Ice cream with a twist on tradition is returning to Toronto
Ice cream was a vehicle for confectioner Ed Wong to explore his identity as the son of Chinese immigrants. After a brief hiatus, his East and Southeast Asian flavours are returning to the city.
“Wong’s [Ice Cream] was a place for me to explore a lot of my past, explore my roots, take something that was in my culture that was historical that fit my kind of life experience,” Wong told CTV News Toronto.
The closure of the four-year-old East Chinatown parlour took place just before Christmas. It differed to the cliché of pandemic-provoked closures, which made the decision that much harder. Instead of an absence of business, Wong was overwhelmed and overworked just as his lease was coming to an end.
At 52, when he opened the shop, he had imagined it would be a quiet neighbourhood spot where he would scoop ice cream for kids he would watch grow into adults. But within the first day or two, it was jam-packed.
In the final days, customers told Wong why they gravitated to his parlour. “They felt seen because of my ice cream,” Wong said. “They saw their culture in my ice cream and it helped them feel seen.”
To their relief, Wong is partnering with Basil Box to offer somewhere between two and 10 of his original flavours at most of their locations by mid-July. This season, Wong’s won’t be scooped. Instead, it will be packaged. But moving forward, it’s not out of the question, he says.
Wong’s Ice Cream (Wong’s Ice Cream Ltd.)
So far, only one flavour has been solidified on the list. “Definitely the black sesame salted duck egg,” Wong said.
For Wong, the flavour steeped mostly strongly in childhood memory is the Hong Kong milk tea, reminiscent of sipping his mother's tea brimming with milk and sugar. In the early 1950s, his parents immigrated to Canada from China’s Guangdong province virtually penniless, knowing little English, he explained.
Wong’s Ice Cream (Wong’s Ice Cream Ltd.)
“Children of immigrants often feel like they have their feet in two different worlds. One of their parents that goes back to a place they weren’t born. And then of course, the culture in which they are in fact born and are influenced by. I’m very typical in that sense,” Wong said, nodding to his Scarborough upbringing in the ‘80s.
“Ice cream,” he said, “was an interesting way for me to blend the two together.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
Israel says it reopened a key Gaza crossing after a rocket attack but the UN says no aid has entered
The Israeli military said Wednesday that it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, a key terminal for the entry of humanitarian aid that was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.