Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

My friend and I were in the area waiting for 10 below, but the line was huge and wanted dessert still. We came here through Unilocal,and I got the Durian and she got the Red velvet. We used the check in to get a free topping. It is a cash only place, pretty small not seating. They have a good variety of flavors.
As for the ice cream, I’m a huge fan of durian and red velvet… but the ice cream was good just the flavor was really light and not lasting. After the first few bites into it, you start to lose the flavor but it was alright. Definitely worth a try when you’re feeling foreign desserts but i’ve had better.

I love ice cream!
Chinatown ice cream factory sits on my bookmark list for a million years already and finally I gotta try it out today. So many flavors to choose from oh my goodness and they even put a pocky on top of your cone/​cup. Opted for the egg custard flavor, but apparently I also wanted pistachio and lychee flavors!
Cash only…

This has been a staple Ice Cream shop from a far back as I can remember. They are known to serve fun and not your usual run of the mill flavors. Their hand made and hand packed ice cream is the best.
Favorites: almond cookie, pumpkin pie, lychee, and vanilla. Yeah I said vanilla. It’s not Hagen Daz or Breyers. Just trust me on this one. Tip: you can always sample them first before buying.
Other flavors that are worth trying: taro, lychee rose, pistachio, oreo, and Zen butter.
Note: 1 scoop is pricey, $ 4.35 last time I went (yesterday).

This ice cream shop seems to make all the lists, so I had to try it for myself, even though it was 25 degrees outside. While perusing the flavors, I knew I needed to get the black sesame, because everyone says that’s the flavor to beat.
It’s as unique and interesting as you can imagine. It fits the Chinese flavor profile (or at least what I noticed from my Chinese friends while living in China), not too sweet. Really not very sweet at all, but that’s what makes it so it ruining because it’s still so good. The consistency and density is also top notch and leaves you feeling satisfied.
It’s one of those reliable NYC good eats that’s stood the test of time, rather than those trendy restaurants that’s hot for a minute, but isn’t actually all that good.
I’m definitely pro-​factory when it comes to this ice cream shop!

I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. You can say I grew up eating this ice cream!
I get different flavors almost every single time I come here and they never disappoint! The one that stuck the most was the black sesame ice cream! I’m of Cantonese origin and well, us canto speaking beings like black sesame!!! The ice cream was extremely soft, and it doesn’t melt as quickly as you would expect it to. The only con about this place is that it’s small and there’s no seatings.
You get free toppings for checking in!

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory has the best unusual flavors of ice cream, and when I say unusual, I mean things like black sesame, taro, red bean, durian, etc. I don’t think they have the best ice cream overall, but it’s hard to find good ice cream in these flavors, which is the reason I keep on coming back. I always opt for the taro since it’s surprisingly good for such an odd vegetable, but most of their flavors are fantastic and worth trying out.
Unfortunately they are cash-​only, but if you’re in the area and aren’t largely reliant on your credit card like I am, definitely make it a goal to pop in for dessert!

Love love love!
Been here many times, and last time I was here it was literally 1 degree outside and it was still super crowded. They have so many cool flavors and the quality of the ice cream is superb! Super thick, rich, and creamy. My favorite flavors are taro and black sesame, and I also love pandan, zen butter, and their new flavor Thai iced tea!
Their scoop system is a little confusing though. You get to pick two flavors for a «single scoop», and three for a «double scoop». So get your money’s worth and pick more flavors!
Definitely a must stop place for me when I come to Chinatown! Great place to bring friends visiting the city too!

One of my favorite places to get Ice Cream in the Chinatown area. I recently tried Pandan, which reminded me of lightly flavored bamboo leaves mixed with condensed milk. This might not sound good to you, but I assure you, it really is. I’d also recommend eating it on a sugar cone. Indulge yourself, I say.

Popped in here on my last food stop of Manhattan’s «must eats» and ordered the Green Tea ice cream with Popping Boba. The Green Tea was lightly sweeten and had a prominent green tea taste. With the addition of the Popping Boba, the taste of sweetness was enhanced and also gave an added texture to the creaminess of the ice cream.
Before ordering, I also sampled the Egg Custard (very sweet), Lychee (light and fruity), and the Durian (the taste of durian was not as prominent as some other durian ice creams I have had in passing).
Pros:
– You can sample any of the flavors, but do be mindful of the line (if it’s long, don’t try to sample everything)
– All the ice creams are made in-​house
– They do have non-​traditional ice cream flavors such as Egg Custard, Durian, Lychee, etc.
– When you get toppings for the 1 scoop of ice cream, they scoop it in the big cup so that your toppings don’t roll off the side
– The staff is very quick with service if the line gets long
Cons:
– Very small place, so get cozy if it’s crowded

Personal favorite flavors: lychee and taro. I love their taro ice cream, especially since there’s small chunks of taro pieces inside and it’s very creamy but not too sweet.

Got the lychee ice cream with mango boba for free (check in on Unilocal to get a free topping). The ice cream was good and the boba complemented the lychee flavor well. So happy they put my one scoop in a big cup in order to fit the boba in there. You can sample flavors and lines go quickly.

This review is purely based on samples I tried since the flavor I wanted was out by 6pm on a Friday night :((
Made a quick stop here while exploring Chinatown and was surprised to find this place as a regular looking ice cream shop vs an actual ice cream factory [due to my interpretation of the store name]. Once you enter, from the middle to the right side of the ice cream flavors, you’ll find flavors that range from red bean, taro, green tea to yummy fresh sorbets like egg custard, mango papaya and etc. On the far left side, you’ll find the typical flavors like strawberry, vanilla and such. All ice cream are made here locally and I guess if you go late in the evening, popular flavors will be out.
Of all the flavors I sampled, I really enjoyed the mango papaya sorbet. It was refreshing and light and you could really taste the two flavors in one spoonful. As for other unique flavors, the egg custard was tasty and tasted like an actual egg custard and the green tea was good too. Overall, you really can’t go wrong with any of the flavors here.

I’ve always had a lot of respect for people who work in ice cream shops. Sure it’s a simple job. Take the order, get the ice cream, take the payment. Smile & say thank you. But don’t forget, they repeatedly open up the freezers, stick their freezing hands in and rigorously scoop out your ice cream. & They do that over and over and over until it’s time to close up. Then they have to clean up the sticky mess that everyone leaves behind. Like I said, a lot of respect.
Despite that, the people working here seemed kind of grumpy. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt since it’s hard work. Also, it’s a very tight space. It gets crowded. There tends to be a long line. If anyone is not in line, they are usually standing by the doorway eating their ice cream. Also, it gets really hot in the summer. They have fans, but no ac.
As for the ice cream, it was pretty good. They have an overwhelming list of flavors.
I wanted to try the Egg Custard, but they were out of it.
Black Sesame — good, a flavor I usually enjoy. It’s sweet and almost gritty, but pleasantly so.
Zen Butter — no thank you. I am not a fan. Too reminiscent of eating frozen butter.
Lychee — probably my favorite of the bunch. It’s got that sweet fruity flavor I love with actual chunks of lychee embedded in the ice cream.
If I’m ever in the area and if the line isn’t too long, I’d like to try the egg custard. The prices are pretty expensive, starting at over $ 4 for a scoop, and the scoops are pretty small. But practically all dessert places in NY are expensive, so what are you gonna do?

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory has great ice cream, that is really all you need to know. It’s a tiny shop just go in and enjoy!
I have been there many times so my review is overdue. When you go in be sure to sample as many flavors so you will know which ones to come back for on another trip. But if you are going to have the staff pulling out all those little plastic spoons for you make sure to tip them.
I was there today on a cold winter day and a line of 15 people quickly materialized. During warmer weather the lounge quickly forms out the door and down the street.
Ok, enough babbling. The ice cream is creamy and delicious. Not overly sweet, they even have soft serve. All of the flavors are yummy, but some of my faves are almond cookie, pumpkin pie, green tea and egg custard (just tried that last one today so good!).

Nice hole-​in-​the-​wall ice cream shop that sells a wide variety of ice cream.
I tried their cookies n cream and it was, smooth, creamy and not too sweet, each bite accompanied with some cookie bits on a classic sugar cone. They offer unique flavors such as lychee, pumpkin pie and DURIAN. I asked for a sample and lemme just say… it’s just as pungent, but every bit as tasty.
This place is definitely one of the best ice cream parlors in NYC and if you’re looking to try new flavors, this should be at the top of your list

Best ice cream ever… hands down!!! I’ve been to so many places that attempt exotic flavors like lychee, green tea, or egg custard, but never have I tried any that were authentic! These flavors were spot on to their desired intentions! It was nice and creamy, definitely worth the price! My absolute favorite was the egg custard! Oh my gosh, I love egg custards, so this ice cream form was to die for.
Service was as sweet as can be! They were so helpful! They went out of their way to help me with my ice cream needs, along with feel my sorrow when I found out some of the flavors I wanted to try ran out.
Ice cream in the freezing cold must mean it’s worth it. I would like to personally vouch that I ate this amazing ice cream at 29 degrees and it was worth it!

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is just AWESOME. It’s one of the stores that forms a line outside the store. It’s a small store yet it has large variety of flavors, most flavors you can not find in other ice cream shops!
To all the DURIAN LOVERS out there, they have durian ice cream ! For those who don’t know what durian is, durian is a spiky fruit and once it’s cut open its pouches of yellow and you will automatically notice the strong smell. It tastes sweet and creamy, for most people that isn’t use to durian they usually would think it taste weird and it’s very stinky like cat poo but the TRICK is if you are the one eating it, you will NOT notice the smell as much.
There is also other interesting and yummy flavors like black sesame, lychee, red bean. Ask them to try out the flavors and find your flavor! And where in earth can you find soy sauce ice cream ?!? Well you can Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.
You can choose from a cone, a cup for 1 scoop $ 4.35, 2 scoops for $ 6.99 or 3 scoops for $ 8.75 or a take out cup to which is $ 8.75/pint or $ 13.75/quart. Add money for toppings like mochas, popping bubbles, sparkles, pockys, m&m. They also have ice cream cakes and milkshakes, Yum yum !

MUST GO !
Located in chinatown, it’s a small ice cream shop they sells unique ice cream flavors. Emphasis on SMALL so the line is sometimes out the door or inside it is very crowded to the point where you can’t even move. But their ice cream is delicious! I can’t help to always get three scoops of either their pumpkin pie, almond flavor, or any of the other unique flavors they offer. You can taste the flavor very well in their ice cream, but only thing is that it’s expensive. Over the years I’ve seen their prices increase, which sometimes makes me hesitant to go here. But it’s become one of those specialty places that I go to when outside friends are in town.
If you’re in the area, especially if you’re not from the area or out of state, definitely check it out!

Location: immersed by all those Chinese restaurants, I was having a hard time to figure out where this place is. Luckily, I got it eventually.
Ice Cream: Had Taro. very bland, and lighted flavor of Taro
Worst part: it’s 21^st century, where credit card has been used everywhere but they still demand cash.
Bring ya cash.
I mean it.

Actually SOOO GOOD.
I got lycée and mango since the rose lychee and the durian sadly ran out The lychee icecream had pieces of lychee in it making the texture better and the floor was incredible.
The owners seemed like they really knew the flavors of the icecream, and they were efficient although there were so many people there.

Hey guy in the front scoopin’ the ice cream, this is a well known spot where people from all walks of life come to, just to try your exotic flavors,
STOP ROLLING YOUR FUCKING EYES WHEN PEOPLE ASK FOR SAMPLES YOU NUMB NUT.
Other than that, the ice cream’s pretty bomb.
I sampled the Egg custard and Almond cookie, went with the Almond. It was really good, but my friend said it just tastes like almond powder. Whatevs’.
Next time I come back, I’d sample the fuck out of pandan, durian, black sesame, and whatever the hell catches my eye.

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory does not live up to its hype.
It’s true that they serve a lot of unique flavors (dan tat, durian, almond cookie and more) typically not found at other ice cream spots. However, the ice cream itself tastes average at best. I tried two flavors, pandan+ube, and was hoping that the ice cream would be fragrant and subtly sweet like how other pandan or ube desserts are. Unfortunately, both flavors tasted very artificial. I should have known better considering the ice cream were basically NEON purple and green in color. Left pretty disappointed and slightly disgruntled since I had spent $ 8 on two scoops of mediocre ice cream.

Holy Moses, I never wrote a review? The place is classic Chinatown, it’s a Chinatown institution, it’s been open since I was a kid and I was always curious to know what that weird green looking dragon thing outside was. I have only had their ice cream maybe within the last ten years and I think they make a great product. It’s a mad house in the summer time and the place is pretty cramped but you make due for greatness. Also, the price seem to go up like every year and I hear they cap your samples now. They sell regular American flavors, but why bother.
The food:
Lychee– I enjoy the flavor of the lychee, I think it’s pretty pronounced and I like the smooth consistency of the ice cream. It does run a tad sweet.
Black Sesame– I think their black sesame is great, I love the creamy texture of the ice cream and there is a nice but not overpowering black sesame flavor.
Almond Cookie– All my Chinese friends go bananas over this, they always say it taste exactly like Almond Cookie, I like it but I don’t love it. It’s just good in my book.

Love their ice creams !
Egg custard ice cream did taste like egg custard although rather mild.

I love the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory! They feature unusual flavors like Taro, Black Sesame, Zen Butter, Ginger, Egg Custard, etc.
My two favorites are the Zen Butter and Black Sesame! The prices may look a bit high, but the one scoop is actually two and they even let you pick two flavors for your «one» scoop! It’s very delicious and all homemade.
The staff are really nice too and you can sample a few flavors as well. They have fun toppings too like tapioca pearls, bacon, lychee, etc. I love the boba balls as a topping!
TIP: If you check-​in, you can get a free topping too! You also get a free Pocky stick in your scoop!
Heads up, there’s no where to sit though. This is a strictly to go type of place; it’s just a narrow counter. If they aren’t busy, you can eat it standing inside, but it will be way too crowded when other guests come in to order.

My friend got me the coconut which I did not love but the matcha and taro are my factories :)
Lychee is good too and they have lots Asian fruity unique flavors!
Few of my friends work there so it’s nice.
Long lines on Sunday but moves fast!

Pros:
unique flavors (red bean, sesame seed, green tea oreo. much more!)
A large variety of flavors!
Free choclate Pocky stick on each ice cream.
Even though this is in Chinatown, the servers speak English fluently.
Cons:
Pretty pricy for 1 small scoop (~$ 5)
Cash only.
The server told us to stop trying out the flavors when we only tried 3 times –_​–
Except for mean servers, I was happy with the ice creams! They were yummy and you can’t get such flavors anywhere!

Just a great ice cream joint with fantastic flavors. The hype is high but the ice cream is good. Not always worth the lines but it’s a nice stop after Joe’s Shanghai on a hot august day.
It’s a tiny shop and they have their daily flavors written up on a white board. Be quick about asking for tastes and making your decision they move fast.

Alors là il y a du niveau et pourtant c’était vraiment pas gagné pour que je vienne dans ce quartier et encore moins pour que je goutte de la nourriture par ici. J’avais déjà vue le Chinatown de Londres et Montréal et j’avais fait une jolie intoxication alimentaire dans les deux donc vraiment pas envie d’aller dans un quartier répondant au doux nom de Chinatown mais mon routard me disant qu’il s’agissait du meilleur glacier de NY et après avoir lu les avis des Unilocaleurs je me suis dit qu’on allait tenter le coup.
Et bien heureusement que j’y suis allée car pas du tout déçue. Bön la boutique n’a pas un super visuel vue de l’extérieur en plus d’être minuscule mais les glaces sont succulentes. La glacé la plus exceptionnelle que mes papilles ont savouré se trouve chez un glacier à Rome mais celles que j’ai pu déguster ici viennent tous juste d’entrer dans le top 3 de mes glaces favorites à la deuxième place!!!
Le personnel est ultra gentille. Je né sais pas si c’est comme ça à toutes les saisons (car moi on été en août avec une chaleur écrasante) mais il y avait vraiment une très longue queue il fallait être motivé pour rester. En tout cas n’hésitez pas en plus c’est limite donné au niveau du prix.

Certes vous trouverez de bonnes glaces faites maison avec des parfums un petit peu atypiques par exemple au sésame ou the vert etc… Mais honnêtement rien de bien vraiment nouveau comparé aux glaciers français. Donc un peu déçu en ce qui me concerne.

La boutique né paye pas de mine… vraiment pas !
Il a fallu sortir le plan pour être sûrs que nous étions dans la bonne rue.
C’est minuscule, tout en longueur (on se croise difficilement)…
On est 4, on commande chacun à notre tour sans grande certitude mais en se remémorant l’avis d’une copine pour qui «c’est le meilleur glacier de la ville».
J’opte pour citrouille mangue en cornet, non ces deux parfums, ça né va pas ensemble mais on s’en fiche.
On paye (une bouchée de pain) et on commence notre dégustation. HUMMMM. La citrouille était une perfection totale, très parfumée avec un vrai goût prononcé… Même chose pour la mangue, le bon goût du fruit frais… Même le cornet était parfait, croustillant comme il faut (sus aux cornets mous !!!).
Je sais que je serais obligée d’y retourner quand je retournerais à NYC, c’était bien trop bon. En prime, on a pu déguster dans le petit parc japonais du bout de la rue, on né se serait plus du tout cru à new york !

tolle Eissorten und vor allem sehr ausgefallene Sorten wie Taro, Grüntee, Schwarzer Sesam!!! (mein Favorit), Ingwer, ZenButter, Longan, Avocado
Undbedingt mal ausprobieren!

Etrange. aurais-​je oublié de noter la meilleure boutique de glacé de la terre? haha c’est minuscule, ca né paye pas de mine, c’est presque caché (juste l’enseigne qui est plus en hauteur). J’ai du passer devant 2 ou 3 fois sans m’en rendre compte. Gouter le Green Tea, c’est suuuuuper bon! ^^

Ihr seid, wie ich in Chinatown und habt’ Lust auf ein leckeres Eis
dann latscht die Mott Street entlang bis zur No. 53! Jetzt steht ihr direkt vor dem Haagen Dazs Ice Cream Shop, dann Oh toll Haagen Dazs! nein Freunde, heute kaufen wir kein industriell hergestelltes Eis, wir biegen links ab in die Bayard Street, Richtung East und laufen bis zur No. 65, bis zur Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Frankenbacher, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory!
Du führst uns in eine Eiscrem-​Fabrik? Hey, Leute! Um was geht es euch? Wollt’ ihr euch einen per Marketing gehypten Namen auf der Zunge zergehen lassen, oder wollt’ ihr einfach geiles Eis?
Photo link:
Ice Manu Factory Wartet’ doch mal ab! Vergesst’ einfach mal die Firmennamen und probiert! Als Offenbacher, kenne ich so etwas: ;-) Die Chinatown Ice Cream Factory ist wie die Käsefabrik Giuseppe Abbate (
) in Offenbach, eine reine Manufaktur! Hier wurde im Firmennamen das nur das Manu unterschlagen. Zur Zeit der Gründung, der Chinatown Ice Cream (Manu)-Factory, war man stolz darauf, dass man sich tolle Maschinen zur Herstellung leisten konnte. Zu dieser Zeit ereignete es sich, so eine frankenbachersche Vermutung, dass sich ein italienischer Eisdielen-​Besitzer aus Litte Italy in eine kleine Chinesin aus Chinatown verliebte. Nach heißen Liebesnächten, heirateten die beiden und bewirtschafteten dann gemeinsam eine Gelateria. Um in Litte Italy zu überleben reichten aber nicht mehr nur die Geheimnisse der Gelato-​Herstellung aus, bis auf wenige Geschäfte war Litte Italy inzwischen von China-​Town überrollt worden,
genau aus diesem Grund gibt es heute in der Chinatown Ice Cream (Manu)-Factory so geniale Eissorten, wie Pure Mango, Red Beans, Black Sesam,
Photo link:
Ice Manu Factory Red Beans & Black Sesam Ice Cream
Photo link:
Ice Manu Factory Black Sesam & Red Beans Ice Cream Würde ich, Francesco Frankenbacher im Rhein-​Main eine Gelatateria betreiben, Black Sesam wäre der Kassenschlager!

Für den Eis-​Fex ist natürlich kein Weg zu weit, um diesem Laden einen Ehrenbesuch abzustatten.
Und da man sich ja eh immer abends in Chinatown bekochen läßt, ist der Weg dann ja nicht ganz so weit.
Ich habe wohl 20 Sorten dort probiert, und obwohl ich kein großer Freund von reinem Fruchteis und Sorbets bin, habe ich sie mir hier trotzdem angetan.
Ich weiß nicht, welche Sorte ich besonders hervorheben soll, denn jede hatte etwas besonderes an sich.
Ich habe mir mal das aktuelle Angebot rauskopiert:
Regular Flavors
Almond Cookie
Avocado
Black Sesame
Chocolate Carmel Pecan
Chocolate Pandan
Coconut
Durian
Ginger
Green Tea
Lychee (Chinese Fruit)
Mango
Pandan
Passion Fruit
Red Bean (Dessert Bean)
Strawberry Shortcake
Taro (Potato-​like)
Wild Blueberry
Zen Butter
Sorbet
Blueberry
Lemon
Lime
Longan
Lychee
Mango-​Papaya
Pineapple
Pina Colada
Strawberry
Strawberry Colada
Tangerine
Tropical Fruit
Watermelon
Exotic Flavors
Banana
Blueberry Cheesecake
Butter Pecan
Cherry Pistachio
Cherry Vanilla
Chips and Chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate Chip
Coconut Fudge
Coffee
Coffee Brandy
Mint Chip
Mocha Chip
Oreo Cookie
Peach
Pineapple
Pistachio
Pumpkin Pie
Rocky Road
Rum Raisin
Strawberry
Strawberry cheesecake
Vanilla
Vanilla Fudge
Wasabi
Viel Spaß bei der Qual der Wahl

Jedes mal, wenn ich die Ice Cream Factory suche, irre ich stundenlang durch Chinatown. Aber es rentiert sich immer! Supertoll: das Lychee-​Eis.
Sonntags sind die besten Sorten leider oft schon mittags ausverkauft :-(

I was in Chinatown yesterday and got a three-​scoop sundae for the first time: almond cookie, taro, black sesame. The problem is, maybe I should have told the staff to put my ice cream in a reverse order — my favorite flavor, after the taste, was the black sesame… which was at the bottom (lol). It had an authentic fragrance of black sesame and tastes «real». I had tasted something comparable from Matcha Love’s Mitsuwa booth long ago, but it was another story.
The taro was good but nothing impressive. The almond cookie, which I felt impressive at the first bite, turned too sweet for me later (yes, I have an Asian sweet tooth.). But the flavor of almond cookie was very authentic as well.
Despite the Asian-​infused flavors, I think their ice creams are on the traditionally thick and creamy side. While I prefer light and fluffy («gelato-​like») ice cream, I’m pretty interested in their flavor variety. The service was nice too — they even added three pocky sticks on my sundae!
A must-​go spot in Chinatown anyway. Will try the red bean /​green tea oreo or something unique next time.