Harris L.
Yelp
BLUF: Great pastries, interesting drinks.
NaiSnow Tea & Bakery (奈雪) is a chain originating in Shenzhen, China, with over 1,900 locations, mostly in China. This location, which takes over the former spot of Iris Tea & Bakery, is NaiSnow's first location in the United States. NaiSnow's differentiation compared to the other shops on "Diabetes Alley" seems to be healthy green smoothie drinks, and premium egg tarts.
We've had:
- Mango Sago smoothie: $6.90 for a Medium (500 ml; 16.9 fl oz); $7.51 with tax. OK, but we prefer Hey Tea's Mango Grapefruit Boom drink. That said, we did accept the staff recommendation for 30% less sugar -- keep NaiSnow's theme of healthy drinks in mind when making comparisons.
- Super Avocado 超能牛油果: $8.90 for a Medium (500ml; 16.9 fl oz); $9.69 with tax. A very good introduction to green smoothies. The main flavor is creamy avocado, aided by a hint of tartness and additional sweetness from the yogurt. The chia seeds and kale are healthy ingredients hidden in the flavor profile by the avocado and yogurt; additional depth is provided by jasmine tea and coconut milk. The "oat popping boba" are like little flavor bombs that soak up the avocado / yogurt flavors. I would consider the Super Avocado less of a "meal replacement" and more of a "meal complement." Mix well before drinking.
- Caramel Egg Tart 焦糖可頌蛋塔: $3.90; $4.25 with tax. Very Good. Large, sweet but not overly sweet, with a thin, crisp shell. Pasteis de Nata from Lisbon, Portugal, are more buttery, but we really liked NaiSnow's egg tart.
- Matcha Tiramisu Egg Tart 抹茶提拉米蘇蛋塔 and Coffee Tiramisu Egg Tart 咖啡提拉米蘇蛋塔: $4.50 each; $4.90 with tax. These are a thin layer of matcha and coffee tiramisu, respectively, on top of an egg tart. The matcha tiramisu was pretty strongly flavored; the coffee tiramisu was medium-light in flavor.
- Pistachio Cream Horn 開心果號角 and Lemon Cream Horn 檸檬號角: $5.90 each; $6.42 with tax. The horns are crispy, flaky; a high-quality find surprising to see outside of a Western bakery. The Pistachio Cream is better balanced than the Lemon Cream, which is rather tart, but both are good in their own way.
Notes:
- Although NaiSnow is open until 10 PM, they seem to make a limited amount of baked goods per day, and may run out of inventory for late afternoon and evening visitors -- perhaps even for early afternoon customers during weekends.
- There is an order status board above and to the right of the order stations, which we initially didn't notice due to crowding. There are no audio cues to notify customers when their orders are ready.
- Discounts might be available via the FanTuan app.