MIXUE Ice Cream & Tea

I had never heard of Mixue before I visited Sydney recently, but once I saw it when I was walking by, I was pretty instantly drawn in, by their cheery "Snow King", and ridiculously affordable prices.  It turns out to be a large Chinese franchise, with 22,500 stores worldwide.  It started in 1997, but the first location in Sydney didn't open until February 2023, not long before I visited.

Storefront.

Visiting the store is, um, a cultural experience.  It does draw you in though, with the very welcoming mascot, the Snow King, showing up in many places.

$2 ice Cream.

The very low prices are definitely one of MIXUE's main attractions, and are displayed prominently, like the one here for the $2 cone (which, was $1.50 just a few months prior).  Note that these are Australian dollars, so that is actually just $1.25 USD with today's exchange rate.

Tea.

Milk and fruit teas make up the rest of the menu, and are mostly reasonably priced as well.

Snow King Magic Shop.

Off on the side is the branded "Snow King Magic Shop" where you can purchase toys and tumblers.

Signature Cone. $2.
(November 2023)

I had seen people walking down the street with these cones, so I knew it would be comically large, but, I still wasn't prepared to have this handed over.  The cone itself is, well, worthy of the Snow King perhaps.

My cone didn't actually look particularly made with care.  Nor did it look as well filled or as big as others, and they only make one size, so, it wasn't like I had a different size.  They lose a few points for that, as part of my cone was pretty hollow.  And, as I said, I was pretty apprehensive this could really be very good.

I took my first bite of the ice cream.  Well, huh.  It was creamy.  It wasn't icy.  The flavor was sweet, but not cloying.  Nothing artificial about it.  Milk flavored, I guess, but I detected hints of coconut even.   Certainly better than any fast food ice cream, and it rivaled many ice cream shops.  Not blow your mind special, but very good.  ***+, on the verge of ****.

And then the cone.  Ice cream cones are often sorta a throwaway component, a means to getting ice cream in a satisfying to lick form factor, and little else.  But this cone, this cone was part of the experience too.  It was a unique style, like thin sweet wafer cookies rolled into a cone shape, 2-3 layers.  It was sweet, it was crunchy, it was really quite good.  It got to maybe be a bit much, just given how big it was, but I truly enjoyed it.  I think it would be good just as a standalone cookie to eat alongside a coffee.  A memorable, and tasty, and unique, cone.  ****.

So overall, made with care?  No.  Perfectly swirled and filled?  No.  But actually very enjoyable, and ridiculous quality for the price.  ****, and I'd gladly get another.

Signature Cone. $2.
(February 2024).

Two months later, I was back in Sydney, and the moment it was a warm day, I was right back at Mixue.  This time I knew exactly what to expect, and I'll say that Mixue seems highly consistent, at least based on my experiences.

My order was ready relatively quickly, the soft serve was a bit haphazard and did have a bit of a hole in the middle, but, the cone was crispy, unique, and not stale, and the soft serve was fairly creamy, again lightly sweet milk flavor.  I added my own sprinkles, and was still just amazed that I got such a decent and unique ice cream cone for literally $1.20 USD.  ***+.