Los Angeles Standout Phoenix Dessert Expands to San Diego | Eater San Diego

"Opening in Kearny Mesa this weekend in the Clairemont Mesa Boulevard complex (replacing Snoice), Phoenix Dessert is the company’s first location outside the Los Angeles area; Pacific Coast Commercial facilitated both sides of the lease. Run by owner Elena Chang and her family, the shop will mainly focus on premium desserts while also offering select savory items such as soy-marinated chicken wings, curry fish balls, and crispy shrimp rolls. Among the bestsellers are fresh mochi — including green tea mochi with black sesame filling and strawberry mochi with red bean filling — as well as mochi durian rolls made with Thai monthong durian; there’s also longan or Hong Kong milk tea ice cream, mango shave ice, and passion fruit panna cotta. Other specialties include dessert soups like black sticky rice with young coconut, red bean and lotus seed, and black sesame (for which the kitchen roasts three types of sesame seeds and grinds them into a silky textured sweet soup). Drinks range from an organic kumquat and honey refresher to a coconut milk–based beverage with sago pearls and fresh mango, watermelon, and honeydew. Chang says the San Diego expansion was spurred by customers who often drive up from San Diego for Phoenix’s desserts, and if all goes well she foresees opening two more Phoenix locations in San Diego." - Candice Woo