File #002: Fantasia, possibly one of the most extravagant names I can think of for milk tea.

I remember the first time I was introduced to Fantasia. It was during one of the dinner parties at Milpitas Square to celebrate my grandma’s birthday. One of my many cousins came in holding that inconspicuous cup with the distinguishing logo of the Chinese character “dream” stamped on alongside the English word “Fantasia”.

By this time, I was well familiar with boba or at least I thought I was. After all, there was regular milk tea and then the flavored milk tea and then you can also add boba to smoothies as well. And that was that right?

Nooope. Boy was I wrong.

That was before I met TARO milk tea. And that was what my cousin was holding that night, some number of years ago. But we’ll leave my love for Taro milk tea and specifically Taro Milk Tea at that particular Fantasia store for another time.

Today I’m talking about my overall love for Fantasia, in general. Hands-down, Fantasia has the most consistent and delicious milk tea in the Bay Area. They have several store fronts, but the one I go to most often has to be the one at Rivermark Plaza. This little shop is hidden in the back of the plaza, right on the corner of the roundabout (where I have seen on occasion people driving the wrong way). There are a few small tables inside and outside and a slightly bigger one hidden in the back behind the counter/cashier area, but overall all of the Fantasia stores have a similar small layout. It’s not exactly ideal for hanging out with large groups of friends.

Jasmine Green Milk Tea

Menu wise, it’s a relatively simple menu, but there are small variations here and there at each shop. They do your normal milk teas (iced or hot) and they have some smoothies and fruit based concoctions as well as some coffee drinks. I can’t speak for the coffee drinks since I rarely order coffee, but I usually go for the regular milk tea, Jasmine green milk tea, honey milk tea and almond milk tea. If I want something fruity, I go for either passion fruit or strawberry. I also don’t like the taro at this Fantasia. It doesn’t hold up to the one in Milpitas.

Just a heads-up, Fantasia does have a stamp card system where if you fill up your card, you get one up to the value of $3.00. Anything over, you just pay the remainder. Fair warning though, the cards have an expiration date so if you don’t fill them up after a certain time, it will expire. That has happened to me constantly when I went to school up in Davis and only came back to the Bay during my breaks. Nowadays… well let’s just say I resolved the issue.

This store, much like most boba shops, only accept cash. They also don’t charge tax on their drinks so the price you see on your menu is what you pay.

Have you tried the taro milk tea at Fantasia? And if so, do you favor one store over the other? 

Let them eat cake! Marie Antoinette infamous said (or not said, the verdict is still out). And let me say, a lot of people were eating cake that weekend. I went to the Grand Opening weekend of 85°C Bakery Café and they were not kidding about the lines. My friends and I passed by the shop Sunday afternoon, on our way to Music Tunnel KTV for a few hours of karaoking.

At that time, the place was already hopping, with the lines zigzagging and wrapping around several times, extending towards the other shops. The plaza was newly opened with few other stores in business, but the parking lot was packed. Why?

85°C Bakery Café! 

Honestly, I have never seen so many people (95% Asian) go crazy for bread. We headed over to the bakery after dinner at approximately 8:30 PM and even at that time there was a moderately long line outside. Between standing outside and then moving inside (in increments about 5), it took me half an hour to get inside.

Interior & Ambiance

They had a huge corner store and the interior was brightly lit with these interesting orb lights. I wish I took a photo of it because it reminds me of the huge orb lights in Chem 194 (now known as Rock Hall) at UC Davis, but prettier and nowhere near as dirty. 

Clockwise: Coffee Bread (w/ Mochi & Red bean), Green Tea Roll, Almond sponge cake, Sweet Brioche, Two egg tarts

On the right was the cases filled with bread, in your usual U-formation, with an island in the middle with more bread. They were consistently releasing fresh bread every few minutes. I have to say the set up was a little chaotic though. It looked like there was plenty of bread, but in reality just plenty of bread in the same variety here and there. Some trays did not have names stating the name so that wasn’t particularly helpful. I’ll chalk it up to the chaos and the fact it was the opening weekend so all the workers are still getting used to everything.

Desserts. May I have.. one of each?

The drinks menu, a bit blurry.. whoops.

Thoughts

Overhyped? Perhaps. After trying everything I bought with my friends and family, I have to say, it wasn’t extraordinary. It was yummy, but not enough to justify a long wait. It was also pricier than the other Chinese bakeries you find around the Bay (Kee Wah and Sheng Kee), but around the ballpark of the Korean bakeries (Paris Baguette and TOUS le JOURS).

Sea Salt Foam Jasmine Tea

Files #001 BAMBU? Bamboo? In milk tea? Say what? 

Usually, I would order their Jasmine milk tea or their Strawberry milk tea with either their honey boba or the pandan jelly. I find the Jasmine milk tea quite strong (as in, it’s quite high on the “how-much-can-it-mess-up-Amy’s-sleeping” radar). It’s also on the sweeter side, but it dilutes to a bearable level thanks to all the ice. The strawberry milk tea (as shown in the photo) comes with bits of mashed strawberries in it and there’s a nice milky contrast to the sweet and slightly grainy strawberry seeds. On special occasions, I splurge on the chè. While I like chè, I can’t eat too much of it without getting stuffed (especially the avocado one).

Ambiance wise, it’s a small café (the mirrors on the side gives off the illusion of a bigger space) and they play music videos on the large flat screen they have. I’ve seen everything on that TV, from Vietnamese songs to English to Korean and the rare occasional Japanese. It can get really loud in the café, especially during the warmer weekends when everybody is hanging out and trying to find something refreshing to cool down from the heat.

Bambu is a fairly well known establishment in the neighborhood. They are a franchise so there are other Bambus around the South Bay and even one as far up as Davis.

Have you ever tried Bambu? If so, what's your favorite on the menu? 

Bambu Desserts & Drinks
1688 Hostetter Rd.
Ste D
San Jose, CA 95131

1.  FOOD. 
2.  Specifically restaurants around the Bay Area (I did call it Bay Area Menu Files for a reason. And NO, I didn’t only do that because I wanted the acronyms to make up BAMF. Alright… maybe a little bit.)
3.  Reviews of so-said restaurants + cafes (expect a lot of mini-reviews on milk tea)
4.  Cooking/Baking (I’m saying it now, but I can’t guarantee anything. Cooking is not my forte. I experimented back in college, but they weren’t all successes. I pride myself in saying I have not given myself or my roommates’ food poisoning though.)
5.  And any other food related things that come to mind. I like to keep an open mind.