Food Adventure to Sno-Crave Teahouse, Union City

Pardon the lower quality pictures, took them on an older phone.

A bit of backstory. I've been to this particular spot for quite a few years now, frequenting it with my good friends and some work acquaintances. Last year, I've probably gone here once a week with my girlfriend after having some ramen at Tadamasa. We'd build up this appetite for desserts and we'd come here for some honey toasts, crepes and a nice cold drink. By now, I'm confident that I've have over half the items on the menu including their drinks. (I've definitely had all of their honey toasts and desserts. Wish I thought to take more pictures.)

So Sno-Crave Teahouse, formerly Snowflake, is a rather well known Asian hotspot for trendy desserts and teas. Particularly popular due to their colossal bread tower with ice creams, their honey toasts. Armed with almost 200 drink choices, their drink menu is definitely nothing to sneeze at. The menu is flexible for sure, but not to the point where it overextends. The food menu is definitely clear and the drinks are separated into particular types which make it easier for the reader to figure out what they want. If I'm feeling hot traditional Chinese tea, there's a section. It's easy to look through.

Anyways, the ambiance is alright. It tickles me slightly because it's got somewhat of a purple motif, and I like that. Saint's Row kinda purple seats, 3D decor walls. The main complaints are the space issues. For what it's supposed to be, space is a crucial factor. Tables are generally small, seating is limited, and I can barely ease my chair back without hitting a small group of high schoolers. Keep in mind I'm only 5'4" and average weight.

Before getting down to the food, the service is up there with the ambiance. Just up to par. There's no particular way to feel about it other than tepidity. Very much just 'alright'. If they seemed to actually care about the job more to smile even slightly or maybe strike conversations with customers, they could form a better relationship with people. Maybe turn those people into regulars, or happier regulars. No such motivation exists though. Are they discouraged to smile or talk? Probably not, they talk amongst themselves rather often, maybe gossiping about the customers. Who knows?

I'll be real. The chemistry with this place is based off the reaction given when you're with friends or a date, and there's fun-looking, tasty desserts with on-point drinks. Whether it be a hot day or a cold day, this place stays relevant -- and that is powerful. Most places that revolve around ice cream only do well in summer time. However, this place does it rather smart. They have heaters both inside the store and out. They have a wide selection of hot drinks, from milk teas to the healthy kinds.

The food is also big on the visually-appetizing aspect, which is another strong point for this restaurant. It's well known that most great restaurants, particularly the expensive kinds, have great placement of food. The balance of it all: content, colors, flavors... You can see this in the honey toasts, the various colors of the macarons, and the flavored snow with the various sauces. It's rather pleasant.

The honey toasts are a must when you first visit. One is probably good for 2 to 3 people, but it's possible to eat it by yourself. Wouldn't recommend it though. There's a pretty good variety of choices for the toasts, so go with what you think is safe for you first. What catches your eye first will probably be a great first. For me, I particularly enjoy chocolate or vanilla most of the time, so the Oreo Chocolate or Black Humor toasts were solid choices. After coming back, I branched out and tried the Macarons Party, Golden Brick, and Jenga -- and they were all rather great too. No particular complaints about any of them. Looks great, tastes great, sits well in the stomach.

On hot days, the flavored snows are a good option, especially if you're avoiding the extra calories or carbs that come with the honey toasts. They look great, they're rather inexpensive, you can customize it's flavor, choose what syrups or toppings you want, AND you can share with a friend or two.

For other food stuff, there's sweet or savory crepes along with a small but good selection of desserts, from tiramisu to creme brulee. The crepes tend to be pretty good value, as they're among the least expensive things but the most filling, even if you're sharing with one other person. On the other hand, the other desserts seem a bit too pricey. A small cup of tiramisu is $4.95 without tax as of now. At that price, it's a bit depressing.

The drinks are rather fantastic. It's kind of like a Quickly's in many aspects, but more... fun. The tea containers and the small candles that warm them are quite nice. Once again though, you might run into a space issue. If your table is for two and you have once of these teas with a honey toast, you might be running out of room already. In any case, the drinks are great. I usually get the Thai Milk Tea or the Taro Milk Tea, but I'll occasionally dip into hot oolong tea with some tea snacks.

Overall, value isn't really what you should be looking for in a place like this. It's a bit costly for what it is. Shouldn't stop you from going once though -- it is a tasty, visual treat to appreciate. Just a few downsides to the experience, but going with friends or a significant other can be very worthwhile and thoroughly enjoyable.

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