I am not sure why Mango Charming Shaved Ice & Tea (麗晶利源) and Icy Bar (利源) are affiliates to each other. I do wonder why this new Mango Charming write their Chinese name in a small font but put the 20+ year Icy Bar’s Chinese character in much larger fonts vertically to the left of the store.
Regardless of how shady their signage choice may seem, we decide to give it a try today. Assessment is only on the food, and not their business quarrels. Mango Charming Shaved Ice & Tea focus on bubble tea and shaved ice. They have 2 types of shaved ice. One, the ice is made of water that is usually harder, the other made of milk for a smooth texture.
Good Shaved Ice, Topping can be better
We ordered the $9, regular size Mango Snow Ice. This is the version that is made of water. The large, red ice shaver (to the left of the first picture) shave the ice quite consistently. The shaved ice is quite fluffy, and there are no undesirable ice chips in my bowl. Mango chunks are fresh, but a little lack of taste. Mango Charming use mango Jam makes up for it.
The layered texture provides an enjoyable eating experience
The first layer is the ice cream with condensed milk drizzle. I enjoyed it with mango chunks and mango jam. The ice cream has a very rich taste. I dug deep to get the shaved ice beneath. The fluffy shaved ice combined with mango jam gives a more watery texture, lighter than the ice cream. I alternate between them for variance texture. There are lots of toppings which lasted my bowl of shaved ice until the end.
Room for improvement
Aside from the tasteless mango chunks, my other complaint is the deep container. About halfway through, my hands start touching the sticky rim of the bowl when I dig down for shaved ice. Call me nitpicking, this is part of the patron’s experience. An easy fix would be providing a longer spoon.
604 Food Critic Assessment
For $9, the regular sized Mango Snow Ice is basically finely shaved ice. The fluffy shaved ice shows provide a good base for their shaved ice desserts. When Korean equivalent, bingsoo is going at $13 – $15, a bowl of well shaved ice is just as good. I don’t like eating mango jam for the flavor boost, but this is personal preference.
How to get in touch
Address: 4500 Kingsway, Burnaby
