I was invited as a guest by Master Panda, and I did not pay for the drinks myself. However, all opinions and experiences shared in this post are my own and reflect my honest impressions.
Master Panda is a new Chinese tea shop in LIC known for their panda-themed branding. They opened earlier this year and quickly became a social media darling, partly due to the cute drinks topped with marshmallow pandas. Though after visiting, I can say that Master Panda isn’t just a pretty (panda) face.
Tea dispensers with different kinds of Chinese tea and hand-written labels are lined up behind the counter. Everything on the menu looks good, so if you’re suffering from the same kind of what-to-order based FOMO as I do, you might want to check out the menu before you go, to narrow down your options and avoid being overwhelmed at the counter.
I tried the Black Milk Tea, the Peach Fusion Supreme, and the Grape Fusion Supreme. The Peach Fusion Supreme, and the Grape Fusion Supreme are both summer specials, while the Black Milk Tea, is a year round stable. The Peach Fusion Supreme is a peach slush made with a mix of jasmine tea, peach juice, crushed peach, and jelly at the bottom. The Grape Fusion Supreme is a grape slush made from grape juice, jasmine tea and fresh grapes, and topped with cheese foam.
I also added whipped cream to all the drinks in order to give the panda a nice, fluffy topping to sit on, but tbh. I think all the drinks I had, especially the black milk tea, would have worked better without the whipped cream topping. If I go again, I think I would opt to have the panda marshmallow on the side instead.
What I loved
You can choose the level of sweetness for your drink.
The drinks are very good and you can taste that they’re made with good ingredients. There are a lot of different toppings and add-ons available, including boba, if it’s still your thing, providing for a lot of customization.
What I didn’t love
The drinks are very sweet, so even with the minimum level of sweetness (30%), I found the drinks a little too sweet for my tastebuds.
The cafe is really cute with lots of panda accessories and a selfie photo-frame for Instagram, but more tables and focus on the overall vibe of the place would be nice, as the current settings feel more like an instagram photo studio than at cozy cafe where you’d want to sit down, hang out, and chat.
The panda-marshmallow is not included in the drinks but comes with a $1 charge.
Master Panda, 5-33 48th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101
