Manager of Shari Shari, Hong Kong’s leading shaved ice brand, Shingo Take has made kakigori as a key player in the city’s dessert game.
For close to a decade in Hong Kong, Shari Shari’s sugary kakigori shaved iced desserts have placed smiles on faces and lit up Instagram feeds with radical colour and sugar combinations in the dessert stores’ four branches.
The story of one of the city’s most recognisable desserts began with former gelato-salesman Shingo Take nine years ago. The Japanese native backed himself to inaugurate a new generation for kakigori.
146 years after the first kakigori store was supposedly opened in Yokohama, Japan, Shingo noticed an absence of Japan’s signature shaved ice dessert in the sweet-toothed dessert scene of Hong Kong.
“I was very familiar with the Japanese shaved ice category [in Japan], but there were no such shops in Hong Kong when I moved here,” Shingo says. In 2015, three years after emigrating to sell Hokkaido gelato, he opened Shari Shari’s first branch in Causeway Bay.
The quality and structure of ice used in kakigori is essential to the brand – Shingo imports ice directly from Tokyo, approximately 5,000 blocks every month to supply each branch and the strong demand for sugar- and fruit-topped shaved ice.
Innovation is the name of the shaved ice game. Shingo is constantly affixed to social media trends, seasonal imports of Japanese fruit, and what Hong Kong currently demands for desserts.
“Our [kakigori] flavours are split into three categories: traditional, such as matcha and black sesame; western style with desserts including hazelnuts, pistachio, and tiramisu; and a focus on ingredients. We want to bring fruits like strawberry, apple, and mango to present the flavours of Japan and Asia.”
“Every season we also introduce new flavours such as Halloween-themed kakigori in 2024 with pumpkin syrup, purple sweet potato foam, coconut syrup, Hokkaido red bean, cookie crumbs, Oreo, and pumpkin seeds.” For the recent Christmas season, Shingo created a limited-edition pistachio and raspberry espuma green-red themed kakigori.
Above all, Shingo is intent to mark his kakigori as a departure and an upgrade to the traditional form found in Japan, and Taiwan and South Korea’s shaved ice desserts. “All of Asia’s [shaved ice desserts] are different in origin and style. The Korean style used rock ice with a milky flavour, same with the Taiwan-style with a crunchy ice.”
The kakigori at Shari Shari is markedly different from its Asian counterparts with a fluffy ice that comfortably holds syrup, toppings, and fruit. Shingo says he isn’t concerned about imitation locally or regionally. “I don’t care so much about what our competitors [are doing].”
“I have learnt a lot from my visits to kakigori shops in Tokyo and Osaka, connecting with the shop owners there. Of course, we do not talk about recipes but it is great to meet with Japan’s kakigori creators. They really respect me that I have successfully brought this outside of Japan to Hong Kong.”
Today, Shingo notes that Tokyo has seen the new wave of kakigori’s creative fair expand beyond the Japanese capital and entice markets across Asia and in the west.
Shari Shari opened its original SoHo store on Elgin Street in 2017. Shingo expanded to Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok in the 2020s to accommodate a strong market in Kowloon. “The two areas are strong areas for dessert, so we wanted to share our shaved ice in these shopping districts.”
Speaking to the founder-owner at Shari Shari’s new SoHo store opposite Tai Kwun, he notes that most of his brand’s customers are from Hong Kong, with a minority travelling to Hong Kong and visiting the stores. At 4PM in the store, the tables are filled with schoolgirls, white-collar workers seeking a sweet break, long-lunching Hong Kongers, and a few Xiaohongshu-weilding Chinese tourists.
“Even in Japan, the people do not have a culture of having dessert after eating lunch or dinner. Luckily, Hong Kongers know this culture.”
2025 marks the 10th year Shingo has run Shari Shari in Hong Kong. Beset with protests, COVID hardships, and city-wide financial struggles, he has marched on through a decade selling kakigori costing HKD100 or less and topped with finger-licking sugary syrups and toppings.
“This year we are looking to become a real signature of Hong Kong’s food industry, like Kau Kee, Tsui Wah, and Bakehouse. I want people to know Shari Shari as a must-visit place in Hong Kong and more representative of the [city’s food scene].”
Snack on Shari Shari’s addictive kakigori by visiting their shops in SoHo, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Mong Kok.
