ICE&TIME

Felt like it has been some time since we last saw ICE & TIME still undergoing renovations when we had past by the establishment back then at Craig Road — it does seem that the trend for Kakigori is going rather strong of the late, especially with establishments like Ghost Kakigori which has also recently opened at NEX in Serangoon as well. Located along the same stretch of shophouses as where one would find one of the now-defunct outlets of Hvala, as well as the outlet of Birds of Paradise Gelato Boutique, ICE & TIME is the newest of establishment serving up Kakigori at the time of writing. The shophouse space that it occupies is pretty huge when compared to most eateries located in a shophouse across the island; the folks at ICE & TIME has opted to go for a zen vibe with the space — the space does seem to carry a bit of a Japandi-inspired vibe which is clean look and matched with the large use of white walls and concrete floors against wooden furniture and fittings with the walls and some part of the floor space dedicated to art. To add a modern look to the space, platform benches are used with an additional acrylic surface coming in the middle with bright colours to create a visual contrast. The food menu at ICE & TIME mainly revolves around its dessert offerings that is centred around Kakigori and a range of cakes that are displayed prominently in the display chiller at the counter tucked at the back of the entire shop space. These folks do seem to intend to introduce Japanese Wagashi, as well as courses on the making of Wagashi in the future; beverages available at ICE & TIME largely revolves around tea and matcha.

There are quite a number of Japanese-inspired flavours of Kakigori that is being offered by ICE & TIME — these flavours would include that of the Japanese Special Strawberry, Japanese Roasted Tea and Matcha Cream; that being said, other flavours that ICE & TIME offers includes the Tropical Mango, French Cocoa, French Vanilla etc.; the Arabjca flavour was the one that caught our attention when we skimmed through the menu. Whilst the elements of some of the flavours of the shaved ice were being illustrated in the description cards placed at the front of the establishment, the Arabjca was not one of such items that came with a depiction of the elements involved. That being said, it is worth noting that most of its shaved ice offerings (which likely includes that of the Arabica shaved ice) comes with “Hokkaido Milk Sauce Formula”, “Ice made with Laoshqn Spring Water”and “Homemade Milk Pudding”. Other elements that we had observed to have been included in our order would be that of Speculoos (?) crumbles and cocoa nibs. Knowing how these folks had used spring water in the making of their Arabica Shaved Ice, we liked how the shaved ice came fluffy and light as one would expect out of a Kakigori. We were being told by the staff that due to the type of water being used, the shaved ice would melt rather quickly from 20 seconds onwards, though we felt this was a little bit of an exaggeration based on what we have had. Considering how this is pretty much a coffee-inspired flavour, the Arabica turned out to be very much similar to that of three-in-one coffee with a very prominent hint of creamer in the coffee that is drenched over the shaved ice.

The “Hokkaido Milk Sauce Formula” was more of a light and fluffy Hokkaido Milk cream that was smooth and came with a complimentary texture to the shaved ice. The crumbles helped to add a sweetness and together with the cocoa nibs, gives a crunch to the shaved ice as well. The texture of the Homemade Milk Pudding wasn’t quite to our liking though; being a little bit on the firmer side similar to commercially-made jellies which aren’t quite what one would expect from how they have described it. To be really honest, ICE & TIME does seem like a promising spot on first sight especially considering how the space has been tastefully decked — there are not many places that seem to combine art and dining in a beautiful space that harmonies the two together. Whilst the shaved ice itself were pretty well-made an these folks do make an emphasis that spring water is being used in the creation of their Kakigori, we did find that these folks come a little short in terms of their toppings — the execution of the elements such as the Homemade Milk Pudding could be better done, and other establishments like Ghost Kakigori does include a larger variety of more interesting toppings within their shaved ice as well. Considering so, ICE & TIME does have some room for improvement for its offerings, though still is undeniably a spot that adds on as an interesting dessert spot within the area nonetheless.