DOV: 1/1/2017 | 7:44 PM-8:50 PM Seemed like all the Asians of Irvine had the same idea as me...grubbin' on some traditional Taiwanese dessert post New Years meal! As most others have said in their reviews: it's literally triple the price in Taiwan, but hey- can't complain when there's no other competition (Besides Blackball)! Pro tip 1: 5stars accepted! Other than that...no tricks up the sleeves except to wait in line... Menu can look intimidating, but follow these steps to decipher it... Step 1: Hot or cold dessert? Step 2: Taro base, grass jelly base, tofu pudding, or a drink? Step 3: Look at what toppings you want on top of the bases! I ordered: Taro Ball No. 4 (hot): red bean+ taro+ boba ($6.8) // +1 HELL YAS. REAL TARO CHUNKS! Reminds me of the night market dessert in Taiwan. +1 Boba is really good! Better than most boba shops. -1 Sadly, the taro balls didn't taste like anything...just rice balls. -1 The hot soup base is red bean...I wasn't sure what to expect, but the base was too sweet for my liking. Hot Meet Fresh Signature: kidney bean+ boba+ small taro ball+ hot herbal ($6.8)// +1 Ah yes, grass jelly is always delicious! However, it's really hard to scoop up... +1 Kidney beans and boba are fine! -1 Small taro ball again...not the best. It's hard to replicate that taste in the states. +/-1 Comes with a small packet of peanuts! Cold Red Bean Tofu Pudding ($5.3) // +1 An abundant of red bean, and it's really fresh! -1 Because it's a cold dessert, you get more water than tofu. Cold Peanut Tofu Pudding ($5.3) // +1 Comes with extra packet of peanuts! +1 Tofu pudding is good! Might be too sweet for some, though. Pros: +Cashier was super friendly! Service is not bad here, but pretty understaffed. +Clean ambiance! It's so brightly lit here and really authentic looking...no wonder people stay so long. Cons: -Overpriced. I can seriously go get a liter of fresh tofu pudding for $2 at 99 ranch and add my own toppings and have left overs. -Is there no "to-go" line?? ARGH. Tips/Observation: -Parking is atrocious here, even though it's a really big plaza.. -If you get the iced desserts, you get the half & half. Hot desserts don't get that drizzle! -You can pay 25 cents for the half& half...but it's nothing special. Just the stuff you add in coffee. Overall, I still enjoyed my desserts! However, I don't think I would wait another hour for this...I would just head over to After's to satisfy my sweet tooth cravings. read more

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So far I've only been here a handful of times, but each time has been so good! I was hesitant on giving Meet Fresh four or five stars for three reasons... 1) The usual DJ parking fiasco, 2) There's never enough seating or the tables almost always have trash and leftovers on top, and, 3) It's taken at least 20+ minutes to get your order. Despite the 3 minor(ish) downfalls, the desserts and drinks have made up for them. We always get the signature and they've been consistent each time providing a cornucopia of sweetness. My biggest recommendation is to NOT order "to go." We've had it to go and the portion isn't nearly as much as dining in. If you come by and line comes out the door don't be afraid. The line moves fairly quick. read more

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I would say 5 stars for dessert bowls. Only have tried the grass jelly and taro ball bowls. These don't have red bean which is our preference. They also have hot bowl options which I hear is also pretty good. The toppings are fresh and the bowl has the right amount of sweetness. The creamer cup on the side is a must. Ask for one if you didn't get one. A little goes a long way, add as you go through the bowl. We also tried the chocolate egg waffle and that was pretty good but not sure worth the 25 minute wait. One star taken off for service. Some menu items are not consistently available and they run out of items. Staff is not the friendliest but not rude either. Plenty of indoor seating, limited outdoor seating. This is a great plaza to visit if you haven't been. Many Asian food and dessert options and a couple beauty stores. Parking can be limited so expect to walk especially Friday and weekend evenings. read more

Meet Fresh - Taro Ball Signature Bowl - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

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It was my first time trying a boba drink at a Taiwanese restaurant. My friend recommended this place as she said it had good desserts. I ordered the milk tea with black sugar boba which was actually pretty good. A little on the sweet side but still a nice drink. The boba was very soft and chewy. Milk tea tasted like your average milk tea. No complaints about that. I did have a complaint about the smell of the restaurant though.. I am not sure what it is, but the whole restaurant had a "wet dog" smell. My friend did not seem to notice it nor seemed bothered by it, but it really irritated me as I have a very sensitive nose. The smell lingered at every inch of the restaurant and was very distracting. I think I would have preferred a clean smell. read more

Yelp 100 Challenge 2017 - 63/100 Growing up in Taiwan, I've had my fair share of Meet Fresh desserts. It's pretty surprising to see how Meet Fresh is thriving in LA when it is doing so poorly in Taiwan; either way, it reminds me of home and I love it :) I ordered the mango shaved ice, peanut and boba tofu pudding, and a traditional black tea with small taro balls. Although not it's specialty, the mango shaved ice was drenched in condense milk and black sugar syrup with a scoop of vanilla ice cream; delicious! Peanut and boba tofu pudding is a bit on the sweeter side, but tastes a lot better when ice is added to dilute the sweetness. I did not like the small taro balls! They do not taste anything like the bigger ones and are essentially tasteless in my drink. read more

Meet Fresh - Mango shaved ice and drinks - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

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Who doesn't love dessert? Especially authentic Taiwanese dessert?? Meet Fresh tends to always have a line that stretches out of the door with good reason...the desserts are absolutely delicious! No matter what time of day, I would be prepared to wait in line. We got an order of the Signature herbal jelly and it was exactly how I imagined it..awesome! I loved the taro balls; they were soft and chewy. I wasn't a big fan of the sweet potato balls but I'm not crazy about sweet potato in general. The texture of the mochi was what you expect out of delicious mochi. Be sure to add cream if you like your dessert a little sweeter. I was pretty disappointed in the service. It seems like they are understaffed or something because every table took forever to be cleaned. Yes, I get the fact that the restaurant is a bit busy during peak hours, but Meet Fresh should be adequately prepared for that and have enough people staffed to clean tables. It's a self-serve style seating and it's not uncommon for people to wait around before sitting down to ask an employee to clean off a table. But as far as the food goes, it's quality dessert if you ask me! read more

Meet Fresh - Signature herbal jelly - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

Dessert (5 Stars): Comparing to other Taiwanese dessert places, this place is on top! We ordered one of the cold desserts with shaved snow with grass jelly, taro balls, and other interesting random things. Topped with condensed milk... YUMM! Haha I don't know what half the things we were eating but they were all very delicious! Try any of their cold desserts! Portion size are good for sharing! Drinks (5 Stars): Their Wintermelon tea is amazing! Usually I get boba with every drink but everyone recommended me to try the taro balls! NO REGRETS! Service (3 Stars): They were not the most welcoming servers. Also, we heard them talking crap about the customers LOL read more

Meet Fresh - Cold shaved snow with grass jelly, taro balls and Q Mochi! (Dessert for 3 people) - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

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If I could I would give 0 stars. Horrible service and a bad attitude. I ordered online to skip the line and after 30 minutes I went to see if my order was ready but it wasn't ready yet. Even though it was really busy, I ordered online for a reason. When I went to go ask if my order was ready the person wouldn't stop giving me an attitude. I saw online that my order was ready for pick up and I asked them but He said, "I know, we're really busy right now. We're making your order now." In the worst attitude. The worst service I've ever had and they worked really slow. read more

Meet Fresh - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

This is the place to visit for some Taiwanese dessert! The last time I came was at off hours and the line wasn't so long. My favorite is the tofu pudding with taro balls and green mung beans! There are so many choices to choose from and many ways to customize. Their boba teas and the herbal grass jelly options are very popular. read more

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Refreshing and tasty dessert. We had shaved ice with mochi and pudding which was huge, and definitely enough to share between 4-6 people depending on hunger level. The pudding, mochi, and long jellies were tasty and good flavor and texture. I do wish that the shaved ice had more syrup on it, some of it was just icy without any flavor which I feel could have been better. Overall the menu is pretty expansive and there's a lot to choose from including hot desserts like hot almond drink etc. I would likely come back here to try something new again. read more

Ordered the Herbal Jelly #2 with boba, peanuts and red beans. Freeeeeekin delicious and worth it made for up to 3 ppl. If you haven't tried it you MUST! read more

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I've been craving this place so much lately... love how refreshing and delicious it is without an overload of sugar. We usually get their signature jelly shaved ice, with its chewy jelly, taro balls, red bean, green bean, and boba over a bed of finely shaven ice with a brown sugar drizzle. read more

I have a new addiction to this place because of the Pudding Q Mochi shaved ice. It's so yummy! I have only ordered take out so far, but it holds up pretty well until I get home. I love the caramel and almond pudding that comes in it. It feels like the best price for the most items. You get a little bit of everything. As for the drinks: All of them are great lol but my favorite is probably the fresh milk herbal tea. The line can be long sometimes, but when I go at night it's never too bad. The wait is decent. read more

Meet Fresh - Fresh Milk Oolong tea with Taro and Fluffy green tea with boba and lychee jelly - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

I didn't get my red bean. :(. I was hoping to eat my bean and they forgot to give me my red bean. But you know what? Management reached out to me within an hour to fix this red bean problem and offered a way to make their customers happy ! We all make mistakes - it's what you do to fix it that counts ! Kudos to Meet Fresh - we will be back! read more

Meet Fresh - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

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SUMMARY: as a former LA native (well all over So Cal), I have to pinch myself every time I visit w/ the wife down to LA. So one thing I've noticed while living up here in the SF Bay Area, the authenticity of Asian food is just 1 to 2 steps below anything that's down in Los Angeles. I know a lot of my Bay area Yelp friends are going to roast me in person, but it's the plain honest truth. For example, you don't hear people saying "Let's go to SF for Korean food!" You go to Koreatown in LA. Not to mention, there's nothing like Valley Blvd in the SGV up here. San Jose and Cupertino has some contenders, but alas they are contenders. OC has some good Asian food, especially in Irvine and that's why we visited Meet Fresh twice in one day :) BACKGROUND In Sept 2018, we made the long drive (seems longer the older I get har har) to LA to pay our respects to my friend from elementary through HS who tragically and suddenly passed away. To keep things light and balanced, I booked our Air BNB near my old culinary haunt, the SGV. I told her that we're gonna eat really well on this trip. However we spent our last night in Irvine and my friend's wife (Taiwanese) wanted Meet Fresh so we picked up some in Irvine on the way to their home. DESSERTS So anyways, back to Meet Fresh: we first visited the Temple City Meet Fresh earlier in the day. After we returned to our Air BNB to pack up, we headed down to Irvine. We asked my friends if they wanted dessert and I could hear my friends wife in the background say "MEET FRESH!!!" So why not, right? :) So again we both just ordered their standard tofu pudding with peanuts, but she got some mochi kind of balls. My friends got stuff that I can't remember, but grass jelly was in the mix too. As w/ the Temple City shop, it was EXCELLENT. I mean really, really excellent. My wife who is Taiwanese said its very close to what she grew up w/ back in her motherland. And that's saying a lot given we went to two locations so the comparison should've been very accurate. PARKING Parking is tight in this little big plaza. We lucked out and got a spot right in front. RETURN VISIT? Like I said, we went to the one in Temple City and then later hit up this one in Irvine when we drove down there to stay with our friends who live there. Yes, it's that good! read more

Meet Fresh - Irvine location was packed on Fri night. A different vibe for sure. - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

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I could rate Meet fresh 5 stars for their mochi balls and herbal jelly! Cause very solid and super delicious. I have been fell in love with Meet fresh for so many year because of their desserts!!! BUT!!!! Their drinks are sooooo disappointing! ( I really want to give them 1 star, but as a yelp Elite and a foodie, I have to be justified) I tried their strawberry taro slush today, OMG. What is this drink? No taro flavor, no strawberry taste. The only thing I can tell it did make with fresh strawberries..... $6.8? Are you kidding me? I only got ice chunks...... I don't want to point their drinks one by one, I just want to warn everyone who is reading my review---- Avoid ALL of their drinks!!!! read more

Meet Fresh - So disappointed!!! Taro strawberry slush! Avoid this scam drink! - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

Shaved ice heaven right here. I love the toppings they have available. I've tried the Grass Jelly Shave I've on my first visit and it was delicious! Cold sweet sweet goodness. I tried the egg pudding and almond jelly shaved ice. This was huge and big enough to share with 4 people. My only complaint is they need to work on either putting milk at the halfway point or add more milk on the top. It's just disappointing when you have about half the shaved ice left on the plate flavorless. read more

Can't get enough of this place! Taiwanese dessert eatery specializing in grass jelly w shaved ice. Grass jelly is a popular Asian dessert made from the Mesona(mint family) plant. Looks like black jello w a slightly bitter flavor usually topped w fruits, sweet milk, syrup. You can make all sorts of bowl w shaved ice as a base. Toppings include mochi, taro, sweet barleys and sweet beans, sweet almond pudding, and ice cream. If it's your first time there, the eight treasure bowl is a good way to start. It has a little of everything. The portions are big and this bowl is enough for 2. Multiple locations-parking at Diamond Jamboree is a complete clusterfuck so better not to come Friday or sat night. There several other locations too. Be prepared to stand in line. read more

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I gotta admit, if I were to be addicted to something it would definitely be Meet Fresh. In my opinion, this is one of the most refreshing dessert there is. There's plenty of parking when you come here and the whole plaza is just full of energy. I always get the double taro signature is a pretty hefty size so you could share it was another person. I forgot to take a picture of the dessert itself but we did photobomb a picture with a guest and her family HAHA. read more

Meet Fresh - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

Very rude customer service. They forgot to give me one of my toppings. when I asked for it politely they gave it to me with very bad attitude. Asked for an extra spoon which was again met with some terrible attitude. Its a shame since the food is pretty good. read more

Located in the plaza off Jamboree and Alton in Irvine. Like the other places in this plaza the parking is shared so it gets crowded there is additional parking behind in the structure. This place is not too big but has a good amount of seating. They have the self ordering machine but it was out of order. The menu is pretty much the same as the Temple City location. Overall an ok place I think the only thing I can get from here is the shave ice stuff the other stuff doesn't do it for me. On the plus side the service seemed pretty fast. read more

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First and foremost, the main issue here is the attitude of the barista, who gave me a drink that's leaking again and again, without checking before giving to me. Additionally, in response to your quality control process, the sealing didn't work well and caused the leak from the top. Thanks for your consideration and care! Best Regards, Iris read more

Meet Fresh - Never seal! Just use the plastic cover, without APOLOGIES - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

After having a meal in a usually busy night in the Diamond Jamboree plaza, I saw a long line outside of Meet Fresh. Well, I stood in line to see what everyone was excited about for dessert time. On the menu we went for their popular "Meet Fresh Signature". In a bowl its chewy taro balls, herbal jelly and ice. Its mentioned that there's special cream within its base but to me it was almost like dairy milk, therefore it gives it a simpler taste. The only sweetness I got from it was probably from the taro balls. Overall, I couldn't get into this dessert it doesn't have an impactful taste. The trade off is having the natural ingredients, so it won't be as flavorful. For those who are in for a healthy treat this is totally for you. Their "Milk Tea with Boba" tasted okay. The milk tea flavor is not as strong, but it was refreshing. I like the format inside and the spacing. It has a little of a fast food dining feel to it. Once you order, they give you a buzzer and then there's a counter for pickups. There are other items to tryout and whenever I'm in the mood for a non-infused sugar dessert I'd probably Meet Fresh it. read more

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Great quality dessert! If you're looking for Che I respect how big diamond jamborees parking is and this was easy to find Very big and roomy inside And it has AC! You can try the taro balls before you get them! It tastes like chewy boba read more

Taste: holy fridge the tofu was sweet as eff. I wouldn't call it tofu. I would call it bricks of jelly syrup. Portion: so small, where's the taro balls? (Look at picture for reference) Time to get tofu: slow Staff: nobody in store. got 6 employees just standing and fooling around, while my tofu is slowly moving down their 6-man conveyor belt. Price: $7 for syrup. I should of just stayed back home and sucked on my honey bottle. Would I come back? Only if my girlfriend wants too. read more

Meet Fresh - Where the taro ball???? Lol.... - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

I I am really upset about the service tonight , I sit over 15 mins watching their staff chatting with each other but doing my order , even after I reminded them I not yet got my food they still just chatting read more

Don't get me wrong, I have loved every menu item I've tried at Meet Fresh. My husband and my favorite is the icy taro ball signature- the ingredients just blend so well together with the fluffy ice! A perfect dessert treat that reminds me of my childhood. However, every time we go to a meet fresh location, such as this one, we are so off put but the lack of cleanliness. We went on a Friday night, which I understand is busy, however, tables and floors were sticky, and obviously were not wiped down for quite some time. Instead of remembering the yummy dessert we had, my husband and I left thinking about how uncomfortable the were in such an unkept spot. Not sure I'd dine here again, but perhaps, get it to go. read more

Always in the mood for Meet Fresh! I'm glad they offer both cold and hot desserts. My favorites are the Icy Grass Jelly Signature and I found that I really like their hot purple rice desserts as well. Add a sesame rice ball while you're at it! They're pretty delicious. However, they often run out of toppings early on, which is a disappointment. I went a while ago and they ran out of sesame balls and taro-filled sweet potato balls, and I was sad I didn't get to have them. Only thing is that the sweet potato and taro balls don't really have much taste to them. The added root veggies just take away that very distinct rice flour flavor that rice balls have. Don't expect a very pronounced flavor, but you can still feel the texture of the mashed taro and sweet potato. read more

The atmosphere was ok. It was a great place to hook up your electronics and study. The service was great. The food is all sweet stuff so don't expect an actual meal but we did have a good experience! Thank you!!! read more

Meet Fresh - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

If you're lucky enough to find parking at diamond jamboree, this should be a must stop for dessert. The tofu pudding is silky & smooth. Add a chewy sesame ball, you'll wait a bit longer while they prep the balls but you won't regret it. If your sweet tooth is still not satisfied, there's a 85bakery a few doors down; and now (new) a somisomi read more

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Unfortunately a lot of the menu items were blocked out. Meetfresh is a good place for dessert. Personally, I prefer the bowled item over their drink selection. Lines are usually out of the door after dinner hours. read more

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I ordered the signature icy grass jelly and the pudding and mochi shaved ice topped with vanilla ice cream. The signature grass jelly bowl tasted flavorless and definitely needed more sugar. The shaved ice was delicious and sweet! The taro balls added a lot more flavor and chewiness to the dish and the shaved ice bowl was an abundance. It can be shared by ATLEAST three people! My only issue with the shaved ice is that it's not as smooth and there are somewhat big ice pieces in the shaved ice. Other than that, the shaved ice was a treat and it was delightful! read more

Meet Fresh - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

It's good, nothing extraordinary. I didn't feel ebullient when I tried it, I heard it was good and it's a pervasive business. I'm not sure how it's run, but I've definitely gone to different locations and I want to say each location has a slightly different taste. Their menu items overall are pretty mundane with the exception of their desserts. Most places don't serve a variety of desserts but I like that this is what sets them to be different read more

I just left there and 3 staffs over there, nobody serves us while we standing in front of the cashier, and ignored us for 3 minutes even without eye contacts, it is not the way you treat your customers, so we left. I don't think I will come back to this specific location. read more

Meet Fresh - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

Came back because meat fresh was too good the first time. Got another new employee named jake haruki. Served my food very quickly. Made it perfectly. And did it all with a smile. The only down side was he didn't speak chinese. read more

Amazing desserts that are perfect for summer. Their signature grass jelly with a scoop of ice cream is refreshing when it's hot out. As a boba fiend, I also love their mini tarp balls topping. It lasts longer in the fridge than boba which I appreciate. Paired with jasmine milk tea and it's just perfection read more

This place is ridiculous! Being polite to customers can go a long way. I was rudely chased out when I came in to get my food. I'm not that desperate to get a snack from this place just to get treated like crap. When I finished my food, I needed some water and this server denied me water due to COVID (the food I bought here can literally give me COVID), they don't even sell water. But the way she answered me was incredibly disrespectful so I had to raise my voice and tell them how disrespectful she was and that they make their own rules and blame it on COVID. Whoever is on your Monday shift could use a culture training and customer service training. Be prepared to lose money. read more

Meet Fresh - The meet fresh that could've tasted better if the service was better. - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California

Ordered three signature bowls and wanted to get the creamer on the side after ordering but the guy there said we were unable to get it because we have to order the milky signature bowl. I offered to pay for them but told me no cause "they hand pack them" not really sure how much labor goes into panicking cream but kind of ridiculous when you spend $40 and tip... Edit: Heres a thought Angela maybe just pack more? you had four workers standing there doing what exactly lol your customer service is beyond horrible. Its less than .25 cent for the small ass creamer and you guys are saying people cant buy it cause its hand packed. please save it... whatever policy yall implemented is absurd but go off angie read more

This is definitely not the first time. We usually go to this location to order to go and I would say about 2 out of 3 times they will charge us the add on price but not giving it to us. Please! Please! Do so checking before handing the orders out please! It's not like we can go back to ask for add on that are missing once we get home. And maybe it's ok for the first time, but seriously it's already way too much time it happens. Update: Another funny thing is, they did REMOVED bobas from my boyfriends order, and he asked for replace with other add on, but they ONLY removed the stuff he didn't want. Note that they actually see the stickers on the bowl and know that we ordered other add on but did not give it to us, what a shame lol read more

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I've been here a few times but I just don't ever think I'll love these desserts. It is just not my type or flavors. The desserts are refreshing and reasonably priced. I got tofu with boba, mochi, and grass jelly. The boba saved it since it was the only sweet thing in there. I wish I got more sweetness because the flavor was so light. I wish the tofu was firmer because it easily broke apart and just kind of blended into the liquid. I also got the green tea with cream. It was a very light taste and not my favorite. It wasn't terrible but I would have liked a stronger tea flavor. This place is okay but there are so many other options in the same vicinity that I would rather go to. read more

Meet Fresh - Tofu with boba, mochi and grass jelly - Desserts Near Me - Irvine, California