Thach Che Hien Khanh, Garden Grove, CA

 

 

Che is a very popular Vietnamese dessert. It’s a general term that applies to a large variety of desserts made of combinations of various ingredients: sweet rice, soy beans, mung beans, tapioca balls, jelly, coconut milk, red beans, sticky rice, variety of fruits such as mango, banana, jack fruit, and coconut.

Thach Che Hien Khanh is similar to Banh Mi Che Cali but they have a larger selection of many different types of che so I always have a hard time deciding what I want every time I go there. I’m not a fan of beans so I tend to stay away from anything with red beans in it. But I like anything with soybean paste and that I can pour a ton of coconut sauce all over it because it makes everything easier to digest. They tend to give you a small container of extra coconut sauce on the side depending on which che you get. Your dessert would last longer if you save the coconut sauce for later rather than pour it inside the dessert cup.

Typical of Asian/Vietnamese restaurants, Thach Che Hien Khanh only accepts cash. Booo. Parking is limited so plan to park on the street. It’s a hole-in-a-wall and in-and-out kind of place so the only option you have is to buy everything to go.

Thach Che Hien Khanh
9784 Westminster Ave.
Garden Grove, CA 92844
(714) 537-5105

 

Susina Bakery & Cafe, Los Angeles, CA

 

 

One of the reasons I like going to bakeries is how colorful everything is, from decorative cakes to pastries to interior design, like Jean Philippe Patisserie in Las Vegas and Paris Baguette Bakery Cafe in Cerritos. It just gives you this uplifting euphoria that makes you want to dance around on your tiptoe like a ballerina. 😉

Susina Bakery & Cafe is sort of that place. Upon stepping inside you are greeted with a display case full of colorful sweet treats. I was tempted to try one of each but I know that’s not possible because I’d be put in a sugar coma. And even in the coma I’d be dreaming of colorful sweet treats until my soul is put in another spiritual coma. Yup.

The treats go by $20 per pound. I’m not sure if that’s considered expensive or not; I suppose it all depends on how much stuff you get. I had some control and ended up with a cinnamon sticky bun, apple danish, cinnamon twist, and an apple fantes. They’re all very delicious and not overly sweet.

White chocolate mocha is one of my favorite coffee drinks so I could not resist but order one for the road. It wasn’t bad at all. Ahhh…nothing beats sipping on a nice cold coffee and munching on pastries driving around LA on a hot day.

Susina Bakery & Cafe
7122 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
(323) 934-7900

 

Class 302, Irvine, CA

 

 

Three people mentioned Class 302 to me in one day, raving how their shaved ice is really good. I love desserts and all but shaved ice isn’t really high on my list. BUT I got talked into going and as it turns out, it wasn’t half as bad. I don’t know how they do it, but the bowl came out with thin layers of mango-flavored ice on top of each other, like frosting on a cake. The ice is really flaky and soft that it’s almost as if you’re eating yogurt. You can choose up to 5 other dessert items to add on your shaved ice for free, so we opted for grass jelly, sweet mango pieces, longan fruit, and condensed milk.

There’s also a ton of snacky food if you need something salty to offset all that shaved ice sweetness. We tried a bunch of different dishes: fried chicken, Chinese sausages, meat wrapped in tofu skin, pork stew with rice noodles, pork rice and veggies. They’re all very decent.

But my most favorite dish of all is stinky tofu. It’s basically deep fried fermented tofu drizzled with BBQ sauce. Very popular in the East and Southeast Asia, stinky tofu is something you’d find in an outdoors night market or call “street food.”

 

Starbucks Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino

 

Starbucks has a way to lure me back after having lost me to Coffee Bean. 😀 They have this new Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino drink that looks refreshingly good enough to get me to try it…twice. It’s basically coffee base mixed with mocha sauce, vanilla syrup, milk, frappuccino chips, blended with ice, topped with a creamy chocolate whipped cream and chocolate cookie crumbles.

It looks delicious, yes, but to me, it tastes a little bland. Perhaps too much ice? You can’t really taste the coffee, but rather, the chocolate syrup and of course, the cookie crumbles which you can have a little fun chewing. 😛

 

Paris Baguette Bakery Cafe, Cerritos, CA

 

 

I can’t think of a better location for Paris Baguette Bakery Cafe to open up another branch: inside a mall. It’s like a dream come true for me. Shopping then taking a break for sweet pastries and coffee. Perfect combination. 😀

There’s so much to choose from I didn’t even know where to start. You pick up a wooden tray, thin paper lining, and tongs, then you walk around and pick up whatever piece of sweet heaven that tickles your fancy. All kinds of pastries ranging from sweet potato, cheese, fruit, bite-sized, mocha twists, to cheese, butter, and corn bread. Though pastries here are a little more expensive than Porto’s, everything looks so pretty I had to refrain myself from grabbing one of each!

The iced white chocolate mocha drink was not as good as I expected. It was a little on the bland side.

What stood out to me was the canele. It looks like a downward volcano. Made with custard and caramel, with a thick dark caramelized crust, it gives you this firm and spongy bite that satisfies all your sweet taste buds.

They also make pretty looking birthday cakes. Gosh, this sure beats my usual choices of Baskin Robbins ice cream cakes!

And with much self-control, I narrowed down to just these on my tray:

If only every mall had one of these. *sighs*

 

Banh Mi Che Cali, Westminster, CA

 

I don’t know how many times I’ve been to Banh Mi Che Cali over the past ten years or so. To me, it’s one of my default sandwich places to go when there’s nowhere else or I can’t decide what to eat. As indicated in their name, their specialty is sandwiches (banh mi) and che, a type of Vietnamese dessert soup or pudding. Their sandwiches are decent, not screamingly good or anything. I can name several bakeries out there that make better sandwiches. I only come here for che because it’s good and if you buy 2, you get 1 free. 🙂

They also sell other Vietnamese snack items, similar to Teo Sandwiches: coffee, smoothies, sweet rice desserts, pastries, cha (not to confuse with che, ha) or Vietnamese sausages, etc. But, unlike Teo where there are tables for you to sit and eat restaurant-style, this place is strictly a to-go bakery.

 

Teo Sandwiches, Westminster, CA

 

I first came to Teo Sandwiches partially because I thought the name sounded cute. “Teo” is a common name in Vietnam for a little boy living in the countryside. I assume the owner grew up with that name. 🙂

Teo Sandwiches is a fairly new Vietnamese bakery located in one of the popular plazas in Little Saigon. Their main specialty is French baguette sandwiches with a variety of meats and veggies. Cured, BBQ and shredded pork, ham, chicken, pate to name a few. I got my usual “banh mi dac biet” – special combination baguette – which has cured pork and Vietnamese ham, with veggies like cilantro, carrots, onions, and cucumber. I don’t think I’ve ever had, like, “the best” Vietnamese sandwich but this might come pretty close.

Remember what I said about banh xoi kep, or sweet rice crepe, and where you can find it? Well, Teo Sandwiches is one of those fast food restaurants where you can buy some for less than five bucks.

What sort of sets Teo Sandwiches apart from many other bakeries is that they serve a bunch of other Vietnamese food dishes restaurant-style. They actually have tables for you to sit down and enjoy a bow of pho or porridge, though served in plastic bowls and wooden chopsticks so you can easily dispose of after you’re done. Not a bad idea. I chatted with the owner while I waited for my sandwiches to be prepared. Nice guy. He said soon he will be offering cakes for birthdays or whatever occasion. He tries to take care of the place keeping it clean to make it more welcoming to his customers.

Like a typical Vietnamese bakery, they have a lot of snacks here:

Other stuff they have: coffee, cold drinks, smoothies, sweet desserts, various snacks, and party food trays with prices ranging from $30, $40, and $50 depending on tray size. I’m thinking of getting one of those food trays the next time I have a potluck to attend or host my own party. 🙂

 

Vietnamese Banh Xoi Kep (Sweet Rice "Crepe")

 

This is not a taco. People will call anything a “taco” if it has anything that remotely looks like a taco or has a taco-like shell around it. Like that Vietnamese banh xeo (English literal translation: Vietnamese sizzling cake, ha.) That thing has been called “Vietnamese taco.” Couldn’t be more wrong.

But I digress. This is one of my favorite Vietnamese desserts: banh xoi kep. I’ll just translate that to “sweet rice crepe.” It’s basically colored sweet rice, with soy bean paste and coconut flakes, sandwiched in a very thin layer of rice paper. Sweet rice is a popular Vietnamese dessert, typically served on a plate or in a bowl, so banh xoi kep is a convenient way to enjoy sweet rice without having to use either one. You can eat it on the go. Banh xoi kep is usually sold in a seran wrapped package displayed on the counter at Vietnamese fast food or food-to-go restaurants. It’s very yummy and filling so definitely give it a try on a hungry stomach!

Raspberry Macaroon Bar at Coffee Bean

 

I went to get my usual hazelnut latte this morning at Coffee Bean, and needed something sweet to go with it. They didn’t have my favorite raspberry danish this time so I picked up this yummy looking raspberry macaroon bar instead. It’s probably a new item. It looks like a 7-layer cookie bar but it’s a tart raspberry filling sandwiched between a crumbly cookie crust base, with lightly toasted coconut flakes sprinkled on top. 330 calories of total sweet goodness.

 

Coffee D'ate, Buena Park, CA

 

So after our huge meaty KBBQ dinner, there was still a little room left for coffee so we came to Coffee D’ate just about a mile down the street.

My first impression was, “Hmm this place looks yellow.” I suppose the warm lights make the place feel a little cozy, but not exactly a romantic place to enjoy a cup of coffee because I was surrounded by old people.

Coffee isn’t cheap here. $9 for an iced white chocolate mocha for myself and a hot chamomile tea for my friend. Same price as Starbucks and Coffee Bean. Granted, my white mocha was sweet and delightful. I noticed most of the white chocolate stuff was floating near the top of the cup while the coffee base sunk in the bottom. So I had to do some stirring to mix it all up with the ice. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be sucking up any of the white mocha clumps when drinking this stuff, but…they were there. Well, more stirring!

I like that the chamomile tea had these cute little flowers floating around on top. Can’t go wrong with a hot tea on a cold night.