There’s a brand new festival in Vancouver that’s perfect for the summer season! The Vancouver Ice Cream Festival is a self guided festival featuring special ice cream and gelato flavours from some of the top dessert spots in town. From June 21st to July 31st, explore 15+ spots with unique and delicious ice cream creations. Do take care to note that several vendors have different availabilities for their treats. As part of the festival you can fill in a passport to win a variety of Festival prizes. You can pick up a passport at any participating location. All you have to do is write the vendor name you visited below each circle. Try a festival item and receive a sticker for every festival item you purchase. Submit your filled passport sheets online here before August 8 to get entries into the Festival sweepstakes. Check out my top 5 picks below!
1. Nam Dae Moon Rice Cake
For the festival Nam Dae Moon Rice Cake Richmond has two offerings:
- Osmanthus Fermented Rice Mochi Ice Cream
- Yuzu Milk Mochi Mango Sorbetto Cup
The Osmanthus Fermented Rice Mochi Ice Cream features fermented rice and a light refreshing osmanthus syrup. There’s also crystal pearls that add a great texture to the ice cream. The soft housemade mochi at the bottom of the cup is soft and fluffy. This one was so delicious, and I am a huge fan.
The Yuzu Milk Mochi Mango Sorbetto Cup also features cloud like milk mochi at the bottom. There are two scoops of creamy mango sorbetto that adds a lovely bright summer taste. The dessert is finished with crystal pearls and a Korean yuzu marmalade for a tangy citrus finish.
Nam Dae Moon Rice Cake Richmond
Address: 3779 Sexsmith Rd #2132, Richmond, BC V6X 3Z9
Website: https://namdaemoon.ca/
2. Matcha Cafe Maiko
I’m a huge fan of Matcha Cafe Maiko, and I was so excited to see their participation in the Vancouver Ice Cream Festival! For the festival Matcha Cafe Maiko has two dessert floats from June 21 – July 8:
- Sparkling Matcha Float with a soft serve swirl
- Sparkling Yuzu Float with a soft serve swirl
Both drinks are so delicious and I am completely obsessed! The sparkling matcha was so light and refreshing, and not something I had thought to do before. Both floats have your choice of matcha swirl, yuzu swirl or a twist of both. I did a twist for the Sparkling Matcha Float and it was fantastic. I highly recommend you try it out.
The Yuzu Float reminds me of Korean Yuzu ade and it was really refreshing for a hot summer day. I paired this with a matcha swirl and the two flavours complement each other so well.
Starting on July 9 – July 31, Matcha Cafe Maiko will be having a Matcha Ube Twist so mark your calendars if you’re an ube fan.
Matcha Cafe Maiko
Address: 8279 Saba Rd #199, Richmond, BC V6Y 4B6
Website: https://www.instagram.com/matchacafemaikocanada/
3. Whisk Matcha Cafe
Whisk Matcha Cafe is a premium matcha cafe offering plant-based and vegan goodies, and they will have 3 desserts for this festival:
- My Ube Bouquet
- Totoro’s Cookie Dream
- Ms. Momotaro
My Ube Bouquet is a vegan ube (purple yam) milkshake that is topped with ube vegan whip. It is decorated with osmanthus flowers, edible gold and a fresh rosemary twig. This treat will be available from June 21 – July 9. I’m a huge fan of all the various components of this milkshake (as well as the gorgeous colour!) so I will definitely be wanting to try this treat.
Totoro’s Cookie Dream is a vegan cookie cream milkshake (vanilla soft serve + oreo bits) with a concentrated matcha base, whipped cream, matcha & chocolate dust, topped with a Totoro shaped cookie. My sister is a huge Studio Ghibli fan so I will definitely be getting her this one to try! It will be available July 10 – July 31.
Ms. Momotaro is a refreshing & sweet peach smoothie dressed with concentrated matcha base, a mini trio dango skewer, and styled with crazy cotton candy hair. This smoothie will be available for the duration of the festival (June 21 – July 31).
Whisk Matcha Cafe
Address: 39 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC V5T 3H7
Website: https://whiskmatcha.ca
4. Glenburn Soda Fountain and Confectionery
This Burnaby neighbourhood favourite is a must try for any one who is a fan of classic ice cream desserts. For the Festival they have four creations:
- The Boomer (June 21 – July 8) Vanilla ice cream layered with butterscotch, toasted pound cake pieces and vanilla custard. Topped with whipped cream, walnuts and a pineapple ring.
- The Gen Z (June 21 – July 8) Strawberry Mango swirl ice cream with strawberry and peach sauces, mango popping boba and freeze-dried strawberries. Peach whipped cream.
- The Millennial (July 9 – July 31) Coffee chip ice cream topped with salted caramel, honeycomb toffee and buttermilk cookie crunch. Caramel whipped cream.
- The Gen X (July 9 – July 31) Cookies and cream ice cream with hot fudge, chocolate covered crispy rice cereal and neon candy pieces throughout. Whipped cream.
They all sound fantastic, but I definitely have my eye on the latter two as I am a huge fan of honeycomb toffee. Can’t wait to try these mid way through the Vancouver Ice Cream Festival!
Glenburn Soda Fountain and Confectionery
Address: 4090 Hastings St, Burnaby, BC V5C 2H9
Website: http://glenburnsoda.com/
5. Passione Gelato
They have two special flavours for the festival:
- Green Gold
- Yuzu Honey Dream
The Green Gold features the unparalleled taste of Bronte pistachios. These pistachios are known for their intense, sweet, and slightly fruity flavour.
The Yuzu Honey Dream features the vibrant flavours of yuzu citrus, the natural sweetness of acacia honey, and the creamy delight of yogurt. It sounds so heavenly and I will definitely be trying this one soon!
Both flavours will be available for the duration of the festival (June 21 – July 31).
Passione Gelato
Address: 55 Smithe St, Vancouver, BC V6B 0R3
Website: https://www.passionegelato.ca/
