The space inside is an interesting twist on fancy but modern with various chandeliers and apparent bird them with cages and paintings. The space is sizeable, holding roughly 30-40 seats. Their menu is a large variation of different fruit toppings in either shaved ice or milk – all ranging between $6-8 per dish.
We tried the Papaya milkshake and Mango soda to start. The papaya milkshake was delicious, not too creamy and sweet but just enough to be refreshing and enjoyable. The portion was good for the price ($4.95).
My Mango Soda was more fizzier than I thought it would be and only slightly sweet – which I enjoyed. I love ordering drinks with dessert, but often I find places make drinks just as sweet as dessert which overpowers the tastebuds.
The first desserts to arrive to our table are the pancakes: Mango and Durian ($3.50 each). Wrapped in a green pancake that is slightly doughy is fresh cream and either the mango or durian inside. The mango was ripe and the creaminess mixed with the mango was very enjoyable. It was a nice, light dessert. Durian is not everyone’s favourite, but I’d imagine if you enjoy it, you would enjoy it in this form as well.
Our Mango, kiwi and riceball with homemade shaved ice dish arrived next ($7.95). It is a good portion and the fruit had a nice contrast with mango being very ripe and sweet and kiwi being slightly tart.
The next dessert is the Strawberry and black sticky rice with homemade shaved ice ($7.95). Again, good portion either for a hungry person or shared by two people. The sticky black rice was a little on the tough side, but softened after poured a bit of the shaved ice on top.
The Grass jelly with green tea homemade shaved ice ($6.50) is a nice change from the regular shaved ice. The green tea being not particularly sweet complimented the grass jelly.
The last dish is Mango and basil seed (which look a lot like chia seeds, but I assure are not) with mango home made shaved ice ($6.95). The mangoes were ripe and the basil seeds were an interesting addition to the dish. It does serve a purpose to increase the healthiness of the dish but doesn’t really add to any flavour.
Overall, I felt that these desserts were lacking in complexity – after a while they all started to taste the same. Although they offer different variations, I think it would be wise for them to add different types of desserts to their mix or offer other flavours of shaved ice. Would I visit again? Most likely not, as there wasn’t one dish that I thought was too memorable or worth a second visit.
I didn’t feel particularly welcome either, as our server sauntered over and took our order and for the rest of the evening stood with the other servers behind the counter chatting. Given the fancy decor and the way they are positioning themselves, I was expecting a bit more service in that regard as opposed your typical Asian eatery.
Disclosure: Please note I was invited by ChineseBites but all opinions are my own.
Food: 2.5
Service: 1
Value: 3
Ambiance: 3
OVERALL: 1
