Kat's 9 Lives

After a full dinner of Taiwanese hot pot, Tea4two and I looked for a late night place to grab dessert.  We found Bambu Desserts & Drinks and thought that this may be a good option.  This place seemed like it would have drinks and desserts but it is really a Vietnamese dessert place.  There isn't any real dessert like cakes or food.  It's mainly the drinks filled with lots of add ins.  I was hoping to find somewhere to sit and enjoy some sweet desserts with a drink but this was definitely not the place.  Still we decided to stay and if we wanted more desserts we will keep driving out.
The people here were very nice and it was not that packed when I first got there but the later it got, the more people came in.  It's a good place to come for late night chats and groups.  They have playing cards for people to play.  This reminded me of the old Tapioca Express that I used to hang out in when I was in high school and college.
As many know, I am actually not a huge fan of Vietnamese food and drinks where I have to chew more than actually being able to drink the drink.  Still, we were here and I wanted to explore and try something new.  Bơ dằm looked interesting to me with avocado, dark brick, combo jelly, and pearl.  I was going to order without all the chewy stuff but forgot and it was a very interesting combo.  They used a high amount of avocado and it was a big mash of avocado with different add ins mixed in.  The avocado was good but there is no sweetness and the add ins was the little boosts of sweet flavor.  I actually thought this was very weird in the beginning because I felt like I was eating a bland guacamole and then suddenly chewing on the jellies or pearls was so bizarre.  The more I ate, the more I got use to the combo of avocado and jellies.  It was not too bad but I still don't really know about this lol.
The girl working there was really nice because I was very skeptical about the other dessert/drink I had.  I have had it before at other places and there is only one place I have enjoyed the flavors.  She patiently answered my questions on what is inside.  I got the Chè trái cây with lychee, longan, red tapioca, jackfruit, palm seed, pandan jelly, jello, and young coconut.  The coconut was definitely fresh.  Everything inside seemed plentiful and pretty mixed in with the white coconut milk.  I liked how all the drinks had a shaved snowball on top.  You have to mix everything in and it started making a mess because I used the straw.  Word to the wise, use the spoon and not the straw.  =)  The drink wasn't very sweet, which I didn't like.  They told me it was because I didn't mix it all the way to the bottom but the girl was very nice and added more syrup.  I still prefer this dessert I get near my work and not here.  They definitely have more and fresher ingredients here but it wasn't for me.  Too much to chew and nothing to drink.
Tea4two got the Vietnamese iced coffee and she thought it was very strong.  She ended up going back two days later and texting me the photo of it too =).  I am glad she liked it.  For me, Bambu Desserts and Drinks was not bad but nothing that really stood out.  If I was in the area, I'd probably be willing to go back but I don't think I would really crave it.  Although there isn't a lot of places open late in Irvine, so beggars really can't be choosers lol.
Bambu Desserts & Drinks
14775 Jeffrey Rd., Suite B 
Irvine, CA 92618
Tel: (949) 232.1145