While on the hunt for new snack spots to try, a friend recommended I go to Somi-Somi, a soft serve shop. The franchise just recently opened a location in Milpitas, on Aug. 23, 2024, so I decided to pay a visit on a Thursday afternoon, right after school.
When I went inside, the shop felt really big and empty. I was the only customer in the store, and the minimalistic design added to the sense of emptiness. There wasn’t any furniture either. I personally found the bright, white lights to be nice. However, the store felt pretty intimidating with the lack of people and decor.
The menu didn’t have a lot of options. I thought there were nine flavors, but in reality there were only six flavors. The remaining three flavors are just a combina- tion of the original six. I felt like they could have widened their range of flavors as repeat custom- ers may get bored and want to try something new.
You have the option to buy the soft serve with an ah-boong, a waffle fish that has a filling of your choice. There were about six dif- ferent fillings to choose from. Fill- ing includes black sesame, Nutel- la, red bean, matcha custard, and regular custard. If you didn’t want While on the hunt for new snack spots to try, a friend recommend- ed I go to Somi-Somi, a soft serve shop. The franchise just recently opened a location in Milpitas, on Aug. 23, 2024, so I decided to pay a visit on a Thursday afternoon, right after school. When I went inside, the shop felt really big and empty. I was the only customer in the store, and the minimalistic design added to the sense of emptiness. There wasn’t any furniture either. I per-sonally found the bright, white lights to be nice. However, the store felt pretty intimidating with the lack of people and decor. The menu didn’t have a lot of options. I thought there were nine flavors, but in reality there were only six flavors. The remaining three flavors are just a combina- tion of the original six. I felt like they could have widened their range of flavors as repeat custom- ers may get bored and want to try something new. You have the option to buy the soft serve with an ah-boong, a waffle fish that has a filling of your choice. There were about six dif- ferent fillings to choose from. Fill- ing includes black sesame, Nutel- la, red bean, matcha custard, and regular custard. If you didn’t want the ah-boong, you would get your ice cream in a regular cup. I per- sonally think it’s worth paying the extra dollar for the ah-boong.
The servers were really nice. I got my ice cream right after I had ordered. Again, I was the only customer.
Now, my favorite part of the whole experience: the taste test. The soft serve was creamy and cold. The Ube flavor was pretty strong and noticeable. On the other end of the spectrum, the milk and Ube swirl had almost no flavor. The milk was stronger, and I barely tasted the Ube. With the cookies-and-cream and milk tea swirl, the milk tea was the more dominant flavor, while the cookies and cream had a subtle after-taste.
After your soft serve is made, you have the option to add top- pings. I opted for the biscoff crumbles on the ice cream. As the topping only coated the outside, I barely had any extra flavor. Given a choice between adding a macron and a strawberry, I chose the macaroon. Rather than an actual macaron as I expected, I was presented with half of a macaron cookie. It was perfect: soft and chewy.
The ah-boong, or waffle, was golden brown on the outside. When I bit into it, the waffle was perfectly soft. It had the texture of a fluffy pancake and wasn’t sweet. I ordered this with a Nutella filling. The Nutella was smeared over the insides of the waffle, rather than filling the waffle-cone.
I enjoyed the soft serve, but I didn’t think it was worth the price. The flavors are plain and simple, maybe even too simple for the price of $7. I did enjoy the soft serve and ah-boong, but the price and location of the shop reduced from the overall experience.
While I enjoyed Somi-Somi, I doubt I’ll be going back anytime soon. A solid 3.5/5.