Asian Ice Cream Salt Lake City: How Jade Ganrayanapoj Brought Thailand's Dessert Soul to Downtown SLC at WanYen

There's a moment when you walk into WanYen, right across from Pioneer Park in downtown Salt Lake City, when the smell hits you—that unmistakable sweetness of caramelized sugar from the caramel butter toast mingling with the floral notes of pandan-infused ice cream cones. It's a scent that transports you somewhere far from Utah, to the bustling night markets of Bangkok where Jade Ganrayanapoj first fell in love with the art of making people happy through frozen desserts. 

The shop opened in May 2025, and it's already become the kind of place people whisper about—"Have you been to that new Asian ice cream spot downtown?" One Yelp reviewer captures it perfectly: "Don't skip the sticky rice -- it's subtly sweet, chewy, and pairs beautifully with any of their ice creams." And honestly? That's underselling it.

From Tech Worker to Ice Cream Artisan: The WanYen Origin Story

Jade Ganrayanapoj came to Utah from Thailand about 13 years ago. After graduating from Weber State University, she started working in tech, but it wasn't long before she realized it wasn't her passion. She was good at it—network management technology, solid career path, everything her immigrant journey was supposed to lead to. But there was this nagging feeling every time she sat at her desk.

The turning point came from a simple experiment: making matcha ice cream at home. That first batch wasn't just good—it was a revelation. She started thinking about all the flavors from her childhood in Thailand, all the desserts she couldn't find anywhere in Utah. The ube from Filipino celebrations, the black sesame from Japanese confections, the Thai tea that everyone back home drank but nobody here seemed to make into ice cream.

So while continuing to work full time in tech, she turned ice cream into a side hustle, selling her creations at farmers markets and the Utah Asian Festival.  And people kept asking the same question: "Where can I buy more of this?" Week after week, market after market, the question persisted until it became impossible to ignore.

It took about a year to find the right location—a former boba tea spot in The Olive apartment complex, across the street from Pioneer Park—and after a month of renovation, Ganrayanapoj launched WanYen, which has a double meaning of "shaved ice" and "sweet and cold" in Thai.  The name itself is a promise: authentic flavors, made with love, in a place where cold things bring people together.

The Asian Ice Cream Experience: What Makes WanYen Different

Here's what you need to understand about homemade ice cream in Salt Lake City: most places do one or two things really well. WanYen does everything really well because Ganrayanapoj and her team make all their ice cream in-house, in small batches, and with real fruit, without any artificial sweeteners. 

Walk up to the ice cream case and you're looking at a lineup that reads like a passport stamp collection. Thai tea, ube (purple yam from the Philippines), peach oolong, milk powder imported from Japan, black sesame, coconut, and the vibrant green matcha that started it all.  In a separate freezer, WanYen even stocks durian ice cream, flavored with the spiky tropical fruit that's so smelly it's banned on public transport in some Asian countries. 

One customer raves about "The Milky Hokkaido was so good."  Another swears by the "Charcoal and Hokkaido, perfect combo."  The Hokkaido milk powder—imported from Japan specifically for its creamy, almost caramel-like sweetness—has become such a hit that people are ordering double scoops just to get more of it.

But the real showstopper? The mango sticky rice ice cream plate ($10.95), which comes with sliced mango, sticky rice and a scoop of ice cream.  Now that WanYen has released a mango sticky rice flavored ice cream, you can get mango sticky rice in two different forms on the same plate. The whole dessert is vegan, with the creamy richness coming from coconut milk. 

The mango sticky rice ice cream is actually two ice creams swirled together: a mango sorbet, and a coconut-based ice cream infused with pandan.  The Salt Lake Tribune food writer described it as "just so elegant, and a delight to eat, with different textures and flavors playing off one another perfectly." 

And get this—they even make their own ice cream cones, in flavors like pandan (Asian vanilla), charcoal and ube, plus chocolate and vanilla. When was the last time you went to an ice cream shop that made their own cones?

The menu extends beyond scoops too. The decadent caramel butter toast, Thai tea ice cream float with grass jelly, strawberry ice cream parfait and banana ice cream split are all worth the trip alone. The caramel butter toast especially—thick-cut bread caramelized to a crispy, golden exterior that stays fluffy inside, served warm with ice cream melting into all those buttery nooks. It's the kind of dessert that makes you understand why people drive across town for it.

Downtown Salt Lake's Newest Dessert Destination

WanYen joins other excellent Asian-influenced dessert shops in the city, like Doki Doki and Chubby Baker, but it's carving out its own unique space in Salt Lake City's evolving food scene. The downtown location matters—Pioneer Park has been undergoing a revitalization, and WanYen is part of that cultural shift, bringing authentic international flavors to a neighborhood hungry for them.

The space itself reflects Jade's aesthetic sensibility—clean lines, plenty of natural light, and enough seating that you can actually sit and enjoy your ice cream rather than eating it in your car. One Yelp reviewer notes, "The mango sticky rice and ice cream sounds amazing! The space has a lot of seating and nice natural..." 

This is craft ice cream done right. Small batch production means flavors can rotate based on what's available and what Jade wants to experiment with. Real fruit means you're tasting actual mango, actual strawberries, actual peach oolong tea—not some laboratory approximation. And the absence of artificial sweeteners means the flavors are cleaner, more nuanced, more... honest.

Planning Your Visit to WanYen

Address: 378 W Broadway, Suite 115, Salt Lake City, UT 84101 (in The Olive apartment complex, directly across from Pioneer Park)

Hours:

• Monday: Closed
• Tuesday-Thursday: 12:00 PM - 9:00 PM
• Friday-Saturday: 12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
• Sunday: 12:00 PM - 9:00 PM

What to Order:
Start with the mango sticky rice ice cream plate if you want the full WanYen experience. Don't skip the sticky rice—it's subtly sweet, chewy, and pairs beautifully with any of their ice creams.  Try the Hokkaido milk flavor  if you want something creamy and familiar with an exotic twist. The Thai tea float with grass jelly is perfect for warm summer evenings. And if you're feeling adventurous, the black sesame offers a nutty, almost savory complexity that'll change how you think about ice cream.

Parking: Street parking available on Broadway and surrounding streets. The downtown location also puts you within walking distance of other Pioneer Park area attractions.

Follow them: @wanyen.slc on Instagram for updates on new flavors and seasonal specials

In a state that consumes more ice cream per capita than almost anywhere else in America, WanYen is offering something Utah's never quite had before: authentic Asian ice cream made by someone who grew up eating these exact flavors. Customers love the adorable space, customizable options, and the unique, flavorful experience WanYen brings to the table. 

Jade took the risk. She left the safe tech job, found the space, figured out the small-batch production, imported the Hokkaido milk powder, perfected the pandan cone recipe. And now downtown Salt Lake City has a place where you can taste what "sweet and cold" means in Thai—where every scoop carries the story of a woman who believed Utah was ready for something different.

Ready to experience downtown SLC's most authentic Asian ice cream? WanYen is open Tuesday through Sunday at 378 W Broadway. Start with the mango sticky rice plate, stay for the Hokkaido milk, and leave planning your next visit.