Shaved ice is usually eaten on a hot day, particularly during the summer. Malaysia is summer all year round… which means we have an excuse anytime to eat shaved ice! The Malaysian version of shaved ice is in the form of either ice kacang or cendol and they’re well-loved by many.
However, in recent times, with the growing popularity of East Asian pop cultures, the Korean and Japanese versions have been gaining more and more attention. Let’s take a look at the ones in Klang Valley today, shall we?
However, in recent times, with the growing popularity of East Asian pop cultures, the Korean and Japanese versions have been gaining more and more attention. Let’s take a look at the ones in Klang Valley today, shall we?
☆ KAKIGORI ☆
Kakigori and bingsu may be similar in appearance, but what makes kakigori different is that the shaved ice, by default, is tasteless. For it to be flavourful, sweet condiments and ingredients are essential. On top of this, the ice melts very easily too, so you're free to take your sweet little time with it!
Kakigori and bingsu may be similar in appearance, but what makes kakigori different is that the shaved ice, by default, is tasteless. For it to be flavourful, sweet condiments and ingredients are essential. On top of this, the ice melts very easily too, so you're free to take your sweet little time with it!
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Kakigori may as well be known as the one that started the kakigori craze in Klang Valley. (Remember the time when they made rounds on the internet?) When there’s kakigori, there’s bound to be green tea flavors. What makes Kakigori’s green tea flavor special is that they source their green tea all the way from Kyoto’s Marujyu-Koyamaen, a company that has a history stretching hundreds of years in tea-manufacturing. To cater to local taste buds, they’ve even specifically come up with an
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Miru’s isn’t known for only their Shibuya honey toasts, but also their kakigori! With four flavors to choose from, that cover strawberry, Milo, Horlicks and two-tone, with their strawberry being the most well-received by patrons. Fresh strawberries are used in the making of the syrup. Even the color is alluring enough; imagine how irresistibly sweet and cooling the taste is!
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A second branch has been established at Taman Desa after its success in Puchong. The honeydew flavor is our utmost recommendation, as the kakigori is pleasantly and naturally sweet from the fresh honeydews used. Not to mention, scoopfuls of honeydew flesh decorate your shaved ice, resulting in an extremely fine presentation that will make you want to feed the sight of it to your phone camera first! (Which, by the way, we totally support doing. Don’t forget to make your friends jealous by uploading them to Instagram!)
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Those looking for kakigori and comfort food should head over to Nippori right about now. Everything from the main entrees to the shaved ice is served home-style, meant to remind you of your home and childhood. If you want recommendations, we’re going to have to sound like a broken record and recommend the Uji matcha, but the banana chocolate, chocolate strawberry, and strawberry milk are pretty awesome too!
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Softsrve has boasted immense popularity with the Malaysian youth ever since its opening. Not only do they serve aesthetically pleasing soft-serves, they also dish up yummy shaved ice! Four flavors are available — the classic matcha, strawberry, Milo and Yoghurt Caramel Cookie. The flavors may differ, but they have one thing in common — each of them comes drizzled in a hefty amount of dense whipped cream!
☆ BINGSU ☆
The earliest bingsu were commonly served with red beans, roasted soybean flour, milk and vanilla ice-cream. Texture-wise, they’re a lot softer than kakigori and melts easily in your mouth. Thanks to the Korean Wave, bingsu has now been exported to all parts of the world, coming with different kinds of toppings and condiments today.
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Contrary to its name, Hanbing actually originated in Hong Kong as a Korean restaurant! Their bingsu has caught the attention of thousands of people, with six flavors to choose from that include Korean rice cake, red bean, Oreo, blueberry cheese, green tea, and mango. Moreover, they also have seasonal flavors — in fact, they were offering a durian flavor just a while ago!
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Originated in South Korea, Caffe Bean is a European-styled café that has understandably attracted much attention. Other than coffee, their customers are undyingly loyal to them for their bingsu. Amongst their flavors, they have the standard Oreo and the classic green tea, along with coffee, watermelon, honeydew, and lychee — all of which fellow customers have gone wild for.
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Villa Ju Bakery is actually a Korean bakery, but they obviously don’t draw the line at just pastries. Breakfasts are served on mornings. Other delectable offers include cakes, pasta and — of course — bingsu. The bingsu here is divided by “Friend”, “Family” and “Party”; depending on how big you want your portion to be, the names themselves should explain enough! Our best pick is the Oreo Bingsu, which also happens to be the favorite of many of their patrons as well.
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The most authentic of bingsu can certainly be found at OW:L Espresso. This little coffee shop pretty much kicked off the popularity of Korean rice cakes ever since they combined it with bingsu. This glutinous rice cake is extremely chewy and sweet when eaten with roasted soybean powder. You can imagine how much better it is when it’s eaten with bingsu!
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Calling all berry lovers! Bingsu Café whips up the delicious innovation that is the Triple Berries Bingsu, which combines strawberries and blueberries with a generous scoop of vanilla ice-cream. You’d reminisce the reason you love berries as you start digging in! Other than bingsu, they also serve toasts, ice-cream, and beverages.
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