10Below Ice Cream

I’m sure there’s a lot of other great ice cream shops with the same concept, but 10Below is my go to.
Why? Well, for one I love the concept behind it. If I’m wrong about this someone correct me! I heard about it through a friend and don’t necessarily want to be telling it wrong. Anyway, the owner and people who work for this joint are from the same fraternity. I think it’s awesome because it teaches hands on experience about business and gives them a chance to get their hands dirty.

I came here with my friend at just the right time: 5:35PM, when it is not as full and active. My friend got Matcha Made in Heaven and I got Strawberry Shawty. It took us less than 30 seconds to order. Soon after, our names were called so that we could spectate the process. The people making our rolls were polite and friendly. In just 3 minutes, our ice cream rolls were done! Although the taste of the ice cream did not have a wow-​factor to it, I felt that $ 7 was not a bad price. It includes the good customer service, human labor involved to make the rolls, and the free and unlimited toppings. I’ve been to other ice cream roll shops, and none are as inviting as 10below when it comes to giving customers an up-​close look at the process of making the rolls. Overall, me and my friend had a great experience.
P.S: Almost forgot to mention that there are free 10below stickers right by the cashier!

After stopping at wok wok across the street, my friend and I decided to get dessert here. I’ve wanted to try this place for quite some time now but I rarely go to Chinatown and the lines are always super long. But it wasn’t too bad today and it was decently warm for a January evening so we decided to wait !!! We shared a #5, viet coffee with condensed milk. Holy crap. So damn good… The coffee was so milky and just a perfect combo with the condensed milk. So worth the wait. We topped it off with a marshmallow, rasberries and strawberries.
Def will be back and waiting on the line for more…
YUM.
Just wished they had something with mango.

If people are willing to line up outside on a cold, snowy day for ice cream, it’s gotta be good.
I had Matcha Made in Heaven and kept it simple with just bananas, coconut flakes and condense milk. The ice cream is thick and full of flavor. It’s not overwhelmingly sweet like regular ice creams.
The Strawberry Shawty that my boyfriend got was pretty good too, we gave it second place with the Matcha being first!

Okay so I finally tried this only because there was no line during the snow storm. First, we waited forever for our guy to mix our ice cream. He also didn’t seem to know what he was doing (a bit weak in the rolling department ‚.) second, i got the Oreo and it was literally one Oreo smashed up into the ice cream mixture. $ 7 for that? And normally people wait on line ???
It was tasty but don’t know the hype. Comparable to Baskin Robbins ‚…

It started with the Instagram pictures. Tons of my friends were posting pictures of their delicious treats, so I did some research and decided to go (and drag along my boyfriend)! It was a Saturday afternoon in the summer of 2015. We were coming back from Central Park when we decided to go!
THE LINE WAS 2.5 HOURS LONG. Legitimate 2.5 hours, not the exaggerating kind! I should have known. But we decided to wait. There were only a handful of guys making the ice cream. And the line enveloped the whole room (it literally spiraled)!
Worth it? No. It wasn’t heaven in my mouth… I don’t think a lot of things would be worth 2.5 hours. But it was very very good, which is why I gave this place 4 stars.

No matter how cold the weather is, one must make room for some uniquely made ice cream. If you’re in Chinatown and want to get a quickie dessert, make a stop here, especially if there isn’t a huge crowd.
10Below is basically an ice cream place that stands out due to its ice cream presentation and ice cream making techniques. When you get inside, do note that there is very limited seating. For flavors and toppings, all the items are listed in the menu on the wall, and all you need to do is place your order at the cash register, pay and proceed to move along until someone makes your ice cream.
For my ice cream, I chose something simple like the matcha flavor with fresh strawberries. In summary, the process is like so: 1. Ice cream flavor is in liquid form 2. Liquid gets poured onto the cold looking circular surface 3. Liquid sits there for awhile 4. Other ingredients gets chopped up/​minced to be put into the liquid puddle 5. Liquid puddle solidifies 6. Worker begins scraping at the liquid 7. Voila! Puddle is now scraped into a roll of fresh ice cream! 8. Proceed to add as much condiments/​toppings as you desired.
Overall, the taste of the ice cream was good. It wasn’t too sweet and I do like the thin like firmness of it. Surprisingly, the strawberries tasted fresh and tart despite the teeny flecks that were scattered in the ice cream. I definitely do recommend checking this place out if you’re interested in seeing the process of ice cream being made and for picture worthiness of Instagram/​Yelp etc :)

10Below is an ice cream shop in Chinatown. They make ice cream rolls using a method from Thailand. Each order is made right in front of you, and costs $ 7.Toppings are unlimited.
Go for the experience. Watch your ice cream turn from liquid to perfectly shaped rolls with colorful toppings. The menu has an interesting variety of flavors. I ordered the «Bend and Gingersnap»: vanilla cream base with a crushed gingerbread cookie with pumpkin spices. I added teddy grahams and blackberries on top. One order can easily be shared by two people.
The shop is small and gets packed. There was a decent line of a dozen or so people, but the line moves quickly. There is limited seating so we took our ice cream and walked around the area. Also, 10Below is a bit expensive, so it isn’t somewhere that I would go regularly, but I enjoyed my ice cream and would come back with a friend in town who isn’t familiar with ice cream rolls.

I was kind of surprised to find a place in NYC had opened up that served what we used to call «the crush-​y, scrape-​y ice cream roll thing» that’s a pretty popular street food in southeast Asia. Think Cold Stone Creamery but way more trendy, and also in a spiral instead of scoop form. I was also pretty skeptical of paying seven bucks for something I used to pay like, three bucks for in Asia. But since the Manhattan dollar to normal person dollar foreign exchange rate is like 2 to 1, I guess it comes out pretty even.
The hype is insane. We came in January when the sky was dumping snow onto the ground at –5 degrees after windchill and this place still managed to have a line going out the door. You order and pay at the counter — seven bucks for everything, only one size. You can pick from their pre-​selected offerings or make your own custom ice cream by picking from their topping selection and ice cream base. Oh and you also get (from what I can tell) as many toppings as you want for the same price, both crushed into the ice cream and as an actual topping on top. Afterwards, they’ll slap your toppings on an anti-​griddle, smash everything to oblivion, and serve them up in cute little rolls compacted into a cup. It’s also nice of them to call your name when they’re making it and direct you to the griddle, so you’ll be able to ooo and ahhh while taking pictures and video.
I will say, its very good. Very sweet and it has a nice grainy texture from the little ice crystals that form from the uneven freezing. I would recommend getting nilla wafers or graham crackers for more crunch. $ 7 definitely gets you a fun novelty experience and I can’t really think of any other places in the US that sells Thai rolled ice cream, and the end result is a generously portioned treat.

I have been wanting to go and personally see an ice cream made in this style for a while now. The line at this place when I visited was soooo long. I went on a Saturday evening, so that might have been why, but I think they do see lines even on the weekdays.
The owners and the employees at this place seem to all be friends. They are very personable and friendly and make the entire experience really fun. You basically place your order at the cashier and then your cup gets sent to one of the guys in ice cream making line. They let you record the whole thing if you want and definitely encourage it. If you haven’t had an ice cream made in this style, it’s definitely something I suggest you try. I am guessing it’s something to do with dry ice and the rolling that makes this technique work (kind of like a science project I did when I was in high school).
I wouldn’t say the ice cream tastes incredibly different, but it does taste different in the sense that it’s a different texture and all of the ingredients are very well mixed into the ice cream. Overall, great experience, very long line, definitely trying if you haven’t.

10Below definitely caused a stir when it first opened up. I still see lines during peak hours, but at least it has died somewhat. This is definitely a place you should check out at least once, mainly to watch them prepare the Thai-​style rolled up ice cream fresh. I completely understand the fact there are lines when many people are present since the preparation can take a few minutes. Also, the place is pretty small so when it’s crowded there is not much of a place to go, since there are only a few tables and that you can stand/​sit.
Once they take your order, your name will be called so you have the opportunity to watch your ice cream being made. They have a number of stations to prepare ice cream, and you’ll see them take the ice cream base for your order and mix it with fresh ingredients for the basis of your ice cream flavor. The bottom of the station is cold and thus will cool the solution enough for it to be rolled up and be placed in a container. Out of the flavors I have had, my favorites are the Key Lime Pie (using a fresh lime and graham cracker) and Strawberry Shawty (strawberry and graham cracker).
Yes it is pricey, but at least the price includes all toppings! They have some fruit you can add, various cookies, crackers, syrups, and even a toasted marshmallow can be added in! Go look at all these great photos on the page, I’m sure you’ll see many of the toppings added on various ice cream! Add as many toppings to fill up that container so your money is well-​spent!
Like I mentioned previously, if there is a very long wait (line goes out the door and up the stairs), I do not think it is worth it since you want to wait for everyone’s individual order to be prepared. Just try to come by at a non-​peak time when there is less of the line. It also would be nice just to get your order right away, but I know you need to wait to get this freshly made ice cream!

The thai ice cream roll hype was probably the highlight of summer 2015. But seeing the reviews and hearing some of my friends’ experiences got me hesitating to try 10Below. Finally had a chance to stop by on a chilly winter night and there was no line, horray!
My friends and I got the Strawberry Shawty (strawberry, graham crackers) and I Love You a Latte (Coffee Chocolate Chips). It was fun watching them making the ice cream and the staff spent some time decorating as well. Thicker ice cream rolls than other places. Overall, the ice cream was decent but not unique. And is it worth the price? I’m not so sure. I’ve visited a few other establishments with the same concept but give me a cup of regular ice cream vs ice cream rolls, they’re not that different. For the price I’m paying, I can get specialty flavors from other ice cream places.
We were lucky and grabbed one of the few tables available inside. However, I did not like how the table tops were sticky, and it doesn’t help that the surfaces are black and you can clearly see all the dirtiness on it.

I want to say this is a 7/​10, so better than just a 3 out of 5.
I was surprised to see a long line for ice cream on a cold rainy day.
At first, Mr. Joy & I saw the long line, we thought we’d just go elsewhere. In the few minutes we were discussing where we wanted to go, the line shrunk and it seemed like the ice cream artists were working pretty quickly. I’m a sucker for places made up of hard-​working people. The bottleneck is due to the fact that they have a limited number of stations relative to the number of orders that pile up.
Key Lime Pie with bananas, strawberries, Teddy grahams.
It’s been years since I’ve had Teddy grahams and boy are nostalgic snacks enjoyable.
It’s nice that they allow you to get unlimited toppings, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten any.
The ice cream rolls are aesthetically pleasing, but still somewhat gimmicky.
The ice cream itself was not creamy. In fact, it was almost too icy to be ice cream.
So you guys know the drill, they pour the liquid onto the anti-​griddle /​freezer plate. Then they dice up the ice cream mixings until it forms a cold solid. Then they roll it up and place the rolls into the ice cream cup. However, I think they overworked the ice cream. The result was a bit difficult to eat with a plastic spoon. We had to wait for it to melt a bit so we could work it with the spoon.
I’m glad I tried this place. They definitely work very hard. Each order takes a lot of work and several minutes of dedication and decorating. Plus, the process is fun to watch. But I’ve had better ice cream elsewhere. For ~$ 6, it is still rather expensive ice cream after all.

Some people come to this place for the hype — and I will say, I’ve brought a good number of people to this place for them to see how the ice cream is rolled and for them to take their videos and snapchats and instagrams; that being said, I don’t come back here for the show (fun though it may be to watch). I come back here because:
1) I love ice cream
2) I love green tea ice cream
3) This is the best green tea ice cream I’ve ever had
Something about the way it’s made makes it filling, yet it tastes a little lighter and creamier to me than other ice creams. I also love the strawberry add-​in and the ability to add more toppings (my suggestions for the matcha made in heaven are condensed milk, strawberry, and whipped cream).
I’ve taken my parents and friends, and all of them enjoyed both their ice cream and their experience. The flavors are fun and creative and change every so often, so it’s always cool to return and see what new flavor they have.
That being said, the biggest downside is that the operation is limited by the 5 stations; no more than 5 can be made at a time, making the line slow going if it’s busy. If you’re luck and get in before the lunch or dinner crowd, you may wait as few as 15 minutes; if you get stuck in a line out the door, it can take over an hour. So bring your best luck or your best company!

Overhyped. If you went on Instagram at all this summer and you have friends who from NYC who post food pics, you probably saw photos of this Thai Style rolled ice cream. Choose the flavor and they’ll mix your ingredients in with some cream onto a super cold metal pan. It’s fun to watch them chop the ingredients until they’re nearly homogeneous with the cream, freeze, and literally get rolled up into what look like ice cream taquitos. They are then nicely decorated with unlimited free toppings.
But it just doesn’t taste as good as it looks. I got the Smores Galore and it tasted like straight Hershey’s syrup. It wasn’t even super creamy. The I Love You a Latte was the same. The only really interesting one I would consider ordering again would be the Monkey Business, since banana ice cream isn’t so common. Go once just to see it happen, but you can get way better ice cream elsewhere.

Overall good value. I think they can jack up the price and people would still come. This «hard-​worked» ice cream is only $ 7, unlimited toppings!!!
With no line, the process is around 3−5min. Not bad at all. Though I wouldn’t wait an hour for it. It’s good but overrated to wait an hour for.

I knew I’d soon try this creamery of the moment after seeing so many FOMO worthy pictures on social media. Who wouldn’t want this glorious confection-​coated Thai-​inspired treat to captivate your followers?!
But much like other instagramable experiences of late, 10below fell far below my expectations in taste. This was for the stans.
There’s not a lot more for me to add about the ambiance of the venue or the rolling experience. This is pretty cool. Thankfully when I frequented 10below there wasn’t too much of a line. I waited for about five minutes before a young woman asked me for my order. I got the green tea strawberry ice cream, which sounded like the perfect combination of flavors. The server poured the mixture, which looked like green milk, on the freezing pan and worked her magic. She added one small strawberry to the pan and mashed it in the mix to make the flavor. One strawberry? Disappointed.
After the ice cream was rolled and neatly packed into a cup it was moved to another station where I had it topped with nilla waffers, raspberrys, condensed milk and a burnt marshmallow. It came up to $ 7.
The ice cream tasted exactly how it looked before it was chilled and rolled — like milk. It had no richness and very little green tea flavor. It straight up tasted like I put milk in freezer pop molds and called that dessert (hmm, could I make money on this?). The toppings were tasty, as you’d imagine, but I was generally underwhelmed.
My go-​to Chinatown dessert spots remain unchanged; this place has nothing on Chinatown Ice Cream Factory or Mango Mango to me, other than hype.

Maybe, Thai rolled up ice cream rolls just aren’t my thing because I don’t understand why I would pay $ 7 for this when I can get equally as delicious Asian flavored ice cream elsewhere (like Sundae and Cones or Trader Joes!) for under $ 7. The ice cream rolling process is pretty cool, but its novelty definitely dies after the first time, so get it once to mark it off your list of to-​dos in the city.
I chose #8 — green tea with strawberries. The green tea flavor was rich and delicious, but because such a large portion of it was mixed/​rolled with merely two tiny smashed up strawberries, I honestly couldn’t taste any distinct strawberry flavor in the final product at all! It’s nice that we get unlimited toppings because I made up for the lack of strawberry flavoring in the ice cream by asking for strawberry toppings.
Even though the lines aren’t that long anymore since it is now winter after all, there is still a good 5 – 10 minute wait time for rolling the ice cream, so if you want to try this without having to wait forever, come before the weather warms up!

YUMMMMMMM! So worth the wait and the cost!
It is $ 7 a cup, and you can select as many toppings as you’d like! They call your name when they’re making yours so you can watch! (Or in my case, record for snapchat). I got the Smores Galore and it was amazing! They toasted my marshmallow which was great! I just got the toppings that it came with but next time I’ll choose my own toppings as well!
If you’re in NYC, definitely stop by if you get a chance! You get a good amount of ice cream for what you’re paying so it’s definitely worth it! And rolled ice cream is just cool!
Will definitely be back when I come to NYC again!

Hot. Asian. Men. Everywhere. Working. Hard. For. Me.
(see photos below)
I have tried the other two Thai ice cream places in New York. 10Below is the best in my opinion. I assure you that this has nothing to do with the hunky Asian men behind the glass counter divider. The sole reason is that its ice cream texture stays in a solid form much longer. The other places’ ice cream melt a little too quickly than my liking.
For $ 7 per bowl of ice cream, it is pretty expensive. But, I do get to enjoy 3 — 5 minutes of the view of (possibly hot, sweating) Asian men working hard just for me.
I tried coming here right at openings between 11 AM and 11:30 AM and the wait was minimal (less than 5 — 10 minutes). Another time I was here at around 2 PM on a weekend and the line was outta the door. I didn’t get the ice cream until about 2:45 PM. So plan (or wait) accordingly. They accept credit cards.

Chama Rodizio