xue hua bing: Taiwanese shaved ice dessert [View all]

[AsahinaKimi]

As you can see in the photo above, the snow ice comes off the blocks in thin, curvy ripples, and they're paired with fresh fruits and fruit purees.



A block of strawberry-flavored ice is being mounted onto a shave ice machine



Pink Lady, a strawberry-flavored shave ice topped with strawberry syrup, strawberry, litchi coco, passion fruit, popping boba and rainbow sprinkles.


Janice Kuo, owner of Snowflake Cafe and Dessert, shaves a block of mango-flavored shaved ice onto a plate at their store in Pleasanton, Calif.



Tropic Mango, a mango-flavored shave ice topped with mango, litchi coco, yogurt popping boba, mango sauce and rainbow sprinkles.

Flavorings such as green tea or chocolate are mixed into a base of milk and water, then frozen into cylindrical blocks that look like giant candles. The blocks are mounted onto an ice shaver, which slices it off in sheets - thin enough that they melt in the mouth, much like cotton candy. It's very low-calorie and low in sugar.