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When traveling to Vietnam in the summer, you can try exploring the world of Vietnamese ice cream which is both an amazing experience and ideal way to escape from the hot and humid weather. Vietnamese Coconut Icecream, Avocado icecream, and many fresh fruit-based ice creams are popular and worth trying when you travel to Vietnam.
Growing up in Vietnam, I have many memories of these treats. They were often a small reward from my parents for getting good grades or a highlight of trips to amusement parks.
In this blog, Jackfruit Adventure will suggest to you a list that recommends five of the “hottest” Vietnamese icecream flavors, their ingredients, and the best places to find them. Forget your diet for a moment and let’s look at the summer favorites in Vietnam.
Top 5 Must-Try Vietnamese Icecream You Cannot Miss
1. Banana Icecream (Kem chuối): A Safe choice when trying Vietnamese icecream
While banana is a common dessert ingredient, Vietnamese banana ice cream – often served as an ice lolly – is surprisingly delicious. It has a soft texture that melts quickly. The flavor is sweet and rich coming from the combination of banana and coconut milk.
A Vietnamese banana ice cream is normally made from ripe bananas, especially Siamese bananas, coconut milk, condensed milk and plain fresh milk and roasted peanuts. You can try Merino banana ice jolly, which can be found at most convenience stores like Circle K, GS25 and many grocery stores in Vietnam. A banana ice cream costs around 15,000 – 20,000 Vietnamdong (~ 0.5 – 1 USD/ice jolly). If you have time with Vietnamese friends, let’s try to make banana ice cream at home. It’s not too difficult to make it.
We suggest you to try banana icecreams in these following places:
Ho Chi Minh City:
- Italio Gelato: 374 Ten Lua Street, Binh Tri Dong B, An Lac, Ho Chi Minh City
- Kem Chuoi Co Ba Phuong (Online shop)
Ha Noi:
- Trang Tien 35 Icecream: 35 Trang Tien Street, Cua Nam Ward, Ha Noi
For a unique twist, you can try “Cubanana” in Scoopy Ice Cream – one of the most interesting local ice cream bars in Ho Chi Minh city. Cubanana is another Vietnamese banana ice cream, with banana, peanut butter and havana rum. The difference of Scoopy ice cream is the combination of fresh fruit, milk and wine. The price for one scoop is around 65,000 Vietnamdong (~ 2.47 USD/scoop).
- Scoopy Ice Cream: 19 Nguyen Dang Giai Street, Thao Dien Ward, An Khánh, Ho Chi Minh City
2. Avocado icecream (Kem bơ): A delicate escape
Vietnamese avocado ice cream takes the dessert to the next level. Unlike the banana icecream, this is usually served as a smooth, creamy, and refreshing sorbet. With the main ingredients as fresh avocados, fresh milk, and condensed milk, typically topped with desiccated coconut, avocado ice cream can easily win your heart because of its signature texture and flavour.
This type of Vietnamese icecream is a staple in Da Lat, which is famous for growing the best avocados in Vietnam. Many people traveling to Dalat usually choose eating avocado ice cream after dinner to balance their sense of taste.
A glass of avocado ice cream can cost you around 50,000 Vietnamdong (~1.9 USD/scoop or glass). If you can’t make the six-hour trip from Ho Chi Minh City, there are several local bars in the city that serve it.
Ho Chi Minh City
- Chạm Avocado Ice Cream & Coffee: 43 Hoa Hong Street, Ward 7, Cau Kieu, Ho Chi Minh City
- Bach Dang Ice Cream: 26D Le Loi Street, Ben Nghe Ward, Sai Gon, Ho Chi Minh City
- Kem Bơ Nàng Zoe: 92A Truong Sa Street, Ward 17, Gia Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City
Ha Noi:
- Banh Beo Avocado Icecream: 90 To Hien Thanh Street, Hai Ba Trung, Ha Noi
- Nik Icecream: 28 Alley 21, Tam Khương Street, Kim Lien, Ha Noi
3. Durian ice cream (Kem Sầu Riêng): “Hit or miss” in the list of Vietnamese icecream
Beside avocado ice cream, Vietnamese durian ice cream is a must-try dessert. If you look for a type of Vietnamese ice cream with strong taste, durian ice cream can be seen as the best choice. Because the original taste is a hit, it is usually served simply with crushed roasted peanuts.
By blending durian with whipping cream, condensed milk, sugar and salt, you will have a simple and flavorful durian ice cream. One tip from my experience is if you want to have more than one scoop at the same time, you may not like the combination of durian and any other fruit-originated ice cream because other flavors can be overwhelmed by the strong and unique taste of durian.
However, in reality, most ice cream shops in Vietnam also combine avocado with durian in ice cream. The combination is fantastic, balancing between the richness of avocado and the sweetness of durian and then helps the flavour level up. The price of durian icecream in Bach Dang Ice Cream is from 115,000 to 120,000 Vietnamdong (equivalent to 4.36 – 4.55 USD/glass).
You can go to some Vietnamese ice cream shops below to try durian ice cream, or avocado and durian ice cream as well:
Ho Chi Minh City:
- Chạm Avocado Ice Cream & Coffee: 43 Hoa Hong Street, Ward 7, Cau Kieu, Ho Chi Minh City
- Bach Dang Ice Cream: 26D Le Loi Street, Ben Nghe Ward, Sai Gon, Ho Chi Minh City
- Kem Bơ Nàng Zoe: 92A Truong Sa Street, Ward 17, Gia Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City
Ha Noi:
- Xuka Avocado Ice Cream: 24A Ba Trieu Street, Trang Tien, Cua Nam, Ha Noi
4. Coconut ice cream (Kem dừa): Make some funs with Vietnamese icecream, why not?
As Vietnamese coconut ice cream is a base for many other flavors, it is considered the most original and classic choice. It is creamy and sweet, but lighter than durian ice cream.
Some Vietnamese ice cream shops also make coconut ice cream with grated coconut. Meanwhile, some bars will serve coconut ice cream with many elaborate toppings such as desiccated coconut, cherry, syrup, sticky rice and specially put the coconut icecream into a real coconut. This makes your experience with coconut ice cream more delicious and amazing. Because of extra decoration and amount of ice cream for each plate, it will cost you around 150,000 to 200,000 for a bowl of Vietnamese coconut icecream (equivalent to 4.36 – 4.55 USD/glass). It’s quite higher than other Vietnamese ice creams, however, it’s also worth trying.
You can find excellent coconut ice cream with sticky rice in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Check out these top 3 spots in Ho Chi Minh City for more.
Ho Chi Minh City:
- Codonut: 169A De Tham Street, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, Ben Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City
- La Creme – Finest Ice Cream: 19 Tran Ngoc Dien Street, Thao Dien Ward, An Khanh, Ho Chi Minh City
- Bach Dang Ice Cream: 26D Le Loi Street, Ben Nghe Ward, Sai Gon, Ho Chi Minh City
Ha Noi:
- Thach Xiem Coconut Icecream: French Quarter, Hoan Kiem, Ha Noi, Vietnam
5. Mung bean ice cream (Kem đậu xanh): A Vietnamese childhood memory
If you prefer something less rich than avocado or durian, mung bean ice cream is a nostalgic favorite for many Vietnamese children. It offers a simpler, more relaxing sweetness.
Mung bean ice cream will not only satisfy your sweet cravings but keep the taste simpler and relaxing when eating. It is also often served as an ice jolly, same as Vietnamese Banana ice cream.
While available nationwide, this type of ice cream is a “must-try” when visiting Hanoi. Mung bean ice cream can release your stress and unpleasantness from hot weather right away. On Ha Noi streets and most alleys in Vietnam, there are still some ice cream men who bring joy by driving through neighborhoods, typically in the summer, offering frozen treats from a van or cart. The cost for a mung bean ice cream or ice jolly is rock-bottom, only 15,000 – 20,000 Vietnamdong (0.5 – 1 USD/ice jolly)
If you are in Saigon, you can find mung bean ice cream with these two following suggestions:
- Merino Mung bean ice cream: Bach Hoa Xanh supermarket (Branch Nguyen Trai) at 238 Ngueyn Trai Street, Cho Quan, Ho Chi Minh City and many other branches of Bach Hoa Xanh and other convenience stores
- Trang Tien Ice Cream Store: MM Mega An Phu, Block B, An Phu An Khanh Residential Area, Binh Trung, Ho Chi Minh City.
If you are in Ha Noi, let’s try mung bean ice cream in these following places:
- Trang Tien 35 Icecream: 35 Trang Tien Street, Cua Nam Ward, Ha Noi
Understand Vietnamese Icecream with its signature recipe you’re sure to fall for
Learning about Vietnamese icecream, we can see most Vietnamese icecream share the same recipe which elaborate the fresh fruit flavour and coconut milk. Instead of using fresh milk or yogurt to make ice cream rich and creamy, most types of Vietnamese ice creams including the mentioned flavors are being added with coconut milk which make them sweeter and creamier.
Besides, although we still use fresh milk to make Vietnamese icecream, condensed milk also plays a vital role in the making process.
Living in a tropical climate which helps us have abundant sources of agricultural products, Vietnamese people are proud to share their best Vietnamese ice creams because most of them are full of fruity flavors which are always fresh and enjoyable. If you are searching for icecream by Google Maps, it may suggest you a hundred of addresses. To save your time, let’s discover top 5 well-known places for Vietnamese icecreams in Ho Chi Minh City which you can easily reach with our tour guide.
After trying a lot of Vietnamese food, it is amazing for travellers to try some desserts, especially Vietnamese icecreams. However, how can you arrange your time to enjoy all the suggested ice creams on your trip to Vietnam? Let’s Jackfruit Adventure make the most of your journey to Ho Chi Minh City by cycling tours. Jackfruit tours are mindfully designed for you to explore all hidden gems and local markets where you can enjoy home-made icecream with the mentioned flavors and especially, try Vietnamese coffee in old apartment buildings. With an energetic team of tour guides, we will bring you to explore Ho Chi Minh city with amazing food tours and experience a lot of interesting activities. Contact us today for further information.
