Food Talk – Healthy Ice Desserts at Icey Ice
Icey Ice is a hit new eatery in Perth, specialising in icy treats, as you can tell by the name of the eatery! We chose Icey Ice as our next Food Stories interview as the Owner agreed to reserve a table for us at the Progressive Dinner that we had a few months back. I thought I’d kind of return the favour by giving her free publicity on our site. Just like I kind of returned the favour to Cuong indirectly who had emailed us last year and quite a few times this year about his exhibition. Who says helping others doesn’t get you any where? 
But anyway, I digress. Catherine Teo, the co-owner of Icey Ice, spoke to us recently about her new venture.
WG: When did you first start Icey Ice?
Catherine: We first opened on the 23rd of February 2007.
WG: What inspired you to open Icey Ice?
Catherine: We first started it because my husband (Lesley) liked it. Lesley tried it in Malaysia and introduced it to me, and we were looking to start something different that is not here in Australia. So we thought, why not bring it to Australia?
WG: Is this your first food-related venture?
Catherine: Yes it is. Previously we had a retail store but we are closing that down now to concentrate on Icey Ice.
WG: How many stores to you have in Perth?
Catherine: We have 3 stores in Perth – one in Northbridge, one in the city, and one recently opened in Victoria Park.
There is also a store in Queensland, and someone from Darwin is interested in the franchise. There is also a possibility that we may extend the franchise to NSW and Victoria, and of course the Northern Territory.
WG: Where is Icey Ice originally from?
Catherine: Icey Ice is originally from Taiwan.
WG: In your own words, would you describe Icey Ice to people who haven’t had it before… other than it’s just shaved ice with syrup and other optional toppings on it?
Catherine: It is a unique snow ice product which is hard for people to copy. In the winter, we will be bringing out a new product.
WG: What is the new product?
Catherine: The new product is a fondue. It’s ice which is dipped in a chocolate fondue. It’s $19.90 for a set, and it has biscuits, and marshmallows. There are 3 ice scoops for each set, and there are 4 different flavours.
WG: So the ball scoops are made out of ice? Won’t it melt when you dip it into the fondue?
Catherine: No we have done a lot of food testing and the ice won’t melt.
WG: What are your favourite foods?
Catherine: My favourite foods are healthy foods, like fruit and tofu. I try to incorporate this into our menu, such as using fruits to go with our ice products. I wanted to create a light, healthy dessert. Even with the chocolate fondue, there are fruits with the marshmallows and chocolate fondue.
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I’d like to congratulate the Teo’s on bringing the Icey Ice franchise and its’ tasty yet healthy desserts to Australia. We were also advised that nutritional information is available upon request for anyone who is interested to have a look at it.
To be honest, I personally was a bit amused by Icey Ice when it first started. To me it’s a bit like ice kachang or air batu campur (ABC), a well known dessert found in Malaysia and Singapore, but where the ice has different flavours. But what I find different about the ice at Icey Ice is that it’s a lot softer. I’m not sure whether it’s because they use a commercial-grade ice shaver, or whether there’s just something special about the ice. Who knows. But Icey Ice can be addictive, especially in the summer months when we’re all melting! I haven’t tried the new winter product, but it sounds good. Chocolate fondue is always good.
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Icey Ice Locations
Western Australia
Perth City Location:
Shop G02A Centro, 166 Murray Street
Perth WA 6000
Phone: 9325 9423
Northbridge Location:
Unit 2/297 William Street (next to Fu Restaurant)
Northbridge WA 6003 Australia
Phone: 9328 8058
Victoria Park Location
Shop 2/342 Albany Hwy (near Makan Makan)
Victoria Park WA 6100
Phone: 6252 7070
At this stage, apparently the Northern Territory and Queensland stores are in operation or are due to in the coming months. Please check the Icey Ice website for more details on their locations.
