The Japanese instant coffee stick review ☕
Plus, “Enormously Delicious”™️ citrus fruits, and more.
Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, we review Japanese instant coffee sticks, a very large mandarin citrus fruit, and eat breakfast biscuits. Check out past posts here, and please follow my Instagram @fivethingsiate.
Café Latory Thick Creamy Cappuccino at TESO Life (aka My Favorite Place in the World Possibly)
1265 Broadway, New York, NY 10001; link for photo reference
I can’t believe I’ve never reviewed Café Latory on the ‘letter before! (Either that, or the search function on Substack is just really, really bad. I have the memory of a goldfish so I can’t recall.) Long time fans of Five Things I Ate aka Me will know that I’m sort of obsessed with Asian instant and canned coffee drinks. If you’ve never been to a Japanese mart before (again, if you’re a long time fan of the ‘letter, why haven’t you?), you’re really missing out on an aisle of Earthly Delights. Asian instant coffee drinks are as fun as American instant coffee is depressing. I’m going to save you all the money and time I’ve spent on trying different brands and suggest you cut straight to the chase with the GOAT (Café Latory line) of the GOAT (Blendy). The reason Café Latory is so wonderful is that it’s the only instant coffee mix with a proper mouthfeel. They add some kind of chemicals (again, this is an instant beverage, so don’t go drinking it for the ingredients list) that gives each cup a nice frothy layer of foam (which I’m not going to call crema because I am not trying to incite the rage of the internet coffee lovers) on top. It’s also not too sweet, and tastes adequately milky. The caffeine is a little lighter than a true fresh cup of coffee, but that’s perfect for my afternoon cup for me.
Café Latory Rich Royal Milk Tea at TESO Life (aka My Favorite Place in the World Possibly)
1265 Broadway, New York, NY 10001; link for photo reference
This was my first time trying out the tea from Café Latory (I’m a big fan of every coffee variety I’ve tried, including the classic cappuccino above, the Rich Milk Cafe Latte, and the hazelnut flavor) and dare I say that it works even better as a milk tea? I think because a lot of times, when I crave that nostalgic milk tea flavor, it’s made with a good ole’ nondairy creamer, which isn’t so far off from this instant packet. I feel like nowadays with the second.. or third wave rise of boba shops it’s all about fresh dairy milk and oat milk and even Lactaid, but back in the day it was for sure powder. I’ve tried a few different brands of instant milk tea before, including the super popular 3PM brand, but unfortunately it was all way too sweet and a little watery. But Café Latory is spot-on, in both creaminess and sugar levels. (I’m always open to alternative suggestions, though, if you have them!)
Sumo Citrus (bag of, not individual Large Bois) at Trader Joe’s
Trending at many grocery stores now.
I think it’s a pretty funny concept that citrus fruit can be trending, but apparently Sumo citruses (mandarins?) are, according to the sign outside of Fairway and TikTok, which I do not allow myself to have because I’ll spend 8 hours a day on it. If you’ve never encountered a Sumo citrus before, I suggest you go to their official website, because “Enormously Delicious” is a tagline that I think more people should use to describe themselves, if it fits. At first I did not get the Sumo citrus hype at all, because the individually sold ones are super expensive, and also really large, which I don’t love for a snack as I am personally more fun sized. However, after buying a bag of the smaller and cheaper variety, I get the hype now. They’re not quite as intense or dense in flavor as tangerines, but they also don’t have 5 billion seeds to contend with. My worst enemy in citrus fruits are when it’s kind of hard and pale, I guess the orange equivalent of an apple being mealy, and so far none of the Sumo citruses I’ve encountered have that quality. The taste and texture sort of reminds me of the taste of tinned mandarins, in a complimentary way.
Belvita blueberry breakfast biscuits at Target
I understand these biscuits are in fact nothing more than cookies. But I do not care. That just makes me like them all the better. Usually I straight up have a cappuccino with a piece of chocolate or shortbread first thing in the morning so the fact that I’m eating a slightly heartier and slightly less sweet pack of biscuits is already a pretty big win. Plus, they’re really tasty. My ideal cookie is actually somewhere between a Speculoos cookie and a digestive biscuit and this feels like the American compromise to both of those things. It has the right balance of salty, grainy, and not-too-sweet. I love blueberry flavored things because they go really well with coffee, which is always my morning beverage of choice. You could even enjoy them with a cup of Café Latory milk tea ;) .
“Nothing fancy” sinus-clearing dumpling soup at home
I get my frozen dumplings from Trader Joe’s because it’s easy. But it’s better from Chinatown, or even better, homemade.
This is not a fancy dumpling soup, nor an “authentic” one, or anything like that. But, as someone who subsists mostly on hot liquids in every form from morning to midnight, I make it a lot, and enjoy eating it. To make it, set a small pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, very thinly julienne an inch of fresh ginger root and throw it into the water along with a spoonful of chicken base or bouillon. Now, the key part: Clean a handful of fresh sliced mushrooms (shiitakes or baby bellas are good!) and throw them in the broth. This gives it all of its umami flavor! Throw in 7-8 frozen dumplings or wontons. Stir. Throw in handfuls of spinach. Add a lot of white pepper, a tiny bit of sesame oil. Ladle into soup bowls and enjoy.
XO,
Soph
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