Find fluffy ribbons of shaved snow, ‘puffles’ à la mode at unique Tacoma dessert shop

The curlicues of ultra-thin “snow” are piled so high in the cup, they almost defy gravity. Surely this pyramid will topple onto the table if I move the spoon, I thought as I stared down the green tea special, sweet red beans and shaved almonds maybe also about to tumble.

As the shaved snow was the reason for my visit on this hot summer afternoon, I would not be deterred. I carefully sunk the plastic spoon into a crevasse. The delicate ribbons somehow stayed put, slowly — very slowly, so much so that 15 minutes later they were still pretty darn frozen — melting unto themselves.

A cross between ice cream and shaved ice, the signature treat at Let It Snow in Tacoma’s South End offers a cloud-like alternative. The milk-based dessert is believed to have originated in Taiwan, also considered the birthplace of bubble tea. In Mandarin, it’s known as xue hua bing, which translates to “snowflake ice.” It recalls the Korean bingsu, delicately shaved ice usually drizzled with condensed milk, topped with fruit and sweet red beans, and the Japanese kakigōri, sometimes called “angel snow.” A Taiwanese take, baobing or tshuah-ping, purportedly grew in popularity when the island was under Japanese rule in the early 20th century, and has since spread to China, Malaysia and Singapore. All of those boast a much fluffier texture than the Hawaiian shaved ice you might know best, and which you can also order here. With that version, though, you know you’re eating ice. It’s also finished with flavoring syrup, whereas the Southeast Asian iterations begin with the flavor in the block of unshaven snow.

I am wavering in my description because the frozen cylinder of milk and fruit (or sometimes powder-based flavor) looks like a block of ice, but it’s more than that. Sidoung Sok, the owner of Let It Snow, disagreed with my “like soft-serve but colder and thinly sliced” characterization. The delicate snow melts in your mouth yet holds its ribbonned backbone. It tingles your teeth like shaved ice but feels more like ice cream.

What matters most is that you should try it!

In addition to earthy matcha, the Thai Dye marries Thai iced tea with rainbow mochi and Fruity Pebbles cereal. Nibble on lychee, strawberries and boba jellies in the Rainbow Mango and coconut with Heath bar and Nutella atop coconut snow in the Almond Joy. There are also popular American flavors, including birthday cake batter with Oreo cookie crumbs and rainbow sprinkles or cotton candy with marshmallows.

Sok makes the bases in-house in a manner not unlike blending a smoothie. The puree is then poured into a cylindrical vessel that’s placed in a specialized freezer with 16 holes surrounded by glycol. After about five hours, the snow is ready for its close shave in another unique machine. Blocks are removed from the freezer right when you order, placed onto a spindle of sorts, and a foot pedal frees both of the user’s hands to turn the cup round and round, layering the snow in stunning little squiggles.

“You must move quickly — you don’t want it to melt!” said Sok. He meticulously eyes the ribbons until they reach twice the volume of the cup. The small thus feels more like a large. (One could only share a large.)

You can customize a house snow or build your own, sprinkling various forms of mochi and jellies or candies like M&Ms and gummy bears.

PUFFLES & BUBBLE TEA, TOO

As shaved snow is more than meets the eye, so, too, is Let It Snow, which Sok opened in 2021 in the plaza anchored by Winco Foods. Many customers return for the Hawaiian shaved ice, he said, with more than a dozen flavors ranging from peach and watermelon to passionfruit and li hing mui, a Hawaiian plum dried with licorice resulting in a chorus of sweet, sour and salty. If toppings like grass jelly, boba and red bean appeal to you, order the Asian ice, which would most closely resemble the aforementioned baobing. Milk and fruit teas also abound: Regulars love the mangonada — inspired by the Mexican antojito but here blended into a spicy, tangy fruit smoothie — and the White Rabbit with blue crystal boba, a tribute to the Chinese candy.

You’ll have to come back (or bring the whole family) because here you can also indulge in “puffles,” the hexagonal waffle of miniature puffed circles that was popularized in Hong Kong. House recipes include a pandan-flavored (and thus green-hued) waffle with coconut and the Shorty Special, so named after a regular’s go-to order at Snowdaes, a sister shop his brother owns in Lowell, Massachusetts.

The waffle batter was whipping when we visited, spiced with cinnamon and vanilla “and a lot of sugar,” laughed Sok. Baked in the specialty puff iron for precisely 2 minutes and 15 seconds, he dusts powdered sugar and more cinnamon, adds sliced banana, strawberries and two hefty scoops of vanilla ice cream. That’s all drizzled with Nutella and condensed milk, then swirled with whipped cream.

Like I said: bring a friend.

LET IT SNOW - TACOMA

▪ 1901 S. 72nd St., 253-301-3334, letitsnowtacoma.com

▪ Sunday-Thursday noon-8 p.m., Friday-Saturday noon-9 p.m.

▪ Details: Asian dessert shop specializing in shaved snow and shaved ice, plus puffed waffles

▪ Recommended: Green Tea Special and Mango Rainbow shaved snow; Shorty Special puffle; Mangonada and White Rabbit blended drinks

▪ Location Note: on east side of Tacoma Place plaza with Winco, next to Black Bear Diner

This story was originally published August 29, 2023 at 1:28 PM.