Taste of food is great
Reasonable cost
Free Wifi
However, the seating space is not ideal
You guys should definitely open up a branch in Hamilton! Love your desserts!
i †so much this meet fresh. i ate twice a month.
Favorite Taiwanese dessert shop, kids love it , reasonably priced, friendly service and generous portions
Meet Fresh offers a great variety of authentic and traditional Taiwanese desserts: mainly being the herbal jelly, taro balls, and shaved iced range.
Their menu also has a range of drinks from milkteas to herbal drinks as well as other tapioca and glutinous and soya desserts such as sago, and tofu pudding.
They also have seasonal menu that changes frequently. Currently it is the coconut and taro range sweet soups that is served hot. The sweet syrup served with the tofu pudding is much on the blander side. Portions and amounts of toppings are fair to the price. Wait time for orders are fulfilled within 10 mins (on average, possibly longer during peak times). Overall service was good and environment is clean and tidy.
Great dessert place, especially if you like the crazy and wonderful Taiwanese desserts. Staff friendly enough. Not much interaction there. Love their signature grass jelly. Tried their seasonal purple yam added and it was nice.
Food 4/5
Ambience 3.5/5
Service 3.5/5
Great place for dessert.Tons of sweet dessert to choose from hot or cold. Drinks or puddings.I love their warm tofu with sago. Also tried their shaved ice options. Serving is huge, may need two people to share it.
The desserts here are great, with a good price too. One of my favorite dish is with the taro balls and the herbal jelly. Always came here with friends for a nice place to settle and relax. The music is nice too
Much anticipated, really craving taro balls so thought Iâd give them a visit. Got the icy taro ball with barley and taro (sweet potato switch). Got served super quickly and the portion was very good for the price-but mind you most of it is shaved ice. The taro Mochi was squishy and tasty, the texture of barley wasnât soft and nicely âbitsyâ, I personally liked it, the boba was extremely soft, and the taro was soft and creamy. Overall a very decent dessert meal, one I really enjoyed. 4/5
I also tried the orange and passionfruit boba tea, the orange was very potent and the passionfruit seeds added a dose of sour punch, not bad and overall a very fresh drink! 3.8/5
Had the classic red bean shaving with pearls and it is the best shaved ice that I have ever tasted!! It is great for 3 people to share. Service is not the best which is why I took a star off.
The dessert was yummy đ Love the texture of the coconut flakes, mochi, pudding and jellies with the sweet snowflake ice đ The snowflake ice was so, so soft!! We got the Q mochi snowflake ice.
Service wise... I think everyone is talking about the same wait staff. Like you don't have to smile every second but atleast use your manners...
come here plenty of times, love the strawberry tea, Q mochi and signature icy twin balls. Staff is always friendly and the environment is nice, cool place to hang out with friends. At night time itâs always very busy and hard to find a table.
Well what can i say? An Asian favourite of course! Meetfresh has never disappointed me. They have a range of flavours and I have yet to try one I don't like. I started going to Meetfresh in 2011 in Sydney, and to date, is the dessert franchise I go to most.
Tried mango coconut sago, coconut flavour was too strong and too thick, not my type of food.... But taro ball and tofu all tasty good, service was friendly and environment was nice.
Delicious desserts, some days service is extra speedy which is good. Definitely a favourite place to go. Kinda pricey but worth it most of the time.
A good place to grab some really nice Taiwanese desserts. It is part of a chain that is around Auckland. They have a range of different items including tofu hua, grass jelly, sago and shaved ice based desserts. You generally pick a base and then pick the toppings that you would like including tapioca balls, mochi and red bean.
It does get crowded so sometimes there might not be a table available even though it is fairly big. Tables are in quite tight so if it is full it's quite hard to get around. Once you have a table you order up from and when the food is ready the buzzer goes off and you pick it up.
It is a bit different from Western desserts and as tasty. My favourite is the signature sago which has a coconut based sauce and topped with mango and mochi. They also do a range of different drinks.
Really nice atmosphere and the desserts are so yummy. A bit on the pricey side so I wonât come here often. Overall was a great place for dessert though.
It opens till mid night! So i could wait for the new year countdown here with yummy desert. It was very busy cafe. Kind staff :) i would like to come here and try other things.
Came here a while ago for dessert and everything was yum!
Since itâs a asian place I donât expect much service so on that aspect I couldnât really care haha
Waffles were fluffy and was really nice with the sliced almonds and my mango coconut dessert was good too:)
Great place for Asian dessert if youâre in the area
Erin - Gold Code For 20% Off : CATH6386
+4
Weekend spend well with Denny Setiawan, strolling around the city and enjoy this delicious purple rice from meet fresh.. remind us of famous desert place back in Jakarta
Great dessert! Got the grass jelly with taro balls, and the taro/sweet potato balls were chewy and tasted good. Servings are a little big for dessert and I guess it has to be shared between 2 people. Or this can be a sweet lunch for 1 person!
The dessert are all of the same price point, $9. Slightly expensive in my opinion but considering the satisfactory taste and the large variety offered, I'll see myself returning again!
4/5 Taste
3.5/5 Display
4/5 Quantity
4.5/5 Customer Service
Taiwanese Style Dessert franchaise in NZ
Must try dessert shop if you like little sweet chewy things. This shop has nice pearls and little kumara, taro rice cakes which are really chewy and delicious. They might be abit exotic for some people but they usually donât fail.
Came in for a late lunch. Didnât know what to eat so friend suggested tofu pudding with taro. Hadnât had tofu pudding in ages and this brought back memories. Taro was chewy and went well with the pudding. Waffles were soft and red bean was sweet. Ice cream tasted extremely creamy! Came in another time to try the grass jelly with taro balls and brown sugar milk tea. Brown sugar milk tea was way too sweet but grass jelly was nice and refreshing to have. Mango shaved ice was super sweet. Pudding was delicious and a great topping to have. Would definitely come again.
Visited there so many times, Taste pretty good but service is bad. And for their price you don't really get much stuffs. But it's the only meet fresh in city and there's not many other choices
Victoria Consuelo De Guzman
+5
To be honest, I love this place.
Their traditional milk tea is the best I have tasted believe it or not. It is not too sweet or too watered down. I think it is perfect as it is.
I would usually add egg pudding instead of pearls because they are so delicious.
I usually order the signature herbal jelly or the tofu pudding with boba but everything I have eaten there is so nice. I am a happy customer
Is a good asian dessert place, especially if you've been to Gongcha too many times! The serving size of the shaved ice is huge and worth the price. There is a huge variety of options and would recommend if you're into asian/Taiwanese desserts!
Always a struggle choosing what to eat here. But the taro ball 6 has always been a fave. My friend ordered a rice ball porridge however it tasted sour and they gave a new one without question
Better than the christchurch one for sure! Love the music choices and the menu - gotta try their snowflake desserts! Love how it closes late and overall a great place for a late night catch up.
Nice Taiwanese Desserts, but kinda pricey. Red Bean slushie with fresh milk was $7.50 and Milk Pearl Tea was $7.00 which is way expensive for just a standard bubble tea. Tofu bowl with pearls was $8.50. Everything tastes good but just over-priced.
Love this place very much! The one I got is the Coconut Sago Special and it was yummy! I love coconut milk and mango combo. It reminds me of home in Philippines.
I only come here for 2 things: QQ winter melon tea with small taro balls/noodles jelly and Tofu pudding with Taro balls. They are the perfect, most refreshing desserts for summer days. Plus the portion is huge so itâs a good idea to go in group and share. The service here is quite fast but staff is not that friendly so donât be disappointed. The desserts will make up for everything because itâs so delicious. Price is 8.5$ for a bowl of pudding and 7.8$ for the large cup of winter melon tea, not that cheap but totally worth it.
A bit of a delay getting our meals, but that was only because they were so busy when we arrived. Had a melon and lemon juice, was so nice and refreshing. Also had the waffles with strawberries, absolutely delicious!
Highly reccomend the signature herbal jelly that comes with taro balls. You get jelly, kumara and taro mochi balls, as well as shaved ice along with a tiny sealed cup of milk. Ideal for those who don't like overly sweet desserts and are looking for a treat to cool off from walking around the city. The premises also has free wifi with the password available at the counter.
Typical Asian desert and bubble tea restaurant. Good for snack food and to hang out with friends without having to order whole meals. I paid $7 for my drink. The drinks here were creamy and rich and full of flavour. However the portions don't seem as big as some other places.
Came back for dessert and they were actually really good.
Always pre order and get take away for weekend sweet dessert, really enjoy it. my fav is purple rice one. Yum yum !!
just sometime they missing our order cause communication via phone.
The desserts taste good, by the size is just so massive!!! It's more of a meal size or share with 3 (not just 2). So it puts me off from going if I want something after a dinner.
Always one of my favourite dessert places in Auckland CBD. Can't go wrong with some shaved ice and mango 8)
They also have bubble tea to satisfy the cravings
This was the strawberry snow ice. I'm not too sure if they still have it on their menu anymore. Their dominion road store made it with fresh strawberries but the Lorne street store did it with frozen strawberries.
This is the place to go for some herbal jelly but other places such as snowman do better snow ice.
I always here for kill my time alone. I fell in love with their herbal jelly. Sometimes this place full of people so you need to be patient. For the price its quite good with all you get
Been here twice since I moved to the country and the desserts seem to never fail me. Ordered a wintermelon tea on my first visit which I can't quite recall. I ordered the warm glutinous rice with toppings. Loved it to death. Although I prefer it to be less sweet but it's not THAT sweet that it's bothering. The only thing is the place's ambient is not that good. Since it's the one in the city, there are lots of chinese youngsters which can be quite loud sometimes. I visited the Albany outlet on my first visit and it's a nicer environment (might be due to visiting hours too).
Always love Meet Fresh. My favourite is the signature grass jelly. The dish has a very great portion, the taro balls are chewy, but slightly hard on the inside when I last went.
Favourite place to go after dinner or lunch or just wanting some sweets.
Or when i really want something sweet and its affordable as well~
The creamy milk that I put in wasn't enough as I normally ask for two~Â
But fabulous desserts there..
If you are taro balls fan like me, then you will really like theirs! The best I've ever had. They have not only taro and sweet potato balls, but other kinds like sesame which is also good. And it's chewy enough, but won't feel like too much flour. So nice!
Meet fresh is great when you feel like dessert but you want to pretend that you're eating somewhat healthy. Mostly Flavoured ice and jelly, and chewy mochi like bites. My fav is their signature meet fresh herbal jelly dish that comes with the coffee creamer.
One dish is usually way too much for me, so I always share it with a friend.
Given the simplicity of their dish, it'll be really hard to go wrong. Don't get me wrong, it's simple and delicious. Highly recommended giving it a try if you haven't already.
Favourite desert place, if the kids are looking for cold/hot desert Meet Fresh is in the top of our list. Good thing they have a branch now in East Auckland because we used to drive all the way to City/Balmoral just to get these wonderful treats. Highly Recommended! đđ
We came here on a cold winters day and despite it being freezing, we still ordered a cold dessert which had really nice and chewy tapioca balls, beans and rice balls. Overall, the taste was ok, lacked a bit of syrup but is definitely a fun dish to share with your friends. The sweetness level here is not as sugar loaded as western desserts, so it is better choice for those who want to be "healthier". We also tried their Mochi- Nice texture and range but would rather buy the ones in asian supermarkets for a cheaper price.
Decent Asian dessert. Tasted exactly like the ones in Singapore and Malaysia. The desserts originated in Taiwan btw! For $8.50 a bowl, it is good for sharing. Taro and herbal jelly aplenty with shaven ice at the bottom. Alil pricey though. Bonus that it opens till 11pm! Good dessert spot if youre looking for one that opens till late(r).
I've been to Meet Fresh a few times in the past. The times I went there were a lot of people and there was a buzzing atmosphere. I've tried their Shaved Ice desserts as well as a few drinks and other dessert bowls. There's nothing that amazing about Meet Fresh, except maybe the presentation and I guess that's enough for some people due to the, "Gotta do it for the gram" mentality.
The taste just so so. And I order the matcha smoothie, it's light. I have to doubt about that they just put little ground matcha. The strawberry milkshake is ok . But I don't wanna go there again
Emma Patricia Katili
+3.5
Shaved ice. Check. Matcha. Check. Taro balls. Check. Red bean soup. Check.
A classic taiwanese dessert place that warms you up in winter and cools you down in the summer. The taro balls are worth trying.
It is one of those my fav desserts. I'm happy to have them here. Always supply nice,delicious fresh Taiwanese dessert under proper price. đđ»đđ»đđ»
There wasn't any music when we came in until half way through our dessert so it felt a bit awkward to talk. The food was delicious I had the signature herbal jelly :)
Had the herbal jelly with red bean, taro option. Their dessert is not too sweet and their herbal jelly is soft and well, jellyish! I love how the sweetness of the red bean balances the otherwise neutral taste of the herbal jelly.
âDaileeâ 25% Off Zomato Gold
+3.5
This asian style dessert place is always quite busy since they open late-night in the CBD. We like to order their taro balls dessert, mango shaved ice (super huge and is for 2 people at least), herbal jellies and winter melon tea. They also have a range of hot desserts like red beans soup. Price range from $6s-$16. Service is quick, fast and generous portion.
My friends and I love coming here when we feel like traditional Taiwanese desserts! đ
Not exactly cheap, but very authentic tasting herbal jelly. The taro & red beans are cooked really well. All in all definitely satisfy one's cravings.
I love Chinese desert- fresh, hearty and not overly sweet so this place offers many things that suit my taste. It's not particularly cheap considering the size of each plate/ bowl but do worth a try if you miss those HongKong Deseret shops.
Asian dessert!
Decided to come and give this place a go ~
Very typical Taiwanese style desserts and drinks here. We ended up ordering the Tofu and Barley dessert, No. 6 dessert and a Sesame milk tea and Winter melon drink.
The Tofu was nice and silky, but I think the syrup needed ginger, just because the sugar alone wasn't enough for me. The No.6 dessert was good, a combination of various jellies and boba with ice at the bottom.
I enjoyed my sesame milk tea.
If your in the mood for some genuine Asian desserts this is the place to go. I probably won't be back, but that's only because I'm not the biggest fan of Taiwanese style desserts.
The staff are friendly and restaurant is well lit and clean.
Have visited here for many times and tried some best seller items before. This summer, some new items were started to be served by this dessert shop. The best one is Matcha and Red Bean Ice Cream which can enjoy at least 6 different food materials within one dish.
Our go-to for Asian dessert, and we frequent it a couple times a week. There isn't much of a wait time and their its is always good (it's hard to muck up shaved ice, herbal jelly and pearls, really). Plus they've got milk tea and other fascinating beverages.
Always loved this place as I had it often in China before. Really suitable for summer since their shaved ice and drinks are the top sellers. The drinks are so nice and worth. I had the matcha drink with red bean and jelly inside ($8.90). Really yum but feel like it's lacking the matcha flavour. Their waffle is fresh and smells so nice!! But it's a bit over priced ($16.80?) but comes with ice cream and red bean. Really like this place, it's a place where I will visit all the time for afternoon tea or chill out :)
Meet fresh was a great way for me to experience Asian desserts. If you've had them all before and want something new and innovative then it might not be right for you but for me it definitely was! I absolutely adore the herbal jellies especially the ones with taro balls but on this occasion I got myself a condensed milk shaved ice with taro pieces. It was extremely tasty but i recommend sharing this with four people as there is a lot of it and can make you feel sick after a while. While this was not bad I'd rather stick to the herbal jellies.
Really exciting place, full range of choice drinks....:) so many... We had original milk tea with red beans, superb taste and smooth!! Sweetness just perfect!
I recently came to meet fresh with a friend to try something new!! But i think i ordered the wrong dessert for my taste palette which is completely my own fault!! I ended up ordering the herb jelly (because grass jelly is amazing) number 1, and what i got was not what i was thinking! the only thing i enjoyed from my dish was the mung beans and the grass jelly! but my friend got the meat fresh herb jelly special and that was very yum, especially the taro balls! (i dont know if this is an option if if you got to create your own dessert (as in pick your toppings, that would be the best thing ever here!!). I will definitely want to come back to try those massive shaved ice desserts! they looked so incredible!
The service was ok, nothing memorable, but the desserts did come out very very fast! (super quick and efficient!).
This dessert house seems to be a meeting place for Asians like me in the heart of Auckland. The selections of dessert on this store will surely turn your sluggish mood into a vibrant one. A great place to catch up with your pals. Set your foot on their doorstep now or as soon as you read this. Have fun :)
cant have enough...fooood is wayyyy better than momoteaaa..
Good Asian dessert place if you are feeling a sweet tooth after dinner or during the day. Also opens at night so it's somewhere to go that is not a bar!
Place gets quite busy during weekends but other than that, no issues finding a seat. Service is all self service where you order at counter and also pick food up when your buzzer goes off.
When the place gets busy, the tables are less clean.
Food wise, good Taiwanese dessert, not too sweet and good sized portion.
I remember coming here during the first two weeks of Meet Fresh opening... Seriously the worst experience of our lives. We ended up waiting for our food for just under two hours, and the line was out the door. Now that the Meet Fresh craze has calmed, the staff are more knowledgeable and know how to make the desserts quicker. There's also hardly a line now and you can actually hang out with friends here! I love the signature herbal jelly dessert! The grass jelly with the coffee creme and taro balls is pretty good. I also like herbal jelly number 6 and taro ball number 6! I could down heaps of these desserts in one go, because they're not sickening sweet, but they are almost $8 a bowl haha. Worth the treat occasionally. :)
Lovely place to catch up with friends over some dessert. Some things are quite expensive though, but it's worth trying once or twice!
Food: 6.5/10
Service: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Value: 3/5
Overall: 16.5/25
My mum brings home Meet Fresh desserts regularly. She has random cravings for sweets which is usually relieved by a piece of chocolate. That's why it's surprising to watch her eat a bowl of Red bean soup with taro balls. She loves this place. I quite enjoy it too. The balance of flavours in the small takeaway bowl warm me up and remind me of Taiwanese snacks. Bonus: Meet Fresh products aren't too sweet so you don't feel sick afterwards!
For all your asian dessert cravings, Meet Fresh is the place to go! This place was crazy popular when it first opened, and always looked packed out, especially during the afternoon and evening just after dinner. The line can be quite long sometimes, but the service is very efficient and fast, so you wonât be waiting too long. The menu is quite extensive (and may be a little intimidating at first!) but the recommended desserts are usually a good option. I love the sticky balls and red bean puddings, they taste super authentic and so delicious. Do be wary that the sticky balls can be very fulling and I felt a little bit sickly after having too many.. definitely something to share with another willing dessert eater!
We often go there to have dessert after dinner. I think it's the best place in town to have dessert. The price is not expensive as other places. And my partner love their signature taro ball dessert.
Super(_;Phoebe
+3.5
Have been here twice for now. Had red bean soup with taro and tofu jell. They were at the same standard as what I had in ChinaïŒdespite being pricey. Atmosphere and interior design is unique. Anyway if you're after some light Taiwanese dessertïŒthis is a go to place.
I'm always happy whenever a new Asian desserts-only place pops up in Auckland. It just adds to the city nightlife (not everybody wants to go to a pub and drink copious amounts of alcohol). Five years ago, the only place you could go to for some Asian desserts was Momotea on Fort St (which has significantly gone down in quality over the years!).Â
I loved this place so much I visited it twice in 3 days! Hah! I love the taro ball + herbal jelly dessert - I only wish  they provided more cream to go with the dish (or just substitute it with a dollop of coconut cream). I also tried the crushed iced mango - which was super sweet and pretty pricey at $13 a plate! But super yum anyway (that must be the sugar talking!).
We need more places like this, and educate others about the beautiful Asian desserts most of us grew up loving .. with ingredients that most people would never even have heard of! :)
Yes...Asians do desserts in a totally different way and this place does it well. Sticky doughy purple and cream taro balls swimming in a sweet icy broth of red bean sauce vying for space amongst gelatinous tapioca balls and taro, all made refreshing with crushed ice. Then there's the grass jelly in its brown ice best served with cream. Not to mention crushed mango slushy. Bonus is that these desserts can also come hot. Sweet fixes sorted all year round.
Meet Fresh used to be my go to dessert place after every meal ( before Mellow opened ) but I still go there occassionally for a herbal jelly or taro fix :P The menu here has quite a lot to offer, ranging from drinks to cold desserts like shaved ice with red beans and herbal jellies, to hot desserts like purple porridge for a cold winters day. The prices are quite reasonable for the portion sizes and one bowl can easily satisfy two or three people.
My favourite would have to be the Meet Fresh signature herbal jelly one as im a sucker for herbal jelly! if youre into all these asian desserts, would definitely reccomend!
Never thought much of Herbal Jelly and Taro balls but I guess you can never judge a food without trying it! So when I finally tried Meet Fresh (after EVERYONE has talked about it and when my expectation for this place skyrocketed), I wasn't disappointed at all! The dessert really appealed to me as although I have a sweet tooth, I tend to prefer desserts that are subtle in their sweetness and flavour and Meet Fresh had both! I guess the only thing I would comment on would be the taro balls. They are actually all gluten so they are VERY FILLING; so Meet Fresh is not your normal after meal dessert place, it actually gives you a full stomach :p
Ok, good variety and prices. Didn't find it spectacular though, probably wouldn't go out of my way to visit again. Good if you want a Taiwanese style dessert.
I remember when this store first opened in city, there was such a long queue! I don't like queues, so I waited for the craze to die down to try this place. I was not disappointed. My friends and I like to order their No.1 specialty. We also really like the mango shaved ice made with fresh mangoes. I sometimes regretted eating so much icy things going there, but it was all worth it in the end.
Best place to get Asian desserts. Their portions are decent for the price. Tho it's is more of Taiwanese desserts but it's still good. The red bean with shaved ice is what I usually order but there are many other delicious desserts.
Meet Fresh, it's amazing place to eat classic Taiwanese Desserts in Auckland. The ambience is very much Asian. It's semi self service restaurant, you need to order and pay for the dish at the counter and they will deliver it to your table.
Classic asian desserts. Overall it tasted good and very nostalgic, however the only complaint id have is that it isnt sweet enough. Ice was weirdly brown which made us thing it was brown sugar haha but it was definitely good especially if you miss traditional asian desserts!
I've already reviewed the Balmoral/Dominion road outlet for Meetfresh so this is pretty much the same as that. However It seems a lot busier here in Lorne street so getting a table may be a bit of a hassle.
If you've ever visited Taiwan, you'll know this is authentic as it gets. They have a top 10 recommended list which is super helpful when you're staring at a list of so many different combinations to choose from. I recommend trying anything from the herbal jelly menu, and don't forget to pour the little carton of milk they serve with it, it gives it that perfect balance to delight your tastebuds. Definitely plan on going back to try more!
Currently one of our favourite dessert places! Has a range of options however we continue to love the classic no1 taro ball dessert. Great flavours and textures with the brown ice, topped with herbal jelly, different flavored taro balls and tapioca. Seems to always be a busy place but desser comes out quite fast. Tables can sometimes be limited especially if you are in a big group. Great way to end the night!
Service was ok, being a slightly self serve type thing there isn't much to comment on. But I enjoyed my dessert, wasn't overwhelmingly sweet which is definitely a nice change, even on a cold Winters afternoon I had a cold dessert. They have a wonderful variety of drinks and desserts, snacks as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere, although it was quite busy, seems to be relatively popular! Especially amongst Asians (not being racist or anything, just a fact) but all in all a good place
First time went to Meet Fresh. As I had no idea what to order, so I grabbed the most popular one on its list.
The taro and redbean tasted well but there was too much ice at the bottom. Because I added red beans to my order, so it cost for $8.4 and it was kinda expensive I think.
They have very interesting range of desserts but it is so hard to pick as i dont know what they look like. If you are familiar with their desserts this is a place for you. I hope the counter girl stop starring at the customers and forcing us to order straight away. But the desserts are very good
This has been one of my favourite asian desert store. I particularly love the grass jelly option( their most popular dish). However, I have realised the quality and quantity of the desserts were inconsistent every time I visited.
In addition, the Mochi is so expensive $5 you only get 2 large ball of Mochi. My friend also said the mango slushy taste watery and not flavourful which does not worth the value of $12.
But overall the services are quick and friendly. The food quality need to be maintained consistently.
Went here when it just opened so had to wait in long line. But order came surprisingly quickly! Liked it a lot and thought it was tasty! Some parts of menu are a bit pricy. Should try it again to get a better idea of the experience since it is not so busy as it was when newly opened.
Love this place! New favourite place to go for dessert! We were super lucky to find a table because whenever we walk pass it's always full. I ordered their meet fresh signature dish and it was super yummy!
Being here many times, mostly takeout! Ive always had the number 4, because it would be the most sweet one. I would say i like the iced one more than the warm one. Good place, but price is slightly high for the amount.
This shaved ice is so delicious. I am going to revisit this place in anytime soon. Some people are saying meet fresh is slightly over priced. I have not tried other desserts except for the shaved ice but I surely can recommend their shaved ice!! They are yum!
Meet Fresh is a great place to eat Taiwanese desserts. Since there were only two staff working it took a while to order. The Mango Shaved Ice was pricey at $12.80 but it was so good that my friend and I could not finish it! I would recommend three people eating per shaved ice.
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Since Meet Fresh opened a few weeks ago on Lorne Street, my Facebook feed had been flooded with dessert photos. Those raving about the traditional Taiwanese desserts that they would normally have to travel on a 13 hour flight for. Or at least, a few hours to Australia.
Word is, the brand Meet Fresh is not so welcomed in the home country Taiwan but the quality is actually better in overseas countries that it expanded into!
I normally have to travel to Howick for my dose of Asian desserts and after posting the photo on Instagram, many locals asked me what actually is in that bowl. Nothing fancy but seeming like a deconstructed dessert, it deserves an explanation.
So letâs deconstruct this. Starting from my favourite: the shiny and jiggly substance is grass jelly ä»è (xian cao) which you can normally buy in cans at your local Asian supermarket. Youâll also find this on bubble tea menus as an alternative to pearls.
The authentic grass jelly is made from the leaves and stalks of the mesona chineensis plant. It doesnât have a strong taste itself but is slightly sweet with a tinge of bitter aftertaste. I went through a grass jelly phrase where I slurped my way through cans of grass jelly one after the other because it isnât too sweet like regular desserts. Traditionally this would be the go-to summer dessert for cooling you down, and for the females (and males) itâs also apparently beneficial to your skin and health.
In this popular shaved ice combo, you can add tapioca (pearls), peanut, taro chunks, taro, and yellow sweet potato balls which are soft and springy.
Both of the desserts were served cold over shaved ice but you have a choice of having it hot with sweet syrup.
When Meet Fresh first opened, lines were literally out the door and a spot at the end of the queue meant waiting for 30min before you got to the counter. Because everything is made to order, there was another long wait time before the buzzer vibrated in your hand.
Authenticity: Compared to Asian dessert places in Auckland that serve this dessert like Istorm and Bubble Tea Cafe, this seems to be a winner. However there have been mixed reviews with the taro and sweet potato balls with some saying that it was fresh and bouncy while others say it was gritty. If youâre missing the Asian style desserts from home â this would be the place to go once in a while, though donât expect it to be same stuff that grandma used to make back home.
As inconvenient as it may seem, donât go there after dinner. Even when I went at dinner time there was a small queue. Needless to say, the buzz will soon die down. Until then, it satisfies my craving for desserts somewhere in the CBD. If the strange ingredients havenât left you feeling bizarre, I recommend going there for a culturally different dessert!
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Patience has finally paid off and I managed to make it to Meet Fresh. I suspect the long queues in its opening week was mainly due to disorganization. When I lined up, I made it to the door and realized almost everyone who got a table were sitting around waiting for their food, hence the slow turnover rate so I gave up. Nevertheless, the lines have now died down, so I tried again. Their desserts are indeed good, especially the Signature herbal jelly with shaved ice. The taro balls are actually taro flavored mochi by the way (I was under the impression they were literally taro balls). Is it expensive? Yes, for what you're getting- a can of grass jelly only costs $1.80 if that puts it into perspective. Would I return anyway? Yes, I would. It's rare to find taiwanese dessert houses in NZ, and they were pretty good.
EDIT: having returned a few times, I'm loving Meet Fresh more now that I know what to order from the menu. Highly recommend the Wintermelon tea at 70% sweetness level and their signature herbal jelly shaved ice!
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Finally the queue outside Meet Fresh has been contained inside the building! I first came during their initial launch week, and am ashamed to admit that I spent a good 30 minutes waiting in line. The queues are much more manageable nowadays.
I had Taro ball dessert #6 â which consisted of taro balls, pearls, crystal noodles, and jelly in a base of crushed ice with honey (or brown sugar). The handmade taro balls were certainly the star of the dish, chewy and with a mild but addictive taste. The pearls tasted similar to the standard variety that you would find in a milk tea place, but were much smaller. I wasnât fond of the crystal noodles and jelly, though, and would probably order a different variety of taro ball dessert next time. The crushed ice wrapped up the dish nicely, providing a sweet base and quenching your thirst at the same time.
I also tasted the traditional milk tea with herbal jelly â it was good, less sweet than that which you would find at most milk tea places. And of a lighter color. But it didnât stand out much compared to the other desserts.
Definitely go and give it a try. The menu is slightly different from that which is found on the website, but the website is helpful for providing pictures of each dish, whereas the store menu isnât terribly descriptive. The prices are pretty standard as far as Taiwanese desserts go, at $7.50 for most desserts and $6.50 for most milk teas.
Finally someone opened up an Asian dessert restaurant in Auckland CBD and I love it. Â Perhaps its because none exist in Wellington. Â Serving a selection of tofu, herbal jelly desserts along with sweet soups etc. Â Â
Depending when you go there could be a queue and other times it is near empty. Â I noticed this place due to the number of people queuing out the door. Â I decided to come back later that day which had very little people.
The wait was short. Â We ordered Tofu Pudding and a Herbal jelly series. Â The tofu was soft but not as smooth and silky as it could have been. Â The herbal jelly series was delicious. Â The serving sizes were fairly large.
check out my website for indepth review.
Meet Fresh has incredible shaved ice desserts and others such as taro desserts and bubble tea! Mango shaved ice and Brown Sugar Boba shaved ice are my faves. There is a shaved ice option which is the cruncher icier pieces and a snowflake ice option, which is the softer, flakier version. I recommend the shaved ice! Hope to try the other flavours in the future. Please open up in Wellington. We need shaved ice desserts. đ
Cantonese dessert place.
Food comes out super fast after you order.
Recommended the signature dish with grass jelly.
Not a huge fan of the mung bean cake and yoghurt drink though.
Had their signature double taro grass jelly. It was ok. Felt it was a bit too expensive as the desert didn't justify the price. Lots of ice underneath . No customer service.
More of a meal than a dessert place. We had the oreo waffles between two and we could not finish it due to the large portions. The waffles are more like sponge cake batter, no crunchiness, but a thick density to it. It was served with banana, vanilla Icecream and prep Icecream, topped with cream.
It was on the expensive end for a dessert, but fulling aswell for a serving of two. Would be more of a dessert size for four.
The staff were friendly and the atmosphere was clean with plenty of seats around.
If you are wanting a fulling dessert that is open till late, then this is the place to go.
The signature coconut sago pudding was perfect and I'd definitely come again for that. Unfortunately my partner and I didn't enjoy the cold tofu and sago pudding, the sagos were quite dense, the sauce/broth lacked flavour and sweetness and the tofu pudding wasn't something we really enjoyed (that one is on us though). Would love to try something else on the menu though.
Taiwanese style dessert in the middle of city, great place to hangout and enjoy dessert with your friends. Due to confusion, our order was wrong but they quite happily change the order for us, thatâs the super mango you see in the photos. Highly recommended
A great place to go for dessert. We had the mango shaved ice. It's probably something you want to share with more than one person though, as it is quite a lot. Tasty though.
Lovely food with a clean and nice atmosphere, just wish there was a bit more for the price in terms of portion. Got the strawberry and ice cream coconut sago
Amazing Chinese dessert option. Totally enjoyed the food. Fresh taro milk has become my fav dessert. The proportion is a bit off from the displayed menu - too much ice with little toppings. The portion of the taro shaved ice was a bit much for two, it could easily feed four.
We had the brown sugar shaved ice. It came in a very large portion so we probably needed more people to help us finish. It was done well and tasted delicious.
Absolutely amazing Desert! I've never had such amazing shaved ice pudding ever in my life. I'd highly recommend sharing it though as I ordered something I wasn't able to finish by myself.
For about $20.80, I was able to get the brown sugar boba desert which looked and tasted amazing, compared to other desert restaurants in the past. I'll definitely be coming back!
Ordered barley beancurd and icy grassjelly. Both are really nice. Not overly sweet. Place also good ambience, nice place to hang out. Price wise it might be a bit expensive. Around $10-$13 price range for dessert. Would happily recommend them
Love their wintermelon lemon tea! Their strawberry shaved ice is yummy too but definitely needs to be shared between 3-4 people :D
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