Ball Ball Waffle, Matcha Waffle and Hong Kong Milk Tea- Cleveland OH

#WednesdayWanderings  My friend, Heidi, and I like to try ethnic foods during the summer.  She has off school and I have my Wednesdays off.

We headed an hour North to Cleveland's, Asiantown for some dim sum and tea.  We were pleasantly surprised to find the restaurant we were headed too was in this fun plaza.

Right around the corner from Li Wah Dim Sum, was Ball Ball Waffle.  They had Hong Kong Milk Tea and Matcha waffles.

https://www.facebook.com/BallBallWaffle

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/ohio/cleveland/ball-ball-waffle-cle/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=cleveland&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=nlbuttonB1&fbclid=IwAR0EJF7YUByoqi1ai2YusNmD-uZahWw9WCBdzOWQ-1fv7F_uwVFkMWM5VvY

I've had bubble waffles once before in CO.  I thought it would be fun to try these Matcha Waffles as a dessert after the dim sum.

Also called an egg waffle, bubble waffles are a common street food in Hong Kong. In Cantonese, these treats are called gai daan jai (雞蛋仔). Here in the U.S., these bubble waffles can often be found in ethnic neighborhoods like AsiaTown.

It was fun to be able to watch them make these waffles. There were a lot of steps in the process.

These were really good and surprisingly sweet tasting.  I enjoyed them.  They had an addicting flavor to them.  There is were hints of Matcha, but it was not overwhelming or grassy tasting. 

Hong Kong-style milk tea is a tea drink made from black tea and milk. It is usually part of lunch in Hong Kong tea culture. Hong Kongers consume approximately a total of 900 million glasses/cups a year.

I enjoyed this milk tea. It was not overly sweet- which I have found some milk teas to be.  My big frustration with teas from shops/cafes and bottled drinks is all the sugar that is added.  The staff was super friendly, the place was clean and prices were good.  I gave them 4 tea cups out of 5.  This was a fun and unique place to try.

After dim sum and my drink and treat we walked around the plaza and checked out the shops.  It was like being in Asia.  I guess I should not be surprised since we were in Asiatown, lol.  I love shopping for ethnic things and learning about their cultures. 

I loved this tea pot, but I think it was over $200- so I left it in the store.

I found some fun new teas to try too.  They had a lot of fun options.  I could have spent a lot of more time looking over all the tea.

I also bought this adorable fishing man that I want to add to potted plant.

While I was in Malaysia I discovered Chrysanthemum tea.  I was super excited to find some different kinds.  The instant tea has a lot of sugar, so it is not one I will make often, but it is a fun one to share with people.  I also look forward to trying the date tea.  I learned to really love dates when I was in France.  I bought these tea more for memories of trips I have taken than for any other reason.