![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
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![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Sweet treats to eat: the influence of Asian desserts
August 28, 2019
The Bay Area is a hub of immigrants, leading to a fusion of cultures in every aspect of life. One noticeable example of this “melting-pot” is the popularity of Asian desserts among people of all backgrounds. The Asian community in Santa Clara County, according to the US Census Bureau, makes up 38.3% of the total population and has fueled the spread of these cafes. For example, Los Angeles-based cafe Sul and Beans opened a new location in the Bay Area because of its Asian demographic.
“It’s a really popular place in LA, and it carried [over] here because the customer bases are around the same,” said Justin Li, an employee at Sul and Beans.
Mandy Liu, an employee at Taiwanese cafe Snowflake, accredits the success of Asian desserts to the open-mindedness of the area.
“[Snowflake is successful] because there are lots of Asians in the Bay Area, and I believe that most of the Americans, they are interested in Asian desserts too,” she said.
However, Asian dessert shops are changing to appeal to the general public. While traditional desserts form the inspiration for the dishes at Snowflake and Sul and Beans, both shops have added new flavors that appeal to American audiences.
“Since it’s made here, I feel like [Sul and Beans] has to cater in some way to an American taste,” Li said. “For example, we have Oreo [flavors], but the influence is definitely straight out of Korean desserts.“
Rather than serving wholly traditional desserts, nearby restaurant SomiSomi offers a soft serve treat that features another element: taiyaki. According to the Japan Times, this fish-shaped Japanese dessert uses waffle batter, making it a prime example of fusion food.
Another well known beverage is bubble tea, with Teaspoon’s selections being one of the student favorites. The shop serves premium teas with delicious toppings while blending the classic milk tea and taro milk with passion fruit and mango.
“There certainly are American products that have picked up certain influences. I feel like the trend of having [toppings] in drinks kind of picked up,” Nigel Pasman, a daily customer of Teaspoon, said.
Asian desserts not only provide a sweet treat for all types of customers; they create a bridge between Western and Asian cultures, blending traditional and modern ideas.
From shaved ice and soft serve to bubble tea drinks, the Bay Area is incredibly rich in Asian dessert cafes; here are a few of our recommendations among the many options.
Nestled in the far corner of Cupertino Main Street Plaza, SomiSomi sells taiyaki, a Japanese fish shaped waffle with a red bean filling. However, SomiSomi blends American and Japanese desserts, offering a wider range of taiyaki fillings, including Nutella, custard or red bean, along with soft serve ice cream.
Teaspoon:
Situated in the Mitsuwa Market Plaza, Teaspoon offers a large variety of fruit-flavored or milk teas, a selection of toppings such as pearls and fruit jellies and a few versions of Asian shaved ice. Teaspoon is a favorite due to its high-quality drinks and proximity to campus. Since its establishment in 2015, Teaspoon has opened a handful of locations in the Bay Area.
Snowflake:
Across the parking lot from Teaspoon is Snowflake, a lesser-known boba shop and Taiwanese dessert cafe. Snowflake serves various Asian desserts such as its Taiwanese “snowflake” shaved ice and Thai rolled ice cream and crepes. Its “snowflake” consists of fluffy milk-based ice decorated that simply melts on the tongue.However, even their traditional items include some Westernized toppings such as chocolate sauce and marshmallows.
Sul and Beans:
This trendy cafe in the Cupertino Main Street Plaza, originally from LA’s Koreatown, offers traditional Korean desserts with an added modern twist. Their most popular menu item is their bingsoo, which in its original form consists of shaved ice with red bean toppings. Now, Sul and Beans serves it with a variety of toppings and flavors, ranging from the most traditional injeolmi, or sesame flavor, to different fruits like watermelon and strawberry.
