In the FoodEEs series, El Estoque staff members take on different food establishments, reviewing the menu items based on taste, price and authenticity.
The dessert store Melo Melo, which originally opened in Los Angeles in 2018, opened its first Northern California store in Cupertino in early 2025. Known for its coconut jelly pudding desserts served in reusable glass jars or hollow coconuts, the menu features unique flavor additions to their signature coconut jelly, such as red dragonfruit, Oreo matcha and mango. The store’s modern and clean look creates an inviting atmosphere with bright white LEDs strung throughout the shop, a vibrant display wall of their desserts, and pink and white tables with rose centerpieces that add a soft elegance to the ambiance. Furthermore, the spacious shop offers a substantial amount of seating for customers to relax and enjoy their treats. Despite a prolonged wait to order due to a lack of staff, the desserts are given to customers immediately upon ordering.
Triple Latte ($13.99)
The triple latte dessert is a rendition of a Vietnamese coconut coffee. The treat starts off with a top layer of lightly-infused espresso jelly
Photo | Ananda Singh
with a layer of Melo Melo’s signature coconut jelly that rests on a plentiful amount of coffee and milk. The coffee, emitting a rich aroma, has a perfect balance between sweetness from the creamer and a slight bitterness of the coffee itself. Though the first few bites include a harmonious spoonful of each layered component, the dessert gets more unpleasant to eat with each layer. The coconut jelly partially melts into the coffee, leaving unaesthetic chunks of the jelly floating atop and making the coffee much sweeter, reducing the dessert to a chore. After eating through the miniscule espresso jelly layer, the dessert is like soup, and it’s not worth the $14 to basically drink coffee.
RATING: 2.5/5
Sunset Mango Coconut ($13.99)
Melo Melo’s rendition of a mango sticky rice dessert definitely checks all boxes in terms of flavor, presentation and cost. The dessert features
Photo | Ananda Singh
a base layer of mango chunks and puree, followed by a layer of blood glutinous rice and finally topped with their signature coconut jelly. At first, “blood glutinous rice” sounds unappetizing, but its purple pigment provides a fun contrast to the presentation of the dessert. Though the grainy texture of the rice feels gritty against the silkiness of the coconut jelly and mango puree, the rice adds a nutty flavor that blends perfectly with the sweetness in the mango. However, because the mango flavors are primarily at the bottom, the dessert lacked proper layering throughout to get a spoonful in every bite. Despite this, the dessert is a filling, tropical delight for the price, making it a definite reorder.
RATING: 4/5
Pistachio Rose ($13.99)
This vegan dessert option pairs the luxurious flavorings of pistachio and rose into a layered coconut jelly pudding. The dessert
Photo | Ananda Singh
is beautifully presented with a gold leaf and rose petal garnish, while the top layer of baby pink rose jelly beautifully contrasts the earthy-green tone of the pistachio paste. However, the overall eating experience didn’t meet the expectations that the presentation set. Despite the top rose layer and bottom mochi layer having distinct flavors, the top layer of jelly is so firm that it is difficult to cut, taking away from the enjoyment of the coconut jelly and pistachio layers underneath. Furthermore, the chewiness of the jelly doesn’t mix well with pistachio paste, which is grainy and has a faint taste of nuttiness. If the jellies were softer and the pistachio paste was more blended and flavorful, this would have been a dessert to get again.
RATING: 2.5/5
Despite its welcoming atmosphere and aesthetically pleasing store, Melo Melo’s desserts are a hit or miss. The desserts are made with naturally-infused flavors but miss the mark when it comes to the texture blend and the price for the quality of the product. The shop’s expansive menu of different flavor options are intriguing to go back to try, but the inconsistency in its desserts make it hard to justify the price, leaving Melo Melo a once-in-a-while visit rather than a go-to spot.
OVERALL RATING: 2.5/5
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