Introduction
In the last seven years of life in NYC, we have encountered wave after wave of Asia-influenced dessert trends. We have popped our fair share of bubble waffle ice cream creations, spliced layers of creamy mille crepe cakes, been engulfed in the Japanese-style cream puffs and Korean cream doughnuts explosion, counted one-thousand-and-one-ways to use bubble tea, nibbled the weird-sometimes-wonderful-sometimes-not croffle or souffle pancake or mochi doughnut hybrid dessert, and applauded the city’s growing love affair with more traditional South-East Asian desserts and East Asian flavours. We previously created a guide to the all the best Asian dessert cafes where you can actually sit down and relax with a plate or several of desserts. In this edition, this guide will feature the dessert spots which are great for a grab-and-go experience, similar to how one would be eating these desserts at the food markets in South East Asia and East Asia. Note that this list does not include mochi doughnuts or cream puffs, as these are not street food desserts found in Asia.
And don’t forget our other best Asian desserts in NYC guides:
- Guide to the best Chinatown bakeries in Manhattan, NYC here;
- Guide to the best Asian desserts in Manhattan, NYC here;
- Guide to the best Asian desserts in Long Island City and Flushing, NYC here;
- Full list of all our favourite Asian desserts can be found here.
As with all our round-up reviews, we keep updating, so do bookmark this page!
*Updated January 2025.
Fruit cream sandwich from Japan
Dessert destination:
- Elly’s Pastry, Koreatown, Manhattan.
- Postcard Bakery, West Village, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Located in a blink-and-you-will-miss-it little spot in Koreatow, Elly’s Pastry features a line-up of pretty Japanese fruit sandwiches. Fruit slices are set like jewels into a creamy centre, sandwiched by soft Japanese milk bread. It reminds us so much of the many 7-Eleven stores in Japan. A more hipster version can be found in the West Village, entitled Postcard Bakery.
Dango skewer from Japan
- Dessert destination: Cha An Bon Bon, East Village, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: We have fond memories of the hanami parties under the cherry blossoms in Maruyama Park in Kyoto, including the myriad of street food vendors that lined up the avenues leading to the centre of the park. For a taste of Japan in NYC, long-time readers will know that we love Cha-An Tea House (see here, here and here) for a sit-down experience. And for a quick stop, check out the dango mochi skewers from its sister take-out spot at street level.
Mont blanc sweet potato parfait from Japan
- Dessert destination: Hello Yam, East Village, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Do you like chestnut? We don’t, and we consequently have zero inclination towards mont blanc-type desserts. But if you switch out the usual chestnut flavours for sweet potato instead, and twirl it into a cup filled with crunchy flakes and cream, we will make an exception.
Taiyaki from Japan
- Dessert destination:
- Taiyaki, Chinatown, Manhattan. (See also here).
- Tokyo Taiyaki, East Village, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Taiyaki was one of the first dessert spots we visited when we first arrived to NYC, and it’s a testament to its enduring appeal that it is still open to this day. You can choose plain taiyaki, taiyaki with custard or red bean or cream, or taiyaki with a generous rainbow swirl of soft serve ice cream. And if you don’t want your taiyaki with ice cream, consider Tokyo Taiyaki‘s taiyaki, especially the one with a Korean hotteok filling.
Bungeoppang from South Korea
- Dessert destinations:
- Delimanjoo, Koreatown, Manhattan.
- Shingane, West Village/Chelsea, Manhattan.
- Speedy Grill, Koreatown, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: For longer than we can remember, Delimanjoo has been a dessert mainstay spot of Koreatown. A paper bag of mini fish waffles filled with custard, red bean of nutella makes for a not-too-sweet dessert after a heavy K-BBQ dinner. Note that these are usually just lukewarm. For bungeoppang that is bigger in size, check out either Shingane and Speedy Grill. Shingane is helmed by the sweetest Korean wife-husband team, and the must-order here are the red bean, salty cheese or nutty chocolate, all of which are embossed with iconic NYC scenes. By contrast, Speedy is staffed by mainly Caucasian millenials, the bungeoppang is given an Anglocized name of “Gold Coin Cake,” and the corn cheese or the red bean filling inside the bungeoppang is not always spread equally across the disc. We prefer Shingane.
Hotteok from South Korea
- Dessert destinations:
- Kim’s Hotteok, Koreatown, Manhattan.
- Grace Street, Koreatown Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: One of our fondest memories of a trip to Korea years ago was a toasty hotteok served in a paper cup on a wintry evening. Hmmmm, soo goooood. Although Trader Joe’s sells a super sweet version of hotteok in the freezer aisle, the only other NYC spot that we knew of prior to late 2024 that served it was Grace Street – but whenever we visited Grace Street, its shaved ice, rather than its hotteok, commanded our attention. Then, Kim’s opened, and boy it’s such a hidden little secret in the centre of the bustling 32nd Street that makes up Manhattan Koreatown. Order the plain for less than $5, or the black sugar version, for the perfect end to a night of dining or drinking in K-town.
Wheel cake from Taiwan
- Dessert destinations: Teavva, East Village, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Every time we stopped by Chinatown for groceries, we used to pop by Cat Mint Wheel for the corn and cheese mini wheel cake. That place shuttered a few years ago, and while we spot it occasionally at some of the seasonal street food fairs, it hasn’t found another permanent home as yet. In the interim, we visit Teavva for the ultra sweet bubble tea custard wheel cake.
Tofu pudding from China
- Dessert destinations:
- Short and sweet story: It’s been a number of years since we were last in China, but we can still recall little old ladies trotting up and down certain streets of the bustling cities, selling an array of traditional street foods, including things like sweet potatoes wrapped in aluminium foil, fluffy bao buns and steamed cakes lined up like an army inside towers of bamboo baskets, and spooning tofu pudding from giant silver vats. We previously reviewed the two best tofu pudding spots in Manhattan – check it out here.
Tanghulu from China
- Dessert destination: Various spots in Koreatown, Manhattan and Flushing, Queens.
- Short and sweet story: We remember the first time we saw/tried tanghulu. It was years ago in north-east China in minus 30 degrees in Harbin. Each skewered line of fruit glossed over in rock candy sugar was a pop of brilliant colour to match the neon lights of the city’s incredible ice and snow festival. Fast forward so many years later, and this very traditional Chinese dessert — manufactured since ancient times — has finally made it to NYC. It can be found in Flushing and also curiously, at two spots along the main thoroughfare that runs through Koreatown in Manhattan. We haven’t spotted it in Manhattan’s Chinatown as yet.
Bubble waffles from Hong Kong
- Dessert destination: Random cart in Chinatown, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: There used to be a quartet of bubble waffle stores in NYC. See here for the past dessert guide. In writing this guide in 2023, it appears that all have since closed (?!). 😦 To get a bubble waffle hit, we have resorted to wondering around Chinatown and occasionally, we come across a random old lady making these treats.
Egg tart from Hong Kong and Macau
- Dessert destination:
- For traditional egg tarts:
- For modern egg tarts:
- Ando, East Village, Manhattan;
- Na Tart, Chinatown, Manhattan; and
- Bibble & Sip, Midtown Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Long-time readers of this NYC dessert blog will recall that we lived in HK for two years. Can’t say we miss much about it, except for the breathtaking hiking, the sepia-toned sunsets and…the steaming baos and custard egg tarts on every street corner. In Manhattan, there’s no lack of Chinese bakeries offering traditional HK egg tarts and the Macau bruleed ones (though our favourite is one all the way out in Flushing). If you don’t mind a twist, consider the bubble tea versions from Ando and Bibble & Sip, and the pineapple, ube, pork floss, crunchy chocolate egg tarts from Na Tart. And hear us out, the DIY-ones from Trader Joe’s are actually not that bad, either! 😛
Cheesecake tarts from Japan
- Dessert destination:
- Pink Lady Cheese Tarts, Chinatown, Manhattan.
- Miyomacchi Tarts, East Village, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Japanese cheesecake tarts are oddly, seemingly more popular in Australia/Asia, compared to the U.S. For the longest time, Pink Lady was the only purveyor of Japanese cheesecake tarts that we spotted in NYC. Miyomacchi popped up recently, but has been a pop-up operation for the most part. Whereas Pink Lady‘s tarts are more cheesy in flavour profile and air light in texture, Miyomacchi‘s tarts are more creamy than cheesy, injected with strong traditional flavours like matcha, sweet potato, red bean in an American-style pie base.
Sponge cake from Southern China and South-East Asia
- Dessert destination:
- Kam Hing and Spongies, Chinatown, Manhattan. (See also here).
- Ban Be, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.
- Short and sweet story: Aside from the above-mentioned egg tarts, one of the other best parts about living in HK so many years ago was easy access to steamed cakes from little food carts run by little old men or women. The HK version is usually plain and fluffy, whereas in South East Asia, the sponge cakes are typically more colourful and served with small bowls of condensed milk or coconut cream.
Honeycomb cake from Southern China and Vietnam
- Dessert destination:
- 46 Mott, Chinatown, Manhattan.
- Banh by Lauren, pop-up location.
- Short and sweet story: In Southern China, the squishy honeycomb cake was white or brown in colour, with a slightly sour, slightly sweet profile. In Vietnam, it’s instead infused with pandan to make a striking, fragrant bite. Check these two different versions out at 46 Mott (Chinese style) or Banh by Lauren (Vietnamese style).
Kuih from Malaysia and Singapore
- Dessert destination:
- Short and sweet story: In Malaysia and Singapore, we have fond memories of the flustered hawker store owner slicing up diamonds of kuih from a large bamboo or metal steamer, and plopping them all in a plastic bag. In NYC, Kuih Cafe sees 6-8 roughly-hewn pieces placed in a quick-and-easy take-away aluminium foil container. By contrast, the second kuih purveyor, Lady Wong, has elevated kuih from a food market setting to a shopfront styled as a fancy French patisserie, complete with gleaming glass counters and beautifully-considered batik packaging.
Apong crepes and martabak from Southern China, Malaysia and Indonesia
- Dessert destination:
- Short and sweet story: Back in the day, summer holidays in Malaysia always started with a breakfast plate of apom, thin crispy pancakes rolled into a tight scroll. Come afternoon, one of the many street food snacks that we loved included thicker pancakes with a squishy honeycomb texture, and sandwiching crushed sugared peanuts. Although strictly speaking they are not located in Manhattan, we sneak Papadon and Khao Nom into this list because we have yet to come across apong and martabak in Manhattan. Papadon focuses on a more fusion-y version of martabak, whereas Khao Nom sticks to the tradition.
Dessert Correspondents 