One of the many memorable parts of visiting the Cup Noodle Museum in Yokohama, Japan, was the deliciously creamy shaved ice that D and I had at the pseudo noodle market. I made multiple attempts finding similar shaved ice in Sydney upon returning, and found solid crushed ice and eventually settled on the non-solid crushed ice in various bingsu around the city. And mid-winter, not a few months ago, my quest for creamy shaved ice ended.
Where? At Meet Fresh. I’d always known they’d had shaved ice on their menu, yet the fact that they focused on bean-based Asian desserts meant I avoided the place like the plague. Other than the dollop of azuki bean paste in Japanese desserts, I cannot impress upon how much I am not a fan of Asian bean-based desserts. I was in the mood for a new place for dessert, and decided to take N with me to try the shaved ice at Meet Fresh once and for all.
I’m glad I tried the Mango Shaved Ice ($12.80). That it’s huge is an understatement – it’s piled 20cm high on a 25cm diameter plate. The shaved ice was beautifully creamy and melt in your mouth – just what I was after. It’s like a mango sorbet that’s more creamy and less syrupy; and it’s like a mango ice cream that’s less creamy and more fluffy.
The shaved ice sits atop a small mound of crushed ice flavoured with condensed milk and brown sugar syrup. The crushed ice gave a crunchy texture and didn’t interest us. The chunks of mango were unpleasantly sour and mushy. That’s all right – N and I were there for the shaved ice and there was more than enough of that to fill us up for dessert.
Their winter melon iced tea ($4.00) also had a pleasant nutty flavour that was just the right sweetness.
With that I essentially tried the only items that I’d ever want from the Meet Fresh menu. And I emerged unscathed from bean-based Asian desserts flooding their menu.
Meet Fresh is located at 13 Goulburn St, Haymarket NSW 2000.