East West - The Asian American Lifestyle Magazine

By Valerie Ng

Like many big cities, there is no shortage of ice cream shops in San Francisco, and enjoying creamy scoops of icy goodness is popular all year round, even when the weather won’t cooperate. But what stands out here is that most establishments take advantage of the wide range of available ingredients to offer an array of creative and unusual flavors alongside traditional ones. And the heavy Asian influence throughout the city and region ensures that Eastern flavors are among the inspired offerings.

“Mondo Gelato (now Gelateria Naia) introduced these types of flavors to the authentic Italian gelato with green tea, black sesame and red bean,” says Curtis Chin, one of the founders of Mondo Gelato and now the manager of Berkeley’s Gelato Milano. “Asian flavors are easy enough to make,” he adds, which makes these flavors as commonplace as strawberry and chocolate. Even Ciao Bella, the ubiquitous New York-originated national chain, offers lychee, green tea and red bean flavors alongside Tahitian vanilla and mango at its area locations.

Some San Francisco institutions take the Eastern influences a step further by specializing in Asian flavors. Not surprisingly, many of these establishments operate in areas where Asians are a majority, but still, the unique innovations in creamy goodness have proven popular with the adventurous taste buds of residents of all backgrounds. Marco Polo Italian Ice Cream, a Chinese-owned ice cream shop named for the Italian explorer who brought Chinese noodles to Italy where they were adapted to create the country’s signature starch, puts an Asian twist on an Italian dessert. Since 1982, the neighborhood shop in the predominantly Asian Sunset district has been serving up homemade scoops of smooth and tasty Italian gelato. Its success has come primarily through word of mouth, as its owner prefers to keep the establishment low key. Known for its Asian flavors, fans are particularly fond of green tea, mango and lychee, as well as soursop and red bean. Other Asian varieties, also labeled in Chinese, include guava, sesame, jackfruit, coconut and taro. The scent of durian is particularly pungent. For the less adventurous, there are traditional Italian favorites such as chocolate, strawberry, pistachio and rum raisin.

“For a while, I only got green tea,” says Alice Ng of San Francisco, who first frequented the shop with a friend when she attended school nearby, “but then I ventured out and got chocolate.” She admits that the origins of gelato were not obvious to her. “When I first came here I didn't know what gelato was,” she says. As Asian desserts traditionally lack the intense sweetness of their Western counterparts, none of Marco Polo’s flavors are too sweet or rich, making it easier to taste the natural flavors of the gelato. Eliana Kaimowitz, who lives in the neighborhood, had heard rave reviews from friends before trying it herself and bringing her husband. She commented that the shop was not entirely out of place in its location. “It’s interesting that in this neighborhood, we have (Marco Polo) that’s Asian-owned, and down the street, there’s an Italian restaurant that’s Chinese-owned, but tastes Italian,” she says.

As in many cities, San Francisco’s Chinatown is located alongside the Italian district. Nestled between the two ethnic quarters, Yoogo Gelato makes the most of its location by creating a “fusion of Italian, Asian and American flavors using the Italian gelato making technique,” allowing customers of different backgrounds to enjoy the flavors they are most familiar with. The multicultural offerings of Yoogo Gelato include lychee, green tea, taro, durian, honeydew, guava, ginger, chocolate hazelnut, Oreo, peanut butter, coffee and even Budweiser beer. Whatever one’s background, there is surely a gelato flavor to please their palate. Located in a higher-traffic area than Marco Polo, the shop’s success comes from those who filter in during their treks between Chinatown and North Beach, the Italian district.

Even in areas not heavily populated with those from Asian backgrounds, it is impossible to escape the influence. In the Mission district, inhabited primarily by Hispanic residents and not the most obvious location to hunt for Asian cuisine, there are numerous Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian restaurants to be found, and Asian-style ice cream is no exception. After 20 years of operating New Bombay Bazaar, a shop specializing in Indian products on Valencia Street, Suresh and Bharti Parmar thought about opening an Indian restaurant. They soon realized, however, that there were no ice cream shops in the area and decided instead to open Bombay Ice Cream, bringing the ice cream flavors of India to the diverse neighborhood. Declared the “best place for adventurous ice cream lovers” by San Francisco Weekly, this Mission district favorite is an answer to those who claim it’s impossible to combine curry with ice cream. The Indian-style ice cream, made with less sugar and more cream, is offered in 42 flavors and has achieved enormous success in its 12 years of operation, gaining popularity with visitors of all ethnic backgrounds.

“So many people love Indian ice cream,” says Suresh Parmar. In fact, the Indian flavors, which include cardamom rose, almond saffron pistachio, chai tea and chiku, are the most popular with customers who come not only from San Francisco but also from the greater Bay Area. “We have some people coming from Marin County, Sacramento and Vallejo,” Parmar says. Bombay Ice Cream became so popular that a second location was added in the East Bay city of Pleasanton. Among the menu’s signature items are the falooda, an Indian ice cream float made with ice cream, basil seeds, rose noodles, milk and rose syrup; and the kulfi, a traditional ice cream from Northern India made here with richer ice cream, rose syrup, vermicelli and rabri, which Parmar once explained on a feature for The Food Network. And the Parmars have not completely abandoned their original idea to offer Indian cuisine – the shop also serves up samosas and vegetarian curries.

Chin says it should not come as a surprise that ice cream shops with non-traditional flavors have found success in San Francisco, adding that Bay Area residents have the ideal background for indulging in such unique flavors. “Some of the factors would include education, affluence, diversity and the percentage of people living in the area who have an opportunity to have traveled to other parts of the world,” he says. The popularity of such flavors, he says, is due to the Bay Area’s “true appreciation of food.” 

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