Binki Cafe brings cotton candy-wrapped ice cream and layered “Galaxy Tea” to University City

The bubble tea and ice cream bar’s original New York location made a splash last year with viral video coverage of its cutesy cotton candy creations but has since rebranded and closed.

The Charlotte location, owned by Kenix Yuan, opened in January of this year. You’ll find it at 9211 N. Tryon St. near UNC Charlotte.

Binki’s menu features signature cotton candy-wrapped ice cream, Thai-style rolled ice cream, smoothies and assorted teas, including bubble tea, milk cap tea and eye-catching layered Galaxy tea.

Galaxy Tea: Layered combinations of fruit juice, seltzer water and flower tea create colorful drinks topped off with flashing LED ice cubes. Heads up: A note on the menu says the flower tea used in these drinks is not recommended during pregnancy. They’re served in cute reusable heart-shaped cups and are $5.49 each.

Galaxy tea flavors:

• Hong Kong – Orange, yakult, flower tea
• Iceland – Lime, seltzer water, flower tea
• Tokyo – Strawberry, yakult, flower tea
• New York – Five-fruit mix, flower tea
• Los Angeles – Grapefruit, flower tea
• Seoul – Pineapple, lime, flower tea

Cotton candy ice cream: We’re not talking cotton candy-flavored ice cream here. At Binki’s you get an elaborate cotton candy character wrapped around a waffle cone filled with your choice of one of eight ice cream flavors.

Just choose your character (Yellow Chick, Miss Kitty, Panda, Rainbow, Thunder Bomb) and ice cream filling (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, butter pecan, cookies & cream, chocolate chip, Rocky Road, mint chocolate), and they’ll get to work handcrafting your cone.

Note the yellow chick and Miss Kitty characters aren’t available during peak hours because of their more elaborate design work.

Rolled ice cream, milk teas and more: Binki’s rolled ice cream is available in nine flavors. The liquid ice cream base is poured onto a frozen slab, spread thin and then scraped into rolls of ice cream. Assorted milk teas, smoothies and milk caps are also available. See full menus below.

Binki Charlotte full menu: