Growing up on the Vietnamese dessert che, I have been meaning to try BAMBU. Che ranges from coconutty creamy desserts with beans to rock sugar-sweetened cold soups with a variety of asian fruits, agar jelly, and seaweed. It sounds weird but it's awesome. My favorite growing up was che dau trang (white bean che). Beans are very often used in Asian desserts and are typically sweetened to make pastes just like how almonds are ground into a fine paste and made into marzipan. Red bean (usually adzuki beans), green bean (not like snap peas), mung beans, black eyed peas are some of the many beans used in these types of desserts.
I ordered #14, which has red bean, taro, and pandan jelly. I absolutely LOVE taro anything. Taro chips, taro buns, taro fries, and especially taro when it is made into a paste in Asian desserts. Made-to-order che always comes with shaved ice and this particular che had coconut milk. It wasn't as rich as the che I usually get at restaurants so there was a little disappointment there. I am one of those who have little of everything else and a big blob of coconut milk. The ratio is ridiculous when left up to me to top it off. When I ordered, they asked me if I wanted large red beans or small.... This was odd and I assumed the large red beans were regular red beans and small was adzuki, so I asked for small. Adzuki red beans taste different from regular red beans and the texture is firmer. The middle purple section was the mashed up taro paste (yum!) and the top layer was pandan jelly. Pandan is a staple flavor in a lot of southeast Asian and Filipino desserts. It comes from a leaf and has a very mild flavor, but I'm not sure if there really is anything I can compare the flavor to. You'll just have to try it out for yourself!
BAMBU made one of the best pandan jellies I've tasted- it was slightly chewy with a fresh pandan flavor. I do wish the taro had chunks with the paste, but it was still good. Overall, it wasn't too sweet and if anything, I preferred it to be a little sweeter. Does this beat the che at restaurants? No. This is great for getting if you're not eating out but keep in mind the coconut milk seems to be a little watered down. If I plan to be naughty, I'll take it home and top it off with some extra coconut milk of my own (ooooh, so good). The other difference between BAMBU che and the ones typically offered at restaurants is that it has taro and pandan jelly. I don't recall ever seeing taro offered at restaurants and it usually comes with green agar jelly instead.
My friend ordered #18 which is the same as #14 but with green bean instead.
I went to the Stafford store located in The Fountains shopping center off Hwy 59. They're popping up everywhere though and there is one within walking distance from my apartment which is great, because if I'm going to be consuming copious amounts of coconut milk in, I should get some walking in to lessen the dent. You can find what locations are available on the BAMBU website.
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