Tangram Creamery opens on Arbutus with ice cream freebies

Arbutus Street has just become a little sweeter, thanks to a new ice cream/coffee shop opening up its doors Wednesday, near the corner of West 12th.

While Tangram Creamery’s grand opening is technically not until next week, co-owners Michael Wong and Tinn Chan will offer free ice cream tastings from 2 to 4 p.m. today, as well as on Saturday, January 9, before they implement their regular hours of operation.

Tangram Creamery’s exterior (Jess Fleming / Vancity Buzz)

Tangram Creamery, which takes the place of a Quiznos, will offer a variety of ice cream products, all made on-site by pastry chef and ice cream maker extraordinaire Kazushi TeraKawa (previously at Robson’s street Chicco Coffee and Dessert Bar).

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The flavour lineup will include 10 regular flavours, like Green Tea, Black Sesame, Coffee, London Fog, and Houjicha (a type of Japanese roasted tea), in addition to a handful of rotating seasonal specials. Affogatos will also be on the menu, made with the shop’s espresso machine.

Tangram Creamery’s offerings (Jess Fleming / Vancity Buzz)

Tangram will also offer dairy-free frozen dessert options, in the way of refreshing sorbet– think vibrant, fruity flavours like raspberry, mango, and lychee.

Wong and Chan will offer their cool, creamy offerings in cups and cones. While run-of-the-mill cones will be on hand, Tangram will also feature their own unique handmade cookie cones.

Made from Langue de Chat, a popular French cookie shaped like a cat’s tongue, Tangram’s cookie cones are the perfect vehicle to transport the ice cream. Thin, yet sturdy, the cookie cone boasts a delightfully crunchy texture and wickedly good sugary taste.

Trangram’s locally roasted coffee beans (Jess Fleming / Vancity Buzz)

Although ice cream is the name of the game at Tangram, the ice cream parlour specializes in more than just scoops. The Arbutus storefront also features a select range of caffeniated beverages, made using Tangram’s own coffee beans.

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Currently Tangram’s beans are being roasted by a partner roaster in Delta, but Wong and Chan hope to be the ones roasting, once they find a suitable facility to do so.

Inside Tangram Creamery (Jess Fleming / Vancity Buzz)

For those who want to sit down while eating their ice cream, there are a few benches around a large wooden communal table and along the window. Bright and airy, the retail space is clean, modern, and home to many industrial fixtures.

Tangram Creamery

Address: 2729 Arbutus Street
Twitter: @tangramcreamery
Hours: Wednesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (starting January 13, 2016)