didn't feel that the drink was too sweet (the previous three boba drinks I've had I always felt were too sweet, even with less sugar).

Conclusion

Half and Half's boba teas are truly eye-opening and set the bar for all other boba drinks. Despite having plenty of boba in my time, Half and Half's tea was a flavor epiphany; it's like someone teaching you a completely new way to cook chicken better than anything you knew previously.
For the truly awesome product, Half and Half gets the bit award.

Read more...

About This Blog

gastro bits is a blog that juxtaposes the geeky with the foodie; it is an attempt to be educational about food, yet entertaining at the same time.
None of the reviews are meant to dissuade you from trying anything by yourself, but simply to provide information for you to make a more informed choice.
If any special treatment is provided to the blogger, full disclosure is presented at the beginning of the post.

  © Blogger template Webnolia by Ourblogtemplates.com 2009

Back to TOP