This Chinatown gem serves up unique, homemade ice cream with flavors from lychee to Vietnamese coffee, making it a must-stop for adventurous taste buds.
"An iconic tourist spot that’s been scooping up flavors like egg custard, red bean and coconut fudge for 40-something years, the Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is still worthy of the line outside its narrow Bayard Street shop. (Two newer locations—Lower East Side and Flushing—are a little less busy.) While we love the green tea Oreo and black sesame with specks of sesame seeds, this is the kind of place where you should try new flavors every time you visit." - bryan kim, willa moore, sonal shah, molly fitzpatrick, kenny yang
"Follow a visit to any of the restaurants on this list with dessert at this petite ice cream shop that’s one of New York’s oldest and most distinguished. Specialty flavors like green tea, black sesame, lychee, and a highly nutty zen butter — that’s peanut butter ice cream with toasted sesame seeds — shouldn’t be missed. Any flavor can be packed in a pint and taken home." - Robert Sietsema
"Every day in Chinatown should end at Chinatown Ice Cream factory. Established in the ’70s, this narrow ice cream parlor offers an ever-changing range of flavors, from pistachio and pumpkin pie to red bean and black sesame. Get a few scoops topped with mochi, boba, or coconut, and grab a bright yellow t-shirt with the store’s logo on it to commemorate a successful Chinatown food crawl." - bryan kim
"This is not your average ice cream shop! Chinatown Ice Cream Factory has been serving homemade ice cream with an Asian-inspired twist since 1978. Skip the traditional flavors and try out their unique flavors: Lychee, Taro, Green Tea, Red Bean, Thai Tea, Pandan and Black Sesame, just to name a few. If you're not sure what flavor you want, you can always ask for a small sample to taste!" - Barrel
"Almond Cookie ice cream, Black Sesame ice cream, Red Bean ice cream—there isn’t a traditional Chinese sweet that hasn’t inspired the confectioners at the Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. And they’re creative with their mashups too: Green-Tea Oreo, Caramel Zen Butter, Caramel Bacon Swirl." - Alina Polishuk
