by Sammi Sowerby
No longer just confined to traditional scoops, soft serve or popsicles, ice cream has entered the social media age — think towering concoctions designed to turn heads and fun, funky flavours.
The local palate is generally averse towards too much sugar, so it isn’t surprising that the city is ripe with simultaneously sweet and salty concoctions. From a fried chicken sundae to a truly Shanghainese gelato that takes cue from scallion oil noodles or cong you ban mian, some of these icy treats are sincerely strange — and sometimes shockingly good.
The following barely scrape the surface of the proverbial ice cream tub, but it’s a good place to start!
Call it serendipity, but stumbling upon this casual South Korean eatery on Wulumuqi is what set the wheels into motion for this article. And it all began with a (literal) sign... Forget traffic cones and flashing lights: the promise of ‘fried chicken with ice cream’ (48 RMB) brought us to a screeching halt. We swore to take down the monstrosity with the same tenacity as Captain Ahab committing himself to the defeat of Moby-Dick.
Photograph: Sammi Sowerby
Inside, pictures of Black Pink’s members, lips parted seductively, scowl down at diners tucking into their gloopy bowls of tteokbokki and sipping on makgeolli. It doesn’t take long for our fried chicken sundae to sail from the kitchen to our table, and it takes even less time for us to demolish it.
If you enjoy dipping your French fries in ice cream, this one’s for you… but we’ll stick to chimaek (pairing fried chicken with beer) in the future. Funnily enough, it wasn’t the fried chicken with ice cream that threw us off, but the hot fudge and chopped peanuts. Overkill, man.
Score: ★★☆☆☆
Seoul Snacks, 298 Wulu Muqi Zhong Lu.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Scientists are adamant that it was the latter but, as you can see, we began with the aforementioned ‘fried chicken with ice cream’ sundae before stumbling upon Shiteng Coffee’s signature ‘soy sauce ice cream’ served with a raw egg.
Bonito flakes, which usually dance so merrily in steaming hot dishes, are completely stationary on this frozen treat. That said, the skipjack tuna shavings, seaweed sheets and soy sauce work wonders on the vanilla ice cream. Move over, salted caramel — tastemakers are turning to other savoury elements these days.
Photograph: Sammi Sowerby
What of the raw egg, however? While the former ingredients provide a healthy dose of umami, the egg contributes by way of creaminess. Poke the golden globe for some yolk porn, and scoop everything together for extra luscious mouthfeel. We’re converts.
Score: ★★★★☆
Shiteng Coffee, 20 Wei Hai Lu. Various locations.
48 RMB for a popsicle? Some might call BlueBubble barking mad. That said, netizens have been going ballistic for the store’s hyper-realistic puppies, kittens, fruit and vegetables. Despite Time Out’s initial trepidation, we too, went sniffing around the premises.
Photograph: Sammi Sowerby
Because Wanghong (internet famous) snacks are often a let-down, we have to give it to BlueBubble: our cookies and cream Dalmation was of decent quality and devoid of large crystals (a sign of excess water or a slow turnover rate). Plus, it’s hard not to appreciate the craftmanship (see eerily realistic eyes) that went into the dessert.
Score: ★★★☆☆
BlueBubble, 109 Jianguo Zhong Lu.
We confess: halfway through this article, we got cocky. A warm, Wednesday evening saw us swaggering into Dal Cuore with the self-assuredness of Arnold Schwarzenegger about to snag his sixth gold medal at Mr. Olympia bodybuilding competition in 1975.
Having braved ice cream with fried chicken and raw eggs, scallion ice cream should have been a breeze… right?
WRONG.
Photograph: Sammi Sowerby
One of Shanghai’s most famed styles of noodles, cong you ban mian scallion oil noodles simply does not translate well to dessert. Our first impression was that of ramen seasoning straight from the packet, and the fibrous scallions and mushy strands of noodles weren’t welcome.
Score: ★☆☆☆☆
DalCuore, B2, 1601 Nanjing Xi Lu. Various locations
A ‘weird’ flavour combination in some parts of the world but a much loved one in the Mediterranean Basin, watermelon and feta cheese are often wedded in Egypt, Greece, Israel and Turkey. But how does one Shanghai gelateria’s attempt to transform a fruit salad into a frozen treat fare?
Photograph: Sammi Sowerby
Spiceman Artisan Gelato, which takes pride in using quote ‘global spices and materials’ unquote, could certainly have brought more brine to the mix. While the flavour of watermelon is present and pleasant, the writer wished that traveling with a little baggie of salt didn’t look quite so suspicious — all the better to sprinkle a pinch of salt over her scoop.
Score: ★★☆☆☆
Spiceman Gelato, 225 Yan Ping Lu.
Making no more than 10 kinds of gelato and sorbet at a time, Mimilato puts as much thought into each flavour as a perfumer does with olfactory compositions. This is sophisticated gelato designed to eat with a pinkie stuck out.
Photograph: Sammi Sowerby
Take, for instance, their apricot sorbet spiked with tokaji, an ancient dessert wine from Hungary, and barley wine gelato, which blends Tibetan baiju made from barley and a qū starter culture; the latter marked the first time we ever tasted baiju and greedily went for seconds instead of making a rude sound.
A sign of any good eatery, whether restaurant, bar or gelataria, is adhering to seasonality, and this is something Mimilato does well. “For our Changle store, we update the menu and flavours by the Chinese Solar Terms, which is about 15 days long,” says cofounder Lin Zhen Yi. “This way, we will not miss any seasonal gifts.”
Score: ★★★★★
Mimilato, 1251 Changle Lu.
