Now Try This: Shave Ice at Angels and Hearts

Even if we live in a sick, sad world where Hello Kitty isn’t actually a kitty at all, there’s always Angels and Hearts, a new dessert shop in Kearny Mesa, to inject a bit of insufferably cute Japanese candy fetishism into life.

Angels and Hearts specializes in “Harajuku-style” crepes—more cakey/less eggy crepes rolled around ice cream, chunks of cake, and sweet sauces. Supposedly, these crepes were, or are, the signature treat of a fashionable shopping district in Tokyo. The basic crepe costs about $4, and the price goes up the more stuff you try to cram inside. They’ve been doing the Harajuku crepes for a while, and they’re pretty wonderful, truth be told — but overshadowed by Angels and Hearts’ other specialty!

Their “shave ice,” is not the same as Hawaiian shave ice, which has that ethereal lightness as it melts down into nothing. Angels and Hearts’ shave ice takes the idea and runs with it; into strange territory, no doubt. The basic compound is a weird bit of soylent chemistry, almost like silken tofu and water frozen together for a dairy-like (but vegan!) consistency and flavor after it goes thru the whirling ice shredder. It accumulates like Hawaiian shave ice, but the texture is thicker, creamier, and has a hidden savory quality that beguiles. The mildly astringent green tea flavor is the best, but plain and fruity flavors all have their various charms. Topped with the same sauces, cake bites, and chunks of frozen creme brulee as the crepes, the shave ice is just a better, cooler version of same. Plus, it’s cold on a hot day. Go and try this now!