Powder Matcha Shaved Ice: This Taiwanese shaved ice shop on Divisadero in San Francisco has a variety of Asian flavors like black sesame, matcha, and Vietnamese coffee. Having had their excellent black sesame on a previous trip, I opted for matcha, which was shaved into thin, overlapping ribbons. While I remembered the black sesame shaved ice being remarkably light, this one texturally was more dense, with the ice cream packing together less than 1/3 of the way through. The matcha flavor, though, is very good and ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
recommended icecream taiwanese sanfrancisco powder matcha shaved ice 3.0Powder Ube shaved ice with mochi and condensed milk: This is the third flavor I've had from Powder, a Taiwanese shaved ice shop in San Francisco. The first, black sesame, was excellent, with a light texture but creamy flavor. The second, matcha, had a great green tea flavor but was more dense in texture. This last one was, unfortunately, the worst texturally, which is apparent from just the image itself - the starchy potato may have made it harder to achieve the same airy consistency that the black sesame ice had. Ube is a seasonal summer ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream ube sanfrancisco taiwanese shavedice powder shaved ice mochi condensed milk 3.0Uji Time Tofu Soft Serve: This flavor has eluded me for several months. I sampled the tofu the first time I ever came to this Japanese ice cream shop in Berkeley and loved it but opted for the classic black sesame for my first cup. Ever subsequent time I went back to Uji, the tofu was sold out. Finally, a few months ago, I was able to get it, but this time, the texture had degraded a bit, with the soft serve being uncharacteristically icy. Still, the soy milk flavor is excellent and easily identifiable to anyone ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
softserve icecream berkeley soymilk soy ujitime tofu soft serve 3.0Kekou Almond tofu gelato: Tofu jelly with canned fruits is a classic Chinese banquet dessert made not with actual tofu but with gelatin, sugar, water, and almond extract. It was one of my favorite sweets to eat growing up, so I was excited to see the flavor at the menu at Kekou, an ice cream shop off Spadina in Toronto specializing in asian flavors. Kekou doesn’t use any stabilizers, which translates to gelato that’s more fresh but not quite as smooth. The tofu gelato was a little icy and a bit too sweet for my palat... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream Toronto kekou almond tofu gelato 3.0 dessertFK Frozen Custard Black Sesame and Matcha White Chocolate Ice Cream: The last time I had ice cream from FK Frozen Custard, the brand was still named "Frozen Kuhsterd," and they were a food-truck-only business. Now they have a brick and mortar in the Lower Haight in SF, still offering a mix of classic flavors and asian-inspired options like black sesame, milk tea, and ube. I ordered one scoop with two flavors, which was generously sized and easily sharable – though I had the entire scoop for myself. (: My previous experience with Frozen Kuhsterd involved an ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream sf blacksesame matcha fkfrozencustard black sesame white chocolate ice cream 3.0 sanfranciscoMorgenstern’s Fourth of July special with strawberry and buttered popcorn softserve : Two summer treats, swirled into an unlikely softserve combination, topped with a smattering of patriotic sprinkles and a blueberry syrup. Individually, the two flavors were pretty compelling - the strawberry was sweet and refreshing, and the buttered popcorn was creamy and had a distinct salted savory flavor. Together, though, they didn’t quite work - and it was expensive, at $7. I don’t think we’ll see strawberry-flavored buttered popcorn on the shelves anytime soon. 3.0/5.0
nyc softserve icecream dessert morgensterns fourth of july special strawberry buttered popcorn 3.0