Bibble & Sip has got to be one of the cutest shops in New York City. While trendy bakeries selling Asian-inspired desserts, coffees, and teas are not new to the scene, this one has a special twist — their “mascot” is a llama. Llamas decorate the walls, the baked goods, the coffees, and everything in between. To try and understand the hype, I ordered a few things from the menu and gave each product a rating on a scale of one to ten, from disgusting to delicious, based on both presentation and taste.
I went to Bibble & Sip in a huge snowstorm/hail storm/hurricane/rainstorm (New Yorkers, you know what I mean), on a Friday afternoon. Despite this, the shop was still packed and there was a long line of people waiting to order.
The interior decor was really nice, and the bakery had a trendy vibe to it. Not to mention, there were llamas on every wall. Seriously — you can't turn around without starring at a llama. They're everywhere.
Matcha Creme Cream Puff
Appearance: Of course I had to order their signature item: the Matcha Cream Puff. I’ve had many cream puffs in my lifetime before, but this one was the biggest I’ve ever had — it was twice the size of my fist. I guess the term portion size is not in in Bibble & Sip’s vocabulary.
Taste: As expected, the filling tasted like the sweet matcha version of whipped cream and felt really light in my mouth. It was not bad at all, but the bread-y exterior was a tad dry for my taste.
Rating: 7/10
Matcha Latte
Appearance: The first thing I noticed about the latte was the llama print on the top (see?), which was an adorable touch. The latte was a reasonable size for the $4.75 price and was just enough for one person.
Taste: I was very impressed. I prefer my lattes lightly sweetened, and this latte was perfect because it was sweet but not sickeningly so. It was a nice palette cleanser, too, since I used it to balance out of the sweetness of that cream puff. #matcha love for this one.
Rating: 8/10
Lucky Alpaca Macaron
Appearance: The exterior of the macaron had a cute decoration of a llama — no surprise there. There were two types of filling sandwiched between the macaron cookies: Red bean and matcha.
Taste: The macarons at Bibble & Sip were actually much better than I had anticipated, considering the cafe is not actually a French macaron shop. When I bit into the macaron, it was chewy but not overly chewy like macarons I’ve had in the past. It is a bit sweeter than I would have liked, but overall still very good.
Rating: 8/10
Lamb Hazelnut Mango Crunch Cake
Appearance: Although I am not much of a chocolate fan, the cake was what I looked forward to trying the most. A gorgeous chocolate mousse cake with mango filling, an outer coating of chocolate ganache, and a chocolate macaron cookie sitting on top — could a chocolate lover possibly dream of something better?
Taste: The taste was a bit of a disappointment. Believe me, it did look enticing and the mousse was rich when it melted in my mouth. However, I tend to cower away from rich foods. While I did see some yellow filling in the cake, which I am guessing should have been the mango filling, the richness of the mousse just undermined it. Also, if the name of the dessert has the word “hazelnut” in it, I would expect to taste a bit more...well, hazelnut. But, I didn’t. Just because I am not in love with this cake, though, doesn’t mean chocolate lovers won’t go crazy for it.
Rating: 7/10
All in all, I really enjoyed my experience at Bibble & Sip. If I were to come here again, I would order a different dessert along with the matcha latte, which was my favorite product out of all the ones I tried. Bibble & Sip is the place to be if you want to devour delicious Asian-inspired desserts adorned by adorable llamas. To see more cuteness from this café, check out our video of the afternoon.