Taste Tested: Cafe Orange

April 21, 2019 | Writer: QT | Editor: Mob

Hey Foodies,

The first of our Taste Tested series is Café Orange! If you guys want to hear about our overall experience there, check out Mob’s Café Corner post~ I don’t want to waste your time so let’s jump right into it.

Visit #1

Drinks

I ordered a Matcha Milk Tea while waiting for Mob. Once I saw it on the menu, I immediately went for it. Because, well, I love matcha, guys. Like the love between Pooh Bear and honey.

It wasn’t too sweet and very creamy. Perfect for me! The star of the show was definitely the creaminess. I really enjoyed the drink since I love milk (a blessing and a curse as an Asian). However, sadly the matcha didn’t come through at all. It was a good drink, but for those looking for serious matcha flavor, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Food

When Mob finally arrived, we ordered the Tofu Cupbob, Spicy California Roll, and Tuna Kimbob.

Mob gave up after finishing 2/3 of the cupbob. I ended up finishing it for her. The tofu dish needed something acidic to cut through the creaminess. Like kimchi, or even a vinegar-based sauce, rather than the hoisin sauce it came with.

We wondered if we should’ve opted for one of the other options instead, like the Kimchi Pork Cupbob. However, if you love a creamy tofu dish, the Tofu Cupbob may be the one for you.

The Spicy California Rolls were standard. It wasn’t anything mind-blowing but it did what it came to do. It was tasty and enjoyable for its price. The only complaint I have was that it wasn’t spicy at all. I wish there was a kick to it since it was supposed to be spicy.

Mob found them irresistible though. She shamelessly stole two even though she said no when I asked if she wanted any…

This brings us to the best item of the night – the Tuna Kimbob! It was so good. Each roll was large and filling, and each ingredient complemented one another. So much so I could’ve eaten thirty of them! (Mob would have had to roll me out the door.) Honestly, just writing this makes me crave it again. Although Mob enjoyed the Bulgogi Kimbob the last time she visited, she agreed the tuna roll was definitely better.

Visit #2

Drinks

This time, we ordered three drinks: Milk Tea, Ocean Spade, and Coffee Milk Tea.

The Milk Tea (their most popular item) was light and sweet. You can’t really go wrong with a classic. I enjoyed it, even if I did end up spilling like 25% of it like a fool.

Next, the Ocean Spade was…interesting. I’ll be honest, from the start, I knew it wasn’t going to be my favorite drink since I don’t usually enjoy carbonated beverages. But to my surprise, it wasn’t bad. According to the barista, the Ocean Spade is mixed-fruit flavored. The drink ended up being too sweet for us, even with the ice melted. For me, the sweetness was almost medicinal, leaving behind a cough-syrupesque aftertaste. For Mob, it reminded her of the syrups of snow cones. I personally won’t order it again since it’s not my cup of tea but for someone who likes fruit flavored soda, the Ocean Spade is a must-try.

Now, onto our final drink, the Coffee Milk Tea. This is Cafe Orange’s second most popular drink, and Mob and I both really enjoyed it. The coffee came through strong and as a result, the drink wasn’t sweet at all. However, for those seeking caffeine, I don’t recommend it. Maybe I have a higher tolerance, but the drink didn’t have any effect on me. However, taste-wise, this drink is delicious, and I would order it again.

Food

The Hawaiian Roll was gooood. Considering Cafe Orange isn’t a sushi restaurant, I was initially a little reluctant to try anything with raw fish. But I did it anyways because I would die for sushi. It didn’t change my life but it was solid. I would definitely order it again.

The California Roll was a classic. Nothing more I can say.

Now onto the beast, the Urban Steak plate. The picture doesn’t do the plate actual justice. No other word can describe it – this thing is a monster. The portion was massive, enough for 2-3 people to share. The bottom layer was salad, topped with rice, steak, a fried egg, and finished with fried onions and thinly sliced fried potatoes.

Everytime we visited, we always saw people ordering it so we were really excited to try it. Unfortunately, Mob and I hit the same problem we did with the Tofu Cupbob. This time, the culprit was grease and it hit like a truck. The salad helped but there just wasn’t enough of it to counter all the fried oily parts. We really wanted more salad. More egg would’ve helped too (though, in fair warning, we might be obsessed with eggs…).

With the Urban Steak came a side of chips. It might have been an off-day, but the chips were oily and a little sad. Sliced so thin, the deep frying burnt them. The chips also soaked up the oil, making them soggy. I could barely eat a couple before giving up.

If you’re looking for something heavy and don’t mind the grease, give this a try! Otherwise, if you want to try but don’t want to commit, we recommend ordering this with intention to share. Do not attempt to solo or duo if you don’t like greasy foods. Mob and I learned the hard way.

Final Thoughts

Overall, my personal score taste-wise is 6.5 out of 10. Most of what we ordered didn’t particularly wow me, but they were still solid items. The portions were definitely generous, especially for the price. I wish I could’ve explored more items on the menu, but that’s for next time! After all, I’ll definitely return for the Tuna Kimbob and sushi~

Cheers,
QT