Salt N Cocoa — Restaurant in Durham

This, is one of the best Asian cafe and desserts shops in the area. I have sampled almost all of their categories and I must say the amount of love and care they put in their creations, moved me. As an Asian immigrant small business owner myself, I see them and I applaud their effort of getting here. It's no easy feast to create an eatery (especially in this economic climate), let alone keep it running with such quality and unique offers. Now, to the food:

1/ Their taiyakis are so legit that I had to come back the day after my 1st visit to get another 6 (5 get 1 free, insane deal since the cost is already more than reasonable without the deal) of them for my cheat meal. These are fluffy inside, crispy outside, lightly sweet and delightfully aromatic. They transported me through time and space, right back to a little corner of Saigon (my hometown) where I stood as a kid, splitting and eating a similar snack with my lil sister, when I was most content and happy with life. All the filling flavors are fresh and made in house, the sweet ones are not too sweet (the highest compliment for Asian desserts iykyk lol) and the savory ones are so satifying they could be a meal by themselves and will pair so well with all of their drinks. My personal favs are the ham & cheese and the blueberry cream chese.

2/ Their soft serve is what I wish all softserve would be. I fantasize about eating softserve at least 3 times a week so I'm a tad obsessed with finding all the good places to have one at every random corner of the Triangle so that I could always get one when the urge arrives lol, and this is one of them. Best thing about this place is that they have 3 bases flavors with a bunch of typical (like Oreo) and rarer toppings (like boba). Their softserves holds its form extremely well, barely melts, has velvety smooth but firm texture. This means there's barely any ice in it and every bite is just pure joy. Highly recommend going with boba as a topping.

3/ They cook the best boba in the 10 miles radius. I'm a proud boba snob, because not only I used to cook it for a living, I have been eating it since I was 10 at multiple different vendors and places around the world and in the US. They slow cook and soak their boba the right way with the right amount of time, the variety that they serve is also a good one. They're all evenly cooked, lightly firm and have the right amount of swishy-ness, and the most important thing is the texture stays amost the same throughout the 2-hour they float around in my drink. Impressive really. Sweetened with regular sugar syrup (not honey or black sugar) so they taste neutral in any drink and don't alter the drink's original taste.

4/ They melt their own chocolate in store.

The owner offered me some of her gimbab while I was there munching on my cheat meal. Made my day. Kind people who care a whole freaking lot about the food they make and about spreading joy through food, bring tears to my eyes ya'll. So people, be kind to them and please go support them and shower them with...

Overall Rating: 5.3/10 This quaint venue offers a cozy atmosphere where customers can watch their rolled ice cream being made, adding a transparent and engaging touch to the dining experience. However, some aspects of service and product execution require improvement.

Atmosphere: 5.9/10 The small setup contributes to a cozy, intimate feeling that makes the ice cream making process a focal point of the visit. Watching the creation of each order adds a unique, interactive element to the experience, enhancing the overall environment.

Service: 5.1/10 Staff were courteous and communicative, especially during busy periods, ensuring customers were aware of delays. This proactive communication helped manage expectations, though the clarity of the walk-in menu could be enhanced to better represent their offerings, aligning it more closely with the clearer website.

Food:

Mango Rolled Ice Cream: 5.5/10 While the ice cream was fundamentally good, its presentation lacked thematic cohesion. Toppings like Oreos and Pocky sticks did not complement the mango flavor, detracting from the overall appeal. A focus on toppings that resonate with mango's cultural or flavor profiles would potentially elevate this dish.

Taiyaki: 5.3/10 Made on the spot, the Taiyaki offered various fillings that provided diverse tastes, though the execution was not without flaws. The custard filling was notably bland and contributed to the sogginess of the waffle, which could benefit from a richer or more flavorful custard to improve both taste and texture.

Boba Milk Tea: 4.4/10 The Thai Milk Tea suffered from an imbalance, being too heavy on the tea flavor and packed with excessive ice, which impeded enjoyment of the boba. These were often stuck under the ice, leading to waste. Enhancing the size of the drink or better balancing the ice content could improve both value and...

Finding Salt N Cocoa was like finding a hidden treasure. I wanted some late night sweets before I started cramming for an exam. This was the first I had seen of this desert called, Taiyaki. I asked the young gentleman behind the counter what "Taiyaki" was and he explained it's essentially a fish shaped hot warm and gooey waffle filled with your choice of sweets. He mentioned maybe I would like Nutella instead of the traditional semi sweet red bean jelly on the inside. That was nice of him but I figured if I can say I consciously chose and enjoy Kimchi then this sounded like good food for me to try. Actually the thought of Nutella was too sweet in my mind and maybe ruined the essence of the original? I dunno but the gooey warm sweetened adzuki beans in the middle was the perfect alternative to a scream in your face traditional sugar jelly donut. It wasn't too sweet but it had a sweet tendency to its flavor and oh so perfect with a cappuccino on the side. The other thing I ordered was rolled smore ice cream as a backup. As you can see the aesthetic decor of the ice cream was done like a beautiful piece of art. I almost didn't want to eat it. However I couldn't finish both the Taiyaki and ice cream in one sitting so ended up eating all the Taiyaki and small amounts of the ice cream to add some hot and cold to this experience and the Salt N Cocoa.

PS and I aced that test...