Dessert Republic

Awesome dessert place! Very created and tastes great! Great place to go with friends! First time here, it’s around 8, not that much people but we had 7people so we waited a little. Must sign in! After we seated more and more people comes! Be prepare of waiting for fried stuff takes longer than other desserts. Overall was great! We all loved our food and later even got 2 more orders of Chicken Wings with fries togo!

Trusty Chinese dessert place in a now trendy alley of downtown San Mateo. (The first time I visited years ago they were the only reason to walk down this alley by the parking lot, and now you’ve got a Philz and more hobnobbing around!) Anyway, I usually get the rice soup balls with the sweet fillings, papaya fungus soup, or egg puffs. All good stuff; not blow your mind, but comforting, especially on a cold night. They apparently added more stuff to their menu over time, but their «molecular» items sell out early! :(in particular, the cheesecake ramen and the sushi look like a blast, but they need to make more.

Located in that Main Street alley! We had such a difficult time finding this place :(.
Once we got there we were seated right away. Each table has a request pad where you can click to order, ask for water, pay the bill, etc.
I got the mango pudding while my friends got the ginger soup/​sesame balls & popcorn chicken. Mango pudding tastes like regular mango pudding; nothing special. The ginger soup has more ginger than I have tasted in any ginger soup, but it was decent! The popcorn chicken pieces are large and smelled very flavorful.
I haven’t been to a clean Asian dessert place yet, so I guess the cleanliness of this place is average. I’m kind of a germaphobe at restaurants.
Customer service was great though! Great staff. If I am in the neighborhood & craving desserts again, I wouldn’t mind coming back.

Their fruit crepes and ice/​fruit bowls are tasty! It was very popular the night we were there so we had to sit outside. The smell of garlic permeated the area. We definitely will be back to try their garlic noodles!
Service was friendly and quick. It’s located in the alley next to the public parking structure so it’s not hard to miss.

I came on a Saturday night at midnight and their service is absolute garbage. I stood by the door for 5 min while they completely avoided me and only got seated when I asked them if I could just seat myself. It took them a long time to take our orders even with the button pressing function on each table.
I ordered a Hong Style Mik Tea w/​boba (AVOID!), Tiramisu Plant, and Ghirardelli Chocolate Crêpe. Avoid the HK milk tea at all costs; I guess there was a reason nobody else in the store ordered it…
The tiramisu plant was decent, and the popping candy inside caught me by surprise (I love them!) The crêpe was alright; you can’t really go wrong with a chocolate crêpe so it tasted just like all the other chocolate crepes I’ve had before.
I wouldn’t come here again, but if you have no choice (they are conveniently open until 1am) then try the tiramisu plant. It’s cute and not bad tasting at all, though it is slightly expensive.

We stumbled upon this place accidentally, and would not have noticed it since its wedged between the parkade (very convenient) in a cute alley way. I was excited to find a Hong Kong style snack and dessert place. It’s small bit cozy, and has a variety of menu items including quick cheap eats. The service was quite slow though, otherwise it would have been a 4 star review. I had the garlic prawn noodle which was yummy and al dente. We also had the fried pork chop curry Japanese style. Overall yummy food but they could have improved on the service.

Most of hot dessert I tried were really good. The only disappointed item I got was Egg Puff. Don’t suggest to order Egg Puff.

This place is sooooo cute! I love the décor inside! Somehow it reminds me of Hong Kong and I’ve only been there once in my life.
First time here and we ordered the egg puff, spicy popcorn chicken and boba milk tea and all three items were so freaking good!
The egg puff was perfectly crispy, the spicy popcorn chicken was not overly oily and it was seasoned really well! The boba milk tea’s sweetness and tea level ratio was perfect. I probably wouldn’t order the boba in the milk tea in the future because their boba didn’t taste fresh…
This is my first time at a restaurant that uses a buzzer system to get the attention of a server. There’s basically a buzzer button for ordering, service, water refill and paying your bill!
I do wish they would open earlier and not so freaking late! What if I want their egg puffs in the afternoon!!! I’ll be lucked out!
Regardless, I’ll love to come here again when I’m in San Mateo!

After a hearty meal at Little Sheep hot pot, my friends and I headed in search of dessert. Turning to Unilocal (as always), we found Dessert Republic and the pictures sold us… especially a picture of a pot of what appeared to be soil and a plant but was actually a tiramisu in a pot.
The restaurant is actually hidden down an alley between the parking structure and B street. There isn’t a main entrance on B street like Philz Coffee. Once we found it, we were promptly seated. We already pretty much knew what we wanted to order (sesame balls in almond tea, fresh fruit sundae, tai chi, and the tiramisu pot).
My friend started pressing all the service buttons on the table not realizing what she was doing. A server came and took our order.
The fresh fruit came first and was smaller than we expected but was filled with different types of fruit. It went pretty quickly. Next came the tai chi and the sesame balls in almond tea.
The tai chi, almond paste and sesame paste designed in a ying yang, wasn’t very sweet and tasted more like a thick soup. I thought it was okay. The almond tea with sesame balls was good but there were only three sesame balls which made this dish a bit expensive for the price.
Dessert Republic gets four stars instead of three for the tiramisu pot. The tiramisu is made in the pot with the crushed Oreo as soil and some red pop rocks to keep you on your toes. There’s also what was probably a mint twig to complete the picture. This was probably my favorite of the night.
Overall, if you’d like to see fancy looking dessert, or like taking pictures to make your friends intrigued/​jealous, try out Dessert Republic!

This is the only Hong Kong style desserts place I know of in San Mateo. They actually also serve rice plates, noodle dishes and snacks but I usually come here for desserts. The décor looks like you are sitting in a neighborhood courtyard — very cute. There is a wide variety of desserts. I recommend the Green Wonder, which is a bowl of honeydew, kiwi, aloe jelly & green tea ice cream. The Pink Lady is the strawberry version of that. They offer both cold and hot desserts. They have a selection of crepes and they make eggettes. I have not had a bad dessert here yet. They also have many different drinks, from tapioca teas, juices, and ice cream floats, to Hong Kong style drinks. The only thing is that I wish they serve some of the drinks such as coffee-​tea, in larger mugs, especially for the price. There is often a line but it doesn’t seem to be very long. They try to move people in as efficiently as possible. Each table has a cute little contraption that you can press buttons for service, water, or the bill. I’ve never seen this anywhere else. Very cute. I will keep coming back.

This place is a small hole in the wall restaurant for anyone craving Hong Kong street food or dessert. All tables come with some pretty nifty buttons that pretty much ensure your needs are tended too, which is often a problem with some other Chinese restaurants. The staff here is usually pretty quick and attentive.
I must say, the molecular desserts are an experience. My boyfriend had been ta ting to order the udon cheesecake for months and I refused to split it with him so he brought some friends and finally got his wish. I must say — I was still just a little creeped out by the texture but the coolest part was the runny «yolk,» which turned out to be mango purée.
I usually come here for dessert. I’m not a big dessert person because I usually eat a pretty filling dessert. My go-​to is the egg puff order with a side of Nutella! Easy to share and just the right amount of dessert!

You definitely can find some unique dessert from here. For example, the steam egg whites with ginger is really really good. However it’s almost $ 7 for a tiny bowl.
The whole environment is copying the old hong kong street style, it’s worth a photo shoot.

tldr; DO NOT get the egg puffs here! Go down the street to Eggettes if you’re feeling a craving as they are much MUCH better. I might be back for another dessert but not this one.
Egg puffs (aka eggettes) (1.5÷5): They are Hong Kong waffles that are slightly bigger than a traditional Belgium waffle. Their shape is completely different as they are small round puffs connected in a honey comb like pattern.
What I got: The outer texture was too hard, crunchy and porous and became crispy and cookie like as it cooled. The inside was too cakey and not airy enough. The taste wasn’t sweet enough, tasted heavily of flour and wasn’t eggy at all. The color was not as golden yellow/​brown as what it normally should be but a white yellow. I found it hard to break off the individual puffs as it started cooling.
The real thing: The outer texture is slightly crunchy and smooth while the interior is pillowy, airy and spongey. It should have a sweet eggy smell wafting from the paper bag it’s served in. While it is best warm, it can still be delicious cooled.
If you’ve never had an egg puff before then re-​calibrate by going elsewhere and you’ll find out that you’re missing out.

I got the green wonder,
— The taste, I wouldn’t say it was the best I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t the worst either. My friend had the Pink Lady, which was pretty good, but the strawberry was VERY sour.
— 1 thing I had to mention, If they’re gonna serve us shaved ice, please actually shave it, and not have chunks of ice cubes in there…
Besides that, I think it was ok.

Unfortunately, this visit was far from satisfactory compared to the last few times we were here.
We came in the day before Thanksgiving (Thanksgiving Eve?) at around 7:00p and the place was pretty dead. We got sat right away and they gave each of us menus. We pressed the order button when we were ready and one of the waiters came by. We ordered Garlic Shrimp Noodles, Shrimp Dumplings, Popcorn Shrimp, Black Rice and Milk Soup, Calimari, Red Bean and Black Paste Dumplings thing, and Almond Paste and Milk. We gave him our menus but decided to keep one just in case.
The popcorn chicken came out first, and the first piece I picked up was cold. It looked cooked, but it was cold. I asked my boyfriend and his friend to try one and then i asked them if they were cold too but they were scorching hot. I was so confused. The next piece I picked up was hot and then the following one was cold. Next, my boyfriend’s calamari came out and the first piece of calamari I picked up from that was cold. I’m sure the rest of then weren’t as my boyfriend had eaten it all but I didn’t reach over to try another one.
During this time, people started coming in, but not a significant amount. One of the other waiters walked over and (rudely) asked if he could have our menu. We were a little in shock thinking that the place couldn’t operate with one of their menus on our table so we handed it over.
Our friend’s meal came out pretty good. I don’t know how much presentation matters, but the shrimp on his Garlic Shrimp Noodles were underneath the noodles rather than placed on top, lookin hella cute. The Shrimp Dumplings I hear were alright… weren’t the best, Ranch 99 actually has better dumplings according to him.
Then lastly we got our sticky pasty stuff. Our friend had decided to order a chocolate crêpe. So we pressed the order button, a guy came over and we had to ask him for a menu because one of the other waiters took the one we had on the table.
A little while after, we got the crêpe and asked for the bill. It was a lot of waiting between «courses» and we were just about ready to dip.
I think patience and tolerance is what got me through this meal. I still think the food here is typically good, it was just not up to participate this time around. Oh, and whatever my boyfriend ate got him sick. He’s been vomiting food from that night through thanksgiving. Poop.

TL;DR — Just a meh…
The desserts are decent. I would probably never drive out of my way to come here, but it its late and there’s nothing else open, this place is usually where its at.
The service is abysmal. I like the idea of a button system, but then they kinda throw the desserts on the table and leave. :/

I came here because I Unilocaled desserts and this place had very cool looking pics! I wanted to originally get the dessert that looks like ramen but said nevermind since it ended up being like $ 15.
I ended up getting the sesame egg white pudding, since the picture on the menu showed it as having a little star in the middle! But when I got it there was no little star so I was disappointed. The dessert was very sweet and eggy though — good, but definitely a dense dessert that you should not order this if you are very full!
My BF ordered an almond milk tea which had SO MUCH ICE and not a lot of drink. Also the drink was super super sweet and kind of powdery and therefore not excellent.
The vibe was very cool though! Definitely a bustling and lively atmosphere. I noticed people of all ages too! Young teenagers to the elderly.

I guess this is the one place where you should not judge a book by its cover…
I’ve passed by this multiple times upon visiting San Mateo and yet I never bothered to go in ’cause I always thought this place looked just a tad bit old and iffy… However, my boyfriend and I. well… I wanted a crêpe after eating ramen for dinner so I looked up crepes on Unilocal and this place popped up. I was still sort of iffy, but I saw my friend Coco’s review and decided to take her advice. LOL.
The place was sort of deserted when we came in. There was only one other couple sitting down, but they looked like they were ready to go at any moment. Service was also sort of quiet and dead looking, but I guess that’s how it is when business is a little slow…
The cool thing about this place is that they have buttons on each table to help signal to the waiter what you want like water or the bill. My boyfriend had fun pressing the buttons, but it is a little loud.
They have a pretty decent size menu for this place, but my main focus was crepes so that’s the only section I really paid attention to. The full house crêpe is pretty much the same size as all the other crepes, but with a variety of fruits instead of just one kind so I opted for that. My boyfriend ended up getting the banana Nutella crêpe and both were pretty good with vanilla ice cream.
It started getting busy around the time we were done so I was happy about that since the waiters just looked so bored.
My boyfriend and I paid and left and we’ll probably end up coming back because my friend Coco got some recommendations for this place, haha.

I came here with my friend after dinner seeking that infamous ramen cheesecake, which is pretty damn unique. Cheesecake with ramen shaped ingredients, how ingenious!
Sadly, no cheesecake. I asked them when they would have it again, and the response was «next week». Somehow, some supply chain issue in meeting demand of their popular ramen cheesecake. So we settled with tiramisu.
What surprised me was that we ordered it, but my friend wanted to see if she could take one home, but we were told that there were no take-​out on the tiramisu. Then we sat there for about 15 minutes, and then we were wondering how long it was going to take, and then the server told us, «oh, I thought you two didn’t want anything». What? We would sit there with zero menus to occupy space? I found it very odd.
FOOD: The tiramisu is a cute concept as many types of Chinese/​Taiwanese desserts have adapted. Looking like a pot with a small plant and rocks, each part was creatively adapted. Similar to worms and earth (gummy worms and crushed up Oreos), Dessert Republic made tiramisu. The tiramisu was okay, I wish it had more ladyfingers and more of a flavor profile. I found it to be just sweet, but no coffee or any distinguishable flavors saying, «oh yeah, this is really good tiramisu».
Sadly, Dessert Republic with its service and pretty bland tiramisu that costed more than I am willing to pay for a dessert disappointed me and my friend. I wish I could love this place more, but I can’t.

My friend ordered the egg puffs and was so excited to see that you can add nutella for 55cents extra. It was a dream come true for him. LOL! The egg puff was decent. It could have been a little more crispier. Dipping the egg puff in nutella was yummy. My other friend ordered the black sesame paste + sweet tofu. I did not try it but I think he enjoyed it! My friend and I shared the super mango (mango freeze, aloe jelly, mango topped with mango ice cream). This was overall good, except the «mango» ice cream tasted artificial The mango freeze and aloe jelly underneath the ice cream was delicious. And I also love the fresh mango bits are top! Yum.
This place is a little expensive overall. I would come here once in awhile when I’m craving simple HK desserts! The place is located in an alleyway so it might be hard to find at first.