Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Don't eat ice cream near the fish vendors, it hinders on the ice cream flavors

Whenever I am in Chinatown I always try to make an attempt to go down Mott Street and go to the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Granted you have to maneuver your way pass fruit vendors, wet sidewalks, the catch of the day (at least I think it was caught that day) and old Grannies with their push baskets, in the midst of all the hustle of Chinatown sits the Ice Cream Factory tucked away on Bayard Street. 

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is not big, in fact you most likely need to squeeze by people in order to pay and look at their ice cream which now I think about it, is like almost anywhere is Chinatown. They have your regular flavors but you do not come all that way to get a vanilla cone. They have more interesting Asian flavors ranging from the staple of green tea and black sesame to the egg custard and Zen Butter. The Zen butter, as exotic mysterious sounding as it is, is a richly nutty peanut butter-like tasting ice cream mixed with sesame making it a wonderfully overwhelming nuttiness. No, it does not have healing powers and chi balancing agents, but it is tasty and if you want stuff like that, you passed that place, like 4 doors down. Though I like the eerie yet tasty pandan ice cream, I went with the almond cookie and the egg custard, two of the ice creams that are based off of Chinese pastries. The almond cookies I had growing up were stale, crumbly and just sweet. If it tasted like this ice cream, I would have enjoyed it better: rich almond flavor with soft pieces of cookies makes it like a cousin to the American Cookies and Cream. The Egg custard, can be found in any Asian bakery tasted exactly like the namesake pastry, rich in egg flavor and just sweet enough, you need to ignore the thought of how many egg yolks went into making this ice cream, no doubt would startle a Frenchman.

Almond Cookie and Egg Custard

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, though I have been there multiple times (and nerdy enough to get a tee shirt) I have never really had a solid flavor that I get every time I have gone there because there are just so many options and flavors to choose from and they are generous with the ice cream making this a tasty dessert to have after chowing down at Xian Famous Foods that opened up next door.

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

65 Bayard St

NY,NY 10013

www.chinatownicecreamfactory.com/