New World Mall Food Court

Now nearly in full operation, New World Mall features a large, Asian-style food court with a plethora of vendors to choose from.

The food ranges from gourmet lobster to take-out style dishes. However, most of the dishes in between are decently priced for New York City, averaging about $5 for a large serving of beef noodle soup.

But more attractive than the main courses are the desserts, particularly “Taiwanese” ice.

For about $5 you can get a large bowl of shaved frozen mango concentrate topped with canned mango, strawberry, Chinese jelly, milk, and a small scoop of ice cream. Other flavors include green tea, taro, and traditional, but most opt for one of the mango options. We ordered a mango/strawberry ice, which was quite delicious. However, compared to its authentic Taiwanese counterpart, this ice was much too sweet.

Real Taiwanese ice uses plain crushed ice topped with several spoonfuls of fresh mango and a generous scoop of mango ice cream. The result is less sweet and seemingly healthier. Whether this is true or not, dessert is dessert and New World Mall at least allows New Yorkers the opportunity to try something similar to what is sold in Taiwan and Asia for a fairly decent price.