Ok, so I know Canal St is a super random place in NYC, but, if you, for some odd reason, find yourself meandering in the area, you must RUN – not walk – to the Canal Street Market.

What is it? Well, it’s a market that is half-filled with the cutest little boutiques (mostly Asian-inspired trinkets – all trendy AF) and a mini food hall with Korean cooking & sweets. MY LITERAL FAVE.

They had two places with vegan options that were 10/10 good. One was Lazy Sundaes (that sells Bingsoo and boba drinks) and Joe’s Steam Rice Roll that sells – you guessed it – steamed rice rolls. Both are a MUST try.

1. Lazy Sundaes

Ok, I’m not kidding, this Bingsoo was probably one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth and I’ve put a lot of things in my mouth *cue the smirk* For those of you who don’t know what Bingsoo is, it’s essentially Korean shaved “ice” but this place can make it with shaved oat milk ice. Then you add your base flavor and toppings.

We got the matcha Bingsoo, which came with matcha shaved oat milk, sweetened condensed milk (ask for the coconut milk version), soybean powder, mochi, and red bean. I mean COME ON. How is this even real!? All my favorite flavors in one cup. I feel like this is what Jesus would offer me at the gates of heaven. Unreal. You must try.

2. Joe’s Steam Rice Roll

So, for like years, I’ve been seeing vegan YouTuber’s eat steamed rice rolls and have been dying to try them, but didn’t know where to get them. That is, ntil I literally stumbled upon this place. For those of you who don’t know, steamed rice rolls are exactly what they sound like – a steamed rice noodle (of sorts) wrapped around veggies with a delicious sauce. Their vegetarian one is vegan (we asked), so we got that one. 10/10. Even my non-vegan friend Catherine loved and finished hers. It might look odd, but it tastes awesome.  

So, you heard it here first: if you’re looking for trendy boutiques and food stands, this is your spot.