Il laboratorio del gelato Plum and grape sorbet: Whenever I'm in LES, I can't help but stop by this outstanding gelato shop, with its endless array of cycling seasonal flavors. The plum and grape were super concentrated, tasting exactly like those ingredients in their freshest form. The texture could have been better (this time, the grape was a bit icy); nonetheless, I've never had anything but solid fresh sorbet from this NYC mainstay. 4.0/5.0
recommended nyc illaboratoriodelgelato plum grape sorbet 4.0
Il Laboratorio del Gelato Gelato crunch cup: Available at Oath’s Upper East Side location, this gelato cup from Il Laboratorio del Gelato (my favorite Gelato spot in all of NYC) is a significant upgrade from ice cream cups i had growing up. Vanilla ice cream is mixed with crunchy cinnamon bits reminiscent of smashed up Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but less sweet and more spiced. It also has some oats tossed in as well for added texture. Great nostalgic snack that’s better than the sum of its components. 3.5/5.0
recommended icecream nyc dessert illaboratoriodelgelato gelato crunch cup 3.5
Kam Hing Jujube Tea: Kam Hing is a cash-only shop on Baxter in Chinatown that is known mostly for their $1 sponge cakes that come in a variety of flavors. To accompany my sponge cake (review forthcoming), I purchased an iced jujube tea, made to order with chopped up dried jujube dates on the bottom (a popular Chinese snack). The drink instantly brought me back to Taiwan, where I spent some summers in my childhood – the beverage tasted like sweetened honey water, and the beverage softened & hydrated the diced j... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks chinatown nyc kamhing jujube tea 4.0
Kam Hing Pandan Sponge Cake: Kam Hing offers ~half a dozen flavors of sponge cakes, and after working out of NYC for a couple weeks, I've sampled a good number of them including pandan, original, brown sugar tea, ube, coconut, and black sesame (to be fair, I also brought back a bunch of them to share with my parents at home). The first one I purchased was pandan, a spiky tropical fruit that looks like a cross between a pineapple and durian but has a milder flavor that belies its spiky exterior. Overall, it has a pleas... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended chinatown nyc kamhing pandan sponge cake 3.5
Keki Matcha cheesecake: My company lets us pick our birthday-treat-of-choice. I learned my lesson last year, when I requested my favorite dessert (mochi) but found there weren't good ways to order it fresh in NYC. This year I went for a local favorite instead: Keki cheesecake, which was introduced to me by my RC Food Club friends. My indoctrination to Keki was through their original Japanese cheesecake, which has an excellent light and fluffy texture, but we also ordered their matcha 'fancy' cake to try. It costs ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
cake dessert japanese nyc keki matcha cheesecake 3.0
Keki Bakery Ube cheesecake : I purchased this "bouncy" ube Japanese cheesecake from Keki bakery in K-town after having tried their classic cheesecake at their Chinatown shop. Stated to serve 3-4, it easily could serve 5-6 if you're mainly in for a small taste. At $15, it's a great deal for the quality; combining the best of a rich cheesecake with a light and airy texture that I'd describe as more fluffy than bouncy (though we ate it the day after it was purchased, so the texture might have changed a bit). Its intense pu... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended cake dessert nyc japanese pastry kekibakery ube cheesecake 4.0