It’s almost the end of summer. However, this never stops me from trying different types of icy treats, sweets, and pastries. A sweet treat is always the best part of a weekend when with friends, just sitting somewhere cozy feeling the breeze.
This month, I tried couple of different sweet items from various shops. There are some new and cool stuff coming up since the new semester started across all these places.
Photo by Xiaohui Zhang.
Mooncakes | BakeLab
Mid-Autumn Festival is coming tomorrow Saturday, September 10th, and how can you miss the mooncakes that are available in town? This year, BakeLab serves traditional mooncakes made in house. There are gift packs of four ($40) or six ($60). Each of these mooncakes is a different flavor such as multi-nut filling with cranberry, red bean paste with salty egg yolk, to name a few. I love the one with red bean paste most since the handmade paste has a smooth texture and red bean is a flavor enjoyed by most Cantonese. The salty egg yolk just cannot be wrong in any traditional Chinese dessert.
BakeLab
410 N Lincoln Ave
Urbana
W-Su 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Photo by Xiaohui Zhang.
Iced Herbal Jelly + Taro Ball | Meet Fresh
Herbal jelly with ice is definitely one of my favorite desserts. I tried the packaged one purchased from Fresh International Market, but I was still not completely satisfied with that. Meet Fresh is coming back starting the fall semester after some construction during the summer. I tried their ube and taro paste signature ($11.95). There were various types of texture in one bowl: chewy taro bowl, smooth ube and taro paste, herbal flavor shaved ice, and the jelly! It comes with a large portion and can be shared between two people.
I also ordered the chocolate chips egg waffle ($8.50) with vanilla ice cream.
Photo by Xiaohui Zhang.
An egg waffle is a spherical egg-based waffle that is popular in Hong Kong and Macau. It’s got the chewy and fluffy combined texture and comes with different flavors. This chocolate chip one that I tried had very dense Hershey chocolate sauce inside each eggy-shaped unit and tasted so good for chocolate lovers.
Meet Fresh
209 E University Ave
Champaign
11:00 a.m to 10:30 p.m., daily
Photo by Xiaohui Zhang.
Sundae with Hot Fudge | Mike’s Chill
Do you prefer Mike’s Grill or Mike’s Chill? I want them both, and indeed, I can get them both. After a great lunch at Mike’s Grill for their cheeseburger, a little snack will be awesome. I ordered this sundae with hot fudge ($3), and it really impressed me. The vanilla ice cream was creamy, and the hot fudge was rich. The sweetness was not overwhelming at all. This reminded me of the sundae I got back to China in a McDonald’s when I was a little kid. It’s just classic and delicious.
Mike’s Chill
2000 Georgetown Rd
Tilton
noon to 9 p.m., daily
Photo by Xiaohui Zhang.
Hojicha Soft Serve | Suzu’s Bakery
I love matcha, but I also love the distinctive taste of the roasted version: hojicha. The soft serve from Suzu’s is the best thing to be enjoyed during the summer, and now the hojicha version is in store. There are two sizes to choose from: four ounces for $3.50 and six ounces for $5. The flavors available are matcha, hojicha, and a twist with vanilla plus one of the tea flavors. You can also ask for additional mochi and sweetened red beans for fifty cents. This place has always been one of the cozy places where I can chat with friends and enjoy some delicate sweet treats.
Suzu’s Bakery
114 N Walnut St
Champaign
W+Th 10 a.m. to 6.p.m
F+Sa 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Su 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Photo by Xiaohui Zhang.
Mochi Doughnuts | Teamoji X Afternoon
Teamoji has been a rock star in Campustown lately. In addition to a traditional business as a boba milk tea store, they started to serve Korean rice hot dog and egg sandwiches. This week, they sold mochi doughnuts! I got this mix mochi doughnut combo ($14.50), and I could choose my own flavors. I ordered four, one of each: milk tea, ube, passion fruit, and black sesame. Different from traditional doughnuts, a mochi doughnut is a fusion of Japanese mochi and traditional ones. It has this fluffy, moist but satisfying, chewy texture which I like so much. You can also purchase a single one for $3.85 or some larger sizes of mixed pack with six or twelve doughnuts.
Teamoji X Afternoon
625 E Green St
Champaign
11 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily