@JThur01: what is cheese foam tea??? Have missed some sort of thread on that? And, more importantly, is it something I want to try?
The hot pot place in San Gabriel sounds interesting. Maybe when the weather cools down (if it lasts that long…).
And to nobody in particular, why would a restaurant call itself “Nothingness???” Does it sound better in Chinese???
Thanks for reading!
No thread that I can think of on cheese foam tea. It’s sort of a whipped cream with a cheese flavor version of the sea salt foam that 85°C has. It’s become all the rage in China and got here in February. More and more places are getting into the act. Hopefully, more soon on that (like in a couple of weeks). If that sounds good to you, give it a try (each place has different choices of teas, or in the case of Happy Lemon - coffee, that are topped with the cheese foam).
As far as Nothingness, I don’t know. But, whatever you do (and despite Huo La La signage and a large “Huolala Style” section on the menu), do not call them Huolala 
Here’s a good primer I found when looking-up this exact question!
This place is actually in DTLA, and I’m going to try it out later tonight 
Okay, Ima gonna let you try and then report back b/f I try. 
Although the cream cheese foam actually doesn’t sound half bad.
Disgusting.
Okay, I’ve tried it! Review thread linked below.
Waiting for the Miracle Whip foam decarbonated Coca Cola.
@#$@#$ $@$%@ ##@$ kids and their boba drinks!
When it comes to tea, would you describe yourself as a purist?
I’ve had it a couple of times, at a couple of different places, on a couple of different drinks. One time, I didn’t drink it properly, so it’s hard to compare. Not unpleasant, but personally, I don’t get all the fuss. It’s ok. Worth trying, IMO.
I’ll be checking out at least a couple more. You know, being thorough.
No.
More like Sisyphus.
Any recommendations? I assume you’ve tried it at Happy Lemon, given your previous comment. I only have a single point of reference at this time, and I’m certainly inclined to try some more!
Not just yet. Let me get back to you in a week or two, after I’ve done a bit more sampling.
went to the aforementioned ding’s garden this past weekend. i had never patronized any of the other branches.
the XLB, described as “with peanuts” were unremarkable, sad for a place that is supposed to specialize in shanghai-ese cuisine; the wrappers were thick and leaky.
otherwise, the waitress was surprised that this non-fluent mandarin speaker knew to order two of the most popular dishes on the menu.
for those who have never been & like cold plates, i recommend the cold plate with beef, beef tendon, pig ear & tofu. the pic does not adequately represent the size of the dish.
the beef noodle soup is apparently also quite popular.
skip the XLB, order the cold plate (if you like them) & the noodle soup
I’ll vouch for the cold plate. I had one of those at the Ding’s Garden when it was across from Sunny Plaza. Interestingly, I don’t recall XLB at the earlier Ding’s. That earlier Ding’s had some Wenzhou-style items.
Haven’t tried Fluffy, but I’ve gone to Tan Cha in the SGV. It’s actually pretty good if you like the combo of sweet + savory. I don’t have a big sweet tooth, so the best way to order is less sweet cheese foam tea, cold, but no ice. I find the ice just gets in the way when you’re trying to get a mouthful of foam. What I like about it is that it’s like milk tea, but b/c the foam stays at the top instead of being mixed in, it ends up not being a watered down mess.
Okay, did a mini-bang-bang today. I still like Little Fluffy Head most in terms of taste, but it’s expensive. Tan-Cha is good, and it costs a lot less. LFH has more dessert drinks, whereas Tan-Cha is more tea-based. I had a half sweet, low ice Pu’Erh Tea with Cheese Foam. Their lids, though, are not very conducive to drinking the tea while enjoying the foam. LFH wins on that one, hands-down.
I also tried Happy Lemon, and it was fucking gross. I had the matcha latte with tiramisù cheese foam, and even though I asked for less sweet and less ice, it was quite icy and overpoweringly sweet, so much so I couldn’t even really taste the matcha flavor! It was a sugar latte, and the cheese foam was super sweet, too. Fuck that; I don’t know what I expected of a tea shop inside a bakery.
Thanks for the report. I’m waiting on another opening before finishing up my research.
What were your thoughts on the pu + cheese combo? I usually have the red oolong or what’s on their menu as “roasted oolong” with cheese and it’s a good balance. I found the pu + cheese to be…not the best.