I heart Ice Carol

YES, I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking, "Hey. I've seen that Ping Su thing before. Doesn't she have anything better to post about?"
But how can I resist. I fall at the feet of Pat Ping Su and when I see a Red Mango store (home of the fabulous yogurt Ping Su) I get chills. I even snub my nose at Baskin Robbins' Mocha Almond Fudge despite the shop's very clever location at the most busy corner of town, which I walk past at least twice every day, maybe six times on the weekend. The love has gone.

Yes, my obsession with Pat Ping Su lives on, and why not when it looks as cheeky as this devil brought to you by a lovely lady at Ice Carol who gave us a free chocolate chip cookie because we're foreigners. ("Ser-bis!")
This little yogurt number was enormous - huge - gigantic. The bowl was as big as a small child's head and had handles on each side, making it very tempting to lift it to my face and scare the locals by guzzling it down like a crazy westerner.

My new best friend piled it with the biggest mound of shaved ice I have ever encountered in my quest for the ultimate Ping Su, covered it in pureed strawberries, and then added only a small dollop of yogurt.
Hmmm, interesting, potentially bad, thought I. But then she went to town with the toppings, creating a masterpiece atop a rather generous mound of sweet red beans (much to Wes's horror).
She took such care with her colour palate, too, fanning slices of kiwi against juicy dollops of peaches, watermelon, pineapple, glace cherries (again, to Wes's horror), mandarin segments, chewy jelly balls and - OH CRAP - sliced cherry tomatoes.
Still, there's hope, I thought. We can always be like those picky people that pull things out of food. To complete the art work - a different touch - a swirl of condensed milk.

It looked so attractive that I had to catch my breath. Then we got busy taking many many photos despite a young Korean couple looking on in mild curiosity. (Oh well, we got a free cookie out of it, suckers!)

I felt guilty setting the tomatoes aside, so we tasted them just to be sure we were correct in our assumptions. We were. Koreans, listen up - tomatoes may be a fruit but they are purely for salads and other savoury things. Not for ruining cakes and my dear Ping Su.
(Still, I was secretly embarrassed, so rather than leaving them on the tray for my new best friend to discover, I discreetly deposited them in the bin. Pathetic, I know, but I don't want to shatter the relationship when it's only just beginning. Free cookie and all.)

Once that little obstacle was dealt with, we dug in. It was lovely. It was like a pot of ice soup with fruity floating bits, and it was so big it felt like the never ending dessert.
Oooh, and we got a frequent visitors' card.

I love you Ice Carol. And even though I don't understand why you have an entire cupboard devoted specifically to the most dry-looking, over-priced imported panettone I've ever seen, I still think we have something special.
And you're just down the road, beneath the cinema, so I can visit you all the time. Kisses and hugs.