After seeing countless mukbangs of the viral “Los Angeles Pastries,” I finally decided to take the hour-long drive to 2968 W Seventh St., Los Angeles to try them. The pastries, best known from the store TuCha, are most admired for their realistic appearance inspired by the fruits they are flavored after.
My friends and I ended up getting four dessert items: Berry3 ($14.50), Dubai Matcha ($22.00), Just Peachy ($13.50) and My Man Go ($14.50). Initially, I was surprised by how much smaller the desserts were compared to them in the TikToks I saw, especially for the price we paid.
The Berry3 had a hard white chocolate exterior with strawberry coulis, raspberry mousse, red velvet cake and a pistachio interior. The texture and taste were very satisfying as the sweet tartness of the berries balanced perfectly with the nutty pistachio and smooth velvet cake. Of the four, this was definitely my favorite dessert.
The Dubai Matcha, made of a matcha cake with pistachio cream and matcha mousse, was significantly larger and pricier than the other desserts. I did not enjoy the spongy, frothy texture as much as I initially thought, and although the matcha and pistachio worked well together, it didn’t justify the price.
I was anticipating the Just Peachy dessert the most because I am a big fan of peaches. However, the taste completely threw me off guard in the worst way. With an earl-grey mousse and almond-flavored layer, the peach flavor was replaced by floral aromatics. If the dessert was not shaped like a peach, I would have no clue that it was supposed to taste like one. The texture was also slimy and unappealing, making this the worst purchase of the day.
My Man Go was certainly the prettiest pastry of the bunch. The color gradient from red to orange to green was beautiful and the appearance lived up to the taste. Immediately I could taste the mango and its flavored mousse; it was fresh and sweetened perfectly. Though the hazelnut paste addition was also delicious, I could not help but find it a bit unnecessary as I thought it did not pair the best with mango. If there was not any hazelnut in the dessert, then it definitely would be my favorite.
Although TuCha was a fun experience, I will probably not revisit it again for a very long time. The majority of the desserts were delectable, but there are definitely better out there for much cheaper prices. Ω
