Shanghai’s Zhong Yao Tang ice-cream parlour has made headlines across mainland China for its distinctly flavoured gelatos, which make use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) ingredients.
According to multiple media reports, the store opened on Shanghai’s Xiangyang Road last month, offering patrons a choice of 16 types of gelato that are infused with TCM ingredients such as smoked plum, mint and watermelon frost, ginger and brown sugar, as well as the so-called “eight immortal fruits” used to treat sore throats and coughs.
Two scoops (120 grams) of gelato cost 38 yuan, while three scoops (150 grams) are priced at 45 yuan. A family pack is also available for 150 yuan. Customers may also have their desserts topped with high-quality TCM ingredients such as caterpillar fungus for 18 yuan or ginseng for 12 yuan.
Since their launch, the gelatos have gained immense popularity on Chinese social media, reaching more than 50 million views on Sina Weibo, the country’s answer to X. The trend has also spread to Macao, with local ice-cream parlour Blooom offering similar flavours.
[See more: Your guide to Macao’s best independent ice cream spots]
The uniquely flavoured ice-creams have not only been a hit with Chinese customers, but have gained a following among the city’s expat community. Smart Shanghai reported that the shop has had to include English descriptions for the various ice-cream flavours in order to meet the needs of foreign customers.
Ice-creams are not the only food product to have incorporated TCM ingredients, as there have been previous attempts to use them in milk tea, coffee and bread. But despite the positive reception among consumers towards TCM infused food and beverages, not all TCM practitioners are on board.
Ding Yu, a TCM specialist with the Aerospace Centre Hospital, told China Daily that the consumption of food and drinks with high sugar and calories, including ice-cream, was not advised by TCM doctors. He said that for the ingredients to be effective, they must be taken over a period of time and in a proper manner.
Tan Hantian of the First Affiliated Hospital at the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, expressed a similar view, noting that the medicinal components in TCM-flavoured beverages was miniscule and that some ingredients were not suitable for use with milk or tea. He added that traditional methods of preparing TCM ingredients, such as boiling, steaming and crushing, were more appropriate ways for the components to be consumed.
