Green Tea Ice at 37 Degrees Dessert Cafe.?The sunny weather inspired SFoodie to visit 37 Degrees Dessert Cafe, a two-year-old Asian desserts and snacks shop in the Sunset. The cafe is now featuring a unique version of shaved ice (snow ice), previously only found at San Jose's now-defunct Snow Miracle.
Late last year, owner Diane Cheung installed a new shaved ice machine that creates paper thin ribbons. It's a unique style of shaved ice that's common to Vancouver and Taiwan. And maybe Los Angeles, but we don't really care. Unlike Hawaiian- or Japanese-style shaved ice, which is crunchy and covered with sugary syrup, this pre-flavored ice has a delicate texture that melts as soon as it hits your mouth─the main reason why it's earned the nickname, "frozen cotton candy."
The shop offers five shaved ice flavors: Original (milk), chocolate, strawberry, green tea and mango. $4.50 gets you three toppings and a syrup of your choice. After that, it's .50 for each flavor or topping.
Ordering is simple: Look for the paper slips on each table, mark your selections, and give it to the waitress. For other food, ask for the regular menu or grab one from the stack on the counter. The large laminated tri-fold menu will confound most non-asians, with its wide variety of fried snacks─waffles, chicken wings, and noodle soups─and elaborate desserts─composed of ice cream, pudding, fresh fruits, pearl barley, or tofu─using exotic ingredients like aloe vera, sago, lotus seeds, seaweed, coral weed, or tadpoles (gelatin). But no coffee.
Our mountain-high order of green tea ice with condensed milk, bananas, mango, and mochi was a delight. Plus, because it melts so quickly, you avoid brain freeze. Late nights are crowded, as it's the preferred time of young Hong Kong expats. And in case anybody is wondering about the name, 37 degrees Celsius is the average temperature of the human body.
37 Degrees Dessert Cafe: 1155 Taraval (at 22nd Ave.), 566-3887.
