Korea has bingsu, Italy has granita and in the Philippines it’s halo-halo. Japan’s answer to shaved-ice desserts is kakigori. Kakigori’s shaved ice resembles fluffy, freshly fallen snow, which is then sweetened with syrups of various flavours. The dessert comes in different flavours and is typically topped with things like red bean paste, fresh fruit, ice-cream or drizzles of condensed milk.

Kakigori Kaiji is Sydney’s first shop dedicated to the iconic dessert – but it’s also the first to use Kuramoto Ice, a tasteless, slow-melting ice from Kanazawa in Japan. There are five kakigori flavours to choose from at Kaiji, all spiked with house-made syrups. Highlights include strawberry with condensed milk foam and meringue cookie; and matcha with condensed milk and azuki (red mung bean).