Did you know July has been National Ice Cream Month?
Let me repeat that– National Ice Cream Month.
A whole month, dedicated to ice cream! And as an avid lover of ice cream, you better believe I’ve been celebrating.
Though honestly, finding ice cream in Hong Kong is no easy task. Of course you can go to McDonalds for a cone or the grocery store to pick up a pint of Dreyer’s (That’s Edy’s for those of you in the Midwest) …but that’s no fun.
Hong Kong used to be filled with Ben & Jerry’s shops and Cold Stone Creamery spin-offs, but those have all shut down over the years. As far as recognizable chains go, all that remains is Häagen–Dazs.
Like donuts, cupcakes and everything else good in life, ice cream just doesn’t do well in the Hong Kong market. Which is odd considering you can find Cold Stone Creamery, Baskin Robins, and Dairy Queen in pretty much all other countries in Asia– including right next door in China and Macau.
But after a good amount of searching and tasting over the past month, I bring you my Top 5 Picks for Ice Cream in Hong Kong.
1) Lab Made
Lab Made just celebrated their first birthday earlier this month, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty more to come. This made-to-order liquid nitrogen ice cream shop is the first of its kind in Asia. The menu consists of 4 flavors that are rotated out every 2 weeks. A lot of them are rather unique too– with names like ‘Blueberry Breakfast’, ‘Hong Kong Custard Bun’, or ‘The Big Daddy’ (whisky chocolate with bacon). I tried their ‘Strawberry Shortcake’, which was creamy, yet not overly sweet, and complete with bits of shortbread cookies mixed in.
Where: No 6 Brown Street, Tai Hang (MTR Tin Hau Station)
Price: $39 – $46 HKD
2) Mobile Softee
Mobile Softee is Hong Kong’s version of an ice cream truck. Because they are not always parked in the same location, a lot of people get excited when they hear the “Blue Danube” melody playing, as this means a Mobile Softee is nearby. Cones are about $8 HDK (~$1USD) a piece, a price triple that of McDonald’s $2.50 cones, but you’ll taste the difference. The ice cream here is much more creamy than your normal soft serve.
Where: Randomly around Hong Kong
Price: $8 HKD
3) Appolo
Appolo, founded in the 1970’s, was one of Hong Kong’s first ice cream producers. Made famous by their pre-packaged “Magic Cones”, today there are over 70 Appolo shops serving fresh ice cream, yogurt and other frozen treats. Appolo’s ice cream is extremely milky tasting and is quite soft compared to other ice cream. So be careful when you eat one because it starts to melt very quickly, especially in the Hong Kong heat.
Where: Various locations
Price: $18
4) Godiva
Now obviously Godiva is from Belgium, but Hong Kong is home to Godiva’s first soft serve ice cream machine. This is a choco-lovers dream come true. The creamy dark chocolate ice cream is swirled into chocolate crunch-dipped cone, covered in rich chocolate syrup, and adorned with a piece of Godiva chocolate on top. As I’m not a huge lover of chocolate, Johnny had to taste-test this one for me, but he assured me it was every bit creamy and chocolatey as I could imagine.
Where: Godiva at IFC Mall (MTR Hong Kong Station)
Price: $39
5) Brobdingnag and Lilliput
Incase you couldn’t guess from the name, this ice cream shop is all about the size. (Gulliver’s Travels anyone?) The ice cream here is low calorie and is similar to Korean or Japanese style ice cream– meaning it tastes more like ice than cream. But people don’t come here for exceptionally good ice cream, they come here for a challenge. Order the Brobdingnag for $35 HKD and you are handed an empty cone. It’s up to you to swirl the soft serve as high as you can. If you can pile it higher than 13 inches and keep it steady for 10 seconds, you’ll get a voucher for your next ice cream to be free! Record breakers are also given a place on the wall with their name and photo (the highest we saw was 15”). Don’t trust your ice cream stacking skills? Workers can make you a 13” Brobdingnag on order.
Where: Mikiki Mall (MTR Diamond Hill Station)
Price: $35