3 Asian foods and drinks emerging in the U.S.

Food gimmicks aren’t the only items triggering hype at restaurants. Popular Asian drinks and snacks garnering buzz in the U.S. prove that inspiration can also originate from abroad. Here are three that could be poised for growth in America.

Turmeric latte, also called golden milk, is an Indian specialty that’s grown notably in popularity in the United Kingdom during the last year. Now excitement’s building in the U.S., with mentions of turmeric up 157.1% in nonalcoholic beverages, per Technomic’s MenuMonitor, powered by Ignite. Many concepts serving turmeric lattes—including As Quoted in San Francisco and four-unit Cafe Gratitude in Los Angeles—promote the spice’s functional benefits.

Click ahead for another beverage combining two strangely paired ingredients.

Although cheese and tea seem as odd together as peanut butter and pickles, the combination is proving so popular in Singapore and China that it’s drawing lines of customers. Cheese tea—which is tea topped with a foam of whipped cream, milk and cream cheese—has earned buzz from Food Network to Food & Wine to Fox News in the past couple months. Recently opened in Mesa, Ariz., Boba Tree specializes in cold tea beverages, particularly peach cheese tea. Priced at $4.99 for a medium and $6.25 for a large, the beverage features a sprinkling of matcha on top. Founded in China, Happy Lemon—which has locations in New York and California—has a Salted Cheese Series of green and black teas topped with salty cheese for $3.

But cheese is also showing up in another unexpected format…

With ethnic snacks trending on American menus, it’s no surprise that Japanese cheese tarts are making their way into the U.S. The tiny pastries are made with several kinds of cheese in a crisp shell. At Bear Cheese Tart, a concept that recently opened at Union Market in Tustin, Calif., the $3 tarts are baked daily in-house and are available in original, mango, chocolate and blueberry flavors. The company plans to open more stores in the U.S.