As the school year draws to a close and the weather grows hotter and hotter, an air of anticipation blankets the school. Out with the old, and in with the new: everyone feels that the year is wrapping up. There’s just something to be said about the last quarter of the year- the end of an era dawns upon us. But, when a chapter ends, a new one begins. New Territories Eats & Sweets, an ice cream shop with Hong Kong flavor that recently opened in Fair Lawn, has the same mentality. Originally opened in Chinatown, New York, New Territories is far from home, starting fresh. 

The shop itself is located on River Road in Fair Lawn. In terms of location, it’s a bit random- you have to look very carefully for the entrance sign. As I walked in, the shop was buzzing with conversation. Decorated in a color scheme of orange, pink, and yellow hues, the ice cream counter takes the main stage. Turning the corner,  the place is clean and modern, with comfortable seating in the back part of the shop. New Territories has a large variety of flavors: ranging from the usual chocolate and vanilla, to my personal favorite, thai tea ice cream. Their menu includes specialty flavors that would be difficult to find elsewhere, such as cinnamon donut ice cream, Tokyo banana, and earl gray. In addition to ice cream, they sell 2 signature milkshakes: “Unicorn Parade and Mr. Grumpy”. Also, notable is their bubble waffle, which originates from Hong Kong, and serves as a delicious ice cream cone. 

I tried 3 flavors of ice cream: matcha, cinnamon donut, and thai tea. The matcha ice cream was delicious, subtly sweet and not too overpoweringly bitter. The cinnamon donut was not my favorite- it was way too sugary for my palate, but if you prefer sweet ice cream, cinnamon donut was on the spot. It tasted exactly like a freshly sugared donut. Finally, the Thai tea flavor was the winner for me. It was sweet, and had a slight kick to it. If you like Thai iced tea, Thai tea ice cream will blow your mind. I also tried a bubble waffle with Nutella. The bubble waffle was delicious, but I would recommend ordering it as an ice cream cone instead of on the side. When it comes to price, well, you pay for what you get. A single scoop at Baskin-Robbins is about 3 dollars, compared to a 4.50 single scoop at New Territories.

My overall opinion on New Territories is that it’s definitely worth a try. Will it be my new to-go ice cream shop? Probably not. It’s 8 minutes away from Glen Rock, and it’s a tad bit pricier than my usual ice cream fix. But, I would definitely go again. The place was clean and the ice cream was delicious. About starting new chapters- New Territories did it, so why shouldn’t we? As we enter graduation season, everyone deserves a scoop.