A machine fills a bowl with mounds of what looked like torn pieces of ribbon. Fresh boba, hot mochi balls, melted Nutella and condensed milk joins the icy hills.
Frostalicious, which opened on April 27, serves Taiwanese shaved ice on Weyburn Avenue in Westwood. Created by Ellen Liao, the shop is her American dream, a blend of heritage and innovation, she said.
A popular desert in Asia, Taiwanese shaved ice is an ice block infused with flavors and ingredients that is then shaved into thin, ribbony snowflakes. Liao said she hopes to one day see it become as popular as ice cream and frozen yogurt in America.
Liao, a Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center nurse turned entrepreneur, grew up eating the dessert in Taiwan and rediscovered it during a visit back. She found out the dessert had made its way to the states, but she was disappointed by the long lines in American shops.
Liao was inspired to make the shaved ice industry more efficient and sanitary. She credits her goal of creating a more hygienic method of service and better health to her background in hospital work.
In a conventional Taiwanese shaved ice shop, if a customer wants different flavors, one ice block is loaded onto a board and shaved, then taken down. The board is cleaned, the next block is loaded and the process is repeated for each flavor the customer wants. Liao was concerned about the hygiene of this method and wanted to find a faster way to serve the food with less contact. She believed the answer is in technology.
She got to work, researching flavor profiles, getting the necessary permits and paperwork and crafting shaved ice machines. For three years, she maneuvered through the cluttered bureaucracy of business to make her dream of a self-serve Taiwanese dessert shop a reality.
After designing her machine, she sent it to be manufactured overseas where she said many companies tried to patent the machine without her knowledge.
“The patenting process was very stressful and I lost many sleepless nights wondering if someone was going to steal my invention,” Liao said.
From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day, Liao and her team make up to 20 ice blocks at the shop, selecting flavors depending on the availability of seasonal ingredients. Liao wanted to bring in the most popular Asian flavors, like black sesame and mango, but also wanted to experiment with new flavors like watermelon and horchata. The horchata recipe was provided by manager Marisol Morataya.
“When she came to work with me she told me, ‘I want to add some of my heritage,'” Liao said.
Morataya said Taiwanese shaved ice is light, fluffy and easy on the stomach, as well as a food for people who are lactose intolerant like herself.
When fourth-year anthropology and Chicana/o studies student Melissa Vega came into the store for the first time, she tried a little bit of every flavor.
“It’s really cool, like a different type of ice cream,” Vega said.
Vega and her friend Jessica Rodriguez, a fourth-year anthropology and gender studies student, decided to try Frostalicious after finding parking in front of the Westwood store.
“We were skeptical at first but the customer service was very kind and they had us try all the flavors,” Rodriguez said.
Liao has an MBA and credits her success to her education and a knack for problem solving.
“Look at me, I’m a nurse by training but with a solid education I feel like I can do anything,” Liao said. “I’ve thrived on problem solving my entire life and I think that’s one of the big reasons I wanted to do this.”