The East Bay's new ube-centric cafe is drawing huge crowds. Here's what to order - San Francisco Chronicle

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Ube cookies. Ube lattes. Ube cheesecakes. At the East Bay’s new Cafe 86, nearly everything is flavored with ube, the Filipino purple yam.

The frenzy over ube has sparked hours-long waits — even on a weekday afternoon — at the Filipino sweets cafe, located at 34391 Alvarado-Niles Road in Union City.

Cafe 86 is a popular mini-chain based in Southern California, and the Union City location marks its first expansion in the Bay Area. The roomy cafe has a few tables and a street-art aesthetic — “ube nerds” is prominently displayed — but given the crowds, most people take their orders to-go. (Nearby Charles F. Kennedy Park has picnic tables.)

It might be tempting to write off ube as a trend, given that the ingredient stains food and beverages a glorious violet that pops on Instagram. But it’s a long-standing part of Filipino food culture and a source of pride for the younger generation of Filipino Americans opening restaurants in the Bay Area. Fusion empire Senor Sisig sometimes offers ube horchata as a special beverage, while San Francisco’s high-end Abaca serves a bright purple pina colada-esque cocktail with ube-coconut cream. Ube ice cream is easy to find, with even Trader Joe’s getting in on it.

The flavor is subtle, somewhat similar to sweet potato but with a mellow nuttiness and hints of vanilla. It lends an extra creaminess to desserts and isn’t too sweet. On a recent visit to Cafe 86, ube’s flavors were well-pronounced in several treats — though a few items were already sold out just one hour after opening, including an ube tres leches cake, ube tiramisu and Southern-style ube butter bars.

If you’re tempted by the hype and don’t mind long waits, here’s what to order:

The upside down halo halo is one of the must-get items at Cafe 86 in Union City.

Janelle Bitker / The Chronicle

Upside Down Halo Halo ($7.85): A traditional halo halo sees a scoop of ube ice cream on top of shaved ice, evaporated milk and lots of mix-ins like fruit jellies and beans. Cafe 86’s “upside down” twist swaps out the milk with an ube base and tops it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. There are other notable diversions: no shaved ice and no beans. Instead, coconut jellies, jackfruit and boba provide chewiness while Frosted Flakes add crunch. (Don’t worry, there’s still a cube of caramelly leche flan on top, too.) Most importantly, it delivers on the textural contrasts that make the dessert so special while feeling fresh and new.

The ube truffle is one of several ube desserts at Cafe 86 in Union City.

Janelle Bitker / The Chronicle

Ube Truffles ($2.99): These truffles are like what cake pops should be: extremely moist and not too sweet, with a barely perceptible coating of white chocolate. In this case, the center is an ube-flavored cake blended with coconut cream cheese frosting. The orbs are dipped in white chocolate and rolled in pulverized Oreo cookies, which might sound like overkill but it’s not.

The “ube crack cheesecake” from Cafe 86 in Union City.

Janelle Bitker/The Chronicle

Ube Crack Cheesecake ($3.99): Ube doesn’t just turn this petite cheesecake purple, it makes the texture deliriously rich and creamy. The salty crust, made of Filipino Skyflakes crackers, helps offset the sweetness and bring out some of the cream cheese’s tang.

Jasmine tea gets a hit of tang from calamansi juice at Cafe 86 in Union City.

Janelle Bitker / The Chronicle

Jasmine Calamansi ($4.45): While feasting on ube desserts, it’s nice to give your palate a break from all the creamy richness. (That said, there are ube lattes, ube milkshakes and ube boba milk teas if you truly can’t get enough.) Try one of the iced teas brightened with another favorite Filipino ingredient: calamansi, which tastes like a cross between a lime and a tangerine. Slightly floral, lightly sweetened jasmine green tea tastes extra refreshing with the tart citrus.

Cafe 86. 12:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 12:30 to 10 p.m. Friday to Saturday. 34391 Alvarado-Niles Road, Union City. cafe-86.com

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker

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The East Bay's new ube-centric cafe is drawing huge crowds. Here's what to order - San Francisco Chronicle
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