Shaved Ice Paradise Grandma's Ice and Ocean of Ice

　Summer time is ice time! If you visit Kaohsiung during the summer, be sure to stop by the most popular shaved ice places: "Grandma's Ice", and "Ocean of Ice by the Ferry Dock". Grandma's Ice has been in business for decades, and its authentic, traditional flavor is loved by generations of enthusiasts, old and young alike. Ocean of Ice is famous for its super-sized servings. These two places are popular for different reasons, but each has its unique character.

※Grandma's Ice

　The tell-tale name of "Grandma's Ice" is a testimony of its history. Grandma's Ice was started by Mrs. Jhao-gu Cai in 1934. Back then, it was just a small beverage stand in the Yancheng Produce Market that she maintained for additional income to support her household. Mrs. Cai's fruit preserves such as pickled starfruits, pickled plums, and pickled green mangos were very popular, she also has her own special recipe for syrups and sauces. One day, a group of school girls stopped by her beverage stand, and as they started to frequent the place, they also started calling her "grandma". Mrs. Cai's beverage stand became known as "Grandma's Ice".

　Grandma's Ice has been in business for 75 years and has moved locations three times -from the stand in Yancheng Produce Market to a store front on Daren Road to its current location on Cisian 3rd Road -it has always kept close to its roots: Yancheng District. Over the years, Grandma's Ice has become a local specialty and has won the loyalty of its customers by insisting on using only the best and freshest ingredients. The owners go to the market every day as early as it opens, just so they can purchase the sweetest and juiciest fruit the market has to offer before anyone else arrives.

　The soul of a perfect bowl of shaved ice is the syrup drizzled on top of it. At Grandma's Ice, the syrup is made with a combination of special proportions of three different kinds of sugar: cane sugar, raw brown sugar, and rock sugar. Once the cooking process is complete, the syrup sits for a number of hours in a sealed cauldron to allow enough time for the fragrance of the sugars to permeate into the syrup. The same spare-no-effort philosophy also goes into their production of other fruit preserve toppings for the shaved ice. A bowl of shaved ice at Grandma's Ice is not just a carnival of sweet flavors; the gem-colored toppings make it a feast to the eyes as well.

※Ocean of Ice

　"Wow! This is a big bowl of ice!" A first-timer to Ocean of Ice often exclaims in surprise when they see the size of the bowl. At "Ocean of Ice by the Ferry Dock", the store is proud to serve giant-sized shaved ice to its astonished customers; the biggest one can be shared by a group of ten.

　Located in close proximity to Gushan Ferry Station, "Ocean of Ice by the Ferry Dock" has a casual-looking store front. There is nothing fancy about the place; the only form of decoration is graffiti on every inch of the wall left by store patrons. Plain and unassuming, this place has become an internet mega hit because of the size of its servings. On a regular summer day, the store is always full. On weekends and holidays, the flood of the crowd it attracts is an impressive sight.

　The owner says that when the store first started in 1990, it was mostly frequented by college students from nearby National Sun Yat-sen University. The students often requested extra portions, and they always obliged, finding bigger and bigger bowls to accommodate the servings that got bigger and bigger each time. In the end, giant bowls became a signature of the store. At Ocean of Ice, one can order ice for two, three, six, and even for ten people. The benefit of ordering a group-sized serving is its portion: an ice for three is bigger than three standard servings for one combined. Friends can order their ice in a customized group size, sit around the giant bowl, and share the cool sweetness together.

阿婆仔冰和海之冰

◎文／楊為仁

　　夏天呷冰的季節來囉！到高雄，當然不能錯過大名鼎鼎的「阿婆仔冰」和「渡船頭海之冰」，前者以濃濃古早味擄獲老、中、青、少四代；後者則以超大號剉冰名傳千里，兩家冰店各有特色、不分軒輊。

※阿婆仔冰

　　「阿婆仔冰」，顧名思義就是「阿婆」賣的冰。民國23年，創始人蔡趙固為了補貼家計，在鹽埕大菜市場賣涼水，她不但會醃漬楊桃、李鹹、芒果青，對糖水和醬汁的調配也很有一套，後來一群女學生到這裡吃冰，大家七嘴八舌的阿婆長、阿婆短，阿婆仔冰之名就此傳開。

　　75年來，阿婆仔冰的店面從大菜市場、大仁路到現在的七賢三路，雖然歷經三次搬遷，但地點都在鹽埕區，成為當地特色小吃。阿婆仔冰之所以歷久不衰，原因在於他們的冰品用料新鮮實在，店家每天一大早就開車到市場批貨，因為比別人來得早，挑選又甜又多汁的水果作為冰品材料。

　　糖水是剉冰好吃的重要關鍵，店家用二砂、黑糖和冰糖，3種糖依比例調配熬煮，煮好還必須燜過才能使用，為的就是要把糖分的香氣逼出來。除了糖水，店家還研發多種口味的水果醬汁，加在冰品裡，不但視覺效果佳，更添獨特的風味。

※海之冰

　　「哇！好大碗的剉冰喔！」初次到訪的客人看到眼前碗公盛裝的剉冰，無不發出驚嘆，這就是大到足可讓10人共享的「渡船頭海之冰」。

　　哈瑪星輪渡站附近的「渡船頭海之冰」，沒有華麗的裝潢，牆面盡是客人的塗鴉，這間看似平凡的冰店，因超大號剉冰成為網路超人氣冰店，每到夏天，店裡總是坐滿吃冰的客人，到了假日更是人山人海。

　　業者說，民國79年剛開始賣冰時，鄰近的中山大學學生到店裡吃冰，有人要求把冰做大一點，他們從善如流，找一個大碗公盛裝，後來又有人提出加大的要求，而且愈做愈大，最後，大碗公剉冰就成了店裡的特色。這裡的剉冰可依客人需求訂做2人份、3人份、6人份、甚至10人份，好處就是很「划算」，一碗3人份剉冰的量比3碗單人份的剉冰量還多，而且還可以大夥兒圍在一起共享，拉近彼此之間的情感。