Cafe Bora recently opened in Los Angeles. It is the first US branch of the popular Korean dessert chain, specializing in desserts featuring Korean sweet potato.
Cafe Bora has been on my to-visit list for quite some time. Stepping into the cafe felt like stepping into one of my dreams: I was surrounded by purple desserts and flowers on every table.
The desserts are delicate and beautiful. We wanted to try everything on the menu but managed a little self-restraint.
Purple Sweet Potato Ice Cream
The soft serve melted a little before I could take a picture. It was thick and creamy with a very prominent sweet potato flavor. I felt the sweet potato flavor was slightly overpowering even though I generally love sweet potato flavored foods.
Purple Sweet Potato Bingsoo
Everyone’s favorite was the bingsoo. The Korean shaved ice was finely shaven and mixed with milk for a creamy and snowy finish. The presentation for the bingsoo was simple yet elegant. I didn’t find the sweet potato too overwhelming for this dessert.
Persimmon Bingsoo
We also tried a persimmon version of the bingsoo. Again, the ice was wonderfully soft. However, we didn’t like the persimmon puree as much as we had liked the sweet potato sauce. It was too tart for me.
Matcha Tiramisu
Unfortunately, we didn’t care for the matcha tiramisu. While the presentation was lovely, the cake they used was very dry.
Strawberry Tiramisu
The strawberry tiramisu suffered from the same issue as the matcha tiramsu.
Purple Sweet Potato Tiramisu
However, we did like the purple sweet potato version. The cake had a sweet potato sauce layered in the middle, keeping the cake moist.
Sweet Potato Chips
Our desserts came with thick-cut purple sweet potato chips. We enjoyed the crunchy texture and the nuttiness from the sweet potato.
Overall, while we didn’t enjoy all the desserts we had, we really loved the presentation and the bingsoo was some of the best we’ve had. I’d definitely visit again for the bingsoo.
Cafe Bora
450 S Western Ave #308, Los Angeles, CA 90020
