This cute little cafe for Asian-inspired sweet treats and drinks is located just down the street from Fanwood Train Station. There is street parking but there's also a small municipal parking lot in the back. I didn't see a sign saying to pay (it was night when we went and I could have missed it) but we parked on the side by the stores that said 2 hour parking.
There's plenty of tables and seats - ideally for both work and friends. If you enter from the back, you'll have to walk to the front in order to order. The owner (?) is super nice and friendly and ready to answer any questions. The menu isn't extensive (maybe a few options of each category) and serves drinks from milk tea (choice of green or black tea) to milk drinks (mixed with milk so non-caffeinated other than the earl grey), lemonades, sodas, and more dessert drinks. They also have a hot drinks menu and I was pleased that they offered "throat friendly" options - especially with the cold weather.
They also have soft serve, egg bubble waffles (HK style), Bingsu (Korean shaved ice), and croffles (which I assume are croissant waffles). As it was late, I opted for drinks and my daughter chose a plain egg waffle because that's how she usually rolls.
The drinks were:
BLACK SESAME BUBBLE MILK TEA: I chose black tea for this at regular sugar and I actually really enjoyed the black sesame that came through on this. The last time I ordered this elsewhere, it let me down, but the intensity of this was quite good. The boba itself was cooked fine (not undercooked but also not all that chewy either) BUT it definitely wasn't cooked in brown sugar and had no flavor of their own. If you don't like Black Sesame, don't get this. If you're not sure... it's up to you. It has an aromatic nutty-earthy flavor.
MANGO COCO SAGO: I got this drink because I love the mango pomelo sago drink at Hui Lai Shan and I missed it after I moved and I discovered the jellies they use contain gelatin (we're vegetarian) and it seemed similar enough. This is very coconut-y as that is the base and it definitely has the mango puree, the occasional mango chunk, and sago (the tiny clear balls made from sago palm trees)... but I don't recall the lychee jelly the description listed. It's also topped with a small segment of grapefruit. It was overall very coconut milk forward, the mango sorbet lacks much mango flavor, and the sugar level was very low even though I didn't adjust the sugar level. I was told that some people like to increase the sugar and if I ordered this again, I'd definitely increase the sugar which is something I would never do. I prefer Asian levels of sweetness. This drink was ... okay. The layers of the milk and the sorbet weren't mixed; I felt like it was a bit too much milk for the flavorful bits in there (mostly just the sorbet) that it overwhelmed it.
The black sesame drink was sweeter than the mango one, which is rather surprising. The recipe for the mango coco sago could do with an update as that is a good base with great potential.
The bubble waffle was good; I didn't get to eat any, but my daughter finished it. Nice and crisp on the outside, soft and pillow on the insides. Yum!
Despite the let down in regards to one of the drinks, it certainly isn't a deal breaker for me. Prices were reasonable and place was fairly clean and tidy. There aren't many (any??) other Asian cafes in the neighborhood so I'll be back to explore more of the menu... and this time, I'll bring an appetite and my other kid (he was napping in the car with my husband as this visit) - who has multiple food allergies. read more