Top 6 Cool Soft Serve Ice Cream Shops
There’s nothing cooler than soft-serve ice cream during a Hong Kong summer—unless of course, it’s covered in honeycomb or edible astronauts.
Loooop There It Is
As the name implies, Loooop serves up truly loopy creations. The name comes from the delicate process of looping the soft serve around in circles to fill up your cone, but that’s not the only thing this ice cream parlor has going for it. The flavors here are as creative as they are delicious: Try the Blue Moon ice cream, served with a freshly baked cookie cup and topped with chocolate popping candy, gold crispy stars, crunchy chocolate coating and edible rice paper astronauts. Need we say? It’s out of this world.
2A Wun Sha St., Tai Hang, 8192-8815.
Fishy Business
Ice cream in a fish? You read that right. Inspired by the taiyaki in Japan and bungeoppang in Korea (both fish-shaped waffles), Café Aboong has brought this aquatic dessert to town. It’s pretty much what it sounds like: a warm, cooked-to-order fish-shaped waffle cone filled with frosty lemon froyo and topped with peanuts, chocolate drizzles and
a chocolate-dipped fruit skewer. You also choose from a custard or azuki bean paste filling—both make for more
authentic bites.
Shop G18, Yan On Building, 1 Kwong Wa St., Mong Kok, 6194-9796.
Crème de la Crème
Putting together a new menu every month, Soft Creme is always whipping up innovative flavors of soft-serve to keep your palate guessing. The bestseller, cereal milk ice cream topped with bacon flakes and cornflakes, is a mix of sweet and savory. Meanwhile, the champagne ice cream comes on top of smoking dry ice to channel those clubby vibes and ensure that you snap tons of photos.
7 Shepherd St., Tai Hang, 2370-3205.
Oddies One Out
Get a taste of Hong Kong’s famous gai daan zai egg puffs at Oddies—which stuffs creatively flavored egg puffs into gelato parfaits and loads on the toppings. Take the Night Wolf, for example, which includes super-rich brownies and chocolate chips, butter crumbs, caramelized banana ice cream and passion fruit panna cotta. The Homer is another favorite: Named after Homer Simpson, the recipe calls for Italian gelato, espresso jelly, homemade Guinness ice cream, and a home-baked donut glazed in pink chocolate and raspberry crisps. Hence the constantly long lines…
Shop 1F, 149 Wan Chai Rd., Wan Chai, 9551-7972.
Honey, Honey
If you haven’t already caught on to the Korean honeycomb soft-serve craze, Honey Creme is the place to try it. The outfit uses premium organic milk imported from Korea and generous hunks of honeycomb to make its outlandish cones. Its Summer Series of ice creams includes the Summer Floss, which explodes with pop rocks hidden between layers of pinkish cotton candy and milky soft-serve. Who needs to fit into a bikini anyway?
Various locations including Shop 5A, G/F, 44-44A Lyndhurst Terrace, Central and 34 Lee Garden Rd., Causeway Bay, 3525-1264.
Room for More
If you’re not trying to blow all your money on a fancy frozen yogurt, then head up to Ma On Shan where Chocolate Room awaits. The tiny, humble shop makes its own soft-serve and lists the flavors of the month on a chalkboard menu, always keeping things fresh and seasonal. When it comes to toppings, you have all kinds of options: chewy mochi, crunchy chocolate chips or soft red bean to add some texture to your treat.
Shop 2040-41, 2/F, Sunshine City Plaza, 18 On Luk St., Ma On Shan, 2755-6966.
