Forget the snowcone. Summer’s latest frozen treat may be a bit too much for some to handle.
Asian-style shaved ice has been popping up everywhere lately, known as patbingsu at Korean shops, kakigori in Japanese eateries and baobingat Taiwanese snack shops. We’re not talking the stuff you cranked out of a Snoopy snowcone machine and squirted with colorful syrup — think of it as an Asian banana split on steroids.
For starters, there’s scoops of ice cream or tart frozen yogurt blanketed with silky shaved ice. Then it’s doused in flavored syrup and typically topped with diced bananas, kiwi, mango and strawberry, sweet red beans and condensed milk – all of which makes for a giant smorgasbord of a dessert that can easily be shared among a small army.
The shaved ice trend has spread from boba and tea shops in Asian-populated cities like Rowland Heights and San Gabriel Valley to Orange County neighborhoods like Garden Grove, Buena Park and Irvine. Even frozen yogurt shops like Pinkberry, ceFiore and Yogurtland offer the icy treats.
At The Camp, an uber-slick retail center in Costa Mesa, milk + honey just opened its doors to serve organic teas, coffees – and shaved ice.
“We’re located in a pretty hip and diverse area and thought it would be cool to offer the traditional Asian-style shaved ice and get it out there more,” said milk + honey owner Jee Shin. “Other frozen yogurt shops offer it as a side item but I wanted to make the shaved ice the main part of the dessert here.”
The “milk + honey special” starts with a dollop of frozen yogurt (the current seasonal flavor is lychee), then it’s coated with shaved ice in the flavored syrup of your liking and spackled with nuggets of marshmallow soft mochi (a glutinous rice cake), sweet red beans, banana, kiwi, strawberry, mango and finally, a healthy splash of milk and drizzle of honey.
If you’re familiar with the other Asian styles of shaved ice, you might appreciate the lighter approach – the milk and honey make for a deliciously refreshing extra. The combination of sweet, icy, creamy and the tang from the tropical fruits keeps me happily plowing through — spoonful after spoonful.
Milk + honey’s regular shaved ice starts at $3.75 (or $4.75 for a large). Bring a friend and split the large special for $6.50 or $5.75 for a small. Syrup-wise, there’s strawberry, green tea, raspberry, mango, passion fruit and key lime pie. Then you can choose from the usual assortment of fruit and cereal toppings — it’s 75 cents for the first topping, 50 cents for the second and 25 cents for the third.
If you’re looking for the granddaddy of all shaved ices, then look no further than Guppy House in Anaheim. The small teahouse chain is known for its staggering, mountainous portions. At $10, the small size easily rivals the size of a basketball or for $24, you and possibly six to 10 of your friends can dive into a bucket-sized portion of Taiwanese-style shaved ice. A few years ago, Guppy offered precariously towering servings that reached around two to three feet high, which often resulted in messy spillages. Now, the super-sized treats are served in wider, deep-dish bowls that are about a foot and a half long. Guppy House is opening a location in Irvine at the new Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center. Toppings vary from the usual fruit, boba and condensed milk combinations to Oreos and ice cream, but trust me on this – stick to the fresh fruit and ice cream variety.
For more manageable and less fussy portions, consider Sakura Saku in Huntington Beach. The Japanese take-out eatery offers shaved ice in beverage-sized plastic cups. For about $2, I tried the mango milk shaved ice with azuki red bean paste. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that the mango flavor was from real, fresh fruit. The strawberry milk flavor with a mound of vanilla ice cream was another delightful choice and could easily appeal to a child or adult.
Contact the writer: knguyen@ocregister.com or 714-796-2298
