10 Frozen Treats From Around the World to Try in LA County

Under the summer sun, nothing will take your body temp down a few degrees sweeter than a frozen treat. And in beautifully diverse Los Angeles, why not dip into international waters with treats from around the world?

• Korean: Oakobing
  
  • Location: Pasadena & Koreatown
  • Bingsu is a milk-based shaved ice treat served in a towering mountain complete with toppings, usually with a condensed milk drizzle. Bring a friend or two to share a full size treat - we recommend their classic injeolmi flavor with mochi, sweet red beans, matcha powder, and milk drizzle - or grab a single size if you’re on your own.

• Hawaiian: Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice
  
  • Locatin: Los Feliz
  • Hawaiian shave ice is exactly what it sounds like - a syrup-flavored shaved ice so fine it’s soft. Translating to “the best,” the No Ka Oi is the most popular flavor on the menu at this spot. Try it with a snow cap (condensed milk)!

• Thai: Moom Maam
  
  • Location: Torrance & Downtown LA
  • With two locations, one at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance and the other at Smorgasburg in DTLA, Moon Maam is serving up some of the best Thai gelato in town. What makes it Thai? The flavors, of course! Fans recommend The Special - your favorite flavor gelato over coconut sticky rice in a waffle cone.

• Indian: Ambala Sweets & Snacks
  
  • Location: Artesia
  • Kulfi is a dairy-based dessert similar to, but denser than ice cream. This street food stop has been serving up authentic, delicious treats for 41 years. Try a kulfi and while you’re at it, stock up on their popular milk cake!

• Italian: Ecco un poco
  
  • Location: Beverly Grove
  • Ever wondered what makes gelato different from ice cream? Comparatively, gelato has a lower cream-to-milk ratio, resulting in lower fat content and denser flavor. A great place to sample it locally is ecco un poco, which sources top quality ingredients to create stunning flavors like Sicilian Bronte Pistachio.

• Filipino: B Sweet
  
  • Location: Sawtelle
  • Traditional halo-halo includes layers of shaved ice, sweet beans, fruits, jellies, and leche flan often with a scoop of ube ice cream. B Sweet serves up some of the best halo-halo in LA with a whopping 13 ingredients in a tall cup. They even offer a vegan version!

• Persian: Saffron & Rose
  
  • Location: Westwood
  • This family ice cream business has been serving up Persian ice cream flavors since 1974. The present day menu features flavors from around the world, but we recommend their saffron pistachio flavor for an authentic Persian experience. It’s also available as a vegan ice cream!

• Mexican: Rico Tejuino Los Reyes
  
  • Location: Lincoln Heights
  • You can get any number of Mexican desserts at this neighborhood shop, but we’ll highlight its famous nieves. Translated as “snow,” a nieve is either a water-based sorbet or a milk-based ice cream. For the namesake experience, order a tejuino (a sweet cold drink made from fermented corn masa) topped with a lime nieve.

• Brazil: Ritual Açaí
  
  • Location: Atwater Village
  • Although indigenous folks in the Amazon have been eating the açaí berry for centuries, the frozen bowl-with-fruits dish originated in Brazil in the 1980s. Find an authentic bowl along with other Brazilian treats at this sweet spot. 

• Continental US: Wild Scoops
  
  • Location: Norwalk
  • Frozen custard, an ice cream-adjacent frozen dessert made with egg yolks, originated in Coney Island, but has become extremely popular in the Midwest. It’s not as popular in LA, but you can find a helluva good one at this spot. They also serve Philly-style Italian ice!

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