A Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On

Milk shakes, almost everyone would agree, are right up there with fried chicken and Oreo cookies on the list of foods that spell Americana. Shakes have a romantic American past; they remind us of soda jerks serving fancy drinks on ornate marble counters in hometown pharmacies. But Americans haven’t cornered the shake market. If you find yourself in Jakarta wanting to cool off with something thick and frosty, you can order an ice Syanghai --a Southeast Asian version of the All-American shake. In Manila, your shake will be called halo halo. And in any Mexican town, you’ll be offered licuados, a creamy, frothy blend of milk, ice and fruit.

You don’t have to leave town, however, to sample any of these or a host of other exotic shakes. In Los Angeles you can order your shake in almost every language.

Chinese

A good place to find the full array of Chinese shakes is Julo Chinese Foods in Westminster’s Little Saigon. I found the drinks here cool and refreshing, but the best part was watching the server fashion the shakes--well worth the price of admission. A large block of ice is clamped into the stout, hand-cranked ice-shaving machine and with a turn of the handle fresh ice shavings fall into a bowl. (This step is important; I’ve had shortcut versions in which ice is merely scooped from a bin and they always taste stale in comparison.) First a bit of sweet syrup is poured over the ice. Then you select your toppings from the row of large bowls in the deli case. One dollar gets you one topping: crushed pineapple, almond jelly, black jelly, lichee nuts, chewy pearl tapioca, sweet red beans, or maybe peanuts cooked in sugar. Two toppings run $1.50 and for $2 you get a little bit of everything in the case. If you like your shakes rich and thick, ask for a little sweetened condensed milk.

Julo Chinese Foods, 9711 Bolsa Ave. No. C (in the Today Plaza), Westminster; (714) 839-5322. Open 11 a.m. -9 p.m., daily.

Among the customers at Sweeties, stern-looking Chinese businessmen can be seen at dainty ice-cream parlor tables reading their Chinese newspapers and sipping ice shakes similar to those at Julo. Sweeties also carries regular ice cream, but most patrons seem to prefer the shakes. The store has an ice-shaving device and offers most of the classic toppings, including oatmeal, which I was surprised to discover is popular in Taipei. Also, sweeties makes shakes of blended ice and fresh fruit that are extremely refreshing. Sweeties Ice Cream, 404-H S. Atlantic Blvd., Monterey Park (in the Edwards Cinema Mall); (818) 284-8989. Open 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m., daily.

Vietnamese

Traveling further south to Vietnam, one finds the most varied milkshakes in all Asia. Two good places to get an overview of Vietnamese shakes are Pho Quyen, a restaurant with the most comprehensive drink menu in Chinatown, and Tay Ho in Westminster. Most Vietnamese shakes are coconut milk-based with any number of additions and combinations. My favorite, suong xa hot luu , is unappetizingly translated as “white jelly and cooked flour ball in coconut milk.” The flour balls turn out to be tiny cherry-colored bits with a slightly chewy texture; these are mixed into the creamy coconut milk with sparkling slivers of jelly. But most people I’ve met who know these drinks love the sweet red bean and tapioca pearl in coconut milk (No. 11), or the sweet and rich mung bean paste with tapioca pearls (No. 10). Yet another combination is the sweet mung bean paste and little jellies in coconut milk. The food here is terrific too especially the duck salad.

Pho Quyen, 667 N. Spring St., Chinatown; (213) 626-2642. Open 8 a.m.-8 p.m., daily.

In addition to the ever-popular bean-and-coconut milk drinks, Tay Ho offers che ba mau , one the most baroque libations of this style. It comes in layers: first sweet red beans, next yellow mung bean paste, then green tapioca-like strands, slivers of young coconut, ice and coconut milk. A drink called Vietnamese jello bears no resemblance to the gelatin of our childhood, but is a similar symphony of textures floating in coconut milk. Tay Ho also specializes in banh cuon , a Vietnamese-style steamed rice noodle sheet into which various fillings and toppings are rolled; a shake and banh cuon combination makes a delicious lunch.

Tay Ho, 9242 Bolsa Ave., No. C, Westminister; (714) 895-4796. Open 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Tue.-Sun.

Van’s Vietnamese Bakery specializes in Vietnamese and French-style desserts: excellent flan and good gooey birthday cakes. And if you’re thirsty and in a hurry, you can get Vietnamese jello drinks to take home. I love the way the bakery packages the drinks in plastic bags ready to go. Each ingredient, the coconut milk, the green strands and so on have a bag of their own. When you get them home, mix the ingredients and add chopped ice. Each flavor is clear and there’s no melting ice to water down the drink. One case holds a varied selection of drinks in clear plastic cups so you can experiment with any that catch your fancy. If you want to consume yours on the spot, just ask the clerk to add ice.

Van’s Bakery, 9211 Bolsa Ave. No. 125, Westminster; (714) 898-7065. Open 8 a.m.-9 p.m., daily.

Ngu Binh offers Vietnamese shakes of a different sort. The place blends tropical fruits with ice and then adds a soup can of condensed milk to create soft, pastel-colored shakes with indescribable flavors: Sambutier is a delicate rosy coral, jackfruit a subtle tone of orange and the guava is barely green. These are listed under nuoc on the wall menu.

Ngu Binh Fast Food, 9361 Bolsa Ave. No. 101, Westminster; (714) 839-2700. Open 8 a.m.-7 p.m., daily.

Indonesian

Like its population, Indonesia’s drinks, have a smidgen of Chinese heritage and a lot of Southeast Asian ancestry. Mawar Indonesian Deli’s ice Syanghai clearly has Chinese roots. Red beans, milk, black Chinese jelly squares and coconut shreds all top a frosty mound of shaved ice (the deli has an ice shaver) that can be ordered in a bowl or glass (the bowl is more traditional and is usually ‘eaten’ with a spoon). Customers were slurping it up with obvious relish. But the more Southeast Asian-style drink that caught my fancy was ice teller , in which little avocado chunks, pieces of jackfruit and young coconut slivers float in a fancy ice cream sundae glass of sweet milk. Slushy ice drinks include ice lichee and ice rambutan (a lichee -like fruit, but more tart). The deli serves about 20 Indonesian dishes, but I prefer the snacks. If you’re lucky, they won’t have run out of lemper , a roll of sticky rice stuffed with seasoned chicken.

Mawar Deli, 534 E. Valley Blvd. No. 8, San Gabriel; (818) 573-0506. Open 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Tue.-Sat.

Agung, possibly the sole Sumatran restaurant in Los Angeles, has a smaller but no less distinctive selection of Indonesian shakes. Es alpukat (or ice avocado) is a layered drink with mashed avocado at the bottom of the glass, creamy sweet iced coffee in the middle, and ice on the top. You should stir the layers up before drinking. Es tape is cassava (tapioca) brewed with yeast mixed with sweet syrup and young coconut shreds. Es Syanghai and es teller are popular at Agung too. And if you order these shakes with ayam goreng belado --Indonesian-style fried chicken--you’ll have a tasty Sumatran translation of an All-American meal.

Agung, 3909 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; (213) 660-2113. Open noon-9 p.m., Wed.-Sat. and Mon.; noon -8 p.m., Sun.

Philippine

Listen closely on any heat-filled day in Manila, and you’ll hear the jangle of ice against thousands of halo halo glasses. Halo halo means “mix mix” and that’s just what everyone is doing with the ingredients in their Philippine-style shakes around Merienda time--the Philippine equivalent of afternoon tea. Goldilox, the 3rd Street branch of a Philippine-based bakery and carry-out chain, serves up a delightful halo halo . A recitation of the ingredients is a clue to the origin of the drink’s name: Goldilox mixes approximately 10 ingredients--including such novelties as coconut jam, garbanzo beans, squares of red jello and leche flan (custard)--in a tall ice cream glass. This may sound more like a stew than a shake, but it’s really mostly milk and ice. A deluxe halo halo comes with a scoop of ice cream.

Goldilocks, 4053 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (213) 382-2351. 17522 Pioneer Blvd., Artesia; (213) 860-7786.

The last time I felt like halo halo I stopped by Jerry’s Philippine restaurant and fast foods, but then suddenly decided to branch out and try the maiz con hielo , a halo halo -type drink made with creamed corn that I found quite rich and appealing. (Creamed corn shows up in many Philippine desserts.) The drink was garnished with little crispy things which, I later discovered, are called pinipig --toasted young rice. Jerry automatically puts ice cream in all his drinks. Next time I’m going to try the macapuno delight made from whipping cream, ice cream and soft young coconut with cherries on top.

Jerry’s Place at Betsy’s Cake Center, 1001 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles; (213) 661-7324. Open 10 a.m.-8 p.m., daily.

Indian

Paru’s in Hollywood is probably Los Angeles’ first Indian Vegetarian restaurant. When I went to try Paru’s new branch on Pico in West Los Angeles, I gave the carrot-almond shake a try. It is sumptuous and almost too filing to eat with a meal even though, the waitress wanted us to know, it was made with low-fat milk.

Paru’s, W. 9340 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles; (213) 273-8088. Open 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., and 5:30-9 p.m., daily.