Thanks to @JeetKuneBao for the tip on Hopper and Burr! and @Chowseeker1999 for catching my typo in the original post! I had to go to OC to make a special delivery on Friday morning so I made it a special point to stop over.
They make their own chai blend… which I was excited to try. Further, when I requested Almond Milk (I think it adds a little something to chai) they said they make their own as well! And I was super impressed… It foamed up BEAUTIFULLY!
The chai blend was very nice. Balanced but spicy. It also was WAY too smooth. I could have just downed it!! The only thing I would chance is to order it with a shot of espresso. This is how I’ve been getting it at my local coffee shop (They use excellent espresso beans from Red Bay in Oakland) and not only is it delicious but it also tempers some of the sweetness. That is what I really liked about the Badmaash one… it wasn’t super sweet. This one was a hair towards that.
So, I resisted sucking it down… because since I was early there, I could head down to Paderia to finally try some of their egg tarts!
I had been to Paderia before, but I always make it too late to get egg tarts!! They also specialize in Levain type cookies and they do an excellent job with them (That is why I got some! But I REALLY. REALLY wanted to try their egg tarts. And on Friday… SCORE!
AND THEY WERE WARM!! OMG. They were everything I hoped. Super flakey crust. CREAMY filling. Eggy in taste and not overly sweet. Just an all around excellent egg tart. And while it tasted great warm, there was something to be said about having one that is cooled. The crust becomes even more flakey and the egg tart flavor more deep. The only thing about these is that the crust is butter based. There is something to be said about a lardy egg tart crust. But honestly at this level, it really is a quibble.
Finally, we also always get one of their seasonal cheesecakes. We had it tonight and it was excellent as the one’s we had prior. Right now it’s Lemon Blueberry. The top is covered by a whole berry compote and instead the cheesecake are blueberries as well. However, the lemon note is VERY present. I love Lemon flavors, so it make very happy. Although we ate it a day later, nothing suffered in this cake. They use a THICK graham cracker crust that holds together well. It’s yielding, not grainy or crumbly. The cheesecake itself is light and almost fluffy. But not so much that you think you are eating one of those instant cheesecakes. It’s very satisfying and one is more than enough to share. It also went well with a Chai this evening… this time home brewed chai from A Rare Tea Company with a bit of Rosa Bros Horchata milk…
