Pot Bing Soo, $10.95, at Takamatsu is topped with miniature balls of frozen glutinous rice, otherwise known as mochi. 

Next time you're gorging on kalbi short ribs and fat bowls of bibimbap, try to save room for dessert.

Because then, you can eat this ...

What is it? Nuclear shark bait? A care package from an alien candy store? Kind of ... But around here people call it Pot Bing Soo — or by its English nickname, Diamond Ice. Takamatsu serves this Korean treat at its east-side restaurant, 5532 E. Speedway. 

Pot Bing Soo has nine separate ingredients (pictured clockwise in the photo below): shaved ice, milk, kiwi fruit, Korean cereal powder, miniature mochi balls, strawberries, sweetened condensed milk, strawberry syrup and sweet red beans. These can vary depending on the restaurant, but this is how it's done here. 

Ingredients for Takamatsu's Pot Bing Soo, clockwise from top: shaved ice, milk, kiwis, Korean cereal powder, mochi balls, strawberries, sweetened condensed milk and strawberry syrup. And in the center, red beans. 

Takamatsu's owner Peter Koga says it's actually best if you mix everything up together. (A little messy, but it can be done.) With all of the milk in there it turns into a saucy colorful muck, but each bite is revelatory.

You can taste everything at the same time: the lip-smacking fruits, the sweet and savory red beans, the itty bitty frozen mochi rice cakes like ice cream candy. The Korean cereal powder thickens it all up, giving the shaved ice a kind of a granola parfait vibe. It's kind of hard to describe, but it's definitely unique! 

Just a note: the dessert pictured above is actually the small version. As you can see it's pretty hefty, so like most dishes at Takamatsu, it's best to share! 


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