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
LIVE AT 2:30 MT 2-hour wildfire evacuation notice issued for some Fort McMurray neighbourhoods
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
BREAKING Sask. man faces 60 charges in child exploitation investigation, with crimes dating back to 2005
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of crimes against children dating back to 2005.
American sought after 'So I raped you' Facebook message detained in France on 2021 warrant
An American accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said, 'So I raped you,' has been detained in France after a three-year search.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
1 killed, 3 injured in head-on crash on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.
Protesters gather at Ottawa City Hall after Israeli flag raised to mark country's national day
The Israeli flag is flying at Ottawa City Hall today to mark the country's national day, with plans to hold a private ceremony to mark Israel's Independence Day. There is a significant police presence at City Hall, including security barriers outside the main doors.