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Is anyone else melting under this hot summer sun? What better way to cool down than with a brain freeze-inducing iced dessert? Known by many names across Asia—kakigōri, bingsu, baobing, and namkhaeng sai, to name a few—shaved ice desserts are a summer staple and a total lifesaver in Hong Kong. Here are some of the best spots in Hong Kong for shaved ice desserts so you can treat yourself to a delicious and well-deserved cooldown.
Korean-style shaved ice is more like powdered ice flakes, and they are so soft and delicate that you don’t even need to chew—the spoonful of bingsu will simply melt in your mouth!
Dig into a huge selection of Korean shaved ice desserts at Nun Desserts Café, which offers more traditional flavours like the green tea and red bean sherbert, covered in matcha powder with red bean sauce drizzled on top and served with a scoop of matcha ice cream and crispy cornflakes on the side for additional texture. If you are looking for something adventurous, don’t miss the D24 durian ice, where a scoop of durian ice cream sits on top of a sizable chunk of fresh durian meat, which in turn sits on top of a mound of durian-flavoured ice flakes.
Nun Desserts Café, 119 Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok | (+852) 5791 2141
If you’re a fan of mango sticky rice, but want a less hearty version of the meal, then After You’s menu can satisfy that craving. Aside from the bestselling mango sticky rice toast in its popular toast menu, After You has also created an icy iteration of the dish with its mango sticky rice kakigōri. Other foreign flavours include Thai tea kakigōri, two tone kakigōri, and Milo volcano kakigōri. But if you want to go for a classic instead, the strawberry cheesecake kakigōri is also a must-try item, with real strawberries and mini cheesecake bites hidden within the fluffy iced dessert.
After You, Shop G24-25, Lee Tung Avenue, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island | (+852) 2312 2038
Japanese shaved ice—also known as kakigōri—is the perfect summer treat. Shari Shari Kakigōri House does some of the best Japanese shaved ice desserts in town, with seasonal flavours like mango and passion fruit on rotation, as well as generous portions to boot. Our favourites include the Earl Grey milk tea kakigōri, which comes with a Shiratama mochi hidden in every bite, and the matcha cream special kakigōri, slathered in matcha sauce and served with an extra pot of plain yoghurt on the side.
At Shari Shari Kakigōri House, you are only limited by your own imagination: Customise your kakigōri with different add-on toppings like the traditional adzuki red beans and kinako syrup, as well as more outlandish selections like Oreo chunks and Hokkaido panna cotta so you experience different textures as you work your way down!
Shari Shari Kakigori House, locations across Hong Kong Island
Taiwanese shaved ice—also known as tsuabing—is yet another form of shaved ice dessert, and this refreshing iteration is quite similar to the snow cones you will find at carnivals. What sets them apart are the toppings; at Meet Fresh, the most popular option is the traditional red bean milk shaved ice, covered in condensed milk and piles of red bean paste. We would also recommend the pudding mochi shaved ice, made of egg pudding, taro balls, and mochi, which combines the best of what Asian sweets have to offer!
For local flavours, check out the resident favourite Auntie Sweet. Launched by famed TVB producer Jonathan Chik and actor Moses Chan, the dessert shop offers a variety of traditional Hong Kong sweet treats, such as hot tofu curd, eight-treasure taro ball, and mango with grass jelly. Its shaved ice flavours are both familiar and innovative, with the peanut-butter-flavoured Mr. Hong Kong and the strawberry-yoghurt-flavoured Puppy Love being worth every spoonful. Meanwhile, those looking to taste something more unique can try Ruby Umbrella, with crunchy pieces of dried dragon fruit and strawberry flakes hidden within the bold magenta dessert.
Another Taiwanese shaved ice restaurant that’s worth checking out is T-Fresh; its signature jumbo shaved ice with milk is truly a sight to behold. With build-your-own options of choosing any five toppings made from traditional Taiwanese ingredients—including taro balls, mashed sweet potato, mashed taro, egg pudding, brown sugar jelly, grass jelly, red bean, tapioca balls, Chinese pearl barley, red kidney bean, and peanuts—you can customise your tsuabing to your heart’s desire. . Similarly, its jumbo shaved ice with black sugar offers a sweeter version with the same variety of toppings. Here’s a tip: Bring a friend and order two bowls of shaved ice so you can share all the toppings between yourselves!
Flying in all the way from Bangkok, you know you can expect excellent milk-tea-flavoured desserts from ChaTraMue if it claims to be the best in Thailand. ChaTraMue not only whips up a mean traditional Thai iced tea, but it also offers a Thai tea bingsu dessert with adjustable ice amount and sweetness level, a pretty rare option when it comes to shaved ice desserts. Known in Thailand as namkhaeng sai, this mountain of airy shaved ice comes with a thick cream topping that gently rolls down the milk tea slope. Isn’t that just one of the most appetising things you can think of on a hot summer’s day?
A semi-hidden gem on Cheung Chau, Cheung Chau Bing Sutt is a must-visit for day-trippers looking to cool off after a jaunt across the sleepy island. Specialising in Hong Kong-style desserts that cover the gamut of tong sui to tofu pudding, one can also find sago pudding and shaved ice on the menu. Indulge in unique treats like the Baileys shaved ice with red beans and taro balls, the perennially popular mango shaved ice with taro balls, or the coconut shaved ice with red beans and taro balls.
Cheung Chau Bing Sutt, 19C Pak She Praya Road, Cheung Chau | (+852) 2981 2982
First published on 15 July 2020. Written by Ching Yuen. Last updated by Punita Chan.
Covering the hottest new eats, the best places to play, offbeat takes on local culture, and so much more, Localiiz is every Hongkonger’s destination for how to live a well-rounded life in our vibrant city. Why the strange spelling? Well, Localiiz is designed to be your “local eyes”—and for that, you need two i’s.
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