Brown Sugar Boba Ice Cream Bars

It may not be as coveted as Costco toilet paper or bottled water right now, but these brown sugar boba ice cream bars have been flying off the shelves since November. Stores who are rumored to carry them can’t keep them in stock for longer than a few hours. Some markets have even instituted a per person limit.

A few weeks ago we encountered them for the first time at a bakery in Rowland Heights. They cost me a little under $12 for a box containing 4 bars, which I’ve since learned is nearly two times what the supermarkets charge.

Overpriced as they were, they were incredible! The Taiwanese makers of these treats have managed to completely capture the experience of having a brown sugar boba milk drink in an ice cream bar. The “boba”, despite being suspended in the icy confection, are still chewy, stretchy, and taste exactly like they were freshly made.

The secret? They aren’t boba; they’re tiny pellets of mochi, which doesn't seize up like rocks when frozen. It’s a genius substitution that perhaps we can all learn from. Like instead of buying pallets of bottled water as if Covid-19 is affecting what comes out of the faucet, maybe invest in a Brita?