Usually whenever someone mentions boba shops, the first
thing that comes to mind are the Asian style shops that I go to. They usually serve boba drinks along with an
assortment of dishes typically of Chinese/Taiwanese. These are finger food snacks like the popcorn
chicken, fried calamari, and fried fish balls. They even serve main dishes that
comes with rice (can’t be Asian without rice!) or as noodle soups. These are the
common foods found on these shops.
Back in July a good friend of mine told me that he is
opening his own boba shop and mentioned that it’ll be different from the norm.
I thought to myself how are you going to accomplish this; to be different from
the others? To be honest I was kind of skeptical, but still gave him my support.
So let’s fast forward to October where his shop finally opened its doors to the
public. The name of the shop is Café 86 located
in the City of Chino. Upon entering the first thing that greeted my eyes are
these wooden soda bottle crates suspended on the wall and arranged in way to look
like shelves. In it are a bunch of antique items such as old license plates,
weighing scale, lamps, vases, and more. This is also my first time seeing a
wooden pallet used as a wall décor; I thought to myself that’s pretty
brilliant.
The interior wall design have a mixture of drywall, unfinished bricks,
and wooden planks that comes in different shades of color. The front counter sports a black granite top
with the same wooden planks that matches one side of the wall. There are sofa
chairs that are arranged like a living room so you can rest easy and be
comfortable as you sip your drink. Going back to the front area next to the
door entrance is a bar table that looks like a part of a tree trunk that’s been
cut out and then lacquered to a good shine.
There’s a “Café” sign on top of it that’s made out of welded steel as
part of its decor. Nice touch!
Adjacent
to the bar table is an antique mail slot shelves that serves as a condiments
table. And then you got your typical restaurant set up of tables and chairs to accommodate
sit down customers. Wifi is provided for those internet surfers who’d hang out.
The bathroom is rad! Full of color and
has an “86” graffiti painted on the wall. Oh did I mentioned they also have a
balcony bar table set up just outside their door entrance? You can eat your
food there while looking out the parking lot.
An area reserved for those gear heads who like to adore their cars as they munch on good eats! Overall Café 86 is a
hip and trendy place; an abstract art of some sort where the contrast of colors
and design are mixed in with the themes of both the past and present.
Now the important part: checking out the menu!
I saw some familiar drinks I usually see from
an Asian style boba shops like the Thai tea boba, Jasmine milk tea, and Milk
tea boba. However there are other drinks
listed that I have not seen nor tasted. They
have the Tiger tea which is a combination of Thai and milk tea; that’s what I
was told. There’s the Hisbiscus
Calamansi tea. Calamansi is a fruit basically a family of the lime that is
indigenous to some parts of South East Asia; mainly found in the Philippines,
Indonesia, and Malaysia. So this is Café 86’s twist on the iced lemon tea
drink. They also have milkshakes called Matcha (basically ice bended powdered green tea) and Kouki Monster (pronounced cookie). “Kouki” is a pun my friend
use that is originally from the Japanese language that means a generation
change of style and look of any model car. What can I say…he’s a classic gear
head just like me! Very clever!! They also have a cappuccino machine which they
make coffee drinks both hot and iced.
What makes this place “different” from the traditional shops
are the foods that they serve. You will not find any popcorn chicken or any
Chinese dishes in this joint. Nope!..nada and don’t even ask for it!!!! You know
that sign you usually see in restaurants that says “We reserve the right to
refuse service”; that’s what you will get if you ask for something that’s not
on the menu. So in lieu of the traditional treats, they serve sandwiches with chips
and a plethora of delicious and tempting desserts/pastries. The sandwiches are
excellent. So far I’ve tried their turkey
pesto Panini sandwich served with potato chips. The sandwich is perfectly pressed
toasted which give it a nice crunch on the outside when you bite and yet
retains the softness inside. Truly a delight to eat with your boba drink. They
also have the Siracha chicken and the Cubano sandwich which I have yet to try. What
makes this shop unique is the way the desserts and pastries are created. It’s a fusion of Filipino/Western recipes. Take
for example the ube cheesecake. Ube is
basically purple yam and it’s a traditional Filipino dessert treat. Then you
got your cheesecake which everyone knows how it taste like. Mixed these two
together and you have something supreme. The sweetness of the ube mixed with
the semi saltiness of the cheesecake dancing around your taste buds. Not overpowering
in flavors, but more like a balanced sweet and salty snack. There’s also the
ube leche flan cupcake. It’s a purple yam
cupcake and the topping is a crème caramel custard. The cupcake is made not to
be sweet as the custard so the sweetness is not overbearing. How about sans rival macaroons? Sans rival is
a Filipino dessert made out of buttercream, meringue, and chopped cashews.
Imagine having that sandwiched between two crunchy vanilla macaroons?
I hope
you’re not drooling now! These and
several more pastries are available at this shop. They don’t make them every day. They have
certain days where they provided these desserts. If you want to know what the
treats of the day, you can follow them via Twitter or Facebook.
With all that
is said and mentioned, truly indeed this establishment is NOT your
typical boba shop. So if you are hard pressed for some good ole popcorn chicken
or fried calamari rings for snack? This is not the place to be!!!!
Café 86
4110 Edison Avenue #109
Chino, CA 91710
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