Is ube the new matcha?
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From cloud lattes to crepe cakes, matcha is having a moment in Canberra. And while the hype isn’t dying down, it seems that there’s another food trend on the horizon: ube.
A purple yam that’s native to the Philippines and used in various Filipino desserts and dishes, we’ve been watching the vibrant-hued sweet, nutty flavour appear on more menus around Canberra. And we can’t help but wonder – is ube the new matcha?
From lattes to loaded croissants, here are six places where you can try it – and tell us – for yourself.
Lolo and Lola (Watson)
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As any Canberra foodie history buff knows, it’s their ube cake that put this Filipino bakery and restaurant on the map, so it should be your first stop when searching for the yummy yam. Constantly coming up with innovative dishes make from ube, here you’ll find everything from Ube Polvoron bread (soft ensaymada buns topped with ube polvoron crumbs, served with creamy ube pastillas dip) to ube soft serve and even a thick ube shake. Keep an eye on their Instagram account to see what new creation you can try, and book yourself a table ASAP.
3 Watson Place, Watson | loloandlola.com.au
Wildflour (Fyshwick, Kingston, Weston and Jamison)
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Here, you can find the ultimate ube duo: a ube latte and croissant. Offering an ube-flavoured version of their iconic loaded croissant (think flaky pastry filled with a thick ube crème), they’ve also recently started making an ube latte, topped with whipped cream. But if you don’t want to get off the matcha bandwagon, don’t worry – they also have an iced ube matcha, which sounds like the best of both worlds.
Various locations | wildflour.com.au
Cedar Husk (Fyshwick)
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Freshly baked ube sourdough and a flaky, buttery ube croissant. What more could you ask for? Apparently, ube cupcakes and ube Basque burnt cheesecake, all of which are creations from Cedar Husk in Fyshwick. Keep an eye out, because they also like to pop up at local markets!
1/21 Iron Knob Street, Fyshwick | @cedarhusk
Gelatissimo (City, Manuka and Gungahlin)
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It’s never too cold for gelato, and Gelatissimo sells a creamy and vibrant purple yam flavour that will have you going back for more. Pair it with another flavour or keep it simple with a single scoop in a cone and enjoy. Looking for something a little different? You can also order a custom shake made freshly in store, and yes, ube is an option.
Various locations | gelatissimo.com.au
Sharon May’s Filipino Cuisine (Gungahlin)
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This hidden gem serves authentic Filipino dishes made with fresh, local ingredients – and that means ube. Order yourself an ube latte or frappe and enjoy it with their Halo-halo (shaved ice with sweet banana, jackfruit, beans, sago, coconut jelly, flan, corn flakes, rice crisps, flan, ube, milk, ice cream and wafer stick) or one of the many ube flavoured cakes or flans!
u3/5 Hibberson Street, Gungahlin | sharonmays.com.au
Northside Garden Café (Nicholls)
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With sourdough served with ube jam, an ube latte and ube waffles (complete with cream cheese, ube jam, ube ice-cream, burnt coconut and caramelised mango) on the menu, you’ll want to take a trip to Nicholls ASAP. They also often do ube-r cool specials (get it?) like ube porridge and ube martinis!
Shop 8/39 O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls | northsidegardencafe.com.au
