I love dessert! Many options have popped up in the last 10 years, and I’m excited to be able to find the Chinese desserts of my childhood and discover new desserts.
Asian is a very broad term, so to clarify, I’ve included desserts from the Philippines, Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, and Thailand. As with a lot of food, you’ll see some similarities and variations between cultures. Taro, red bean, pandan, and matcha are some of the flavors you’ll find in these Asian desserts.
This is a shortlist of the many, many Asian desserts out there. My goal was to share some desserts you can easily try in Austin, and if you have any recommendations of a dessert and/or restaurant to get it at, let me know!
Here are 17 Asian desserts to try and where to get them in Austin!
Bingsu
Bingsu is a Korean shaved ice dessert with toppings. The sky’s the limit for flavor combinations, and places usually have set bingsu options that work best together. I typically enjoy mango shaved ice with fresh fruit, but I like the Brown Sugar Mochi Bingsu at Snowy Village on West Parmer Lane and the Birthday Cake Bingsu at Bar Peached.
Where to Get it in Austin: Snowy Village, Bar Peached
Boba Tea
Also known as bubble tea, boba tea originated in Taiwan and is named after the tapioca balls at the bottom of the cup. The beverage is usually black tea and milk, though you can find plenty of tea options now. Milk Tea Boba, Brown Sugar Boba, and Taro Tea are some of the most popular (and some of my favorite) flavors. If you don’t like tea, you can get a fruit slush, and if you’re not sure about tapioca balls, a variety of jellies are available. Some places offer different sugar and ice amounts to customize your drink.
Where to Get it in Austin: See this blog post
Bubble Waffle Cone
This dessert from Hong Kong is an egg waffle by itself or wrapped like a cone and filled with ice cream or whipped cream and toppings. Austin establishments usually have the waffle by itself. What makes or breaks this dessert is the waffle. Is it crispy on the outside? Is it soft and chewy on the inside?
Where to Get it in Austin: Bambu, Happy Lemon
Cake
You can find cake in many Asian cultures. The Swiss roll / cake roll / jelly roll is a popular bakery item. This type of cake likely came to Asia from Europe and I like the variations with matcha and pandan flavors. I also grew up celebrating birthdays with Chinese sponge cake with fresh fruit. This cake is light and airy with whipped cream and strawberries, peaches, and kiwi in between the layers and on top.
Where to Get it in Austin: Tous Les Jour, Texas Bakery
Chè
Chè (pronounced chay) is a Vietnamese dessert with jelly, tapioca, fruit, and beans accompaniments. It’s topped with ice and finished with a coconut cream sauce. This dessert is similar to the Indonesian cendol and Filipino halo-halo.
Where to Get it in Austin: Bambu
Cheesecake
When it comes to cheesecake, you probably think of Japanese cheesecake. The Japanese version is crustless and is very fluffy. The secret to its lightness is less cream cheese and more egg whites. OMG Squee has them occasionally, or you can find them at the Austin location of Uncle Tetsu, a national chain.
Where to Get it in Austin: OMG Squee, Uncle Tetsu
Cookie
When it comes to cookies, add Asian flavors! Cookie Wookie Kitchen has delicious creations made with aged cookie dough. Ube coconut, black sesame cookies and cream, pandan with toasted rice, and red bean mochi are some of my favorite flavors!
Where to Get it in Austin: Cookie Wookie Kitchen
Egg Tart
The best way to end dim sum is with egg tarts, my ubiquitous dessert growing up. It’s a crispy and flakey outer shell filled with a smooth egg custard that’s slightly sweet. I love the Hong Kong version but you can also find the Portuguese version (Macau is a city near Hong Kong and used to be a Portuguese colony), which is sweeter and has a flame-kissed top.
Where to Get it in Austin: 85 Degrees, Chinatown, Lin Asian Bar
Halo-halo
Halo-halo has all the good stuff in it. This Filipino dessert is similar to the Vietnamese chè in that it’s a crushed ice dessert. Halo-halo has jellies, sweet beans, fruit, corn, shredded coconut, yams, and a scoop of ice cream on top.
Where to Get it in Austin: Little Mama’s, Filipino Asian Mart
Ice Cream
Our favorite Asian flavors are back in ice cream form. Matcha, black sesame, taro, Thai tea, and pandan are only some of the flavors available. For something more adventurous, visit DipDipDip Ice Cream for flavors like yuzu mascarpone, orange and hōjicha (Japanese green tea), or cookies ‘n matcha.
Where to Get it in Austin: DipDipDip Ice Cream, Thai Fresh/Gati Ice Cream, Sugar Pine
Mango Sticky Rice
One of my favorite Thai desserts is this one – mango sticky rice! The sticky rice is mixed with coconut milk and sugar and topped with sliced mango. I’d be surprised if you don’t find this dessert on Thai restaurant menus.
Where to Get it in Austin: Thai Fresh, Dee Dee
Mochi Donuts
Mmm this dessert has popped up in Austin in abundance! Mochi is a Japanese dessert made with glutinous rice. Now put this stretchy and chewy texture into a donut – yum! Bom Bakeshop rotates some delicious flavors with icing made with real fruit.
Where to Get it in Austin: Bom Bakeshop, Mochinut, OMG Squee
Sesame Ball
Some might not classify this Chinese pastry as a dessert, but it was always a semi-sweet end to dim sum for me. The glutinous rice ball is typically filled with red bean paste but you may also see lotus paste. Don’t miss this when you go eat dim sum!
Where to Get it in Austin: Lin Asian Bar, Fresh Tofu
Shaved Ice
Taiwanese shaved ice or snow ice is unlike shaved ice or snow cones you already know. This shaved ice is created through a machine that creates thin shavings. It melts in your mouth! After choosing your shaved ice flavor – mango and strawberry are two of my favorites – you can choose your toppings. The toppings include boba, jelly, sliced fruit, mochi, and more.
Where to Get it in Austin: SnoMo
Steamed Pandan Layer Cake / Khanom Chan / Bánh Da Lợn
I’m in love with this jelly-like dessert! It’s stretchy and slightly chewy and typically layered by color and flavors of pandan and coconut. In Thai culture, it’s khanom chan and in Vietnamese culture, bánh da lợn is similar but typically includes mung bean.
Where to Get it in Austin: Hhomdee, Texas Bakery, Hana World Market
Taiyaki
This Japanese pastry is recognizable because it’s shaped like a fish. The crispy croissant dough, pressed in something like a waffle iron, is traditionally filled with red bean but can also be filled with Nutella, custard, and mochi.
Where to Get it in Austin: Snowy Village
Tofu Pudding with Ginger Syrup (Dofu Hua)
Tofu Pudding or Sweet Silken Tofu is a dessert I grew up loving! The tofu pudding texture is similar to flan and tastes like sweet tofu. The ginger syrup you pour on top makes the tofu sweeter and it’s where a lot of the flavor comes from.
Where to Get it in Austin: Fresh Tofu, NG Cafe
Which desserts have you tried and which will you go try?
P.S. Want more dessert? See these top 30 cold treats in Austin or this list of the best cupcakes in Austin.
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Use this checklist to eat them all!
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