Chim Chim

TL;DR version: Small cafe with unique, mildly sweet Thai-inspired desserts. Very tasty coffee as well. In order, I would say my favorites were the Coconut Pandan, then Thai Tea, and then the Salted Egg Cheesecake. I have been to this small cafe, which is pretty close to my workplace, a handful of times for tea as well as cakes. They have a unique selection of cakes and drinks, as everything is Thai-inspired. The staff here is very friendly, and if I had more time on my lunch break, I would likely relax here and have a tea or coffee. Speaking of coffee, the Es-Yen, which used to be $6.50 but is now $7, is delicious. It's a mix of double espresso and a bit of sweetened milk. I was happy that it wasn't overly sweet, and the beans were all roasted with the drink being strong, but not too much so. The desserts are pretty similar in this way, with them having the typical light Asian sweetness. The first time I had the $10 Coconut Pandan Cake. The pandan was used to color the very vibrant cake base, while the coconut was used for the generous amount of frosting. The cake was moist, and when tasted without the coconut, there was a subtle sweetness and light aroma from the pandan. The frosting, which contained chunks of coconut, was a delightful extra texture, and it was only mildly sweet with a touch of saltiness. Combined, the pandan flavor felt a bit muted, but I find that to be the case in most pandan desserts unless they only contain that or something else that's very mild. It was very tasty overall, and I would recommend it. The second time, I had the much more unique and a bit more expensive $12 Ube Salted Egg Yolk Pork Floss Burnt Cheesecake. The cake consisted of many layers, including a thinner ube bottom with a light sweetness, a thicker salted egg yolk section, a cheesecake section, and some pork floss and seaweed on top. Of the many flavors, I would say the salted egg was the most pronounced, and similar to the coconut in the other dessert, it overpowered the more subtle ube. I liked the pork floss on top, which added a bit more sweetness, while the seaweed added an interesting texture. I wouldn't have a full cake, but it was pretty decent. The most recent time, I had the Thai Tea Cake for $10. This was the simplest of the three, with a buttercream flavored with Thai tea surrounding a very moist cake base. This was the sweetest of the three desserts, but it still wasn't overly so. If you're looking for something less complex, but still tasty, I would recommend it.