Meet Fresh - Sydney, New South Wales

We just got back from a trip to Sydney and as you can probably guess, there was a lot of eating involved. One of the most memorable places we discovered was a Taiwanese dessert place in Chinatown (Haymarket) called Meet Fresh. If you weren't reading the name in print, you might think it was a butcher shop (meat fresh?). But the name is only one part of the fun. For us, it was something different, cheap and delicious for dessert.



This is probably the shortest you'll ever see the line, but they give you a buzzer that goes off when your order is ready. This system is very efficient so you rarely have to wait very long. On our first visit, we were pleased to see the Top 10 in the front window since we had no idea what this place was selling or where to start with the menu.



They sell Taiwanese desserts and drinks at Meet Fresh. I can tell you the dessert menu is slightly overwhelming at first. There are various numbered Taro Balls, Herbal Jelly, and Tofu Pudding options. If you're planning a visit, I recommend checking out the menu on the website first as it's pretty hard to figure out what you want when you're standing in line. After several return visits, our favourite was Taro Balls No. 4 (cold). When you order, you get the option of hot or cold. Cold was our preference as we really loved the texture and taste with the ice and cane sugar syrup. Yum! They keep the shop really warm inside so ice is good even in winter.



Taro Balls No. 4 has Taro, Red Beans and Pearls. The other numbers have different combinations. If you choose the hot option with any of the taro balls, it's more of a warm soup. Not as sweet and not as nice, but still a good dessert on a cold day.



Another option we tried was Herbal Jelly No. 5 (cold). The herbal jelly ice was underneath and they gave us a little tub of milk to pour over the top. This one is probably not for everyone but we loved it.



This place turned into our trip go-to for desserts since they're max $5.50 for a huge bowl. Bargain! It's something different and probably much healthier than the other dessert options out there. If you're in Sydney, you've got to check out Meet Fresh and let us know your favourite choice on the menu.