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Header image courtesy of @twistandbuckle (via Instagram)
Originally published by Sophie Pettit. Last updated by Janice Lam and Malin Angell.
As we all know, the camera eats first in Hong Kong—and when it comes to these delicious and photogenic frozen treats, you better make sure it eats quickly! From ingenious hybrid creations like crème brûlée ice cream crêpes to colourful soft serves, here are the most Instagrammable ice creams in Hong Kong that are worth the brain freeze.
One thing is for sure—ice cream does make people happier, and that is the goal of Hea Ice Cream. Striving to be the place people go to for a simple waffle cone to cheer up, Hea offers a wide variety of flavours depending on the season. Each comes with a Hong Kong-themed paper cone printed with iconic paraphernalia of local culture to make it even more picture-perfect. Its soft-serve flavours include black sesame, tofu, ginger, and salted lemon 7-Up. Add a few dollars and you can get a small popsicle in the soft serve!
Hea Ice Cream, Shop 5, G/F, Nam Fung Mansion, 10F Boundary Street, Sham Shui Po
Located in the cosy neighbourhood of Hung Hom is Sweet Craft, a Japanese-style dessert shop serving the Ice Flake, inspired by shaved ice, drinks, and soft serves. A wide variety of flavours are on offer, including matcha, peach nectar, pearl malt crunch, and chocolate. One of its most popular items is the Honeycomb Ice Flake, consisting of a layer of pudding in the bottom, salted caramel sauce inside the cup, and ice flakes on top of the pudding, all topped with whipped cream cheese, caramel popcorn, and caramel crunch. If shaved ice is not for you, then opt for the tofu or black sesame soft serve.
Sweet Craft, Shop G33, G/F, Pebbles World (Site 3), The Whampoa, Hung Hom
Albeit a churro speciality shop, Twist & Buckle has some of the most aesthetically decorated ice creams in Hong Kong. From the strawberries and cream sundae to the s’mores sundae, Twist & Buckle piles all sorts of toppings on a white swirl of ice cream, and tops it all off with a churro like a golden halo. Its rainbow sundae looks absolutely adorable with rainbow sprinkles, fruity pebbles, strawberry sauce, and a rainbow churro arch.
Twist & Buckle, 29–31 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui
This Sai Kung coffee roaster is loved for both its coffee and ice cream, decorated with a piece of waffle and a tiny metal spoon. Unlike the sweet, eye-catching ice creams in other shops, Hushush’s selection exemplifies the “less is more” approach.
With simple, earth-toned appearances, the ice creams here come in all kinds of boozy flavours, from Glendalough Irish whiskey to California Shiraz red wine. Its non-alcoholic options, including aged pu’er, osmanthus and acacia honey, and affogato, are just as enjoyable and popular. Hushush often rotates its menus, so feel free to go and see if the staff have come up with any new flavours.
Hushush Ice Cream Coffee, G/F, Kam Po Court, 2 Sai Kung Hoi Pong Square, Sai Kung
Who says Instagrammable ice creams have to be expensive? Located in some of the most frequented shopping centres in Hong Kong, One More Pancake’s ice cream is more than affordable. Most people are here for the “ice cream mountain”—the three-scoop jumbo ice cream, with a variety of popular flavours available, such as green tea, cookies and cream, and sesame. But if you are up for something fancier, they also have a series of ice cream crêpes. Just looking at the Marie biscuit with banana and ice cream pancake and blueberry cheesecake and ice cream pancake is enough to make our mouths water!
One More Pancake, locations across Kowloon and the New Territories
Named after the Chinese word for “pancakes” (班戟; baan1 gik1), crêpe specialist I Love 戟 has an entire section on its menu dedicated to ice cream crêpes. The crème brûlée ice cream crêpe is easily the most popular item, marrying hot custard with cold ice cream of your choosing—vanilla is a classic choice, though I Love 戟 also offers unique flavours like Okinawan sea salt, ube, and tofu.
There are also ice cream crepes that come with fun toppings such as kiwi, pineapple, and peach and coconut jelly, all of which come together with your ice cream crêpe to create a unique combination. I Love 戟 also offers regular ice cream and savoury choices like the pineapple and pork floss crêpe, if you need to warm up before your dessert.
I Love 戟, Shop C, 76 Shau Kei Wan Main Street East, Shau Kei Wan
For those craving a sophisticated ice cream, look no further than trendy coffee spot Elephant Grounds, which has 10 different flavours on offer. It’s creamy, it’s rich, it’s—oh, stop, you’re making our mouths water! Throw caution to the wind and welcome two cookies to the table with the ever-changing ice cream sandwich of the week, or ride the ultimate sugar high with The Peanut Gallery, which blends chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter ice cream, strawberry jam, and candied peanuts.
Pay attention to Elephant Grounds’ social media page for new flavours, like the authentically Hong Kong Baby Yin Yang, combining Horlicks ice cream with Milo cookies and cereal puffs, or Lavender Dream, which is lavender and honey. If you still have room after all that, then you have to try the locally roasted coffee, too—it’s out of this world.
Elephant Grounds, locations across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon
The inevitable queue at this popular dessert café means that a visit to Via Tokyo requires a dedicated time slot in your diary. However, when you tuck into these delectable Japanese treat, you’ll be glad you put in the effort. We recommend the warabi mochi mix soft cream—a combo of matcha and vanilla whipped together in a cup with mochi balls and kinako (黄粉; roasted soybean flour) thrown into the mix for good measure. Definitely worth snapping an Instagram shot while you’re there—you’ll make your friends green with envy!
Via Tokyo, Shop 1A–1B, Leishun Court, 106–126 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay
Pretty, yes. But when you take on the job of crafting flower petals out of ice cream, you open yourself up to high-speed melting. We think the lavender ice cream at Givrés is delicious anyway, especially when paired with the vanilla, and it definitely made us keen to try out the other 12 flavours. You can even get the waffle and rose for a more intriguing Instagram post if you need to snap before you eat—and an even messier ice cream experience.
Barista by Givrés, 7 Staunton Street, Central
On sunny days, you’re sure to spy a Mobile Softee (or as we all call it, Mister Softee) parked up near transport hubs and tourist hot spots. Rocking the retro vibe, this much-loved ice cream van offers great value for money as well as the most delicious and satisfying soft-serve vanilla cone. Big statement? Not when it will only set you back a modest amount. Short of change? Don’t panic; just whip out your Octopus Card.
Famous for its wide variety of quality chocolate and also its broad selection of gelato, Venchi focuses on using natural ingredients like fresh milk, different fruits, nuts and—of course—its own chocolate, which is specially selected and of single origin. Choosing your flavour would be the hardest as Venchi offers classics like (you guessed it) chocolate, strawberry, and stracciatella well as local flavours like lychee and durian. Get anything from two scoops up to four, but if that is not enough, take home the family pack to enjoy on the sofa.
Covering the hottest new eats, the best places to play, offbeat takes on local culture, and so much more, Localiiz is every Hongkonger’s destination for how to live a well-rounded life in our vibrant city. Why the strange spelling? Well, Localiiz is designed to be your “local eyes”—and for that, you need two i’s.
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