Ben Kang loves ice cream, but like many lactose-intolerant people, a trip to the local ice cream shop could quickly turn sour.
Kang noticed again and again: lactose-free options were lacking. Even his previous place of employment at Koreatown’s Oakobing, a shaved ice shop that serves fruit-flavored ice cream with a milk base, left a void for vegans.
“In the eight years that I worked there, I saw some potential for shaved ice with vegan and lactose-free options, which is why I decided to open up my own shop that is completely vegan and dairy-free,” Kang said. ” A lot of people who come in ask us, ‘Do you have a vegan option?’ and we can tell them ‘Yes, it all is.’”
Kang is the owner of the new shop Mewame, which roughly translates to “beauty and taste” in Korean. The shop, new to West Hollywood, opened in late June, offering dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO, and no-artificial-flavoring or coloring frozen treats. These include shaved ice and blockshakes, a unique blend of smoothie and milkshake textures.
The shaved ice isn’t your standard crunchy snow cone that’s popular at fairs and other shops that rely on syrups for flavor. Mewame uses a Taiwanese technique that results in a creamy, fluffy texture that melts at the tip of your tongue.
“I’m Korean, but the technique is Taiwanese, and I take a little bit of inspiration from Korea, Japan and China to give it a more modern twist on shaved ice,” Kang said.
With the summer season coming to a close, we popped into a few Southern California shops to try their vegan and dairy-free frozen treats. They ranged from vegan ice cream sandwiches to shaved ice and more. Here are five vegan and frozen treat eateries to visit before the end of the summer.
Mewame
1-10 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, 7318 Santa Monica Blvd. Ste 10, West Hollywood. (323) 366-2791. instagram.com/mewame.me.
As Kang mentioned, this shop’s shaved ice is unique and served with bold and colorful flavors that live up to its name, such as the bright green matcha and the sunshine-hued mango passionfruit. Each shaved ice flavor is made with real fruit and topped with toasted coconut whipped cream and a gluten-free cookie.
The kiwi-banana shaved ice struck a perfect balance between sweet and tart flavors, which were subtle, making it a refreshing treat. The toasted coconut whipped cream and the chocolate gluten-free cookie are also versatile enough to complement several different shaved ice flavors without tasting like a stark contrast.
Below Zero Shaved Ice
Noon-7:30 p.m. Daily. 583 E Foothill Blvd # 6, Upland. (909) 920-9230. belowzeroshavedice.com.
Below Zero Shaved Ice serves Hawaiian shaved ice, a softer-textured ice that still comes with syrups for various flavors. Additionally, it offers 16 different flavors of Thrifty ice cream as a dessert option. Although the majority of the ice cream flavors are dairy-based, there are 23 different non-dairy flavors of shaved ice to choose from, including pomegranate, coconut, margarita, and s’mores.
Customers can build their own shaved ice in three different sizes, ranging from mini to X-Large, and choose up to three flavors. The shaved ice machine dispenses a tall tower of ice, which is then drenched in flavorful syrups and sealed under a lid, making it much easier to handle and enjoy. For a smoother taste profile, it’s recommended to combine flavors that complement each other, such as guava, pineapple, and peach, which evoke the flavors of a tropical island.
La Pina Loca
10 a.m.-8 p.m. Daily. 10880 Cedar Ave, Bloomington. (909) 566-4040.
There are several kinds of Mexican ice cream parlors and paleterias throughout Southern California. Still, La Pina Loca specializes in offering a variety of ice creams and frozen treats with a water base. Most of their menu items allow you to choose a water or milk base, including flavors like mango and strawberry, as well as others that are on the tart side, such as lime and cucumber.
Latin American frozen treats often include spicy toppings, like the classic mangonada, which is this ice cream parlor’s specialty. It’s a little different from the variations you’ll find elsewhere, which are sometimes served as a drink or sorbet. La Pina Loca’s version is made with a water-based, all-natural frozen mango juice with chamoy and Tajín lime-chili powder mixed in for spicy delight that is more on the icy side than it is a drink. Because the treat is frozen and spicy, it makes it bearable enough for those who usually avoid a hotter profile.
Vedder’s
Noon-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, noon-9 p.m. Friday-Sunday. 111 W. Avenida Palizada, Suite 202, San Clemente. (949) 338-9199. vedderssweets.com.
Some dessert combinations seem like a match made in heaven, and that’s the case for this ice cream served between two cookies. All of Vedder’s flavors are made in-house and are vegan and non-GMO. They use dates and maple syrup instead of cane sugar to sweeten each flavor, catering to those with dairy allergies and sensitive digestive tracts. If you love ice cream and are looking for a good substitute, this shop’s treats taste just like the real thing.
The shop offers a variety of flavors that change up weekly. A recent batch featured cinnamon roll, apple crumble and mocha shortbread. What makes this shop even more delicious is the option to put each flavor between a freshly made in-house, gluten-free and vegan chocolate chip or peanut butter oat chocolate chip cookies. The cinnamon roll ice cream tasted just like the baked good and paired surprisingly well with the peanut butter oat chocolate chip cookies.
Velvet
2 p.m.-Midnight, Monday-Thursday, Noon- 1 a.m. Friday-Sunday. 14512 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks. (818) 290-3321. velvetangelato.com.
Velvet is another spot that specializes in its selection of tasty vegan and non-dairy flavors, with a side offering of other desserts. The shop specializes in vegan ice cream options such as hazelnut crunch chip, peanut butter and jelly and others that change daily. They also offer each of their flavors in cookie ice cream sandwiches, sandwiched between any of their vegan cookies, including chocolate chip, ooey gooey s’mores, hot cocoa, and marshmallow confetti.
If you’re more of a traditional sundae fan, Velvet offers a vegan brownie, vegan cookies, and a vegan s’mores sundae that comes with two ice cream flavors. If that all sounds like too much sugar, order a single scoop, which is topped with a small vanilla wafer cookie and pairs perfectly with any ice cream. The vegan s’mores ice cream is a perfect blend of coconut milk ice cream topped with graham cracker crumbs and toasted marshmallows that taste like they’d been smoked over a campfire.