I was with my friends, and the second we stepped into the room, we smelled an intense sweet smell. Intense, but not the type to make you feel sickly. In the right corner of the room was a small, enclosed kitchen where staff members would occasionally pop in and out, surprising you, carrying trays of beautifully towered desserts precariously topped with tall dollops of thick whipped cream and various toppings.
Summer or winter, day or night, rain or shine, anyone can be in the mood for a little Korean shaved ice. That’s why we went to Snowy Village on NE 105 Failing St, which is home to some of the prettiest cold desserts in the area. But dessert isn’t the only thing they sell. From giant scoops of snowy textured cream to various amounts of sweet fruits, they also have a couple of options for the savory lovers.
Shaved ice isn’t the only thing they have. They also have small fish-shaped delicacies called Croissant Taiyaki, which is a freshly made croissant pastry filled with various fillings. They have a pesto-filled one, a red bean paste one, a bacon and cheese one, and the yummy list goes on. I personally have never tried the croissant, but it’s definitely on my to-do-list for next time.
The Korean shaved ice also has many flavors to choose from. One is strawberry, a shaved ice base with fresh strawberries incorporated and topped with rich whipped cream. Another one is Oreo, with sweet crumbled Oreos that look almost unreal. Some unique ones include black sesame, which has red bean, rice cakes, black sesame, topped with vanilla ice cream and almond nuts. And another one is Injeolmi, which has red bean, rice cakes, injeolmi (roasted soybean) powder, and is topped with almond nuts. I’ve only ever tried the strawberry one before and decided to stick with that just because I wasn’t sure if I was willing to risk the chance of disliking any of the other flavors. My first time getting the strawberry shaved ice, it tasted amazing. So much texture made the treat not only good in taste, but fun in experience. I couldn’t wait to return.
The store first opened on Mar. 4, 2023, offering a limited menu before launching full operations. It is the first Oregon location for the Korean dessert chain specializing in Bingsu (shaved ice) and Taiyaki (fish-shaped pastry). The owner’s name is Mei, and she is very proud of how far her business has come and the joy it brings to the close community.
After a glance at the menu, we immediately knew which one we wanted to get. The strawberry one. After first seeing its beautiful pink details from the strawberries and the white fluff from the whipped cream, we knew it was definitely the prettiest. We found our way to the table in no time, excited for what we were about to intake.
The wait felt like forever. We were so excited that we weren’t even looking at our phones. Finally, we noticed our dessert coming through the doors in our direction. We cleared our surroundings, and as soon as it hit the table, we took out our phones and admired how beautiful it was. Overwhelming, not knowing where to start, we grabbed our spoons and dug in.
The first layer was pure, thick whipped cream that weighed down our spoons. One of the best whipped creams I’ve ever had. The second layer was thin shaved ice, but a type I’ve never had before. Its taste was airy to your lips, but thick and creamy entering your mouth–almost chewy but as light as air. Next, towards the bottom of the cup, were layers of fresh frozen strawberries, strawberry puree, shaved ice, and condensed milk. The condensed milk made the whole dessert rich in overwhelming but subtle flavors.
For the Korean shaved ice, there are three sizing options: “Lite” is the smallest option, usually for one singular person; “Regular,” which would be seen as a medium, shares between two people; and “Large” is family-sized for up to three+ people. Prices range from approximately $10.99 to $18.49, depending on the flavor you get. Our choosing the strawberry one in the regular size ended up costing $16. I was a little concerned at first, looking at the price and thinking about how expensive it is, but all I was hoping was that I wouldn’t regret it.
At first, we were sure we weren’t going to eat the whole thing. But we genuinely could not put our spoons down. The texture was so addictive that it was gone in six minutes.
When I think about the price, was it worth $16? I think so, I would definitely wait until I get my next paycheck to come back, and I do think this is a once-in-a-while thing, but I don’t really have any regrets. Did it hurt our stomachs a little bit afterwards? Maybe. The sweet combination of various flavors made it deliciously addictive, making it hard to pause for breaks in between. But im glad we got it, overall ending with no regrets.
Another thing I’m glad we did was get the medium size. I didn’t even want to know how much the large would have cost, and we knew in fact we wouldn’t have been able to finish it. But to save money and our stomachs, we may be getting the small next time.
