Meet Fresh has been open in Sydney for about seven months and is just next door to Mamak. No matter what time of the day or night I passed it, there seemed to be constant queues out the door!
I finally decided it was time to check out what all the fuss was about and joined the queue tonight.
Meet Fresh is actually one of Taiwan’s most popular dessert chains with 100+ stores. This store in Chinatown Sydney is the first in Australia. It originates from Central Taiwan where brother and sister team, Mr and Ms Fu persisted to preserve the quality and taste of the traditional Taiwanese desserts they grew up with. Thus all items at Meet Fresh are nostalgically handmade and freshly prepared.
Once in line, the queue moves quite quickly. The counter area is a bit chaotic but past that, there’s two levels of seating which thankfully have a fast turnaround.
I’m a complete newb at Taiwanese cuisine so Zen and I order the two dishes that were promoted the most in store, thinking it’d be their specialty.
The menu is segmented into seven categories – taro ball dessert, herbal jelly, tofu pudding, winter melon tea, traditional MeetFresh tea, whipped cream tea and MeetFresh cold dessert.
This is the Taro Balls Dessert 7 ($5.50). There are taro balls, sweet potato balls, mashed taro, spotted beans, pearls and lots of shaved ice. The taro balls are deliciously soft and slightly chewy, similar to that of tapioca pearls but much tastier. The taro mash is full of real taro yummyness and is the best thing about this dish.
The Signature Herbal Dessert ($5.50) features shaved ice drowned in a herbal syrup, taro and sweet potato balls, creamer and slippery herbal jelly – which I must admit, is an acquired taste that I have grown up with and love.
Both desserts aren’t too sweet which is key to finishing the generous servings. The play on textures is extremely enjoyable and the flavours are different and exciting; It’s no wonder Meet Fresh has become so popular.
View Larger Map
Meet Fresh
13 Goulburn Street, Haymarket / Chinatown Sydney NSW
Phone: (02) 8339 1031
Web: www.meetfresh.net
