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ON CLOUD 9
Madalyn Hoerr
Last month Chicagoans were finally able to experience Cloud 9 for the first time. On May 6th, Kenny Tsai, 24, and his sister opened the doors of Cloud 9, the first and only dessert parlor in the United States serving the popular Taiwanese frozen dessert known as snow ice. Located by the intersection of Belmont and Broadway in Lakeview East, many neighborhood residents and visitors have appeased their curiosity about the darling little shop and the mysterious dessert. Intrigued? You can check out their website, www.cloud9chicago.com, for a preview of the shop, but the only way to truly experience the bliss of Cloud 9 is to try it for yourself.
Would you say you are in love with Snow Ice?
I would say I'm in love with it.
When did you first fall?
I went to Taiwan. My parents are from Taiwan, so our family goes back and visits every so often. I think at five or six was the first time I can remember eating [snow ice] and liking it—sorry, loving it.
Why did you decide to open the restaurant?
It's a mix of a couple of things. First off, we really enjoy the dessert. Ever since I was a kid, our family has been, “Oh, you know this is a dessert you can't get anywhere in the United States. We should think about bringing it over.” My father is a professor, so he isn't going to up and go open a dessert shop. I got older, graduated from college, worked a year in corporate, decided it wasn't for me and then thought of what I'd enjoy doing and would be fun, so I decided to open a snow ice shop.
Why is it important for you to keep this a family business?
This might be a vast generalization, but I think there are a lot of upsides to family-owned businesses. People put more care into it, more time making sure the customers are happy and [operations are] running smoothly. For now I think being a family-owned business is definitely something we want to be.
Why did you decide to use “Cloud 9” for the name?
My sister actually came up with the name. I think it's a double meaning. Our actual product, snow ice, is very light and fluffy like a cloud. The meaning “cloud nine” and to be on cloud nine is happiness.
Can you describe the dessert?
How it tastes and how it feels are best described as a mix between Hawaiian shaved ice and ice cream. It's light and fluffy like shaved ice, but it melts creamy like ice cream.
Is it hard to get the ingredients in the United States?
Somewhat. We did a lot of experimentation to see which recipes we wanted to use because it is a little bit different in Taiwan. We suited the flavor and taste to an American palate. Everything is made here in our shop.
How did your flavor options change?
For example, in Taiwan taro is a really popular flavor, but taro here is just a purplish vegetable that people don't associate with sweetness. Red bean, which we do have, is also a vegetable, but it's sweet. Usually Americans associate beans with a salty flavor. Those are kind of different. We actually freeze the flavor into the ice. For our snow, ice we have three flavors now: mango, strawberry and vanilla. The mango and strawberry we actually freeze into the block as opposed to water like in Hawaiian shaved ice. We freeze the milk with the flavor in it.
What's the hardest part about trying to take a Taiwanese food and putting it to an American palate?
I guess it's to get people to try it. We can't give samples because it's made to order, and it melts very fast.
Are the flavors potent, or is it just a touch? It's a little more subtle, especially the vanilla. A lot of people like to put chocolate on the vanilla. The mango and strawberry flavors are definitely present, but it's not overwhelming. Then again, different people have different opinions about it. Some people think it's super flavorful. You can add a drizzle on top, which is just a fruit puree, chocolate or condensed milk. Some people say they wish there was a little more flavor in it. After opening, you figure out people have different opinions on everything. Some people put on weird toppings and weird drizzles that I wouldn't do, but they love it. You can't really expect anything.
What's the weirdest thing someone had ordered?
There are three parts: the snow ice with the flavor, the drizzle and a topping. One guy ordered strawberry snow ice, and he put blueberry drizzle—which is just blended blueberries, red beans, Heath Bar and sprinkles on it, which I thought was a very, very weird combination; but he said he really enjoyed it. He said he'd be back.
What's the most popular flavor?
Mango is our best seller.
What's the best reaction you've had to the dessert?
We've had a lot of people come in and try it, and they sit here and ask us so many questions because they are so intrigued. They eat it and are like “holy cow!” and wonder what it's made of, how we came up with the idea, where it's from, do we make every thing here. It's nice getting reactions. The kids really like it, too. Seeing kids exclaim that they like our dessert is rewarding.
Have you had a bad reaction?
I guess the only bad reactions we have are people not happy with the taste. Our dessert, snow ice, is actually very healthy for you. It's nonfat milk that we use, so there is milk; but compared to ice cream, they use milk cream or whole milk to flavor it. People come in here; some of them don't know what to expect. Some people go to dessert and expect a lot of calories because they don't care about their health, which is why they're going to dessert, so they expect something super creamy and super heavy to indulge in. That's not what we are. We're sort of light, and you can eat it after a full dinner and still feel fine. There are under 150 calories and under a gram of fat in our snack size, which you can not find in any ice cream. I guess the bad reactions are because they're expecting something really heavy and something they can indulge in, but it's not; and that's not who we're targeting.
How do people from Taiwan react to the American flavors?
Some people come in expecting it to be Americanized, and I think that's the right approach. You can't exactly expect us to carry certain things, such as taro, because it would just go bad because no one would get it except for Taiwanese people, and not all Taiwanese people like taro, either. We do have red bean and condensed milk, so they're pretty happy about that. Even in Taiwan there are different types of snow ice. Ours is a specific kind.
On your website it says you're going to try to introduce a new flavor each month.
I don't know if it's going to be each month. We are trying to release a new flavor, green tea, very soon. We aren't necessarily trying to push out a new flavor each month. We're trying to perfect something. For example, for the green tea we've already tried five or six different recipes and had to test it out each time. I think we're finally getting something we're happy with enough to introduce to the public.
Is it more challenging to decide on a flavor to tackle or to actually go through the process of the recipe?
It's definitely harder to go through the process of making a dessert or a flavor good. We have base recipes, but they definitely don't apply to all flavors of ours. For example, the mango and strawberry, even though they are both fruit, the base recipe behind it is different as well, so you put different amounts of fruit, different amounts of water, different amounts of milk, different amounts of everything.
Have you tried any that you just couldn't figure out?
I guess the coconut didn't go well with the ice. I can't explain it. Coconut milk is very milky, but when you put it in snow ice in block form, it didn't turn out very well.
How have things been going since you opened the doors last month?
Things are going pretty well. I am pretty happy with everything so far. Being open in Chicago is good because people are willing to try new things. This is something that is new, so the hardest part is getting people to try something new. Especially in this neighborhood, people are open to things. It has definitely helped us out.
Has most of your business been people coming to try Cloud 9 or just passers-by stopping in?
We've been getting a good mix. We've been getting return customers. We have punch-cards now because we've had a lot of requests for it. A lot of people have heard about it through press and their friends, which is good word-of-mouth. A lot of passers-by will look in the window and think “what the heck is this?” and come in.
How does your punch card program work?
You come in eight times, and you get the ninth one free.
Has anyone filled it up yet?
Yes, we've had two people.
Do you guys sell any drinks, or is it strictly snow ice?
Right now we only have snow ice. We're looking to get coffee and tea. A lot of people come in here asking for coffee. If there's a group of friends coming in after dinner, some of them get this, and some have coffee in their hands. We're going to bring in free Wi-Fi as well. In the summer we'll have iced coffee and iced tea. We're trying to introduce some Taiwanese teas.
What is the price range of your product?
Snack size is $3.79. It's in a heaping 12-ounce bowl. The regular size is a 16-ounce bowl at $4.79, and it includes a drizzle, which for now are Hershey's chocolate, condensed milk and red bean. The condensed milk and red bean are very traditional Taiwanese. We also have mango, strawberry and blueberry, and the fruit ones are real fruit purees. It's all natural.
Are you feeling confident with your progress so far?
Yeah, I think things are going pretty well. I guess the trouble is with Chicago winters for a dessert shop. We're trying to think of ways to hopefully balance out our winters with our summers.
Do you plan on opening any other locations in Chicago in the future?
I have no idea! We'll see. It's one step at a time. We're only a month and a half in.
Why should people come try snow ice?
It's definitely unique. It's something different than anything anyone has had before. People come in thinking they've had it before because they've had Hawaiian shaved ice or Filipino halo-halo. The only people who have had anything like it are people from Taiwan. You're more health-conscious by eating this than ice cream. We think it tastes great.
Cloud 9
604 W. Belmont
Chicago, IL 60657
At the intersection of Belmont and Broadway.
773.857.1255 www.cloud9chicago.com |
