Coffee & Tea — Restaurant in South El Monte

I've driven by this place many times, seen it on socials, and am happy that I finally got to try it out this weekend. My new fave Viet Coffee spot in the 626!?

ITEM'S ORDERED:

Sesame Coffee Vietnamese Coffee Matcha Coffee Ube Coffee Pandan Coconut Waffle Black Sesame Waffle

TASTE:

Not to be unoriginal but my favorite was the OG, straight up Viet Coffee. Not to say the other drinks were bad in anyway, it's just I enjoy the original version so much, I don't think any variation ever stands up to it. Strong bold coffee, balanced out by the proper amount of sweetness, always so good.

The other drinks which are basically Viet Coffee but with a flavored cream on top all reminded of Da Vien (in the OC) when I first saw the pics. I'll have to say that I may prefer these though simply since I like the texture of the creams better than the overly thick versions at Da Vien. This way they can more easily be mixed into the overall drink for better flavor balance.

The Sesame Coffee was interesting since even though the coffee is so strong, you can detect that roasted, nutty flavor adding another dimension which is worth a try. The Matcha Coffee has a strong enough matcha flavor which is not lost when it's paired with the strong coffee base and is a good choice if you enjoy both matcha and coffee. The Ube Coffee has a nice look with it's deep purple color and was overall the sweetest with light notes of coconut coming from the ube.

I don't get these type of waffles often but since I enjoy the black sesame flavor I tried the Black Sesame Waffle and it's really good paired with the sesame cream. The waffle itself is quite light and has a pretty subtle sesame flavor which is nice. Having it with the cream added a little more sesame flavor along with salt and sweet.

SERVICE, LOCATION & PARKING:

The service was very good here. They were nice at the counter and even though it was very busy, they service was still there.

The are located right at the corner of Rosemead & Garvey in Garvey Rose Center, right across from Starbucks. Parking is easy since the center has it's own parking lot. If you know the area, you know the intersection right here is very busy so be careful leaving the parking lot.

There are about 6 tables inside and an aesthetically pleasing wall for you to use for your IG photos of your drinks.

If you are looking for a solid Viet Coffee spot that's not in the OC, you should make your way to Waffle...

This is the closest tea shop to our office so we decided to give it a try... and I am so glad we did! It was soooo good and the interior is so freaking cute.

They had a buy 4 get 1 free special so we got 5 drinks total.

House Salted Coffee Matcha Brulee Avocado Coffee Blended Fresh Taro Milk Dragon Lichi

I spilled my Taro Milk as soon as we got back to the office, so I only got to try a tiny bit, but it was delicious.

I was super surprised at how good the avocado coffee was. It seemed like a weird combination, but I wanted to give it a try. This was easily my favorite drink. It was soooo smooth and creamy and delicious. This is definitely one I will order again.

I also tried a sip of my coworkers matcha brulee and it was tasty.

I haven't tried the dragon lichi yet, I put it in the fridge for later, so I can't say much on it other than it looks so pretty.

My other coworkers got the salted coffee and said it was great.

Next time we will probably order ahead, though, because the wait was pretty long. We were probably waiting for about 30 minutes. There was a large order right before ours and then our 5 drinks, so it is completely understandable... but if you are trying to grab a quick drink on your lunch break just be prepared for a bit of a wait. Overall our experience was great. Everything was so delicious and we will...

I don't know many coffee shops in the El Monte area that serve Vietnamese Egg Coffee or cream topped coffee for that matter so when I heard about this spot, I made a mental note to stop by this spot if I was ever in the area. If the fact that they sell Vietnamese coffee is not an indicator already, but their coffee is very strong. If coffee isn't your thing, they have other milk teas and non-caffeinated drinks so there's really something for everyone here. They also sell egg waffles and taiyaki. Usually in other spots, I see one or the other but not both! I really love how they decorated their interior, especially the floral wall. There's a decent amount of seating inside, but they were all occupied when I went on a Sunday morning.

|| L O C A T I O N / P A R K I N G || -Cross Streets are -Shared parking lot with plenty of spots, hassle free

|| D E S S E R T / D R I N K S || Egg Waffle - I opted for the Strawberry and I liked how it came with fresh strawberries and cream. This was just a delicious treat

Ube Coffee - my favorite out of all the three coffees but I am also a fan of Ube so I may be biased.

Brulee Cofee - gotta love me some egg coffee!

House Coffee - perfect for those that aren't ready to experiment with egg...