Looking for another international offering when it comes to frozen desserts?
Le Parfait opened up in early March, bringing Lebanese and Arabic-style ice cream to Homer Street in downtown Vancouver, along with sweet and savoury crepes, smoothies, and juices. Everything is made in-house, says co-owner Gerard Daccache, and presented to give an authentic Lebanese experience.
"The way it's made and served is a bit unique," he says. "The components are different and the presentation is different. The ice cream is not by the scoop, so you can have three or four flavours in one cone."
Lebanese ice cream: What makes it different?
The biggest difference is the addition of mastic gum, a natural extract from the mastic tree, which gives the ice cream a more stretchy nature than other frozen dairy desserts, Daccache says.
They also have a variety of traditional flavours from Lebanon, like ashta (clotted cream dipped in pistachios) and rosewater. In total they have 12 flavours right now, all made at their shop. A handful of the flavours are dairy-free and vegan, like mango.
Along with the ice cream, they have a non-alcoholic cocktail, shikaf, which mixes strawberry and avocado with (a different version of) ashta, along with seasonal fruits, nuts, and honey; other specials they have are smoothies with avocado mixed in, and parfaits.
You can get your ice cream by the cup or cone, including waffle cones or traditional Lebanese square "biscuit" cones. They have take-out containers where you can get several scoops of ice cream to enjoy at home or out and about.
Daccache, who arrived in Vancouver in 2019 from Beirut, and his partner have years of experience in the food industry and ice cream; his partner's grandfather ran a well-known shop back in Lebanon, and Daccache worked at a shop when he was younger.
When he got to Vancouver he found the Lebanese food scene is well-represented, but there was a lack of treats and so La Parfait was inspired.
"There's been a great reaction from the Lebanese and Arab people that have seen we're serving ashta ice cream and the fruit smoothies," Daccache says.
Le Parfait is located at 812 Homer St and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Watch: Trying Lebanese ice cream at downtown Vancouver's newest treat shop
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This article was first published on March 9, 2023 and has since been updated with additional reporting by Lindsay William-Ross
