Last week (yes, last week!) after work, my home-friends-in-the-city and I braved the 50 mph wind gusts and ventured into the Lower East Side for some rolled ice cream. Some time ago, you may have come across the latest fad in frozen desserts on Facebook or Instagram. Last summer, a new spot opened up in Chinatown where New Yorkers could try the traditional Thai street food and eat the heat away. It’s been on my list ever since, and I somehow convinced my friends to go on a mid-January night. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Saturday night: that famous rolled ice cream joint

Xiao: I know a better place, this place has a 2 hour line

Danni: Take us

Me: Where when

Xiao: Let’s do Sunday, it’s called Juicy Spot in the LES

Needless to say, we did not go that weekend but synched up later in the week to explore the hype in a lesser-known rolled ice cream spot.

There are four steps to having your rolled ice cream.

First, choose a base. This is the flavor of cream that they’ll place on their cold plate for rolling, along with step two: additional fixings that will be mixed in with your base, like fruit and red bean. Step three is picking your topping, so in addition to all the ice cream itself and the innards, you get more fruit, nuts, Pocky, and more on top of your swirls. If all that weren’t enough, you get a top off with your choice of “drizzle”.

Think Coldstone Creamery, but rolly.

My choices: original cream base (like vanilla, minus vanilla), Oreo cookies, mochi topping, and caramel drizzle. Was it a lot? Surprisingly yes. It doesn’t look like it when they start spreading it out on the cold plate.

Was it overly sweet? Yes. Did I finish it? No. Was it enjoyable? Yes, though I imagine it would be better with the sun and a heat advisory. But it was a fun textural experience, and it sure was pretty to look at.

Do you love or hate rolled ice cream? Divulge in the comments below!