Delicious! 1. egg…read morepuff, $8.25. I usually see these called bubble waffles. This was good. They warn you that it takes 10-15 minutes to serve this. 2. creamy snowflake bowl, $10.95. Bowl of finely shaved/crushed ice (like snow, hence the name!) in a creamy sauce (kind of like melted ice cream), one fruit, and one topping included. We chose strawberries and tapioca pearls. We shared this between four of us. This was very good! I wanted to get red bean, but my daughter wanted tapioca, so we got that. The strawberries were sweet and tasty. For some reason, they took about half an hour to get this to me. I think they forgot to make it.

Too thick! Fruits are too big to fit through straw for drinking. Boba is too firm…read more Service was a kiosk. Staff just shouts out number. Lots of customers. Hot inside. There is seating but most people are ordering to go.

Server was very helpful and approachable. The dessert is not too sweet and perfect for my taste!read more

Super great atmosphere, awesome spot to study! Employees very welcoming, and food was delicious.read more

Finally returned after the new management took over. It doesn't have the same feeling because the…read moreseating was designed in the past to make you feel like you were dining on the streets of HK. Now, it feels more like a restaurant, which is still okay. The food, for the most part, remains consistent with what was offered before, along with some new additions to the menu. Depending on the time, the wait for a seat can be long. But in San Mateo, this is still my go-to place for HK-style dessert.

My two other friends and I had dinner nearby and wanted to find a dessert place where we could…read morecontinue catching up, and this was the closest place to our restaurant. There were two other parties when we were seated. The three of us ordered five items to share. I ordered the walnut and sesame paste dessert, which was okay. One thing I liked about all the items was that they weren't too sweet. The ginger steamed egg was bad. It wasn't silky; instead, it looked like overcooked steamed egg, and the flavor just wasn't there. The egg puff didn't look tempting, but we all still gave it a try, and that was bad too. It wasn't crispy or flavorful at all. Overall, the three of us were not satisfied with anything we ordered. We were mainly there to have a place where we could continue catching up, so we didn't really mind that the desserts weren't good at all. I normally don't like to leave bad reviews, but the items just didn't meet my expectations. I might not come back unless there are improvements. The parking lot is very close by, so parking is not an issue. Since there aren't many other dessert places that offer so many options, from cold and hot desserts to rice plates and other appetizers, this is pretty much the only spot. The place is decorated to make you feel like you're in Hong Kong. It has iconic Hong Kong district street names painted on the walls, which makes it very welcoming for those who are familiar with Hong Kong.

A must whenever I'm downtown San Mateo! I love my Asian breads and pastries, and this place checks…read moreall the boxes. I can't get enough of the pork sung roll. It's their twist on the Chinese classic and it's SO good! I haven't tried the pork sung and taro roll yet, so I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for that one next time. I'll also have to actually pick up a cake one of these days for a special occasion. For now, I'll keep coming back for the pastries!

We ordered a birthday cake from Simply Cake in San Mateo and explained over the phone that we…read morewanted "Happy Birthday Dad" written in Chinese. Instead, we received a cake that literally said "Happy Birthday DAD IN CHINESE!" in English. We honestly couldn't believe it when we opened the box. This was supposed to be a special birthday cake for dad, and the result was incredibly disappointing. Given the large Chinese community in the area, the request should hardly be unusual or unexpected request. At the very least, I would have expected someone to clarify the wording with us rather than literally writing "DAD IN CHINESE" on the cake. This is the kind of mistake that is utterly unacceptable should have been caught before the cake was handed to a customer. The photo speaks for itself. At this point, I feel like this was done deliberately to go viral or something. Unfortunately, this also isn't the first troubling experience we've heard about. A friend of ours ordered a cake from Simply Cake last year for his son's fifth birthday. When they went to pick it up the morning of the birthday, they were told the cake had not been made and that there was no paper trail of the order, even though he had brought the receipt. Needless to say, his five-year-old son ended up without his birthday cake on his birthday. And what were they offered afterward? 10% off their next cake. Ridiculous. Birthdays are special occasions that you don't get to redo the next day. Between our own experience and what happened to our friend, the lack of attention to these orders is extremely disappointing.

SomiSomi is a taiyaki soft serve chain that's been making its way through California. Since Uji…read moreTime closed I've been really happy to have a new taiyaki place in the area. I've been a few times now and can say the quality of the soft serve and taiyakis are very consistently good. The texture of the soft serve is perfectly smooth and creamy. The taiyaki has a light crisp on the outside and is light and fluffy on the inside. It's served warm which adds great contrast to the ice cream. I always get mine filled with Nutella though you can get it filled with red bean, matcha or custard as well. I especially like coming in to try their new seasonal soft serve. Last time I was there it was pistachio. They always offer a swirl with their seasonal flavor and this time it was with their classic milk flavor. I love pistachio so this flavor may have been my favorite they've done so far. I saw the other day that their new flavor is Banana Milk which I'll definitely be trying very soon The workers are always friendly and efficient though they seem sometimes understaffed for the amount of demand that comes it. You can tell they're doing the best they can but they sometimes look a bit overwhelmed. A couple more hands on deck would serve them well but that's more up to the management. The workers themselves do a great job every time. Like I said it gets pretty busy in there so don't be surprised if there's not a ton of open space inside of there. Overall SomiSomi is a great addition to downtown San Mateo and I'm looking forward to more trips there in the future

Was in the mood to have some Taiyaki, so I came to Somisomi in San Mateo. I believe they are a…read morechain. Since I really enjoyed the one in Cupertino, I had expected to receive the same quality from this establishment. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The service was good, the floor and tables were neat and clean. What was disappointing was the lack of filling in the Taiyaki's. Usually, one bite into the pastry and you'll taste the filling. I had to eat half the pastry before I got to any filling. Just a mouth full of mocha. I guess not all franchise locations are the same.

First time trying this out, my friends told me these cookies are delicious... well they were right,…read morethe cookies were so good! This shop is small, the service was great and I liked how they also write down on their menu if they are low on cookies and how many are left. They also have a small oven where you can WARM UP YOUR COOKIE(S)! Such a great idea, highly recommend checking this place out for their cookies.

We stop by Antoine's almost every time we're in San Mateo to pick up a cookie. My boyfriend and I…read morehave slowly been working our way through the menu and trying a different cookie each time. The cookies are consistently good--crispy around the edges, soft in the center, and slightly chewy. They're sweet, of course, but not overly sugary or overwhelming. I also appreciate that there's a microwave inside so you can warm up your cookie. So far, we haven't tried a cookie we didn't like. It's become one of our favorite spots to grab a treat, and we'll keep coming back until we've made our way through the entire menu.

Food: - Items: 2 Coconut Mango Puddings…read more- Liked the Coconut, the mango tasted kind of artificial - 7/10 Service: - Ordered from a kiosk - Server wasn't very helpful in describing their best drinks, just pointed us to their menu - 6/10 Ambiance: - Small place, don't remember any seating inside - To go type of place - Nice lighting and decor - 7/10 Overall Rating: 7/10

Upon entering, there is a kiosk where you can order. I got the four season green tea with 50%…read moresugar, no ice, with Boba. The tea was very lightly sweetened and because the boba was glazed with sweetener, I enjoyed the drink because it wasn't overly sweet overall. There are a few tables where you can sit and hangout but unfortunately the toilet was out of order so it discouraged customers from staying.

Made a call in order and arrived with order ready for pick up. Tried the Pambazo and wow it was…read moredelicious! Filled with potatoes mixed with chorizo and creamy with the sour cream and cheese. The lettuce gives it some freshness as this is a heavy torta. Then tried the tosti esquite and it was also delicious! It also has cut up cucumber in there which was unexpected but added some freshness to it as well. I just wish there was more added sour cream to the corn dish but other than 10/10! Will definitely return for the Pambazo! There's plenty of seating indoors and none outdoors. This place is close to downtown San Mateo where the food life is 10/10.

I stopped by on a weekday afternoon. The place was not busy. I went for 2 scoops of ice cream -…read moregansito and oreo. Both were good. I think their fruit bowls were the best. I should have went for one. Ice cream flavors were limited.

The very first time I ever tried Beard Papa's, over a decade ago when the one by the Metreon in SF…read morefirst opened, I wasn't exactly blown away by the experience. Granted, my friends probably hyped it up a bit too much while we were waiting in line (I think it was already their second or third time going), but, regardless, I thought it was just okay. Fast forward all of these years later and I have to say - whether it's because my tastes have changed or because I found a flavor that I really liked, this place is so much better than I remember! With so many boba joints and dessert shops nearby, it's pretty easy to overlook Beard Papa's. Being located on the edge of downtown/3rd Ave certainly doesn't help, but, for something quick and convenient (and different), they're a decent option. While the menu may not look all that extensive, it has a fair amount to offer when you consider how you can mix and match your choice from their near dozen cream puffs/eclairs and handful of cream fillings. Add to that the occasional seasonal/featured flavors they'll have and their assortment of lava cakes and cheesecakes and there's plenty to choose from! -- ST. VALENTINE'S RASPBERRY ECLAIR - Raspberry Cream Custard-filled Eclair with White Chocolate Coating and Raspberry Frosting This was a seasonal offering (admittedly, an older one), but if they ever added this to their regular menu, I'd easily get this again. Surprisingly, this actually wasn't super sweet and I loved how well the raspberry and white chocolate flavors complemented each other. -- GREENT TEA ECLAIR WITH VANILLA CUSTARD FILLING Not nearly as good as the St Valentine's Eclair, but way better than the original Vanilla Cream Puff I had before. The frosting had a strong hit of green tea to it, and the custard was fine, but, this time, the cream puff felt a little stale/dry-ish. While I definitely enjoyed Beard Papa's cream puffs/eclairs more than I did before, I can't say I've loved everything about this location. Mainly, the service here has been a little uneven - the first time we stopped in, the guy behind the counter looked really annoyed with having to help us and seemed like he was dying for us to leave (FWIW, we walked in almost an hour before they closed). Our last visit, though, the workers were friendly and super fast, as they handed us our eclair before we could even finish paying. Even though my opinion of Beard Papa's has definitely improved, since I never really crave cream puffs/eclairs and limit my sweets to the occasional scoop(s) of ice cream or milk tea, I can't say Beard Papa's is on the verge of getting into my regular dessert rotation. However, given how much I enjoyed their St. Valentine's Raspberry Eclair, I'm definitely more open to coming back than ever before if/when should the desire come along, especially since they don't have those same long lines anymore! THREE AND A HALF STARS rounded up for now.

Stumbled upon this place with a sweet tooth. As far as eclairs or puffs go, they are excellent…read more Service was fast and pleasant.

This time we got some fruit teas and they were so good not overly sweet, and you can actually taste…read morethe tea (which I love). My friend got a fruit tea, and I tried the Toffee Matcha... omg, so thick, creamy, and just really satisfying. Service was also super sweet, the cashier guy was really friendly and helpful, which made the whole experience even better. Simple, solid, and always hits. Will definitely keep coming back

Came in here for some caffeine and was happy with the Hong Kong Milk Tea with drinkable mochi that…read moreI ordered. They didn't have their seasonal options displayed very well so I had to scramble and check their Instagram for descriptions/pictures but ultimately I'm happy I just went with a classic drink instead. The shop is super small and a little bit dark, could use some livening up! This location is a little hard to get to if you wanted to just pop in to pick up a drink but there is a parking garage about a block away. But otherwise loved my drink and haven't been disappointed with any visit to Urban Ritual.