Kakigori Cafe With 4-Hour Queues In Tokyo Comes To S’pore, ‘Strawberry Shortcake’ Shaved Ice Sold

Shaved ice desserts have many iterations around the globe – there’s ice kachang here, bingsu in Korea and halo halo in the Philippines. The Japanese version is kakigori, which features a mound of fluffy ice flavoured with syrup and served with toppings like fresh fruit and mochi.

Tokyo-based kakigori specialist Sakanoue Cafe will be bringing its repertoire of frozen desserts to Singapore for the first time. Based on the cafe’s press release, their kakigoris appear to be more elegant and parfait-like than those found at Japanese chains in Singapore, which are typically simpler heaps of flavoured shaved ice. Sakanoue’s ingredients are also fancier – think fresh cream espuma (a velvety foam), rum-soaked raisins and sakura-flavoured mochi.

From 24 February to 9 March, you can get a taste of these artisanal treats at the cafe’s takeaway pop-up kiosk near the supermarket entrance of Isetan Scotts.

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Its Tokyo cafe draws four-hour queues in summer

Sakanoue operates two stores in Tokyo – a cosy, no-frills decade-old kakigori joint under the same name in Yushima, and the newer Tsutsumu in Asakusa, which sells crepes as well. The cafe’s rep shares that its Yushima outlet sells about 350 bowls daily in the summer, and the queueing time can be longer than four hours during busy periods.

Its signature dessert is a cream-topped strawberry-themed kakigori inspired by strawberry shortcake, which will be available at the Singapore pop-up. We’re also told that the owner “would like to open a Japanese shaved ice shop in Singapore in future”.

Kakigori vs bingsu

There’s a discernible difference between kakigori and its Korean counterpart, bingsu. The latter is often made from milk and sometimes has a creamier texture than kakigori’s fluffy, refreshing shaved ice made from pure water and flavoured with syrup. Sweet red bean paste, rice cake (Korean tteok and Japanese mochi) and fruit are common toppings for both. 

Both versions of shaved ice are also much softer and delicate than our local ice kachang, which can have a chunkier mouthfeel.

Six items available at the pop-up

All items are priced at $13. The pretty desserts are assembled like a parfait with careful layering of components like flavoured cream, fruit and sweet red bean paste. A special ice machine from Japan will be flown in to prepare the kakigoris. Here’s a look at the menu:

Pistachio Raspberry

Light and airy pistachio-flavoured cream meets raspberry compote and crumbly butter cookies. Topped with raspberry-flavoured pearl chocolate. 

Strawberry Ice Cake

This signature item features strawberry syrup, a blanket of fresh cream and both fresh and freeze-dried strawberries.

Anko, Cream & Panda

This kawaii bowl includes fresh cream and sweet red bean paste (known as anko), served with sakura mochi (a sweet pink mochi) and strawberry mochi.

Sake Cream & Cherry Blossom

An elegant assembly of sake-scented cream (infused with sake lees, a by-product of sake brewing), sakura-flavoured white bean paste and cherry blossoms as garnish.

Blue Cheese Red Bean Paste

An unusual savoury-sweet pairing featuring blue cheese cream, crispy cheese chips, sweet red bean paste, raw honey sourced from Yamanashi and rum-soaked raisins.

Sakanoue Cafe’s pop-up shop is at Isetan Scotts Supermarket, B1 Shaw House, 350 Orchard Rd, S238868. Available from 24 February to 9 March, 10am - 9pm. More via Instagram.

Photos: Sakanoue Cafe

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