ARTICE (Duxton)

With the concept of combining an Art gallery with shaved Ice, @artice_sg just gives pretty zen/ chill vibes where you could just sit and unwind there.

Pistachio Kakigori ($22)
As a huge fan of pistachio, I definitely could not give this a miss! The shaved ice was soft, and there's drizzle of pistachio base syrup over the shaved ice, but you don't really get much of those nutty pistachio flavours from the ice alone. The main source of pistachio flavours comes from the pistachio cream that's added at the top of the shaved ice, but it's also pretty sweet and less of those intense nutty pistachio flavours I was expecting.

The opening of Artice has been one that is probably pretty anticipated by those whom have been following the happenings in the local F&B scene. There have been some posts about Artice going around social media for quite a while since end 2023, though Artice has just officially opened their doors on 3 January 2024. Located at 20 Duxton Hill, Artice is located right across from the outlet of the L'Entrecôte The Steak & Fries Bistro, Artice had mentioned that they are a shaved ice cafe and an art gallery based on the description on their social media pages. Stepping into Artice, it is interesting to see how they have segmented the space to ensure that art maintains an integral part of the concept — while the counter and the food preparation sits at the end of the space, the dine-in seating is located at the centre of the interior rather than along the sides; this not only allows a passageway for those whom are visiting the art gallery to go through the entire space, but sitting at the booth seats facing the walls also allows patrons to appreciate the art pieces while enjoying the shaved ice. The interior is decked in a way that is modern and minimalist, yet carried a rustic and raw appeal in certain areas — very apt considering how they are situated in a heritage-rich shophouse within town; think white walls and earthy tones with a large use of wood for its furniture and fittings, all alongside a “green” wall featuring a mix of plants stone elements that is flooded with natural lighting from above at the counter areas. As they have described in their bio on their social media pages, Artice is a shaved ice cafe; the menu indeed focuses solely on their shaved ice offerings with quite a number of flavours to choose from — think common ones like Strawberry and Matcha, as well as more intriguing ones like Pistachio and Dragon & Passion Fruit.

It may be true that the Shaved Ice menu at Artice does comprise of quite a number of intriguing flavours; that being said, we quite unanimously agreed that the Roasted Sweet Potato Shaved Ice would be that odd-flavoured variant which we wanted to go for. The menu at Artice describes the Roasted Sweet Potato Shaved Ice to come with elements such as sweet potatoes, milk, whipped cream, and black sesame. On first impression, the shaved ice that is served at Artice was nothing too close to the typical shaved ice desserts that we are used to seeing that is served in the local context; in fact, the shaded ice from Artice can be described to come with an aesthetic that is closer to the Japanese Kakigori (i.e. Japanese shaved ice dessert) instead. The mound of shaved ice comes served in a bowl, with sweet potato mousse that is being drenched all over on its exterior alongside with milk; the entire shaved ice dessert being topped off with cassava chips that is speckled with black sesame.

Digging into the Roasted Sweet Potato Shaved Ice, we noticed that the shaved ice here comes with a really finely-shaved texture — one which is closely associated to that of Kakigori that Matchaya once served up when they were lesser of a commercialised set-up when still situated at The Cathay. The light a fluffy ice also came rather clear of any lingering aftertastes, while the roasted sweet potato mousse provided a light and creamy texture that was a little grainy; fairly reasonable considering the inherent texture of sweet potatoes akin to it being mashed — itself carrying a light sweetness and a very slight earthiness throughout; pretty appealing and we did wish that there was more of that. The cassava chips in the meanwhile provide a crisp texture for a refreshing contrast, while the milk gets really a little more evident as one reaches all the way to the bottom of the bowl since much of it was puddling with the melting shaved ice; provides a light fragrance that binds the roasted sweet potato mousse and the shaved ice altogether. It has been quite a while since Japanese Kakigori had been served up by an establishment in Singapore — the more notable ones till date being Matchaya and the later iteration of Fuwa Fuwa Kakogori when they were operating from Dosukoi x Donpachi (which now houses Manpuku Sando instead). Although marketed as shaved ice rather than Japanese Kakigori, Artice’s creations does seem to come close to being one. The shaved ice items are priced between $15 to $22; the lowest-priced one being the Lemon & Butterfly Pea Shaved Ice, while the priciest are the Strawberry Shaved Ice and Pistachio Shaved Ice. Considering the rather special flavour combinations that they have, we might actually drop by Artice some time again to give those a try; all that while enjoying some solace and the art that they have on display.