Sponge cake, then black sesame
Start with Kam Hing for sponge cake. End at Chinatown Ice Cream Factory for a scoop. Add Na Tart only if you want the egg-tart detour.
The move
Do Kam Hing Coffee Shop → Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.
That is the clean dessert follow-up after Mei Lai Wah and Shu Jiao Fu Zhou because it changes temperature, texture, and mood. Kam Hing gives you the old-school Chinatown bakery thing without making you eat another heavy bun: a warm, airy sponge cake that is cheap, soft, and better with coffee or milk tea. Chinatown Ice Cream Factory gives you the neighborhood institution finish: black sesame, taro, pandan, lychee, almond cookie, red bean, durian if you are feeling brave.
If you want a third sweet bite, make it Na Tart for a Portuguese-style egg tart. But I would treat that as an optional sparkle, not the spine of the route. After pork buns, dumplings, and peanut noodles, the best dessert move is light cake plus ice cream, not a full bakery crawl.
Stop 1: Kam Hing Coffee Shop
Order: original sponge cake if it is warm, plus one flavor if something looks good. Matcha, pandan, ube, coconut, black sesame, and chocolate-chip style flavors show up in public listings, but the plain one is the control sample.
Kam Hing is the right first dessert stop because it does not fight the food you already ate. The sponge cake is soft and almost weightless, more like a warm edible pause than a final course. Get one per person if you want restraint. Get a small box if you want the move to become a walking snack later.
Link: New Kam Hing
Stop 2: Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
Order: black sesame if you want the best serious scoop; almond cookie if you want something warmer and sweeter; lychee, taro, pandan, or red bean if you want the classic Chinatown Ice Cream Factory flavor board.
This is the better closer because it feels like a real finish. Chinatown Ice Cream Factory has been around since 1978 and still works because the flavors are not just novelty. Black sesame has depth. Almond cookie tastes like the neighborhood translated into ice cream. Lychee cuts through salt and oil if dinner got heavy. If they have a rotating special that sounds strange in a good way, ask for a taste.
Link: Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
Optional detour: Na Tart
Order: original egg tart first. Only branch into the modern flavors if the case looks fresh and you actually want another rich bite.
Na Tart is the pick if someone in the group specifically wants egg tarts. It is more modern than the older Cantonese bakery route, and that can be good after a classic crawl because it gives the night a little gloss. But egg tart after Mei Lai Wah can feel like too much pastry unless you are sharing.
Link: Na Tart
The order card
Best dessert route:
- Kam Hing: original sponge cake, plus one flavor if it calls to you.
- Chinatown Ice Cream Factory: black sesame or almond cookie.
If you want one extra:
- Na Tart: original egg tart, shared.
My pick: original sponge cake, then black sesame ice cream. It is cleaner, less obvious, and better after a savory Chinatown run.
Source trail
- New Kam Hing’s site names its sponge cakes as the house product and lists boxes/flavors: https://www.newkamhing.com/
- Apple Maps/search-visible listings and local chatter point to Kam Hing as the Chinatown sponge-cake stop, with original plus flavors like pandan, matcha, ube, black sesame, and coconut.
- Chinatown Ice Cream Factory’s official site says it is family-run and has served homemade ice cream in Chinatown since 1978: https://www.chinatownicecreamfactory.com/
- Public listings and restaurant coverage repeatedly name Chinatown Ice Cream Factory flavors such as black sesame, taro, red bean, pandan, lychee, durian, almond cookie, and green tea.
- Na Tart’s official site positions it as a modern handmade egg-tart shop with a Manhattan Chinatown location: https://www.natartnyc.com/
- X/Grok and Reddit radar supported the same dessert cluster: Kam Hing for sponge cake, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory for scoops, and egg tarts from Na Tart/Tao Hong/nearby bakeries as the add-on.