Homemade Shaved Ice!

Taking advantage of potential business in the fight against the Texas summer heat, snow cone and Hawaiian ice trailers have been popping up everywhere.  I always crave Taiwanese shaved ice in the summer.  The texture of the ice and the variety of toppings are so much better than the artificially flavored crunchy snow cones.
I'm not particularly fond of the kidney beans topping (my mom's favorite), but I love taro, barley, red beans, green beans, stewed peanuts, and all sorts of fruits on my ice.

In the past, you can only buy a hand cranked ice shaver at Chinese supermarkets.  Those sucked because the plastic bowls that you had to fill with water have a tendency to split or warp due to water expansion in the freezer.  We never really had a chance to successfully make shaved ice at home.

Recently, we came upon an electric Taiwanese ice shaver at an Asian market.  I would not recommend buying it because it broke after our first try.  If anyone knows of a good ice shaving machine, please tell me where I can get one!

I topped my shaved ice with fresh mango, blueberries, and Vietnamese condense milk.  It tasted heavenly.

Taiwanese Shaved Ice-with mango, blueberries, and condensed milk