If you’ve just come in from UK, right off the biggest and most bitter snow blizzard in 20 years, then you will need a huge sense of humour to swallow this story. But with the upcoming 33 degrees Celsius heat coming our way, all you need is a little imagination. Imagine Hyde Park sprayed with cottony snow, then picture it poured over with buckets of, perhaps, mango cream, topped with crates of chopped mango and some aloe vera cubes or honeyed palm fruits – boy oh boy oh boy, a giant mango ice kachang field. But not quite like the sloppy ice kachang we get these days which tastes like fine sliced ice and turns into slippery slush when you are not looking.

What you’ll get is snow ice dessert, a sensation so fluffy, soft, cold and shiok it made me wonder why aren’t there more of such stalls around. I suspect there are only less than ten places that tout this in Singapore. It’s not difficult to fall in love with this cold darling. To begin with, the ice base is made with milk, water and flavoured with a host of ideas like green tea, coffee or rose water. Toppings are limited only to what sanity and laws allow, perhaps no beef curry or unprocessed Newater. . The texture is unbelievably smooth, light and very airy and has a mild sense of richness which sorbets and low fat ice creams cannot deliver. My favourite part - it takes a very long time before it melts and water down. You can finish your bowl of bak chor mee and it will still sit pretty, cold, fluffy and soft, awaiting demolition.

I first had this snow ice dessert in Taiwan where it originated, at the food alleys near the infamous Shilin Night Market in Taipei. It was not difficult to see why all the customers gravitated to one shop instead of the neighbouring competitor – the sheer range of flavours, colours and quality of the snow ice. The ones I found here aren’t too far off in quality from the real deal in Taiwan, except the folks here can be much more imaginative, especially with all the inherent flavours already found here.

Peter Lee and his Taiwanese partner set up their little half a stall space hidden between utensils and utility shops less than a year ago. But curiosity got the better of the many folks passing by and today he sees a steady stream of customers all day long. “We recovered our initial investment within 3 months” reveals Peter, who sank in close to forty thousand dollars into the venture. Step into their sparsely furnished shop and the distinct smell of D24 durian greets you as Peter says “it’s one of our best sellers”.. Their strong use of ingredients is what’s distinct about their offerings. Breathe into their green tea version and you’ll notice the heavier fragrance of the tea and he, apart from the usual red bean, also tops it with mangoes. But the number one on his customer’s hit list is their Milk with Mangoes, done simply with a milky snow ice and a generous serving of the chopped fruit. He also touts a coffee scented rendition with coco crunch crispies. His creations begin at $3.50 each.

Our favourite - The Grape Rape from Summer Frost

Three boys, with the ink barely dry on their university and tertiary degrees, decided to be their own boss as they cannot entertain the thought of conformity in a company. So they began with a humble little 3feet by 3feet space way out in Jalan Bahar inside an NTU canteen. Business took off like a wild hare on the run since day one. Now, their saner and more comfy second shop outlet in the east sits pretty within earshot of the laksa war junction. Their first thing you notice about their snow ice is the snow ice itself. It is very fluffy, soft and light, among the better ones I’ve tried. There are quite innovative, and apart from the all time popular mango versions, I adore their Grape Rape- grape flavoured snow ice topped with berry syrup and sliced red grapes with blueberries. Their green tea ice is lighter and comes topped with huge sweet red bean. They price it well, starting at $2.50 and it draws the school kids in. Partner Seah Yu Zhong, looking more like a hired hand on duty, says they are now hunting for a third location, and all in space of just about a year into their business.