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I decided to come here after I saw they serve durian ice cream! As a person who loves durian, I had to come here! When I came they had a few pastries out like the strawberry crossiants, some strawberry tarts and cream puffs. But we came towards the end of the night so we decided not to get any of the stuff cause who knows how long that’s been sitting out. The nice part is that it does look like they make their stuff in house so I’ll have to come back early in the day to try it fresh! I really came here for the ice cream and it did not disappoint! During my visit they had durian, pandan and cherimoya (soursop) flavors. They let you sample their ice cream before choosing and honestly all their flavors were really good! The cherimoya was surprisingly very sweet but the consistency was more like a sherbet. Probably needed some more mixing and it tasted way to sweet as if there was added sugar. The pandan was pretty spot on with how you would expect the pandan flavor to taste like. If you wanted a pandan flavor ice cream, it does not disappoint. Now my personal favorite – the durian. They made this fresh from real durian (possibly frozen but I ain’t even mad). The flavor of the ice cream was sweet and was as much as you can imagine durian to be. No added sugar, just fresh durian blended into an ice cream consistency. So yummy! My boyfriend on the other hand disagreed. But if you’re a durian lover, the ice cream is right up you alley! The best I have had! Must try! The only downfall is that I felt it was a little pricey ($3.50 a scoop) for a small portion. I wish they gave you a bigger scoop but I guess the price comes with the ice cream being made fresh from the fruit itself. Will definitely be coming back to try their during pastries but to have the ice cream again !!

• Fresh Gourmet Bagels & Cafe – Menu with Prices – 21202 Beach Blvd, Huntington Beach
• Durian Garden – Menu with Prices – patisserie Cafe, 12921 main st at the back of E, Garden Grove
• Fruit Splash Menu with Prices 3016 W Lincoln Ave, Anaheim
• West Central Microcreamery – Menu with Prices – 725 Union St, Fort Wayne
• Gator Bob’s Trading Post – Menu with Prices – 161 San Marco Ave, St. Augustine
• Dillard’s Ice Cream – Menu with Prices – 1009 Mauldin Rd, Greenville
• (402) Creamery – Menu with Prices – 311 N 8th St #101, Lincoln
• Bambu Dessert Drinks – Menu with Prices – 9762 Chapman Ave, Garden Grove
• Arai Pastry – Menu with Prices – 1335 W University Dr, Tempe
• A La Mode Gelateria – Menu with Prices – 14254 S Padre Island Dr #101, Corpus Christi
• Paradis Ice Cream – Menu with Prices – 16 S Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena
• Gunther’s Ice Cream – Menu with Prices – 2801 Franklin Blvd, Sacramento

Fresh Gourmet Bagels & Cafe – Menu with Prices – 21202 Beach Blvd, Huntington Beach

We had the pandan bagel and the everything bagel, and they were amazing! Pandan is something we had never seen before, and the owner was so sweet. She explained it was an Asian leaf with an almond and vanilla flavor, and the bagel itself is bright green from the leaf. It was topped with cinnamon sugar and was so delicious, not too sweet just the perfect amount! We also had a vanilla chai blended bubble tea which didnâ??t disappoint either! Weâ??re from NYC and the bagels we have out there have a reputation of their own, but we loved this place!! Definitely coming back and highly recommend!! Super sweet owner with amazing customer service!

Durian Garden – Menu with Prices – patisserie Cafe, 12921 main st at the back of E, Garden Grove

I acquired a taste for this stinky fruit as an adult and I love that there’s a whole store dedicated to durian desserts. Location wise: Durian Garden is one of four businesses in a single space. The storefront is named E-Patisserie and there is also a counter for Açaí drinks/bowls and Vietnamese coffee. Durian Garden is located in the back with its own patio, it’s outside and uncovered. They say due to the smell they quarantine it to the back. All businesses seemed to work together so it’s not necessarily awkward to walk into E-Patisserie and ask for Durian Garden. When I first walked in I felt like I was cutting through another business to get to my destination. Parking wise: This business is part of the downtown Anaheim district. A lot of the neighboring businesses were closed on Sunday or just hadn’t opened yet for dinner. Plenty of parking in a private lot shared with the neighboring businesses such as the Wharf restaurant and Aztec store. Durian desserts: I don’t live in OC so this was my chance to try almost everything on the menu. The durian crepe was nice and soft. You don’t need a knife to cut through it. The actual durian cream was light and definitely not too strong, somewhat disappointing. At $9 a slice it was nice to try but I’m not craving for more. The gelato ice cream was the best. It was topped with nuts which gave it nice contrasting texture. That truly felt like I was eating a fresh durian that been thawed from the freezer. Delish and worth a repeat visit. We also tried the durian/ coconut spread with baguette chips. The baguette chips were so crunchy, oddly I liked it more than the spread. Not sure how this is possible but the coconut flavor over powered the durian. It was like eating a sweet spread on a cracker. Not my thing and my least favorite item. The durian cream puff had a good durian flavor and the cream puff pastry itself was a good texture. Sometimes people mess that up and it tastes soggy but this was good. Last item was the Hokkaido sponge cake but with durian cream. Very moist and spongey. Sadly they didn’t have durian coffee that day but I saw a lot of people ordering the Mung bean flavored durian drink. They also sell fresh pieces of durian (pre cut and ready to eat) at $5 a piece. I will definitely be back for at least 2 scoops of the durian gelato and I’ll bring my durian lover friends too. Note their hours have changed recently, they appear to be open only on Sunday’s. Call ahead to confirm.

Fruit Splash Menu with Prices 3016 W Lincoln Ave, Anaheim

My favorite acai place ever–and I’ve tried a shit ton of acai. My best friend and I will literally go out of our way (Irvine to Anaheim) just for Fruit Splash. We’ve developed a great relationship with the owner, Mo. He is so friendly and would surprise us with free snacks! He also remembers our orders by heart:) The menu changed a bit, so my friend and I were lucky enough to try the old acai bases, but everything Fruit Splash has now is still super tasty. Acai blend: * no added sugar, all natural (says Mo) * tastes healthy * great consistency — in between smoothie and sorbet To get a better understanding, let me compare Fruit Splash’s acai to some others: If you’ve tried Blue Bowl, Berry Brand, or Earth Bowl Superfoods, you may have noticed that they share the same acai brand. Their acai is usually harder to scoop (sometimes even frozen) and much sweeter–you can taste the added sugars. Uba tuba has a very unique acai blend, but theirs flops from bland in taste to too sweet. Natura Bowls and Amen Acai (which is less than a mile away from Fruit Splash) have a similar blend in taste and consistency. Pitaya blend: * pitaya is typically pretty sweet (even without sugar), but the blend is not over-the-top * consistency is just like acai Granola: * super smart to put the granola at the bottom so that it 1) doesn’t spill all over the place 2) doesn’t get soggy and 2) is eaten throughout your bowl rather than finished first * not sure what type of granola it is, but it’s crunchy and yummy! Toppings: * “wet” toppings aren’t included in the menu/list, but my friend and I will get Nutella/pb/honey for free * you can’t choose your toppings, but if there’s a certain one you don’t like, you can easily substitute it for something else * you can always add more toppings (there are a good amount of dry ones like coconut shreds, cacao nuts, goji berries, etc.) * the acai to topping ratio is perfect! Price: SUPER cheap/reasonable for the size! In short, the acai is healthy, toppings are fresh and the amount is great, the size is filling, and the price is so affordable! Smoothies: So far, I’ve only tried the pitaya/dragon fruit smoothie, and it’s so yummy!! I’m not a sweet tooth, but surprisingly, I loved it. Mo also topped our drinks off with fruit slices (upon request)! My experience with this one drink already makes me confident in the quality of the other options/flavors. Fruit toast: This was one of the snacks Mo surprised us with! My friend had banana+peanut butter and I had cream cheese+strawberry. I didn’t even know I was craving it, but that first bite definitely hit the spot. There’s so much more on the menu I need to try, but I know nothing here at Fruit Splash will disappoint.

West Central Microcreamery – Menu with Prices – 725 Union St, Fort Wayne

This Ice Cream was delightful, but the staff was even more delightfuller (is that a word?)! I’m in town for work and just ‘needed some ice cream’ after dinner, so looked for the best place (or at least a unique place with some unique ice cream, but not TOO unique) and West Central Microcreamery was the place Yelp directed me to! They let me try ‘just one more flavor’ six times before I finally decided … and got two flavors in one scoop. Both vegan (the banana) and regular flavors were amazing! My only regret is that I let a dad and his two adorable girls go ahead of me and he took the final scoop of the strawberry with oreo pieces. Kindness was my only reward. Instead I had triple threat chocolate on top of the birthday cake (obviously not the real names since the names are the best part of this little shop), which were enjoyed on one of the many picnic tables they have outside in their super cute neighborhood! It was so good (and that strawberry with oreo is really calling me back) that I’ll be back again later this week (with an update on how amazing that flavor is!)!

Gator Bob’s Trading Post – Menu with Prices – 161 San Marco Ave, St. Augustine

We came here to Gator Bob’s Trading Post to cool down from the summer heat with some ice cream. This location was the only place we found for ice cream that wasn’t in the busy part of town. Gator Bob’s served Hershey’s ice cream which included the following flavors: Mint Chocolate Moose Tracks, Peanut Butter Cup, Unicorn, Muddy Sneakers, Strawberry Cheesecake, Vanilla, Chocolate, and Key Lime Pie. It would’ve been nice if they had more of a variety but we were ok with it. I had a scoop of the Mint Chocolate Moose Tracks which was Mint ice cream with brownie bites and chocolate caramel cups. It was really delicious especially with the brownie bites. I also had a scoop of the Unicorn ice cream which was a super sweet ice cream with sour/sweet candies. This ice cream was REALLY sweet, maybe a bit too sweet for me. My Grandfather had the Muddy Sneakers which was a vanilla and peanut butter ice cream with chocolate candies. He really enjoyed it and devoured the whole cone without a word. And lastly, my uncle had the Strawberry Cheesecake which he loved very much. Overall, I would probably come back to Gator Bob’s for ice cream.

Dillard’s Ice Cream – Menu with Prices – 1009 Mauldin Rd, Greenville

What can I say? This has been a family staple for eons!! I have known about this hot spot since I took care of the original owner. We would get surprised with homemade peach ice cream from time to time and boy, was it delish! The other flavors don’t disappoint, either. Last time I tried a scoop of lemon (what?!?) and cookie dough. My son even ranted and raved about how it was better than Bruster’s, which he loves! My family and I will definitely be back to try some more flavors… I heard the salted caramel flavor was to die for. Then again, what person in their right mind doesn’t like ice cream in all of it’s flavors??

(402) Creamery – Menu with Prices – 311 N 8th St #101, Lincoln

I enjoyed 402 Creamery and I thought the flavors were all great. It’s in a trendy location and good for any late night sweet cravings. The menu is fairly traditional but the rotating flavors are a little more creative/different. A few notes: -They seemed a bit understaffed at one person working on a Saturday afternoon. My guess is that they pick up more business during the school year. -The price point is high- $4 for a single scoop and unlike other ice cream places, a single scoop really means 1 large scoop, not 1.5. That being said, you can get a split scoop (which is more like 1.5 scoops) for $.50 more. You can only get 2 flavors with the split scoop. All in all, I enjoyed my experience here and I would go back.

Bambu Dessert Drinks – Menu with Prices – 9762 Chapman Ave, Garden Grove

My to go is #5: Smashed Avocado, add pandan jelly and coffee jelly, no boba, no rainbow jelly && Pandan Durian Waffle to accompany it. There are so many other things I want to try. But I’m constantly distracted by those two things. New location. Super clean. Friendly service. They have AC and they accept credit cards. Parking lot is small with giant pot holes, tread carefully. The interior design is slightly confusing. Their concept is a mash between Paris and London. With a simulacra drawing of a Bambu Cafe as center piece. Make sure to sign in at the register to get points for Five Stars!

Arai Pastry – Menu with Prices – 1335 W University Dr, Tempe

This is an absolutely adorable Japanese bakery! I’ve been here a couple of times and the atmosphere is so classy and welcoming all at the same time. The workers here are so nice and very friendly. They have an array of buns, cakes, and pastries available that are sweet, but not too sweet, a perfect representative of Asian pastries. Additionally, all of the products are …. gorgeous, elegant, cute, all in one. The curry buns are to die for and they have a microwave to warm up the buns if they aren’t already fresh. The custard buns are good and so are the Anpan. I’ve tried the coffee/chocolate cake and the strawberry cream cake. I definitely prefer the strawberry cream but both are good. The cake, in all aspects, is not dense and overly sweet like American cake, so I think it’s amazing.

A La Mode Gelateria – Menu with Prices – 14254 S Padre Island Dr #101, Corpus Christi

WOW – a gem gelateria with a national reputation from the owner’s appearances on the Food Network (Cooks vs Cons and Cutthroat Kitchen), located in an otherwise nondescript shopping center on Padre Island was an amazing place for outstanding desserts. We are not sure how much longer this place will be located here – parking is difficult and the space is tiny. If the owners keep showing up and kicking butt on the Food Network they will have to find a bigger space – and when they do, we will follow them there — the gelato a crepes are that good! Gelato is made fresh every day, and you can tell from the big flavors and the consistency of the gelato that they don’t cut corners on the quality ingredients! We had the crepe with Nutella and bananas, topped with a scoop of tart, tangy Raspberry sugar free gelato. Adding a scoop of gelato is a $2 upcharge, but the cold gelato paired with the warm crepe and fillings is a wonderful sensory experience well worth the money! ? The raspberry gelato was so delicious, providing needed acidity to offset the sweet stickiness of the ripe banana and the Nutella. Wow that was a great combo, and we hope to have that again one day ? Gelato offerings change daily, so we have hope!! The crepe itself was sweet and tender, thick enough to hold up to the fillings, but not rubbery or over cooked at all. It was just the perfect accompaniment to the fillings we chose, and was made to order with skill on a very cool crepe griddle. Another of our group got the Nutella and strawberry crepe with a scoop of sweet cream gelato – also delightful! We recommend this as a destination place in the Coastal Bend for gelato – go out of your way to come here. You will be glad you did! 5 not-so-secret-anymore stars ?

Paradis Ice Cream – Menu with Prices – 16 S Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena

Ice cream is literally the food to the soul. It’s perfect on a hot, warm night and also on cold nights. I mean I had my ice cream on a hot night so it tasted even better. The atmosphere of this small ice cream shop really makes you feel at home. There’s a long table upstairs for a big group or a bunch of other people sitting together. They also have enough space for people to sit by the windows. But I’m not here to talk about seating, I’m here to talk about ice cream. They had a wide variety of ice creams. What I liked is that they didn’t go crazy on making flavors like: summer breeze or skipping along the sunset. They made the basic flavors but with their own take. They had mocha, Oreo, strawberry, pog: pineapple, orange, guava, and many other flavors. What makes it unique is they’re all vegan ice cream except for maybe the milk flavor. I got both strawberry and pog. Strawberry is a basic flavor that anyone can make but what made this place different is they made it very refreshing to the point that it almost tasted like I was eating the actual strawberry. I finished it and I needed more. The POG flavor was also interesting and certainly refreshing. Who would have known that those three flavors work together? They worked well and the guava also added another textural element that made it more soft as well. These ice cream flavors were absolutely delicious and I would come back for more just to sate my need for ice cream. The only reason for me putting it at 4 is the prices. It’s understandable but a bit high. It’s $4.50 for a child size which is very high. For a small it’s $6. Large is $8. I being super duper Asian, split a large together so we both could have two flavors. The prices are a bit high for what you are getting and I wish it was cheaper. I would come back again, I just wish it was slightly cheaper.

Gunther’s Ice Cream – Menu with Prices – 2801 Franklin Blvd, Sacramento

Gunther’s was my first ice cream love when I moved to Sacramento. I was dazzled by the neon sign that lights up the exterior of the building with a cone being filled with a scoop of ice cream, and impressed by the longevity of this family owned ice cream shop. They have a case of ice cream treats from chocolate covered bananas, cherries, ice cream sandwiches, and even clown decorated ice cream cones. The shakes are divine. All made to order, and with the ice cream made on premises. If you’re a purist like I am, you’re there for the amazing ice cream! Gunther’s has been a family owned and operated creamery for over 60 years. The creamy delights range from basic flavors like chocolate, butter pecan, strawberry, to seasonal flavors that are sure to delight. I love that you can order either kiddie scoops, regular scoops, or a combo. The kiddie scoops are perfect if you’re just craving a smaller amount. The regular scoops are a tad larger, and I often mix my scoop sizes when I’m indulging in a couple of flavors. Scoops can be enjoyed in either a sugar cone, A classic Cone, waffle cone, or even in a bowl. I often will order my ice cream on a sugar cone and then asked for to be put in a cup so that if there isn’t room to sit and enjoy it there taking it with me is easier. My favorite flavors are traditionally the chocolate brownie, the mint chip, and they make a couple of different heavenly caramel ice cream flavors that depending on the season are available. Gunther’s is a great place to stop at any time of the day or evening. During the summer and warmer months of the year, it’s not uncommon to see a line out of the door and around the corner. Don’t let that deter you from enjoying premium ice cream! The line moves fairly quickly and when you get to the counter the customer service is superb. If you’re unsure of a flavor they are more than happy to let you sample then make a decision. Gunther’s is a Sacramento landmark, and definitely worth trying. I often feel like they are a hidden gem, and should be discovered, and rediscovered often.