ice cream

I first tasted shave ice in Japan, and again in Hawaii, when I was about 10 years old. Although there’s no place to get shave ice here in central Indiana, I still crave it when the weather is hot. If you’re not familiar with the delicacy that is shave ice, let me tell you, it’s not your average “sno-cone.” The sno-cone is like pellets of ice with syrup poured on top, and they stay separate until you chew them, or they melt into the bottom of the cup.

Shave ice is entirely different. It’s almost like ice cream, because the ice is shaved so finely that the syrup sticks to it, and it melts in your mouth without any chewing. It’s like flavored snowflakes. It’s heaven on a hot day! I want one right now!

big thanks to Hometown Invasion Tour for the photo!

In honor of this excellent holiday, I have written an original Rocky Road poem. That’s right. You won’t get ice cream haiku at just any blog.

Heavenly chocolate
Mingled with nuts and fluffy
Sweet white marshmallows

When I was a little girl, I would always eat around or spit out the nuts. My favorite part of Rocky Road is the chocolate, followed by the marshmallows. But now I even eat the nuts. Happy Rocky Road Ice Cream Day!

Photo credit: chocolate monster mel. Thank you!

I love ice cream, but I’ve never seen it served like this in the United States. This plate has a lovely star-shaped waffle cone bowl, with sweet red beans, green tea soft serve, some kind of lychee or round fruits, bits of cake on the side, and a slice of orange for color and contrast. This is a feast for the eyes, and I can imagine how sweet it tastes!

Thanks to yomi955 for making this photo available under a Creative Commons license.