I can’t seem to get enough of the desserts around town. Here are my five recommendations to satisfy your sweet tooth located conveniently within walking distance from each other on Green Street.
Café Benne
The two things you want to try at Café Benne are honey bread and bingsoo. Honey bread ($6.95) is a sweet milk bread that is heated up, filled with cream cheese and topped with strawberry on top. It’s a great dessert that isn’t extremely sweet, but very satisfying with the crunchy edges of the bread, pairing well with the tartness of the strawberry and the cream cheese. It’s almost like a pull apart bread and can be easily shared with someone.
My other recommendation is bingsoo or Korean shaved ice ($7.95 for medium). This is one dessert for which you will need company! Even the medium was huge, and we could barely finish it between three of us. Pro tip – If you have Hooked app, Café Benne has $1 gelato on most days until 8 p.m., and the salted caramel option they have is really good.
524 E Green St
Champaign
7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
Latea
Latea is one of the oldest boba shops in town and its popularity and longevity is for good reason. I wanted to feature the tiramisu float with chocolate milk drink, which my friends have raved about for some time. However, this was the second time that I went and they were out of key ingredients to make it. I ended up settling for hazelnut boba tea ($5.50), a chocolate short bread cookie($1) and a matcha madeleine($2). I like matcha, and this was my favorite matcha flavor out of all the ones I sampled for this article. The madeleine was light and crispy at the edges with a hint of matcha. The shortbread was more salty than sweet, but paired well with my hazelnut milk tea. My recommendations are the matcha madeleine and tiramisu float (hopefully they will have it when you go!). Pro tip: They have BOGO on boba teas on Tuesday from noon to 3 p.m.
601 S 6th St
Champaign
Su-Th 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
F + Sa 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Mia Za’s
It’s easy to ignore the desserts Mia Za’s has to offer. While most of the cheesecakes they have are frozen solid and need a good ten mins of thawing to taste their best, the tiramisu ($4) is where Mia Za’s desserts shine. I couldn’t get enough of it, devouring it within minutes. It was soft and creamy with a nice coffee taste that lingered for a long time. The other thing I tried was the chocolate raspberry cheesecake ($4) from the among their rotating cheesecake selection, and it was good but slightly too sweet for my taste.
629 E Green St
Champaign
Su-Th 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
F + Sa 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Paris Super Crepes
Strawberry, chocolate, and matcha: You would think that this combo wouldn’t work, but somehow it works in the strawberry truffle crepe ($6.95) on offer at Paris Super Crepes. The tartness from the strawberry, the sweetness from the chocolate truffles, and the earthiness from the matcha custard create a harmonious balance that is definitely something you should try. I wish they would bring back the rolled ice cream, but until then you can pair up your crepe with the 3 guys milk tea with brown sugar ($4.95$).
601 S 6th St
Champaign
Su-Th noon to 11 p.m.
F + Sa noon to 1 a.m.
PvP bakery
PvP bakery is a Hong Kong style bakery which focuses on producing fresh sweet breads. You can walk in and take your pick from the things on offer, but the two things that you need to try are the pineapple bun ($3.99) and custard bun ($3.49). These are some of the most basic options they have, but they truly showcase how good the sweet breads can be! The pineapple bun is cut on top to include a slab of salted butter, which really compliments the slight pineapple flavor. The custard bun is generously filled with custard and is honestly something I didn’t expect to be as good as it was. But it has become my go-to these days. I also tried the matcha crepe cake ($5.95), which had an intense matcha flavor. My only gripe with this place is the lack of plates, which forces you to eat off parchment paper. Ask the staff to heat up the breads slightly before eating.
611 E Green St
Champaign
M-F 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sa 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Photos by Mayank Boob