Matcha, I love Matcha; you might be asking but what is matcha?

Matcha is a high-grade green tea ground into powdered form.

Definition

I recently went to two different soft serve dessert locations that served Matcha soft serve. One place is called Matcha Cafe Maiko and the other is called Twisted Love. Both are located in Houston’s Chinatown minutes away from each other, so why not talk about them both in one post.

First I will talk about Matcha Cafe Maiko, located off Corporate, this is the first matcha dedicated shop in Houston and I’m so excited for it. The second dessert cafe I will be talking about it Twisted Love, located in the Dun Huang Plaza, serves different flavors of soft serve but since I got the matcha flavor. We’ll be highlighting the matcha flavor from this location.

So without any further ado, let’s move on with our review!

First up with Matcha Cafe Maiko! Now I know I’m super late on this but I don’t like going to places when they first open up. I like to give places some time to hone their craft, whether it be service, cooking, presentation, flavor. I don’t like to base any type of review off of a grand opening (especially since consumers can be ruthless). So here they have three different main desserts with plenty of drinks. I’ve had both the soft serve (Matcha and Mix) and the Maiko Special (just Matcha).

Now, you might be wondering, Emily, what is this mix? Wellll, it’s just a matcha and vanilla swirl. Simple as that. Let me tell you the vanilla is just as delicious as the matcha. Both flavors aren’t overly sweet which I enjoy because I believe correct matcha flavors shouldn’t have a strong sweetness flavor to it. However! Don’t get me wrong, I love me some sweetness.

On the left, is the Maiko special. This comes with chestnuts, mochi, matcha sponge cake, corn flakes, azuki beans, ajar jelly, and brown sugar syrup.
One the right is the Mix Soft Serve, served in a waffle cone.
(Shout out to Sandy for holding the desserts so I could take pictures)

I enjoy both of these desserts but I wished that the Maiko special came with more soft serve so when I get towards the middle and bottom of the cup, where the corn flakes and the sponge cake are, I still have some soft serve to eat with them. Overall, if I had to choose between the two different dessert options I would go with the simple cone and soft serve. While I do enjoy the extra things in the Maiko special, I personally feel like it takes away from the soft serve itself.

Parking for this location is going to be a little rough, especially if you come here on a weekend. It’s in the same small strip with House of Bowls. You can’t park in the plaza across the street for you will get towed. So if you don’t find parking here right away, you’ll have to stalk people to their cars after they finish eating.

Price: $ (between $5 – $10)
Location: Chinatown || 6650 Corporate Dr Ste E, 77036
Overall Recommendation: Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Second is Twisted Love! NOW, I wanted to come here to try the watermelon and soft serve dessert but my friend and I had just finished a rather large dinner and he did’t have room for dessert so I decided to go with a cone and soft serve instead. They have a variety of options and I got stuck between a matcha dessert and a cereal dessert. After not much convincing from my friend, I decided for the matcha dessert.

I love matcha to match is paired with a chocolate waffle cone, the matcha soft served is topped up with rice crackers, azuki beans, one matcha kit-kat, and one matcha pocky stick.

While I did enjoy this dessert, it was a lot to eat! (I shamefully could not finish this dessert.) One dessert can easily be shared between two people. The matcha was just a little sweet, which again I do not mind, compared to Matcha Cafe Maiko. I ate all around first to make sure I got the toppings and added candies and I still had not eaten fast enough. Sitting inside the dessert cafe, the soft serve started melting almost minutes after receiving the dessert. This is off putting but didn’t deter me from trying to finish the dessert until I couldn’t anymore. They do have a simple soft serve and cone with one free topping option as well but the serving of the soft serve is just as large! I think you’re really getting the bang for your buck here.

As for parking for this location is going to be a little rough, depending on the time of day you’re going to get dessert. You can always park in the garage and take the stairs down to the first floor if you can’t find parking in front of or near by. It’s located between newly opened Tea Top and KTV.

Price: $ (between $4 – $10)
Location: Chinatown || 9889 Bellaire Blvd E #205, 77036
Overall Recommendation: Yes!