7 globally inspired Boston desserts that are off the beaten path

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Like many adventurous eaters in the Boston area, I often find myself heeding the call to “run, don’t walk” to try new items at restaurants, bakeries and food trucks across the city.

But even as someone who loves novelties, the constant stream of Instagrammable tea rooms and can’t-miss pop-ups can feel a bit overwhelming. Besides, who’s got the time to try them all?

Vivian Dang does. The longtime Dorchester resident and foodie is the influencer behind the Instagram page @viviandfoodie. Dang started reviewing food in high school, and has since remained on the hunt for new, creative bites in Boston. “Some people might argue, but I love how diverse it is,” she said of the city’s food scene.

Craving dessert this past weekend (blame the cold weather), I asked Dang to pass along a few recommendations for unique sweet treats in the Boston area — and she really delivered.

Keep reading below for seven local desserts with flavors from across the globe that are worth running briskly walking for.

Tanghulu from Kwa Food
1 Brighton Ave., Boston

A traditional snack in China, tanghulu are glassy, sugar-dipped skewers of fresh fruit. You can find them inside the Super 88 Market in Allston from Kwa Food, a vendor that also sells freshly fried skewers of corn, meat and fish.

Kwa Food offers tanghulu with tangerines, strawberries, grapes, hawthorn berries (very traditional) or chestnuts. “I consider it ‘healthy’ because it’s fruit,” Dang said jokingly, “But once you bite into the sugar, you know that it’s not. But it’s balanced.”

Taro-stuffed fried dough from 180 Cafe
23 Edinboro St., Boston

Located on the edge of Boston’s Chinatown, 180 Cafe is worth seeking out for their taro buns. (Taro is a root vegetable with a creamy, slightly vanilla flavor.)

Dang said she stumbled upon them while doing a Chinatown bakery crawl for Lunar New Year. “It’s fried dough stuffed with taro, and it’s so delicious,” she said. “This would be my sweet treat after a meal in Chinatown.”

Black sesame ice cream sundae at Judy’s Bay
279A Broadway, Cambridge

Judy’s Bay is an izakaya — a restaurant serving “essentially Japanese tapas,” said Dang. She suggests hitting up the spot with friends to share plates, before finishing off the meal with the restaurant’s black sesame ice cream sundae.

“It’s black sesame ice cream topped with housemade mochi, red bean, condensed milk, matcha cookie crumbles,” said Dang. “I just love the combo.”

Hot chocolate from Snacks Box Boston
Locations vary

This food truck only emerged on Boston’s food scene within the last year. Dang says it’s a great place for a rich cup of cocoa and warm Belgian waffles. “They use real Belgian chocolate for their hot chocolate,” she said. “And it comes with this meringue layer on the rim. It’s so good!”

Snacks Box Boston changes the location of their truck almost every week. (This weekend, you’ll be able to find them at Quincy Market.) The food truck’s staff suggests keeping an eye on their Instagram for location updates.

Ichigo cream pastry from Japonaise Bakery
1020 Beacon St., Brookline

“Ichigo” is Japanese for “strawberry,” which is the fruit at the center of this lightly flaky pastry filled with custard cream from Japonaise Bakery in Brookline. Dang grew fond of this pastry (and the French-Japanese bakery as a whole) during her time attending college in the Fenway area. “I can literally eat so many of these,” she said. “It’s my go-to favorite.”

Fruit soft serve ice cream from Far Out
419 Harvard St., Brookline

New Zealand-style soft serve ice cream is made to order with real fruit. At Far Out, it can be customized to your taste with different fruits and ice cream bases. “You choose your base — either vanilla or chocolate. And then you choose your fruit,” said Dang. She suggests combining the vanilla base with frozen mango and strawberries or getting the chocolate base with frozen bananas.

Soufflé cheesecake from Uncle Tetsu
19 Hudson St., Boston

Yes, you can get those jiggly soufflé cheesecakes in Boston! Uncle Tetsu, a chain of cheesecake shops, recently opened a new location in Chinatown that sells their classic soufflé cheesecake. They come heat-stamped on the top with a cartoon “uncle” logo.

Dang says she likes to get their themed cakes as gifts during the holidays. For example, they recently released a new matcha-flavored cheesecake, with a special stamp for Valentine’s Day (pictured above).

“It’s just a good, simple dessert without being overly sweet,” Dang said. “And in an Asian household, that’s a huge compliment.”

P.S. — Looking for more to nosh in Boston? We spoke to eight different bakers who shared which local pastry shops they frequent (other than their own). Here are their recommendations.