L'AMI Bakery & Cafe
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How many stories start with the words “Inside an H Mart, you will find...”? This cafe joins that tome. Just past the towers of forklifted Orion turtle chips and Nongshim tempura udon and neoguri, all on sale, is this first food court opportunity. The centerfold is the case full of Asian-inspired French breads (or French-inspired Asian breads?), mammoth bread (with red bean and green bean pastes), scones of pure butter and oat-currant, and castellas. A few screens announce the drinks menu with a particular pride dedicated to their make-your-own bubble tea. What ends up making this place different is the people: the ladies behind the counter and the diversity that a place like Yonkers unexpectedly means. You can try and navigate the food court seating, or you can walk the halls of Eastern goods and familiar products with Asian languages—on some replacing the words altogether, on others stickered over with American translations. I opted for the latter journey. Pro-tip: don’t sacrifice your non-drinking hand. You’ll need it to pull closer or bring to the register some never-before-encountered product. Keep it free. After all, every story in that “Inside an H Mart, you will find” tome ends with “and I left with more than I came for.”
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Drink: Soy Black Sesame Latte
The milk mustache missed my upper lip and basically tried to play nose highlighter. If you’re wondering why people in H Mart are looking at you, this might be the reason. You’ve been warned. When I was exploring the menu, I first asked about their black glazed latte. That drink is basically a mocha with a chocolate rim. It sounded interesting, but once I see black sesame on a menu, I go temporarily blind. The barista began selling the drink to me on the foam component. “The signature foam is our response to Starbucks cold foam, but it’s way better,” she continued while I nodded the whole way. I agreed with her from the start. They were out of oat milk, so I opted for soy. She handed it to me, signature foam half-dusted with black sesame and puffing out the lip. She apologized for the cold foam’s slight volcanic activity. No need. It was delicious. All three layers of the drink pretty quickly sunk together, but I have a feeling this situation was directly related to me opting for soy milk. The last black sesame latte I had was much richer and pronounced. However, that last black sesame latte was made with whole milk. If you want a coffee drink that is a little different with a fun texture component, this option is worth going for if you can go full dairy. Too, the black sesame isn’t overpowering, definitely present (on top, on the bottom, on the sides of the cup), but it remains at bay.