When fish sauce and pho enter the world of ice cream
For a long time, fish sauce and pho have been considered two symbols of Vietnamese cuisine – but what if they were recreated… in the form of ice cream?
La Creme is the pioneer who dared to carry out that bold experiment. Fish sauce ice cream, an ice cream that initially caused hesitation but has been one of the most popular flavors since its launch. The formula is "shocking" but in fact very calculated: 100% fresh anchovy fish sauce is cooked thoroughly, reduced in saltiness, condensed into a smooth sauce, mixed just enough with a rich white cream base. For each batch of 20-30 kg of ice cream, only 1 liter of fish sauce is used, enough for the flavor to spread but not overwhelm. Instead of a taste shock, it is a surprisingly delicate combination.
Fish sauce ice cream has a light yet rich sweet and salty taste.
Pho ice cream will take diners from the ice cream shop straight to... the breakfast restaurant. Instead of using toppings like beef or herbs, this ice cream version uses pho broth cooked from herbs like cinnamon, star anise, and roasted cardamom, then mixed into the ice cream base to create a characteristic warm aroma. When the ice cream melts in the mouth, the pho aroma slowly rises, strange but attractive. This is an ice cream that has never been seen before in Vietnamese cuisine.
With these two creations, La Creme is not only making ice cream but also opening up a new flavor territory for Vietnamese cuisine.
Ingredients for pho broth used for pho ice cream
Over 100 flavors: unlimited creative journey
La Creme has now developed over 100 ice cream flavors, each a creative play of fruits, spices, and memories. Many flavors feature unexpected combinations of traditional ingredients and imported spices.
Unique ice cream flavors are displayed in front of the order counter for customers to choose from.
Like mango ice cream and chili sauce: using only Cat Chu mango which has a suitable sweet and refreshing taste, combined with rich Mexican salt sauce to recreate the childhood feeling of dipping mango in salt but elevated in the form of an international ice cream.
Or lavender ice cream with wild honey uses real lavender buds, no artificial flavor, creating a light layer of ice cream like lying in the middle of a purple flower field and full of the sweetness of honey. Salted Oreo ice cream is a combination of sweet Oreo flavor and the subtle saltiness of sea salt. Many other unique flavors are created from matcha such as matcha with black sesame cookies, matcha with strawberry jam, matcha with roasted rice milk and many strange ice cream flavors such as rum raisin ice cream, olive ice cream, pineapple ice cream and red dragon fruit...
Ice cream flavors with new flavors and eye-catching colors take diners on a taste journey.
La Creme divides the menu into 3 groups: Signature menu is the best-selling and always-present flavors. Must-try menu includes exclusive creative flavors that are hard to find elsewhere. Seasonal menu is updated every 3 months, changing according to the harvest season or the creator's new inspiration. This constant change helps diners always feel fresh, curious and excited to come back to explore the world of flavors in each scoop of ice cream.
3 types of restaurant menu
Accompanying meaningful events
Not only is it a meeting place for young people who love strange flavors, La Creme also appears on many special occasions, from luxurious parties to community programs.
La Creme ice cream boxes have accompanied many couples' wedding parties. Currently, a couple has ordered 30 boxes of La Creme ice cream to be sent to Mang Den to treat guests at their wedding instead of the usual cakes or desserts. At the Indonesian embassy's party, this ice cream brand was also chosen as a special dish to represent the identity of modern Vietnamese cuisine.
Shop staff packed ice cream boxes to send to customers' wedding parties.
In addition, La Creme once opened a free ice cream counter in the community program of Military Hospital 175 to serve terminal cancer patients. The cool ice cream that day was not only a dish, but also a gentle, silent and warm message sent to those who are fighting the disease.
Unique space with its own personality
Both La Creme locations have their own highlights. The location at 19 Tran Ngoc Dien, Thao Dien is spacious and bright with prominent red and white striped umbrellas, a favorite destination for young people. The location at 84 Pho Duc Chinh, District 1 is smaller, but located in the central area, convenient for tourists to combine visiting Ben Thanh market and the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.
Facility space number 19 Tran Ngoc Dien, Thao Dien
Facility space 84 Pho Duc Chinh, District 1
The shop has many cute details that the owner herself came up with: from the ice cream-shaped traffic lights to the ice cream cone-shaped door handles, shelves displaying boxes of La Creme ice cream or decorative teddy bears. The processing counter is open, clean, and tidy, helping customers easily observe and enjoy the cool ice cream.
Although the space is not large, La Creme still brings a sense of neatness and personality like the flavors they create.
They create every day, experimenting with each ingredient, combining seemingly impossible flavors, from traditional fish sauce to Western lavender, from Vietnamese pho herbs to savory Mexican salt. All are transformed into unique ice creams, carrying the breath of many countries but touching the familiar taste of Vietnamese people. On July 20th at the Ice Cream Festival in Thao Dien, La Creme is expected to bring all the ice cream flavors they have created to help diners enjoy unlimited new flavors.
Ms. Thao Nguyen, a chef who studied in the US and founded the La Creme brand with creative ice cream flavors.
The ice cream festival scheduled to take place on July 20th will offer diners the opportunity to enjoy more than 100 ice cream flavors from the shop to date.
With La Creme, an ice cream is not only to cool down but also a way for Vietnamese people to travel through culinary cultures, on a sweet, creative and unlimited journey.
