Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

(212) 608-4170

65 Bayard St (nr. Mott St.)
New York, NY 10013 40.7154 -73.9982

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Neighborhoods: Chinatown, Downtown

chinatownicecreamfactory.com

Hours:

Daily 11am-10pm

Price:

$

Last updated 10.17.11

Category:

Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Ice Cream Parlors

Payment Methods:

Cash

Restaurant Special Features:

Local Favorite, Family-Friendly Dining, Cheap Eats

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

At first glance the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory looks just like your typical parlor. Vanilla? Got it. Chocolate? Check. Rocky road? You know it. The not-immediately-apparent secret that sets it apart, however, is its variety of exotic, Asian-inspired flavors. Flavors like green tea, ginger, lychee, mango, almond cookie and taro make for rare, tasty summer treats.

Editor's Tips

Know Before You Go:
There's no seating at this gem, but what better way to enjoy the sights of Chinatown than with green tea, in a cone?
dessert
90.15000343322754% positive
  1. “So, i used to pass this place, snickering at the fools standing in line, not believing that this place could possibly warrant the rave reviews, particularly since i don't usually like ice cream.”
  2. “The owner was a great help after he had to tell me he ran out of the ice cream I walked 3 miles for.”
  3. “The service is great and you can really taste the love they put into making their ice cream.”
  4. “hands down the best ice cream ive ever had!”
  5. “For those a little less adventurous, the cookies and cream is the best I've ever tasted.”
  6. “So to all of you who are planning to order a cake from there, beware of the store's incompetence and the poor customer service.”
  7. “This is the best ice cream it's always made fresh.”
  8. “The ice cream is SO GOOD!”
  9. “love the ice cream at this place.”
  10. “Still damn good ice cream.”
  11. “The ice cream was absolutely awesome.”
  12. “This is my absolute favorite ice cream, ever, I can't get enough of it.”
  13. “love coming here because the ice cream is absolutely DELICIOUS.”
  14. “love Chinatown ice cream factory cus I love the Green tea, lychee, and mango flavors.”
  15. “best ice cream ever!”
  16. “was suprised to find that the very friendly workers provided tastes of the ice cream (something free in chinatown?”
  17. “love the exotic flavors that Chinatown ice cream factory provides.”
  18. “Great unique ice cream shop in downtown NY, right in Chinatown as the name suggests.”
  19. “Disappointing green tea ice cream”
  20. “love the mango ice cream.”
  21. “The best ice cream award to these guys are well deserved!”
  22. “It's only fitting that he get me a cake with my favorite flavors!”
  23. “just got engaged and my fiancee got me a beautiful heart shaped cake from the Chinatown ice cream Factory to celebrate.”
  24. “For good chowing, have some dumplings at Dumpling House on Eldridge St., then pop on over here for dessert.”
  25. “The Best ice cream in the world.”
  26. “Despite the reviews from other customers praising it's green tea ice-cream, the experience is quite disappointing.”
  27. “With friendly service and an amazing selection of delicious ice cream, you cannot go wrong with Chinatown ice cream at all.”
  28. “Chinatown ice cream Factory produces some of the best ice cream in New York and has been for quite a while.”
  29. “Fantastic ice cream!”
  30. “Other than that, the ice cream is good and is technically cheaper than that ridiculous Haagen-Dazs right around the corner.”
  31. “you would never know that this place served such delicious homemade ice cream!”
  32. “great ice cream!”
  33. “They have unique flavors such as almond cake and red bean, which is my favo.”
  34. “the ice cream is so great.”
  35. “The ice cream and the great service are excellent reasons to go to chinatown ice cream factory.”
  36. “Experiment, have a good time and enjoy great tasting ice cream.”
  37. “Their PISTACHIO ice cream is sooo good!”
  38. “love their ice cream, especially the zen butter, which is made of tosted sesame with penut butter.”
  39. “My fav flavors are even often sold out by the end of the day, I highly recommend the pistachio and almond cookie.”
  40. “The Best ice cream in NYC”
  41. “great place with yummy ice cream and a great walk to get there.”
  42. “In all honesty, I love ice cream, and I have tried from many different parlors from all over the city and the selection at CIF dominates all.”
  43. “They have some unique chinese deserts that you won't.”
  44. “Great ice cream for a fair price.”
  45. “If you want yummy FRESH & NATURAL ice cream, with interesting flavors such as LICHEE & TARO, it is worth to pay a visit to this tiny store located in the heart of Chinatown.”
  46. “love chocolate ice cream but when I come to the Chinatown ice cream Factory I'm not even tempted.”
  47. “do not hesitate to assert that Chinatown ice cream Factory has the best ice cream in NYC, and probably in the world.”
  48. “the customer service was great, great attitude and ice cream.”
  49. “Great walk to get ice cream”
  50. “Great ice cream!”
  51. “He loves me and I love ice cream!”
  52. “What I mean is the Great Tea ice cream was great but it seemed it was more milky than green teaish.”
  53. “The cakes are great too.”
  54. “So its TWO reasons why Chinatown ice cream Factory is the best: flavors AND wonderful people”
  55. “This place has some amazing flavors of ice cream.”
  56. “This place definitely has the best ice cream I have ever tasted and no wonder they won the Citysearch award.”
  57. “THE BEST ice cream EVER!”
  58. “I'll make the trek any day just to get my favorite almond cookie ice cream.”
  59. “best ice cream in nyc”
  60. “The best ice cream.”
  61. “love Pistachio and chocolate flavors, and would highly recommend it to anybody and everybody.”
  62. “dont even like ice cream”
  63. “It had great different flavors compared to generic ice cream stores.”
  64. “love the ginger ice cream.”
  65. “For anyone who loves ice cream as much as I do, you must try this place.”
  66. “Another plus is that I know that I am getting a quality prouct because it is a family run business and one member of the family is always there making sure that the quality of their ice cream and service is never less than perfect.”
drinks
50.0% positive
  1. “Disappointing green tea ice cream”
  2. “My particular favorite is the ginger, but others like the green tea.”
  3. “Despite the reviews from other customers praising it's green tea ice-cream, the experience is quite disappointing.”
  4. “love Chinatown ice cream factory cus I love the Green tea, lychee, and mango flavors.”
food quality
88.88999938964844% positive
  1. “you would never know that this place served such delicious homemade ice cream!”
  2. “great place with yummy ice cream and a great walk to get there.”
  3. “have to say I had no idea Pistachio could be this tasty!”
  4. “like chinese food very very much and so I naturally wanted to give this place a try.”
  5. “If you want yummy FRESH & NATURAL ice cream, with interesting flavors such as LICHEE & TARO, it is worth to pay a visit to this tiny store located in the heart of Chinatown.”
  6. “All these flavors are so unique and so tasty.”
  7. “i had the lychee: more lychee than the fresh fruit from a grove in calcutta.”
  8. “With friendly service and an amazing selection of delicious ice cream, you cannot go wrong with Chinatown ice cream at all.”
  9. “This is the best ice cream it's always made fresh.”
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. “In all honesty, I love ice cream, and I have tried from many different parlors from all over the city and the selection at CIF dominates all.”
  2. “With friendly service and an amazing selection of delicious ice cream, you cannot go wrong with Chinatown ice cream at all.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “great place with yummy ice cream and a great walk to get there.”
  2. “Their service is good, but be prepared to wait on a long line after dinner time on the weekend, the place is small and people flood in.”
  3. “It had great different flavors compared to generic ice cream stores.”
service
92.11000442504883% positive
  1. “The service is great and you can really taste the love they put into making their ice cream.”
  2. “was suprised to find that the very friendly workers provided tastes of the ice cream (something free in chinatown?”
  3. “and the employee there are are really friendly and nice.”
  4. “the customer service was great, great attitude and ice cream.”
  5. “The ice cream and the great service are excellent reasons to go to chinatown ice cream factory.”
  6. “the service was excellent.”
  7. “With friendly service and an amazing selection of delicious ice cream, you cannot go wrong with Chinatown ice cream at all.”
  8. “even on a busy night the staff was polite and helpful in choosing a flavor.”
  9. “The service was great as well.”
  10. “The kids that work there are always friendly and attentive.”
  11. “The workers are also extremely friendly,not to mention very good looking.”
  12. “The service is great and this spot is always a must when I'm in Chinatown.”
  13. “But overall, the quality is great and the staff is friendly.”
  14. “However, the poor customer service left us all feeling extremely unsatisfied and angry.”
  15. “Another plus is that I know that I am getting a quality prouct because it is a family run business and one member of the family is always there making sure that the quality of their ice cream and service is never less than perfect.”
  16. “So its TWO reasons why Chinatown ice cream Factory is the best: flavors AND wonderful people”
  17. “Their service is good, but be prepared to wait on a long line after dinner time on the weekend, the place is small and people flood in.”
  18. “So to all of you who are planning to order a cake from there, beware of the store's incompetence and the poor customer service.”
  19. “The people there are so nice and they recognize us because we are regulars.”
value
100.0% positive
  1. “Great ice cream for a fair price.”
  2. “If you want yummy FRESH & NATURAL ice cream, with interesting flavors such as LICHEE & TARO, it is worth to pay a visit to this tiny store located in the heart of Chinatown.”
  3. “And the price is good too!”
  4. “Service has been very helpful, however, the prices have slowly creeped up in the last few years.”
  5. “For the amount that you spend($2.30), the scoop portions are decent.”
  6. “The chinese fruit flavors are unique and well worth a try.”
wait time
100.0% positive
  1. “Their service is good, but be prepared to wait on a long line after dinner time on the weekend, the place is small and people flood in.”
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

03/24/11

A must for Ice Cream Junkies everywhere!

by DanDann

Before coming here, I had no idea that such an array of ice cream flavors even existed! China town isn't exactly famous for its ice cream, but after being intensely nagged bout it by my friends, I could not help myself.

Although I felt like an explorer with no map trying to find the place, the trip was well worth it. Since I went through so much trouble finding it, I wanted to experience the most exotic and bizarre flavors I could find; flavors like vanilla and chocolate would not make it on my plate today.

My crave for exotica was not only met, but surpassed by a mile. I asked the clerk what he recommended and he gave me a combination of black sesame with zen butter ice cream.

As soon as I put the small plastic spoon to my mouth, I was instantly delighted. I do not think I had ever eaten anything to quickly before in my life.

Just as I was about to leave, my eye noticed something called Wasabi ice cream. I was taken back because I was puzzled how it would possibly make it on the menu due to the bitter and spicy nature of Wasabi.Nevertheless, I wasn't about to chicken out now; and it was a good thing I didn't.

I don't know how they did it, but they managed to capture the beautiful and invigorating flavor of Wasabi and infuse it with sugar, without any of the bitter kick.

If there's an ice cream anonymous out there, I think after visiting this place, I am definitely going to end up there pretty soon!

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

01/31/11

Best flavorful ice cream

by clairelin

Why don't they have their ice cream sold at local supermarkets? I think their business would triple at least, and I could quench my cravings more easily.

Their ice cream is flavorful, dense, not overly sweet and high quality.

Every bite I have in lychee, black sesame, green tea, pineapple, taro and mango, I could taste the tiny chunks of the real food. Each of them are all distinct flavor and so tasty and addictive.

On my target list: Almond cookie, zen butter and red bean. I am coming!

Hands down the best ice cream in the whole city. Sorry fancy gelato, costing more $$ doesn't mean better taste.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

03/09/10

Small store, big flavors

by Evanismo , Citysearch Contributor

Housed in a tiny Chinatown storefront, CICF brings together two greats in American cuisine: ice cream and Chinese food. Though you probably won’t be seeing chicken and broccoli any time soon, such mouth-watering flavors as almond, red bean, ginger, lychee, and green tea are sure to suffice. Ice cream is all about choosing the flavor profile that fits your mood. I went with the new zen butter: like peanut butter, but with a hint of inner peace. My inner peace was slightly shattered by the frantic pace and long line stretching out the door, but this is Chinatown. Still damn good ice cream.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

03/24/09

Hard to Find Ice Cream Flavors

by Semera

Ice cream is part of my life. I love eating ice cream. It's my passion and it's my hobby. A perfect day would be if I have an ice cream from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. I don't know how they do it, but I love all their flavors. It's so good I can't stop myself from eating half gallons!! For real. Like, it's ice cream I've never had before. I will never find another ice cream parlor that will replace CICF in my heart. Some of the tropical flavors are: Almond, Lychee, Mango, Pandan, Durian, Banana, Green Tea, Peach and Coconut. Some of the exotic flavors they have that I couldn't find anywhere else are: Coffee Brandy, Wasabi and Pumpkin Pie.

I still have a lot to go to try all of their flavors. I'm telling you, every trip to this place is worth it because I leave happy and stress-free.

  • Pros: Best Exotic ice cream flavors and ice cream cakes
  • Cons: What are the drawbacks?
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

03/15/09

BEST ICE CREAM EVER!

by Hon

I've never had so much fun eating ice cream until I had an ice cream from this place. Wow, so incredible. I love the mango ice cream. De-lish! I always order it whenever I'm in the neighborhood. I brought my sister there and she loves it to death! We both are obsessed of the mango ice cream. We love it so much we decided to bring some home in Jersey. My parents loved them so much too! In a way, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory brought my family together.

It's so awesome!!!!!

  • Pros: Most awesome ice cream flavors in New York City
  • Cons: What are the drawbacks?

The Details on Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

Place Categories:

  • best pistachio ice cream
  • great service
  • great place
  • favorite cherry pistachio
  • love lychee
  • never delicious green tea ice cream
  • helpful staff
  • favorite watermelon sorbet
  • like green tea
  • favorite black sesame
  • damn good wonder
  • poor customer service
  • great unique ice cream shop
  • wonderful people
  • like ube
  • extremely friendly workers
  • great quality
  • always friendly kids
  • great cake
  • great attitude
  • best ice cream ever
  • amazing taste
  • best ice cream award
  • favorite chinese fruit flavors
  • nice employee

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