Got to learn about the new SHIROYAMA whilst passing by the basement of Orchard Central the other day — these folks can be found around the area where the bar counter for Drink Drunk Donki actually is. The establishment does introduce itself as a concept that is a brainchild of Taizo Shibano which is said to be the wold’s number 1 gelato master — turns out, the Taizo Shibano isn’t quite that unfamiliar a name to those whom have been following the happenings of the F&B scene here. Taizo Shibano is also the very same chef whom is behind the Malga Gelato brand — a gelato parlour originating from Noto-cho in the Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan whom has been involved in several pop-ups including those within Takashimaya Food Hall in recent time; he is also said to be the first Asian to have been the first Asian to have been crowned as the world champion of the Sherbeth Festival back in 2017 held in Palmero, Italy — an even that claims to “Sherbeth Festival 2017”. Primarily operating as a takeaway kiosk, SHIROYAMA is decked in vibrant colours for its shopfront within Don Don Donki at Orchard Central; the use of a yellow stall facade does help to create an eye-catching visual contrast that would also capture the attention of passers-by — all that whilst featuring a clean and minimalist vibe while the stone-esque counter gives an element with a natural look that somehow balances out quite well with the otherwise colourful look of the stall. Unlike Malaga Gelato that seems to solely emphasise on its gelato offerings, it does seem that SHIROYAMA is an establishment that serves up Japanese snow ice desserts with soft-serve ice-cream being featured as part of its Japanese snow ice desserts offerings. The menu features a variety of five (5) different Japanese snow ice flavours to choose from served in two (2) different sizes — Regualr and Grande, while patrons can also add on Toppings to their Snow Ice orders if they would like to do so.

Being one who is always more intrigued with tea-based flavours, it is needless to say that the Tieguanyin Vanilla rendition of the Snow Ice was the version that stood out to us when we were skimming through the menu to decide on which Snow Ice offering we would be going for. SHIROYAMA does not describe the elements that comes with their Snow Ice creations on its menu; that being said, the most obvious elements that one would observe would be that of pastry cream topped off with some crumbles all sitting atop snow ice that seems to be dusted with Tie Guan Yin Tea (i.e. Iron Buddha Tea) dust. Thought that the ice that is being mentioned to have been infused with cold-brewed Tie Guan Yin Tea as mentioned on their social media pages was actually pretty soft and fluffy — a texture that one would really expect from a Kakigori given how the water felt especially pure and loosely packed into the bowl without any icy bits; that being said, the infusion of Tie Guan Yin Tea wasn’t particularly strong and that the flavours of Tie Guan Yin Tea was overshadowed by the pastry cream that was light and fluffy, carrying notes of Yuzu for a slightly sweet and zingy note. As one digs into the Tieguanyin Vanilla further, one would be able to find the soft-serve which was smooth, creamy and milky — adding depth to the flavours of the snow ice whilst it also comes with some colourful crunches that makes the Tieguanyin Vanilla quite a fun eat visually; there are also cornflakes found at the bottom sitting beneath the soft-serve that delivers a crunch for a textural contrast.

With its offerings priced from $8.80 for a Regular-sized snow ice offering for most of the flavours that they have to offer to $16.80 for the Grande-size Ichigo Vanilla Snow Ice, we do think that the offerings at SHIROYAMA are pretty reasonably priced since some would even find their Regular-sized snow ice good for sharing. That being said, we are probably going to give their other fruity flavours of the snow ice a go the next time we are here; no doubt that snow ice is well-executed here with several interesting components that ensures a surprise with every spoonful — it is just the Tieguanyin Vanilla not being “Tieguanyin” enough to our tastebuds. Definitely looking forward to giving their Muscat Vanilla, Ichigo Vanilla and Ume Vanilla another time; the Ichigo Vanilla especially looking like an item that these folks truly specialise in!