Little BonBon Ice Cream
9660 106th Street
Instagram: @littlebonbon_icecream

We’re entering the cool part of the year, and in McCauley we now have a cool option that matches the season - an amazing new ice cream shop: Little BonBon Ice Cream.

The cheerful ambiance of this little spot had my sister-in-law exclaiming that this was not something she was expecting: “Wow, this is like something I’d expect in Banff…and it’s not outrageous tourist-town priced for such a unique shop, and it’s here in Chinatown!”

Little BonBon’s colourful space is on the south side of the Hull Block on 106th Avenue just east of 97th Street. It welcomes you with a long counter atop a glass case with at least a dozen different unique handmade ice cream flavours. Deeper inside there’s a coffee bar and at the far end is a glass-doored freezer with tubs of all the different ice creams for sale.

Those ice creams are some of the most unique and creative flavours I’ve ever experienced. They were so interesting that our group of four decided to each get a “child’s double” size, so we could each try two different flavours - eight kinds between us. Yes, there was some sharing samples, and that was easy because Little BonBon offers cups as well as cones.

If you like a flavour that is familiar and beautifully fresh, I recommend Fu Lu Shou, their take on Neapolitan, a delicious strawberry-vanilla-chocolate combo, with each flavour distinct and real. No artificial flavours here - this stuff is clearly handmade. Another local wonder is the Vietnamese coffee-flavoured Viet Ca Phe ice cream, using coffee from the popular - and nearby - Van Loc banh mi (Vietnamese sub sandwich) shop. If you like salted caramel, there’s a lovely version called See Yow that uses soy sauce to bring the saltiness to the sweetness. I would have never thought of it, and it’s way better than any regular caramel. It’s so smooth and not just sugar-sweet. It has depth.

The owners, Ailynn and Jason Wong, who also own Yelo’d Ice Cream and Bake Shoppe on Whyte Avenue, are a couple who opened the spot in summer after working with the Chinatown Recovery Fund. They are enthusiastic about the neighbourhood, and named their shop Little BonBon after the “bonbon” short ribs that Jason’s Grandpa Wong used to make. In fact, any ice cream scoop can be made into a “bonbon” by having it rolled in crumbled cookies.

Today a tribute to Grandpa Wong also shows up on the menu, via a namesake chocolate fudge ice cream: dark, creamy, and with an intense deep chocolate flavour. Alongside the chocolate, the second scoop we selected was a vegan mango sherbet. The clean fruitiness combined with the creaminess of the chocolate was a combination that had my sister-in-law grinning from ear-to-ear.

Co-owner Ailynn’s heritage shows up with an intense flavour too, the brilliantly-coloured Ube (Filipino purple yam) ice cream, which we contrasted with an equally vibrant taste, a version of tiger ice cream (tangy orange ripples with black licorice) called Loufu. If you’re a licorice lover, this is a must-try. My brother-in-law said it was a beautiful example of real licorice, not industrial at all, and not too hard or soft: just right for eating. I had to try a few spoonfuls, and the zingy citrus of the orange worked perfectly with the intensely black licorice.

Such a vibrant, interesting and energetic spot, Little BonBon is certainly worth visiting, and I’m sure it will be a key player in energizing the community and revitalizing our beloved Chinatown with amazing flavours that people come here from all parts of town to experience. We had so much fun that it encouraged us to wander around and see what else Chinatown offers…keep an eye out for our next issue!

Little BonBon’s current winter hours are Thursday 4-8 p.m., and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 12:30-8 p.m. The shop is closed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Alan Schietzsch lives in McCauley. He is the former Chair of the paper’s Board of Directors.