Kyoto Cup al Buddha Bowl Cafe — Recensione di Madeleine (26 set 2025)

$15
‘Discover lush layers of whipped matcha cream, sweet cookie crumble & choc hazelnut’

This was a flavour combination that just… didn’t work. I couldn’t discover any hazelnut at all, and the cacao and matcha were in such quantities they were trying to out-compete each other for boldest, bitterest flavour and the whole thing ended up being too bitter, and not in the pleasant way that dark chocolate or coffee is bitter, but in a way that made me pull this face on the first teaspoon 😬 The straight matcha powder heavily dusted on top and crunchy raw cacao nibs throughout didn’t help either.
Putting cacao and matcha together in a creamy dessert like tiramisu is a mistake. If you want matcha to be the main flavour, get rid of the chocolate and hazelnut. Instead, they should have soaked dry biscuits in a sweetened matcha tea (maybe with a little sake in there too in the same way ladyfinger biscuits are soaked in sweetened espresso and brandy/amaretto for a classic tiramisu). Then the mascarpone cream should just be a light cream like vanilla-coconut cream with no bold flavours in it to give a break from the intense biscuit layer. Basically, the bitter matcha replaces the bitter espresso when making tiramisu. That’s the only way it could work. Pontificating rant aside (can you tell I’m passionate about tiramisu?), this review won’t matter as Buddha Bowl will sadly be closing forever on October 13th, 2025 after many years of service to the vegan community 😢 Yet another 100% vegan eatery lost from Sydney 😔