Gelato may typically be associated with Italian culture and cuisine, but K-Town’s Sundaes Best is putting a distinctly Eastern spin on the rich and creamy dessert.
In a sleek, pastel-pink shop with “Love at first scoop!” displayed by neon lettering, Sundaes Best packs a punch of flavor into their unique Asian-inspired gelato.
“You gotta take flavors from our childhood and remember all those things we ate as kids, and just draw inspiration from that—and that’s exactly what we did,“ said Sim. “We took flavors that we grew up with and just incorporated them into gelato and it’s been great.”
Flavors like Kalamansi, Soojunggwa and Injeolmi are the types of Asian-inspired flavors you’ll see at the shop, staying true to its Koreatown location. Kalamansi is a citrus fruit native to the Philippines, Soojunggwa is a traditional Korean cinnamon punch, and Injeolmi is a Korean rice cake.
Sim has worked closely with Ko to modify the Italian recipe into light and airy Asian-inspired gelato flavors. With 30 ice cream and sorbet flavors served daily, choosing an original Sundaes Best flavor is no easy task.
Infusing his childhood Korean cuisine with traditional Italian-style gelato, Sim expressed what it means for the shop to be located in K-town.
“To be in Koreatown, it means a lot. You know, it’s coming back home almost,” Sim said.
“You know when we were younger we grew up here, we ate here, and then through the older years, we drank here, and now we’re doing business here,” said Sim. “So we thought, you know, let’s do stuff that we wish we had when we were younger, and we’re trying to give back.”
