The Sweet Side of Seattle Southside
Satisfy your Sweet Tooth in Seattle Southside
Some like them cold, some like them hot, but dessert will always hit the spot!
Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.
Who first said these words of wisdom? Some say it was writer Ernestine Ulmer, while others claim it was Helen Keller. Whoever may have first uttered this great maxim, we owe them a debt for their insight. After all, you only get one ride on this planet - you might as well enjoy it! One of the great things about the diversity of cuisines around Seattle Southside is the wide diversity of sweet treats you can enjoy. Whether you like hot cookies fresh out of the oven, the sweet chills of ice cream, or combining them with a warm cobbler a la mode; whether you like American classics or exotic treats from around the globe, we've got the flavors your sweet tooth craves.
Sip Your Sweets
Some of the sweetest things in life come through a straw instead of off a spoon! Boba tea may have originated in Taiwan, but it's exploded in popularity around the world, making a huge splash here in the United States. A variety of sweet tea, fruit, and coffee based beverages are combined with add-ins like tapioca pearls, fruit jellies, and pudding to create a texture combination that makes drinking your sweets fun and tasty! TeaCup in Des Moines offers a Vietnamese take on the boba classics and highlights fresh-whisked matcha on their menu as well. Natalie's Sugar Cane and Desserts (located in The Eatery at Lam's Seafood) has a fresh sugar cane juicer right in front, so that in addition to getting boba you can watch the show of sugar canes being pressed while you wait for your order!
Of course, you can't talk about the Pacific Northwest and sippable sweets without mentioning coffee. But there's a lot more to sweet coffee than just frappes from famous chains that started in Seattle. New spot Drip & Sip is a cute little corner cafe in Tukwila that specializes in Vietnamese iced coffee, a super strong coffee with sweetened condensed milk. The house specialty, called Salted Coffee, is topped with a salty-sweet milk foam that's the perfect complement to the sweetness of the coffee. Can't decide between coffee and tea?
Thai Tea Shaved Ice from Kakigori
Ube and Vanilla Swirl from SomiSomi
Chill Out
There's nothing like cooling off with a sweet, cold treat when it's hot out. Or cold out. Or really, any temperature is good for iced treats, if you ask us. Seattle Southside goes beyond your grandma's scoop shop to offer you icy flavors beyond your expectations. Kakigori Dessert Cafe, for example, elevates their Korean-style shaved ice (called bingsoo) to a whole other Instagrammable level with their flavors and decorations, like cute (and fully edible!) frozen animals that top their treats. And if you'd rather get something warm, dessert waffles are also on offer topped with all kinds of deliciousness. At SomiSomi, a rotating menu of soft-serve flavors is served up in a fish-shaped waffle cone (called ah-boong in Korean) or in a cup if you want to skip the cone. And if you want something a bit warmer, their taiyaki (fish-shaped waffles) come filled with sweet fillings (like custard, red bean, or Nutella) or cheese if you want something savory.
Want something a bit more south of the border? Sweet D'licias in Des Moines specializes in nieves de garrafa, a Mexican sorbet, and raspados, or shaved ice. Whether you go with the expected, like strawberry, or the more exotic tamarind flavor, you'll be cooled off and refreshed.
Halo halo is a many-layered dessert from the Philippines that features ice cream, shaved ice, fruit jelly, pudding, and other toppings to make a cool, sweet, textural sensation, and there are a few different places in Seattle Southside you can go to enjoy this Pinoy delight. Max's Restaurant serves their halo halo along with their Filipino classics like sisig, crispy pata, and, of course, their famous fried chicken at their full-service restaurant. For a quick-service experience in Westfield Southcenter Mall, Jollibee's halo halo and fried chicken offerings are a delight, but expect to wait in line - this location is always popular, since it's one of only two locations of the popular Filipino chain in the state of Washington! ChowKing Chinese, also in the mall, has its own halo halo if you're not up for the wait at Jollibee's.
Ube Overload Cake from Red Ribbon Bakery
Baked With Love
Mmmm, baked goods. Whether you believe pastries are strictly for dessert or are more flexibly for breakfast, baked goods are beloved around the world. We're lucky to have a location of beloved Taiwanese chain 85°C in Tukwila, where you can find beautiful French pastries through a Taiwanese lens are on offer fresh from their bakery, from milk buns to puff pastries. And of course, savory pastries are available there too, but we're just here for the sweets! Looking for classic Mexican pastries? Look no further than Las Delicias Panaderia Y Antojitos in SeaTac, where their conchas are pillowy and delicious, and treats are served still warm from the oven. And if you've been wanting a churro without making a trip to the fairgrounds, this is where to go!
At Zain Restaurant & Bakery Cafe in Tukwila, you can find fresh baked goods made by an in-house pastry chef. Don't miss the light-as-air puff pastries, fluffy slices of coffee or coconut cake or rich pistachio baklava. At the adjoining Tawakal Mini Market, you can pick up boxes of assorted treats such as a caramelized peanut bar and butter cookies made in traditional Somali style. They're just faintly sweet, making them a great snack with coffee or tea.
For a quick sweet snack, Mini the Dough Nut in Des Moines offers mini donuts in a variety of flavors with tons of toppings for a bite-sized treat that's fun to eat. Speaking of donuts, there are two mochi donut places in Seattle Southside - Dochi in The Eatery at Lam's Seafood and Mochinut located in Westfield Southcenter Mall. Mochi donuts combine the fried deliciousness of a donut with the soft, chewy texture of mochi, plus they're cute, colorful, and perfectly photogenic.
Red Ribbon Bakery in Westfield Southcenter Mall specializes in Filipino flavors, like their amazing Ube Overload cake, which is naturally tinted a deep purple from the color of the ube root, a sort of cousin to the sweet potato. Also in the mall is Boo Macaron Bar, a spot that focuses on many-hued macarons, the adorable French filled cookie that is beloved by Instagram. Treat Cookies in Burien (located right next to the Highline Heritage Museum) offers a wide variety of cookie flavors that rotate in availability, from classics like sugar or chocolate chip cookies to the more exotic like root beer float or peach pie flavored cookies! All of Treat's cookies are impossibly soft, even a bit doughy in the center, and incredibly delicious. They regularly have a vegan flavor and a gluten free flavor available.
Sweet as Candy
Of course, no list for sweet enthusiasts could be complete without talking about candy. The big name in confections here in Seattle Southside is Seattle Chocolate, our very own local chocolate factory, where jcoco and Seattle Chocolates are manufactured. You can go fo a tour, a tasting, or just swing by their showroom to pick up sweet souvenirs. Want a sweet secret? On Saturdays, the factory sells their "seconds" - that is, candy bars and truffles that taste just as sweet, but aren't pretty enough to sell for full price, so you can stock up on your favorite flavors and save money!
If you want more candies than just chocolates, Lolli and Pops located in Westfield Southcenter Mall offers a huge variety of cady of all kinds, from chocolates to gummies to cotton candy and beyond! Their broad selection of fine confections and adorable pastel decor are sure to sweeten your day. Also located in the mall is Pacific Northwest chain Candy Tyme, where buying in bulk is the name of the game. Bin after bin of candy is available to select from, and price is determined by weight.
13 Coins
Creme Brulee and more sweet treats, plus delicious dessert cocktails await.
Auntie Irene’s
Step into Auntie Irene’s in downtown Des Moines and you’ll immediately feel the warmth and coziness of this community cafe. For more than 25 years…
(More Than) Just Desserts
Of course, we can't leave out the restaurants that have fantastic desserts on their menus. Copperleaf Restaurant at the Cedarbrook Lodge has a seasonally changing menu, with an emphasis on fresh, local ingredients, so their menu is constantly changing. One thing that never changes? Their desserts (and dessert cocktails!) are always fantastic. Expect seasonal fruits to make an appearance on the menu, as well as at least one chocolate-rich item. Auntie Irene's in Des Moines has all manner of baked goods on their menu, but their Donuts in a Cup and Cake Pops are special standouts.
Chontong Thai has a sweet take on the spring roll with their Banana Roll, in addition to more traditional Thai desserts like sticky rice with mango. At 13 Coins, the entire dessert menu is a treat, but their rich, moist carrot cake is an exceptional standout. After filling up on smoked meats at Sharps RoastHouse, indulge in a slice of s'mores-inspired Campfire Rocky Road Pie for all the tastes of a marshmallow roast with none of the mosquito bites.
And of course we can't mention desserts in the Pacific Northwest without featuring a cherry pie. Tuscany at Des Moines has exceptional pies of all flavors, with a perfectly buttery crust that will leave you saying that this is pie heaven.
Sweets Tour in Seattle Southside
See how @foodsofaudrey explored the sweet side of Seattle Southside, hitting up seven of the locations listed above!
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