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If you live in NYC, you probably know about the dumpling wars. There is a small cluster of dumpling shops on the lower East Side area and there are constant wars about which is better (and no, Momofuku doesn’t count, we’re talking little dive $1 for 5 dumpling kind of joints!). My favorite is Vanessa’s: not the one in Union Square (which is decent) but the original shop. Not just because of the dumplings which, let’s face it, are very similar from shop to shop. But Vanessa’s has these fantastic sesame pancake sandwiches stuffed with crispy pulled pork or even DUCK. And to top off your greasy, delicious sandwich there’s the world’s best Hong Kong Milk Tea.

As amazingly delicious as HKMT is, it’s laden with calories from the sugar and evaporated milk AND condensed milk. Ugg, but it’s so good! I would love to find a lighter replacement, so I was thrilled to see this from Nature’s Tea Leaf. But can it replicate the wonders of Vanessa’s Hong Kong Milk Tea?

Well, of course it’s not thick and creamy from the milk, but it perfectly captures the condensed/evaporated milk taste. The tea isn’t cloudy so there’s no actual milk bits floating around, it’s just flavoring. Magic flavoring! I cold brewed this and without any sugar or other additions it really does taste like milk tea. Creamy, milk, with that distinct evaporated milk taste and a burst of sweetness. Mmmmm. I think I’m in love!

JC

You just made me hungry :P

Alphakitty

After writing this I’ve decided I have to get dumplings tomorrow XD

Starfevre

I may have to head into the asian market to get some vegetable dumplings because of this post.

Oolong Owl

mmmm milk tea and dumplings!

gmathis

Love dumplings, but we live in the armpit of nowhere, so availability is … isn’t.

gmathis

I dunno…there is no limit to my culinary incompetence ;) I checked our favorite import grocery store, hoping to find some decent frozen ones. A few potstickers, not much variety.

gmathis

Back to the tea at hand, doesn’t this remind you of Eagle Brand sweetened milk fresh out of the can? (Which I love to eat with a spoon!)

Alphakitty

It totally does! I used to drink that stuff when I was little much to the chagrin of my mom who would insist it was for cooking not slurping down!

Kittenna

Ahhhhh, a billion shades of jealous! I suppose I’m close enough to NYC that perhaps sometime I should find my way there and try this delicious-sounding food…

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Comments

JC

You just made me hungry :P

Alphakitty

After writing this I’ve decided I have to get dumplings tomorrow XD

Starfevre

I may have to head into the asian market to get some vegetable dumplings because of this post.

Oolong Owl

mmmm milk tea and dumplings!

gmathis

Love dumplings, but we live in the armpit of nowhere, so availability is … isn’t.

gmathis

I dunno…there is no limit to my culinary incompetence ;) I checked our favorite import grocery store, hoping to find some decent frozen ones. A few potstickers, not much variety.

gmathis

Back to the tea at hand, doesn’t this remind you of Eagle Brand sweetened milk fresh out of the can? (Which I love to eat with a spoon!)

Alphakitty

It totally does! I used to drink that stuff when I was little much to the chagrin of my mom who would insist it was for cooking not slurping down!

Kittenna

Ahhhhh, a billion shades of jealous! I suppose I’m close enough to NYC that perhaps sometime I should find my way there and try this delicious-sounding food…

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Bio

Tea has always been a passion of mine, though I got away from it during college. A lack of cupboard space and a constant influx of people into my suite made me pretty much abandon my teas at home. But now that I’m done with school, it’s definitely come back with a vengeance—to the point where I’ve purchased about 65 different kinds in the past 3 months!

I like most kinds of teas—yes, even peach, which I used to think I disliked!. Oolongs are definitely my favorite, and I’m an avid fan of earl grey, floral teas, and chai blends along with anything melon. The only kind of teas on my “no” list are rooibos blends (which gives me headaches) and banana flavored ones since bananas are public enemy #1 in my mind.

The best thing about tea for me is how you can be passionate about it and still have it integrate into all of your other hobbies. I like a lot of things: writing, video games, books, sewing, figure collecting, astronomy… it’s a long list. But whatever I’m doing, I can have a cup of tea in hand!

Location

New York

Website

http://www.plastikitty.com/

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