Two University Friends Travelled to Hong Kong, Watched Ice Cream Made with Liquid Nitrogen, and Thought Vancouver Should Have That. Adele Agreed.
Michael Lai and Tommy Choi opened Mister Artisan Ice Cream in Yaletown in June 2016 after discovering liquid nitrogen ice cream parlours during travels in Hong Kong and New York. The name is a play on the mist produced by liquid nitrogen at -196°C. Adele stopped in with her son shortly after it opened and gave them a shout-out from the stage. They now have two Vancouver locations and 1,700 Google reviews.
August 11, 2026 · By Justin Plosz · Vancouver, British Columbia · Business · 7 min read read
What Liquid Nitrogen Does to Ice Cream
Traditional ice cream is made slowly — a mixture of cream, sugar, eggs, and flavourings chilled gradually until it freezes and sets. The slow freezing process produces relatively large ice crystals, and ice crystals are the enemy of texture: the larger they are, the more the ice cream feels grainy, heavy, or stiff rather than smooth.
Liquid nitrogen operates at -196°C. When you pour liquid nitrogen into an ice cream base, the mixture freezes in less than a minute. Freezing that fast produces ice crystals that are dramatically smaller — too small to register individually on the tongue. The result is a texture that is richer, creamier, and denser than conventional ice cream, without the additions (emulsifiers, stabilizers, guar gum) that commercial producers use to approximate that quality.
This is the science that Michael Lai and Tommy Choi encountered during their travels in Hong Kong, New York, and across Asia. Liquid nitrogen ice cream parlours had been expanding in those cities — the technique was known, the results were demonstrably better, and the visual drama of the nitrogen mist was its own advertisement.
The question Lai and Choi asked was simple: why doesn't Vancouver have this? They came back and built the answer.
The Name, the Mist, and the Building
Mister opened in June 2016 at 1141 Mainland Street in Yaletown — the space that had previously been occupied by Sweet Bake Shop. The name is a deliberate pun: liquid nitrogen at -196°C produces a dense white mist as it hits room-temperature air, and that mist is visible from across the shop, through the glass counter, in a display that is partly spectacle and partly real information about the process underway.
Mist-er. The people who named it knew what they were doing.
The interior was designed by Scott & Scott Architects, a Vancouver firm, who stripped the space back to its essentials: a glass counter, clean lines, exposed materials, nothing decorative that wasn't also structural. The branding was completed by Brief Studio, whose designers chose the silhouette of Mister's ice cream cups as the logo — a mark that communicates the product without showing it.
Each order is made individually in a KitchenAid mixer. You watch the base go in, you watch the liquid nitrogen get poured over it, you watch the mist billow and then clear, and then you receive what has just been made specifically for you. No scooping from a pre-frozen tub. No waiting. A minute from order to cup.
Adele, the Double Oreo, and What Happened Next
Mister opened in June 2016. A few weeks later, Adele was in Vancouver on tour. She visited the Mainland Street location with her three-year-old son. She ordered the double Oreo.
That night, at her Vancouver concert, she gave Mister a shout-out from the stage.
For a brand-new ice cream shop in its first month of operation, there is no equivalent of that. It was not a sponsored post. It was not a PR arrangement. It was a person who happened to be one of the most famous musicians in the world, visiting a shop that was a few weeks old, eating the double Oreo, and finding it good enough to mention by name to a sold-out arena.
The Vancouver Sun covered it. The story spread. And while Mister would have grown without Adele's endorsement — the product is genuinely excellent and the Yaletown location is well-positioned — the timing compressed what might have been a slower introduction to the city into something much faster.
By 2026, Mister had opened a second location at 1193 Robson Street in downtown Vancouver, accumulating 1,700 Google reviews at 4.3 stars and a consistent presence in articles about Vancouver's best ice cream.
The Menu: Seasonal, Rotating, Local
Mister's menu rotates based on season and demand. The founders' guiding principle is that ice cream should reflect what is actually available and good in the moment, rather than maintaining a fixed menu year-round.
The flavours that have appeared on the menu include Crème Brûlée, Avocado (which early reviewers described as 'truly unique — bits of buttery avocado in the ice cream'), Dark Chocolate, Double Oreo, and Lemon Frozen Yogurt. In more recent years the menu has expanded to include affogato, matcha, chocolate frappe, and other drinks alongside the ice cream program.
All ingredients are sourced from local BC farmers and producers where possible. This is not a marketing claim separate from the product — the natural ingredient sourcing is load-bearing for a shop that makes ice cream without industrial stabilizers or extracts. What goes into the mixer is what ends up in the cup.
Fresh-made pints are available for take-out — made to order in the same process as the in-shop servings, packaged for those who want to take the liquid nitrogen experience home. Both Vancouver locations carry the full menu.
Two Locations, One Process
Mister now has two locations in Vancouver.
The original Yaletown shop at 1141 Mainland Street is where it started: the Scott & Scott–designed interior, the glass counter, the KitchenAid mixers visible from the street. Yaletown is a neighbourhood of converted warehouse buildings and high-density residential towers, with a daytime population of tech workers and a weekend population of visitors from across the city. Mister fits its block the way a well-designed object fits a room — not because it competes with its surroundings but because it adds something that wasn't there.
The Robson Street location at 1193 Robson brings Mister into Vancouver's most pedestrian-dense retail corridor. Robson Street is where tourists and locals converge — it is the street every Vancouver resident has walked and every Vancouver visitor ends up on. A second location there is a different market proposition: the Yaletown shop is a destination, the Robson shop is an encounter.
Both locations use the same process: liquid nitrogen, KitchenAid mixers, natural ingredients, made to order. The phone number for both is (604) 620-8822. The shop opens at 2 pm. For the most current hours and menu, check madebymister.com or follow @madebymister on social media.
Key takeaways
- Mister Artisan Ice Cream was founded by university friends Michael Lai and Tommy Choi, who discovered liquid nitrogen ice cream during travels in Hong Kong and New York and opened their first Vancouver shop in June 2016 in Yaletown.
- Liquid nitrogen at -196°C freezes the ice cream base in under a minute, producing smaller ice crystals and a richer, creamier, denser texture than conventional ice cream — without industrial stabilizers or additives.
- Adele visited the Yaletown location with her three-year-old son shortly after opening, ordered the Double Oreo, and gave the shop a shout-out from the stage at her Vancouver concert that night — one of the most memorable unsolicited endorsements in Vancouver food history.
- The Yaletown interior was designed by Scott & Scott Architects (stripped-back, minimalist, glass counter) with branding by Brief Studio. The name 'Mister' is a pun on the mist produced by liquid nitrogen as it hits room-temperature air.
- Mister now has two Vancouver locations — 1141 Mainland St in Yaletown and 1193 Robson St downtown — with a seasonal rotating menu, all-natural locally sourced ingredients, and fresh-made pints available for take-out. Phone: (604) 620-8822.
- The shop holds a 4.3-star Google rating based on 1,700 reviews and has been consistently featured as one of Vancouver's best ice cream experiences since opening.
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Mister Artisan Ice Cream located in Vancouver?
- Mister Artisan Ice Cream has two Vancouver locations: 1141 Mainland Street in Yaletown (the original shop, which opened in June 2016) and 1193 Robson Street in downtown Vancouver. The phone number is (604) 620-8822 and the shop opens at 2 pm. Check madebymister.com for current hours.
- Who founded Mister Artisan Ice Cream?
- Mister was founded by Michael Lai and Tommy Choi, university friends who discovered liquid nitrogen ice cream during travels in Hong Kong and New York and decided to bring the concept to Vancouver. They opened the first shop in June 2016 at 1141 Mainland Street in Yaletown, in the space that had previously housed Sweet Bake Shop.
- What is liquid nitrogen ice cream and why is it better?
- Liquid nitrogen operates at -196°C. When poured into an ice cream base, it freezes the mixture in less than a minute. Freezing this quickly produces dramatically smaller ice crystals than conventional slow-freezing methods. Smaller crystals produce a richer, creamier, denser texture without the stabilizers or additives that commercial ice cream uses to approximate the same result. At Mister, each serving is made to order in a KitchenAid mixer — you watch the process, including the nitrogen mist, and receive freshly made ice cream in about a minute.
- Did Adele really visit Mister Artisan Ice Cream?
- Yes. Adele visited the Yaletown location shortly after it opened in 2016, with her three-year-old son. She ordered the Double Oreo flavour. That night, at her sold-out Vancouver concert, she gave Mister a shout-out from the stage. The Vancouver Sun covered the story. It remains one of the more memorable endorsements any Vancouver food business has received — unsolicited, unsponsored, and from the stage of an arena.
- What flavours does Mister Artisan Ice Cream offer?
- Mister's menu rotates seasonally. Flavours that have appeared include Crème Brûlée, Avocado, Dark Chocolate, Double Oreo, and Lemon Frozen Yogurt. The current menu also includes affogato, matcha, and other drinks. All ingredients are sourced from local BC farmers and producers. Fresh-made pints are also available for take-out, made by the same liquid nitrogen process.
- Who designed the Mister Artisan Ice Cream shop interior?
- The Yaletown location at 1141 Mainland Street was designed by Scott & Scott Architects, a Vancouver architecture and design firm. They stripped the space back to its essentials — glass counter, clean lines, minimal decoration — creating a setting where the ice cream-making process is the visual centrepiece. The branding was completed by Brief Studio, whose logo uses the silhouette of Mister's ice cream cups.
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