ShiraOne Fitness

San Francisco loves its sweets – from croissants to cupcakes to ice cream to macarons, there’s a shop to satisfy any sweet tooth. However, there’s a whole series of cafes and bakeries out in the Richmond and Sunset districts, on the west end of the city, that serve a variety of Asian desserts unfamiliar to much of the San Francisco population. Many of these desserts are popular in their countries of origin, and have been brought over by immigrants hungry for a taste of home. For your next dessert try something a little different – you might find a new favorite! Bubble tea: This Taiwanese drink goes by several names, including pearl tea, boba tea and tapioca tea; they all refer to the chewy tapioca balls, or “pearls”, that float in a sweet milk tea. Drinking and chewing simultaneously is an interesting experience, one that can quickly become addictive. The classic version of bubble tea is black tea mixed with milk or creamer, served cold and over ice, but it also comes in enough varieties, from fruit flavors to icier “slushies”, to warrant return trips in order to try everything. The customization options are endless: different teas, different tapioca pearl sizes and flavors, even different level of sweetness and ice. It’s Starbucks taken to the next level. Similar to coffeehouses, bubble tea shops can be found all around San Francisco. Try the Boba Guys in the Mission District; they are using local sources and quality ingredients to create the next level of bubble tea. The Boba Guys 3491 19th St. San Francisco, CA 94110 Eggettes: These cute little pastries are called daan jai, or “little eggs” in Hong Kong where they come from, so eggettes is a perfectly literal translation. They are also often called egg puffs or egg waffles. Taste and texture wise, they’re a cross between waffle and pancake, a golden bubbly sheet of sweet, soft puffiness. Eggettes are a classic street food in Hong Kong, and as such they are best eaten very fresh and hot. Each individual eggette is meant to be torn from the whole sheet, making them a perfect snack for sharing. Originally they were made plain, with the sweet flavor coming from the eggs, sugar, and evaporated milk, but today eggettes come in flavors ranging from chocolate to green tea, and are often offered with toppings like ice cream and fresh fruit as well. Still, the best way to experience them is plain and simple. Many Chinese dessert cafes offer eggettes, but the best I’ve found so far are at a shop very appropriately called Eggettes. Their plain and coconut versions are especially good. Eggettes 3136 Noriega St San Francisco, CA 94122 Honey Toast: Toast is the latest food to get the artisan treatment in food-crazy San Francisco, but the Japanese have been doing gourmet toast their way for quite a while. Called “honey toast” or “honey brick toast”, this dish is gloriously over the top, visually impressive, and best enjoyed with a group. It consists of a loaf of bread (soft, thick, and fluffy white is preferred) which is hollowed out and drizzled with melted butter and honey. Often the center piece of bread that was taken out is cut into cubes, toasted, and then put back in the middle. The entire affair is then topped with ice cream, fruit, whipped cream, and almost any other topping you can imagine.  Honeyberry offers several tempting versions of honey toast; give their famous sweet roti buns a try as well. Honeyberry 1915 Irving St San Francisco, CA 94122 Snow Ice: Shaved ice desserts are popular all over Asia, but snow ice is a Taiwanese iteration that’s made its way over to the US. The shaved ice that most people know is like a snow cone – ice crystals mixed with flavored syrups. Taiwanese snow ice is totally different: the water is mixed with milk or cream and sugar, frozen into a solid block, and then shaved into long ribbons, instead of little crystals, using a special machine. The piled-up ribbons of snow ice look like art, but they have an astonishingly light and fluffy texture, almost like eating snow. Snow ice comes in several flavors and numerous topping options, just like ice cream. One of the best places to try this frozen treat in the city is Dessert Papa, a sweet little café in the Outer Sunset with a wide menu of Asian desserts. Dessert Papa 2255 Judah St San Francisco, CA 94122 Sweet Dessert Soup: Most people think of hot soup as a savory appetizer or main course, but sweet hot soups, called tong sui or “sugar water”, are a Chinese dessert staple. They are typically made from nuts and sweet beans like almonds, walnuts, peanuts, and red (adzuki) beans. These soups are thick and smooth in consistency, and sometimes mixed with clear pearl tapioca or whole beans.  Warm, rich, not overly sugary, and a comforting end to a chilly night. For first-timers, sweet almond or sweet peanut soup are classic favorites.  Golden Island Café has an extensive selection of sweet dessert soups, along with other traditional Chinese desserts. Golden Island Café 1300 Noriega St San Francisco, CA 94122

The daughter of a dentist, Kara Haspel Lind took a drastically different path in 2006 when she opened her first cupcake shop in the Marina. Now with multiple stores and a mobile cupcake van, Kara’s Cupcakes is a sweet San Francisco institution. That doesn’t mean that Kara is set in her ways, however. Recently, she expanded her offerings to include something a little bigger: 6- and 9-inch cakes. The cakes are available in all of the signature cupcake flavors, as well as two cake-only variants. We spoke with Kara about exploring new edible territory, plus her favorite places to eat before dessert. GROUPON: So what made you decide to venture into the cake space? And can you tell us a little more about the cakes themselves? KARA HASPEL LIND: Cupcakes are a mini celebration (even if you’re just celebrating that you finished lunch!), and we wanted to offer guests options for the larger celebratory moments in their life. We’re keeping it special by having two cake-only flavors: Paradise and Chocolate Eclipse. The Paradise cake is made with organic bananas and passionfruit-curd filling. It’s covered in cream-cheese frosting, then sprinkled with fresh toasted coconut. The Chocolate Eclipse cake is a chocolate cake filled with Italian meringue marshmallow, covered in rich chocolate ganache frosting. All of the new cakes are ready-made daily and by custom order, which requires 24 hours notice. G: Sounds delicious! You have a well-established brand when it comes to cupcakes in San Francisco. Besides the new cakes, what else differentiates Kara’s from other bakeries? KHL: Our sweet treats are baked daily (sometimes hourly!) in small batches, so guests are enjoying their cupcakes a few hours, if not a few minutes, out of the oven. Community is also an important focal point for our cupcakes. We like to use local ingredients that are sustainable and organic. G: What sorts of local ingredients? KHL: Take our seasonal strawberry cupcake, for example. We use Yerena Farms organic strawberries in that. Poli Yerena, a Bay Area small farmer, created his own business with his family and his strawberries are to die for. They make a delicious strawberry cream. Our salt comes right from the bay—from the red salt ponds you see when flying to and from SFO. [We also use] Giusto’s flour, Petaluma farm-fresh pullet eggs … These are all conscious decisions to make a difference in our community, which is extremely important to us. G: Speaking of the community, can you tell us some of your favorite places to go when you aren’t eating dessert? KHL: For coffee, the new Peet’s on Chestnut Street. For breakfast, Gott’s egg sandwich. And for lunch or dinner, Padrecito in Cole Valley … delish and fresh! This interview has been condensed and edited. Photos courtesy of Kara’s Cupcakes.

Fairly or not, Mexican food is married in the public imagination to inexpensive taquerias and hangover cures. Thankfully, the Bay Area’s large Latino population means that upscale Mexican dining is increasingly varied and plentiful, with enough options to satisfy even high-end diners. Perhaps the fanciest thing to ever open on Divisadero Street, La Urbana is an upscale cantina straight out of Mexico City. Its striking interior, full of murals and gorgeous tile work, complements the mezcal-heavy cocktail list and inviting menu that includes grilled octopus, pork carnitas and red snapper with huitlacoche, the Mexican equivalent of European truffles. The place is always hopping, but if the wait’s absurd, duck into the adjacent space, El Garaje, and snag a bottle of beer while you eye an open table. Many San Franciscans opt for Papalote, a mid-scale eatery that can sometimes feel like a nondescript chain. Thankfully, their burritos are among the city’s best, and Papalote’s pricey tacos, which can run up to two for $10, certainly qualifies as upscale Mexican food. Then again, when you’re paying for wonderfully prepared soyrizo, standout mole or the incredibly flavorful pechuga al achiote chicken, it’s easy to understand why Papalote is a Mission favorite. Nopalito, with two locations in the city, has also recently come into its own. Each location sports a unique menu, but both fuse traditional Mexican cuisine with the California ethos of freshness. Upscale though it may be in spirit, the entrées generally keep below the $19 threshold, making both Nopalito outposts a relative bargain. Healthy and environmentally-conscious diners can also hop over to Gracias Madre, the all organic vegan Mexican food eatery run under the Café Gratitude umbrella. Not only can you find tasty meat-free options on the menu, some of the entrées are downright delicious. And perhaps best of all: Gracias Madre has a full liquor license.