Artisanal ice lollies the latest Hong Kong dessert trend

Ice lollies are making a comeback, but they're not the generic supermarket varieties of your childhood.

Candice Yung, who opened ice lolly (or ice pop) shop I See I See in Causeway Bay in May, makes sure she has a new flavour for her customers every week. And lest you think ice lollies are just junk food, Yung says she introduces the flavours depending on which fruits are in season. "Each week I spend time on creating new flavours, and currently I have more than 40 recipes. I believe that using quality ingredients — fruits, in my case — is extremely important, because you can only make quality ice pops with quality ingredients."

Yung has eight to 10 flavours available at the shop each day, with four core flavours — strawberry Hokkaido milk, Earl Grey pistachio, cheesy raspberry, and kiwi.

Aside from the seasonal, artisanal approach, other shops are also introducing novel ways to eat ice lollies. At ramen chain Ippudo, ice pops dunked into soft drinks are being served.

"Popsicles in drinks are actually rather common in Japan — albeit mostly as an alcoholic beverage. We at Ippudo want to create the same experience but in a more family-friendly way," says Takashige Miyaki, operations consultant at Ippudo Hong Kong. Miyaki says that there's no hard and fast rule about how one should consume the combination. "We recommend letting the Popsicle melt a little bit so the juices in the Popsicle can blend with the soda, but there is no wrong way, as long as our customers are having fun."

I See I See, Shop 01 Haven Court, 138 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 2337 3361. Open: Sunday-Thursday 11.30am-10.30pm, Friday-Saturday 11.30am-11.30pm

Ippudo, branches include shop 210, Silvercord, 30 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2957 8893. Open: 11.30am-10.30pm