I was introduced to the wonders of Korean shave ice first at one of The Cups locations and this had exceed my original expectations of shaved ice on so many levels. I grew up in China and am used to eating street stall shaved ice that are coursely shaved with fruits and syrup drizzled onto it. The coldness and sweetness of various artificial syrup flavors was enough to satisfy my young taste buds, but my shaved ice experience stopped there as well.
When I was brought to The Cups by a group of my friends last year, I could not believe the quality and variation of shaved ice that was offered here! The shaved ice here is super fine so that it looks more fluffy like snow rather than crystalline shavings that I can see. As a result I can easily enjoy the coolness of the ice shavings without tasting the courseness from the traditonal shaved ice I had in my childhood. The toppings also impressed me, they have variations of different fruits, tiramisu, rice cake/mochi, condensed milk etc. I have tried the tiramisu, the soybean powder mochi (Injeolmi), and the mango shaved ice. My friends ordered black sesame, cheese and matcha flavors and all seem to enjoy theirs tremendously. I have no doubt I would be happy with any other shaved ice item on their menu in my future visits.
There are cake option and savory sandwich options a well on the menu for those that find shaved ice too cold to eat in the winter. I myself still like enjoying shaved ice from The Cups even during winter.