Snow Monster - Westminster (Little Saigon)

After dinner at Da Nang Com Tam Tran Qui Cap - Westminster (Little Saigon), my friend Ivan and I went across the street for dessert. Actually, I was heading toward TeaZone Lollicup - Westminster (Little Saigon) for their matcha green tea snow bubble when we spied this crowd from across the street.

Ah! So that's where Snow Monster is located! In February 2013, I received an email from someone from Snow Monster who mentioned that she was a fan of the blog "for many years now" and inviting me to try a "fairly new dessert called Taiwanese shaved snow."

"Fairly new"? Really? Because I first blogged about shaved snow back in 2007. She wasn't sure if I had "tried or heard about it." I think I have when I've blogged about shaved snow not once, but twice, thrice, and a fourth time.

Look, I don't expect everyone to remember every blog entry I've ever written, but I do clearly state on my contact page to use my searchbar before emailing me. Don't pretend to be a fan or try to sell your product as something I don't know about when I've blogged about it multiple times and years ago. A simple search before contacting me would have cleared that up. She offered a large shaved snow and a Belgian waffle sundae, and asked that if I had anything negative to say to tell them in person. And to blog within two weeks after my visit. Geez, I can buy my own shaved snow, thank you very much! Pet peeves aside, at least the Snow Monster name was now on my radar?

Anyway, I wasn't going to hold that minor annoyance against them, especially since shaved snow sounded like just the thing on a hot summer evening.

Le Arbre Tea House - Rosemead

Back in March, Tony of SinoSoul and his missus went to check out the mango shaved ice at Le Arbre Tea House in Rosemead. They invited me to join them since the shaved ice will be too big for the two of them to finish. So off I went, looking to find another tea house to replace my usual spot at Tapioca Express Inc. - San Gabriel.

This next photo is pretty hilarious, but if you're easily offended, just bypass it and go down to the third photo.

Salju Dessert - Alhambra

After the Indonesian grocery store Tip Top Mart - San Gabriel, Gourmet Pigs and I went to see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." At the movie theater, the people in front of us were speaking Indonesian. And of course, I was hanging out with an Indonesian. So then I mentioned that I saw an Indonesian shaved ice place under renovation and we could check it out after the movie to see if it had opened yet.


Sure enough, it was.

And what we found was even better than shaved ice. Sure there was regular shaved ice, but Salju Dessert also had shaved snow.

And not just regular shaved snow, flavored shaved snow. Matcha green tea, mango, taro, strawberry, and chocolate ice that gets shaved.

Plus three toppings.

Plus condensed milk.

I've been telling all my shaved ice buddies and the excitement was palpable. Hey, I'm not kidding. Flavored shaved snow is the best thing to happen to shaved ice since, well, since shaved snow. :P

Yogurtland - Alhambra

KiwiBear - Claremont (Closed).

Peach House - San Gabriel (Closed).

PinGo Yogurt - Alhambra (Closed).

VeryBerry - San Gabriel (Closed).

Even the chain frozen yogurt locations such as CeFiore - Monterey Park (Closed) and CeFiore - Los Angeles (Little Tokyo) (Closed).

I heard the death knell for Pinkberry - Los Angeles (Koreatown) imitators a few years ago when Nubi Yogurt - San Gabriel opened with its 38 cents an ounce fro-yo. I was just waiting for Yogurtland to come beat that with its 30 cents an ounce fro-yo.

Bert & Rocky's Cream Company - Claremont

KiwiBear - Claremont wasn't able to survive the frozen yogurt craze, but good old ice cream shops like Bert & Rocky's Cream Company are still going strong.

These photos are from April 2007. I know! What can I say? Things get lost in the queue.

Hmm. It's been so long I can't even remember where we ate beforehand, and you know how I like to keep track of when and where I've eaten and with whom I ate it. I at least remembered which friend I was with at the time. :P Anyway, after lunch with my friend, we stopped off at Bert & Rocky's for dessert.

KiwiBear - Claremont (Closed)

After walking around the Farmers' Market - Claremont, it was such a hot day that I stopped in for some frozen yogurt. Ah, the Pinkberry fro-yo fad of 2005 spawned a lot of copycats, and has now resulted in a corresponding level of closures.

KiwiBear used to be KiwiBerri, but I guess that was too close to the Pinkberry name.

Scoops - Los Angeles (Wilshire Center)

I had blogged Scoops more than three years ago after my brief visit following dinner at Cobras & Matadors - Los Angeles (Los Feliz), but it really deserves its own and much longer post. Not that Scoops really needs much of an introduction anymore. I mean, who in L.A. hasn't stopped in for some brown bread ice cream? Avocado Guinness sorbet? Peanut butter and celery gelato? Salty chocolate? Roasted corn? Pistachio lavender goat cheese?

Oh, I could go on and on with how much I love Tai Kim's many inventive flavors.

Dragon Fruit Granita

This year's crop of thanh long (Vietnamese dragon fruit) haven't ripened on the vine yet, but triple-digit temperatures means I long for something cold and soothing.

Kang Kang Food Court - Alhambra

Remember when Won Ton Time used to be in this strip mall? How about further back when Kang Kang Food Court used to be Shau May? Or even further back when the Chinese movie theater used to be here?

Oh! Oh!

Speaking of the theater, does anyone know the name of the Chinese movie where these two boys were raised like brothers, except one of the boy's fathers was head of a mafia? I think one of them grows up to take over for his dad? And then there was a train and he climbed in through a window and surprised a woman, and they ended up falling in love? Except she was on her way to marry the other one? Or something like that. Mafias, love triangles, love on a speeding train.

C'mon! Does anyone know which movie I'm talking about? My second-cousin took me to see it at the Chinese theater that used to be here and I don't remember the name, but I really, really want to find it again.

Anyway, back to Kang Kang and reminiscing. Remember when shaved ice was only $1.50 for three ingredients? I know! Darn inflation!

Even at $3.25, it's still the best shaved ice deal in town. My cousins and I are here almost every week during the summer.

ID Cha House - San Gabriel

Shortly after 85 Degrees C Tea House - San Gabriel changed its name to ID Cha House, I went with Gourmet Pigs to see if it was still the same.


Same horoscope drinks and hot tea. I can't even remember which tea we got, but they're $4.95 for a pot and can be refilled with hot water upon request.

Class 302 Taiwanese Cuisine - Rowland Heights

After our dinner at Centro Basco - Chino, it was still relatively early. Since it was such a drive out there, I wanted to make it worth my while. We were really too full at this point to eat anything much so I suggested shaved ice at Class 302 Taiwanese Cuisine in Rowland Heights.


Guess everyone else had the same bright idea because Gourmet Pigs, Starchy Marie, and I ended up waiting at least half an hour for a table. So, we went next door to 99 Ranch and I picked up a few groceries.

I have no idea why the restaurant chose a school theme. Beats the toilet-themed restaurant in Taiwan though!

Fentons Creamery & Restaurant - Oakland

After breakfast at Pho Ga Huong Que Cafe - Oakland, lil' sis, the middle '87, and I, decided to grab dessert before heading into the city for the day.

Where else, especially after I just saw "Up," but Fentons Creamery & Restaurant?

VeryBerry/Coo Coo Chicken - San Gabriel (Closed)

After my second visit to Hwa Ro Korean BBQ and Tofu -San Gabriel with lil' sis and her best friend, we decided to stop by next door at VeryBerry.




This was last December when it had just opened. Remember when I said last year when PinGo Yogurt opened in Alhambra that all these Pinkberry copycats will have to lower their prices drastically in order to compete? Similar bright coloring. Similar prices. Similar fresh fruit toppings.

Silver Spoon - Alhambra

As I was saying, there's something about eating so much meat in one sitting that always inspires us to cleanse our palates with frozen yogurt. Last week after lunch at Tahoe Galbi Restaurant, the oldest '87 and I decided to try Silver Spoon, which had recently opened in Alhambra. It's literally just around the corner from Indo Kitchen.

CeFiore - Monterey Park (Closed)

There's something about eating so much meat in one sitting that always inspires us to cleanse our palates with frozen yogurt. After that first visit to Tahoe Galbi Restaurant, we followed it up with frozen yogurt at CeFiore, the oldest '87's favorite because she likes the acaiberry flavor.



CeFiore is owned by Todai, the sushi buffet chain. Sleek contemporary decor and flat screen televisions.

Banana and Coconut Frozen Yogurt Popsicles

The entries have started trickling in for the COCONUT round of Weekend Wokking, hosted this month by Ivy of Precious Pea. Did you see my entry of Banh Dua Nuong (Vietnamese Coconut Tartlets)? If you've got a recipe featuring any type of coconut, please come play!

Rita of Pink Bites' entry of a tropical parfait featuring mangoes, toasted coconut flakes, and frozen yogurt reminded me of these banana and coconut frozen yogurt popsicles I had made earlier this summer.



This recipe started out as an attempt to recreate Thai caramelized bananas with toasted coconut flakes that I made years ago. But my bananas were too ripe and fell apart. So I added in some plain yogurt and was going to make my Homemade Frozen Yogurt with it instead. But then I forgot about it in the freezer so it solidified. Added all the events together and a light bulb went off. I let the mixture melt, filled my popsicle tray, and made these banana and coconut frozen yogurt popsicles.

Noodle World - Alhambra

Can you see the Bob's Big Boy statue?



Fast-forward four years to pick up where I last left off. After I left Sweden, HH and I continued to text message each other while I was in Europe. We chat online fairly regularly too. Or well, I should say we chat when I'm online, but I rarely log on these days. When he hadn't seen me online for a while so that he could tell me he was coming into town, he text messaged me instead. I didn't get the message. Text messaging overseas? Not always reliable. Just sayin.'

Anyway, so in May when HH was passing through town, he had one night free to meet up for dinner before he had to fly to the east coast. He was jet-lagged and coming down with a cold when he showed up at my door. He'd been staying with a friend and couldn't go to sleep at his friend's place so he took a nap on my sofa. Well, it wasn't three naps like during our trip to Helsinki, Finland, but I think I can safely say I literally bore him to sleep! :P

By the time he woke up, it was late and all he wanted to eat was salad. Hmm. Hong Kong cafes are usually my late night option and I can safely say I've never ordered just a salad at any of them. Then I remembered Noodle World was open late and a Thai papaya salad sounded just the thing right then.

I rarely dine at Noodle World since they moved to the old Noodle Planet location, which obviously used to be a Bob's Big Boy. Something about the acoustics and the ambiance of the current location makes me feel like I'm eating in a cafeteria. Plus, lil' sis doesn't care for the food, so we're always eating elsewhere.

The owner is Thai and I pretty much stick to the Thai items on the menu. Actually, I only like two dishes here -- the Thai papaya salad and the Thai beef salad.

Bulgarini Gelato Artigianale - Altadena

Let's take a little departure from frozen yogurt for a bit.




A few years ago when I first read Jonathan Gold's mention of Bulgarini Gelato Artigianale in LA Weekly, I mentally added it to my "to-try" list. After all, how much more authentic can you get than a gelato-maker who hails from Rome? But it wasn't until I read in the LA Times that Bulgarini only uses pistachios from Italy (because California pistachios are too bland), roasts, grinds, and churns them to make a truly nutty pistachio gelato that it moved up higher on my list. Then my brother mentioned that he ate their pistachio gelato several times and that it really was the best pistachio he'd ever had.

Peach House - San Gabriel (Closed)

Prior to the opening of Nubi Yogurt, my favorite frozen yogurt place in the San Gabriel Valley was Peach House.

The decor is a bit stark, space age-y even. The white panels on the side actually have bands of color which you can't see unless you're on the inside facing out. On the side, there's a small flat screen TV with music videos, a variation of the mash-up since the videos don't coordinate with the music.




Part of the reason why I like Peach House is not just because of the fresh fruit toppings but the quality of the toppings have almost always been good. It's not enough just to have freshly diced mangoes, their mango chunks are sweet and juicy. The raspberries have never been mushy or bruised. Small differences but it adds up.

Nubi Yogurt - San Gabriel

After our dinner at Kim Tar Seafood Restaurant - Monterey Park, I promised my cousin's cousin's kids I'd take them out for frozen yogurt.



Nubi Yogurt, located inside Focus Plaza in San Gabriel, opened about a month ago. If you haven't heard about the SoCal fro-yo craze, you can catch up by reading my Pinkberry - Los Angeles (Koreatown) post. Ever since I read Elmo of Monster Munching's post on Yogurtland in Fullerton, which charged 30 cents an ounce, I've been eagerly anticipating a similar place to open in the San Gabriel Valley.