There are everyday favorites… and then there are flavors that mark a moment in time. The ones tied to tradition. The ones that carry meaning beyond taste. The ones you wait for.
To welcome Lunar New Year and usher in the Year of the Horse, we’re bringing back a pop that appears just once a year — our Jasmine Mooncake Pop — and it truly sets the tone for the season ahead.
At its heart, this pop begins with Yunnan White Jasmine tea leaves, gently steeped into cream to create a jasmine ice cream that is soft, floral, and layered with nuance. Jasmine is not loud; it’s elegant. It opens slowly on the palate, offering aroma first, then warmth, then depth.
But what transforms this from a jasmine pop into a Lunar New Year celebration is what sits at the top.
Each pop is crowned with a slice of black sugar mooncake from Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery, a beloved fixture in Honolulu’s Chinatown. Mooncakes are more than seasonal pastries — they are symbolic foods traditionally shared during moments of reunion and renewal. They represent prosperity, family, and the sweetness of a new year ahead.
The black sugar mooncake brings a caramel richness and tender crumb that contrasts beautifully with the cool jasmine cream beneath it. The depth of the brown sugar, the subtle chew, and the nostalgic character of a traditional Chinatown bakery pastry elevate the entire experience. It is not simply a topping — it is the bridge between heritage and craft.
By pairing fragrant jasmine ice cream with a classic mooncake, we are honoring the cultural roots of Lunar New Year while expressing them through our own frozen, small-batch lens.
At Pop Culture Artisan Pops, we make it a point to source at least one meaningful ingredient for every flavor. Working with Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery is about more than flavor — it’s about celebrating a local institution that has preserved traditional Chinese baking techniques and festival foods for decades.
Chinatown’s food culture is layered, resilient, and deeply important to Honolulu’s history. Featuring their mooncake in this limited release allows us to participate in that story in a way that feels thoughtful and intentional.
This is a flavor built on respect for tradition, craftsmanship, and community.
Celebrate With Us!
We’ll be serving this special Lunar New Year release — along with your favorite freshies — during this weekend’s celebration in Chinatown and again at Kakaʻako Farmers Market until next weekend only.
If you’ve been waiting for something to mark the start of the new year, this is it. The Jasmine Mooncake Pop is available for a very limited time, and once the season passes, it returns to the vault until next Lunar New Year.
Some flavors only come around once a year.
This one is worth showing up for. 🧧✨
