Cousins Danny Che, David Sat, and Kenneth Sa are no strangers to working together. They’ve been doing it their whole lives at Deluxe Food Market, an enormous Chinatown grocery and butcher shop owned by all three of their dads. “It’s our family’s market,” says Danny. “I’ve worked there since I was nine or ten years old … during the summer my dad would bring me out to work, and I’d do anything he told me to.”
The seeds of Wooly’s Ice were planted when Danny and David studied abroad in Beijing in 2009 and traveled throughout Asia before returning home. On a trip to Taiwan they discovered xua hua bing, which translates roughly to “snow flower ice.” Unlike Hawaiian shave ice or Taiwanese bao bing, the flavoring in xua hua bing is frozen into the ice, instead of just poured on top as a syrup. “The ice was flavored already, so that was a huge difference and that blew my mind.” In Taiwan, xua hua bing is served family style, and when Danny, David, and a few friends got their massive plate of ice piled high with toppings and drenched in syrup, they were convinced they’d never be able to finish it—until they started eating and had to order a second one in rapid succession, “It was that good. People were, like, literally fighting for the last spoonful.”
A year later, after Danny and David had returned home, they learned that Ice Monster, the place where they discovered xua hua bing in Taiwan, had shut down. “When I read the article I e-mailed it to my cousin, joking, we should start this thing,” Danny says. “And he was like, yeah, haha.” But the more Danny played with the idea, the more serious he became about it. What’s the worst that can happen if I fail? he thought. “I’m still young. I have nothing to lose,” Danny says. Soon David was on board, too.
It took a whole year of recipe development, which involved “eating a lot, a lot of ice” to get a product that they were proud of. With limited capital to start their business, they decided to jump on the mobile food trend, opting for a cart rather than a more costly food truck. Danny and David realized they would need more help, so they brought another cousin, Kenneth Sa, on board. All three had grown up working together at the family store, so it was a natural fit.
When it came time to name their business, Danny wanted “something that doesn’t really mean anything. Something really abstract.” He heard David’s sister call him Wooly. Though the name was intended to be nonsensical, it’s oddly fitting “it’s like Wooly Mammoth, icy, Ice Age, and also the texture is kind of Woolyish,” Danny says.
The cousins launched the Wooly’s Ice cart in the summer of 2011 with two flavors: “original” and green tea. The original flavor is dairy-based, lightly sweetened, and very similar to what they had in Taiwan. Their light and fluffy snow-like ices come in two sizes: “the Wooly” and “the Mammoth” (you can guess which one is the bigger of the two). In addition to their ices, they also developed a menu of syrups and fresh fruit toppings, as opposed to the canned, syrupy stuff they found in Taiwan. For those who want to indulge, they serve brownie bites and mochi, sweet little balls of glutinous rice. Twitter followers get exclusive alerts about their “secret menu,” which changes daily and might include other ice flavors, like their mango or strawberry, as well as secret toppings.
“It’s the best job I’ve ever had. And it is the toughest job I’ve ever had. It’s a grueling day just standing outside in the heat, but even then it’s really fulfilling, too.”
Setting up the cart wasn’t without challenges. “When we got into the business, we thought ‘Oh my God, this is going to be the next Pinkberry,’” says Danny. “This is going to be the easiest thing. We’ll just put it out there, and everybody is going to come. No.” Their first location at City Hall had a busy lunch crowd, but was a ghost town after 3:00 p.m. They tried other spots with some success, but hadn’t anticipated the challenge of getting people to try a new food, no matter how good it was. “Just breaking into the food scene is really hard,” Danny admits.
Slowly but surely, the buzz started growing and growing. Two months after opening, they garnered a coveted Dessert Vendy nomination. All of their cousins pitched in on a hot Saturday in late September of 2011 as they served up thousands of ices to attendees at the annual Vendy Awards. The crowd (and the judges) fell in love with their light and refreshing ices, which proved the perfect antidote to the late summer heat. “It’s not easy doing your own thing, but it’s very fulfilling because you see your business growing before your very eyes. Like when we won the Vendy, it was like, Oh my God. It was like the best thing that ever happened to me.”
With major award recognition and a season’s worth of experience under their belts, they found a new home on the pier at the South Street Seaport in the spring of 2012. They serve tourists and locals there seven days a week from noon until 7:00 p.m. from April through October. “My dad’s worked seven days a week for the past thirty years. Every single day. It’s amazing to have a great role model that’s so hardworking. When I’m working hard and I’m really tired, I’m like, what about my dad, he’s been working twice as hard as me for the past thirty years, so shut up and put your head down.” And when Danny, David, and Kenneth put their heads down and get to work, they’re unstoppable.
Adapted from Danny Che’s recipe
When Wooly’s Ice took home the 2011 Dessert Vendy Award, one of their special combos for the day was “The Green Man,” featuring their signature green tea ice with chopped mango, mochi pieces, and Sea Salt Leche (page 37). You can use any type of green tea for this recipe. The guys at Wooly’s prefer the green tea from Ten Ren (www.tenren.com). For those who love a stronger and earthier flavor, try this recipe with matcha. The Wooly’s crew has a heavy-duty ice shaver that gives their ices the consistency of light, soft snow. For at-home cooks, they recommend preparing the recipe granita-style which requires only a fork, patience and a watchful eye. You can customize this dessert to match your sweet tooth adding more (or less) sweetened condensed milk, if desired.
6 green tea bags
6 tablespoons to ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
Sea Salt Leche (page 37), for serving
In a large bowl, brew 6 cups of your favorite green tea. If you are using tea leaves, be sure to strain out all tea leaves after brewing.
Stir in the desired amount of sweetened condensed milk. Stir to blend mixture well.
Pour into a 8 x 8 glass baking dish, cover and let freeze for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the freezer and use your fork to breakup any ice that has formed and stir it back in. Continue this process every 20 minutes for about 2 to 3 hours or until all of the liquid has crystalized—the more frequently you scrape and stir the ice, the finer your crystals will be. Just before serving vigorously scrape the ice and serve topped with Sea Salt Leche (page 37).
Adapted from Danny Che’s recipe
Fresh, sweet, and summery, this ice is all about the strawberries you use, so you’ll want to make sure your berries are at peak ripeness. Serve topped with Sea Salt Leche (page 37) and sliced strawberries, if desired.
½ pound fresh strawberries
5 tablespoons simple syrup (recipe follows)
Sea Salt Leche (page 37), for serving
Place strawberries in a food processor and purée. Transfer strawberries to a large bowl and add simple syrup along with 5 cups water.
Stir to blend mixture well.
Pour into a 8 x 8 glass baking dish, cover and let freeze for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the freezer and use your fork to breakup any ice that has formed and stir it back in. Continue this process every 20 minutes for about 2 to 3 hours or until all of the liquid has crystalized—the more frequently you scrape and stir the ice, the finer your crystals will be. Just before serving vigorously scrape the ice and serve topped with Sea Salt Leche (page 37).
Simple syrup can be used to add sweetness to drinks like coffee, tea, or cocktails.
1 cup sugar
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the sugar to 1 cup water, and stir until dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until mixture has reduced to a slightly thick syrup, about 20 minutes. Store in the refrigerator in a sterilized glass jar or bottle for up to 2 weeks.
Adapted from Danny Che’s recipe
Salty and sweet, this syrup is great on shave ice, and the leftovers also work well over ice cream or stirred into coffee.
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 teaspoon sea salt
Whisk all ingredients together to mix well. Pour into a squeeze bottle for serving. Drizzle over ice just before serving. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.
