Vampire Penguin

I was so lucky that got here after the big crowd left. The line was not long. They was a 30 minute backup in the kitchen. I decided to try three, mexican candy, green tea, and cheesecake. My favorite was the mexican candy because it had a little spice to it and it just melt in your mouth. I will definitely be back.

The shaved ice here is either good or not so good. The strawberry cheesecake was amazing, but everything else was subpar. The serving sizes are pretty large, but the taste is just not fully there sometimes.

This is my first time trying out snow ice. It is close to the fineness of a good Hawaiian shaved ice but has a creamier texture especially if you get one that has condensed milk in it. We tried the Mexican Candy and the Halo Halo and although both are good, I preferred the creamier Halo Halo but the red beans can be a bit softer.
The issue I have with them is the first time I came by, they were closed even though it was during their business hours. There was no sign or anything as to whether they would be closed all day or what. So I decided to call before going to make sure they are open, but they never answer the phones. I have tried 3 different occasions and no answer. The last time after getting no answer, we decided to drive by to see if they were open and they were. There is now a sign on the door that they may be closed periodically due to management change. Ummm, then it would make more sense than ever to answer your phones.
It was good but not spectacular enough to waste my time coming by if whether they are open is a crap shoot.

i believe vampire penguin replaced the boutique called «sway,» so this place is very spacious and big.
first impressions: super clean, tons of room, many tables/​seats, cheap pricing
customer service was good. it was me and my friend’s first time here so we took awhile with deciding what we wanted to order. he ended up getting the twix (chocolate shaved snow, graham crackers, caramel & chocolate syrup) and i had the s’moreos (cookies & cream snow, chocolate syrup, oreos, & mini marshmallows)
while we were waiting for our dessert, we noticed that they had some board games and card games. my friend and i played uno.
the shaved snow was brought out to us within 5 minutes or less and they were both really good, but i liked the twix a lot better. i ended up not eating most of the marshmallows because you could taste how it wasn’t jet puff brand and i didn’t like it. i’m picky lol.
overall, it was very good and i think i’ll try the green tea snow next time.

3.5 Rating
Came here twice. The shaved ice itself tastes decent. The lychee topping was not fresh. It’s yellow. Doubted the quality of other fruit toppings.
The service is okay.
The store is spacious but the eating environment has a factory or garage feeling because of the fluorescent lights. The space can be more welcoming by switching to incandescent lights or some other yellow light, plus the food will look much more appealing.
Many things can be improved.

My friend told me a story of him how he literally shatted himself after eating here when he went back to a friends house to chill afterwards lol.
This place is very very very cute inside with lots of space. The shaved ices were all too damn good. But hands down to the Halo Halo I got & shared with my sister. The portions are good sizes! A small is good for one person & the large is good for 2 – 3 to share. I didn’t have to experience popping afterwards. If you do poop, I would says its most likely because of the dairy milk made with the shaved ice. Having a non dairy milk choices would be nice too for those lactose intolerant people.

The snow here is light and yummy, I just think it’s on the pricey side. Also, snow I’ve tried in the past has been a lot creamier and fluffier.

Stopped here very quickly for some snow ice while I was in the area. We got a small green tea snow ice and it was pretty good. A tad on the sweet side with the amount of condensed milk poured onto the ice, but it comes in a cute upside down bowl-​like shape and the matcha flavor was stronger than I’ve had at some other places (which is good).
The interior of the restaurant is quite big and open, so I imagine you could come with a big group and hang out over dessert just fine.

The best alternative to ice cream in Berkeley.
Shaved ice, cream, and toppings. With those three ingredients Vampire Penguin has come up with a variety of delicious shaved ice dishes. Personally, I grew up in Taiwan, so I have a ceraim standard when it comes to this kind of dessert, and Vampire Penguin passes it with ease.
My top recommendation is the Strawberry shortcake, which comes with a layer of sweet cream ice on the bottom with strawberry ice on top (which is comfortably sour, which makes it taste amazing in contrast to the sweetness of the cream ice). It also has toppings of strawberry, peanut dust.
My second recommendation is the Matcha Green tea shaved ice, which is made great by the complementing red bean topping.
If those are too pricey (for these «deluxe» items, it can cost from $ 5 – 10 depending on item choice and size), just get a small scoop of shaved ice and 1– topping for an ice-​cream comparable price of ~$ 3. The mango is pretty decent, and definitely worth trying as the mango shaved ice is what made this dessert universally loved in Taiwan.

One of the friends was dying to take me here because she just knew I would love the Mexican Candy. She was right. It’s like a mangonada, with watermelon, all over some really beautifully textured shaved ice. It was heaven in my mouth. We also got the strawberry shortcake. We demolished the two larges between the three of us in no time. My other friend claimed she never liked shaved ice before this, and she was in love with the texture so she ordered another one. So basically we had one large shaved ice for each of us. It’s okay though, right? It’s just ice and fruit. Can’t be that terrible for you.
I really can’t explain the texture of their shaved ice but it’s different from Taiwanese and Korean shaved ices. Definitely a must-​try.

An awesome little dessert place that opened up recently in Berkeley. It is a little far from campus, so it’s not as busy as one would expect. Vampire Penguin replaced Sway, a women’s clothing store, so the inside is very spacious (sometimes even too spread out). The desserts are pretty cheap, a small is better for just one person, whereas the large can feed two.
–Taro with condensed milk and strawberries: YUM
–Cookies and cream with oreo bits and strawberries: YUM
–Cheesecake: NAH (the artificial strawberry taste over powered the whole plate, and the cheesecake was every mushy and not cold)

Sad. After looking /​reading at all the good reviews this place had I finally had the chance to try this place, but it was major disappointment. The snow flavored here are so meh & fake. Fake flavoring syrup stuff no authentic real fruit or anything. Bleh .
I rather go to snowflake in Fremont or sno-​crave in union city! Wayyyyy better and it’s real

Snow ice that feels like ice cream. I’ve had shaved ice that felt like cotton… so props Vampire Penguin. But, for how hyped up this establishment was for me, I didn’t find it to be spectacular.
First off the place is quite spacious with plenty of tables to sit at. But it wasn’t the cleanest. A little put-​offish for me. And second, they had a few people working but were in the kitchen area for majority of my visit.
Otherwise, I do like the creativity of the menu. The cheesecake flavored one is the best ***Only comes in large, not sure why*** definitely share!

I was super excited when I showed up with my son, hoping that this would turn into our regular dessert spot.
We showed up at around 9 PM on Veteran’s Day & the place was pretty mellow with a handful of college kids.
I ordered the halo halo and my son ordered the twix. We both opted for the small since we weren’t sharing with anyone else. But at $ 6 an order, I kind of expected a little more for my money. It was small & overly sweet because all the canned fruits in my halo halo were still drenched in the syrup it came with.
The worse part was I ordered an egg puff and it came out burnt so I asked the young guy if they could remake it for me since I wasn’t going to eat a burnt egg puff. He said that was the last one. Great! But why would you even bother to try and give a customer something burnt even if it is the last one. Just tell me you ran out. I’d rather be disappointed than unhappy.

This place is the one! They have set shaved snow flavors such as strawberry cheesecake or smores or you can make your own!
We decided to make our own with green tea shaved snow, red bean, condensed milk & almonds. It was delicious & at the right consistency that I would imagine shaved snow would taste like. I would definitely come back to try more especially the set shaved snow flavors!
The only critique I have is that I wish there was more amount of toppings on the plate to the ratio of shaved snow. We kind of had to portion out the red beans to the shaved snow.

For those who have never tried snow ice, let me clarify that it is nothing like snow cones. So don’t expect crunchy, chunky ice with flavored syrup running down the sides and melting.
Here’s what you can expect:
1. It’s literally like snow in its powder form — cold, powdery and dry until it hits your tongue. Then it melts into whatever flavor you opted for. I know it sounds weird but that is exactly what you will experience.
2. I had the green tea with almonds, strawberries and red beans. If you are a green tea fan, this definitely showcases the flavor of the tea. It is very dry on its own so I would ask for more condensed milk or extra fruit/​red beans next time.
3. Strawberry cheesecake macaroon ice cream sandwich: not a fan. The macaroon was soggy, too sweet and messy. I would skip this.
4. Strawberry snow ice with fruit — delish! I would ask for red beans next time… that would have made this perfect!
I was happy with my first visit here. Now I know what to tweak to customize it to my taste. That’s the beauty of this place — you create your own dessert the way you like it.

The first time I came across vampire penguin was out in Sac. Unfortunately, I always thought of checking out the place after hours. I was super stoked to find that there was a location out in the East Bay. After eating dinner across the street, we decided to finally check it out.
You can either build your own shaved ice with a number of toppings that they offer or you can pick from one of their own creations. I already knew what I wanted and quickly ordered the halo halo with no beans. I’m just not a bean gal… but I do love me some ube and flan.
The presentation was fantastic. The flavors and toppings were spot on. I was impressed. Service was also super friendly and she was running around trying to clean as much as possible. Street parking only. Perfect to have on a super hot summer day.

We got the strawberry cheesecake because my sister recommended it and it was so good! I’m not usually a fan of «cheesecake» shaved ice, but it wasn’t weird at all. The shaved ice was thick and fluffy, and the bottom layer of vanilla fluff balanced out the strawberry. There was plenty of condensed milk and sauce, and the crushed crackers around it were also very good. I don’t like graham crackers, but it was SOOOO good.
Interior is nice and spacious and there were lots of open tables when I went.
Looking forward to returning the next time I visit Berkeley!

I guess there was never a shaved snow places amidst the numerous boba shops near Berkeley… but here it is! Vampire Penguins. Super confused about the name, but at least they serve up delicious shaved snow!
It was kind of awkward walking in– the interior of this place was completely empty, except the cashier at the front. Oh, and this place is definitely bigger inside than their sign suggests. It almost looked like a studio room! Anyhow, we quickly ordered our items.
We ordered:
–2 orders of strawberry cheesecake shaved snow (strawberries and condensed milk as extras)// Definitely tasted like a cheesecake without all the cream cheese! Generous portion for the large (or was it delux?) and can definitely satisfy your sweet tooth.
–1 customized order: small, taro with lychee and strawberries /​/​Yum! Taro was SUPER taro– just the way I like it! For lychee, you can choose between the fruit (2 pieces) or the lychee jelly.
Pros:
–Clean environment! Super clean place, so I definitely feel save eating my shaved snow here.
–Super nice staff. They gave us the whole bottle of condensed milk when we needed more, and the manager/​owner/​boss came out and said goodbye to us too!
Cons:
–Pricey? Most other places are pretty generous with their toppings option– they give huge scoops of them, and let you choose more options for the same or even less price.
Tips/​Observations:
–No parking lots. Find street parking or… park at CVS and walk here. (Don’t tell anyone I told you that!)
–I don’t think they have a rewards system yet (maybe with 5stars in the future?) but I hope they do soon!
Overall, would recommend this place if you are tired of boba!

We liked the vampire penguin (green tea shaved ice). Good flavor combo– light and not too heavy. Toppings include sliced almonds, strawberries, red beans, and condensed milk. We shared a large size for $ 7.
We also got the halo halo (taro shaved snow), which we didn’t like as much– too sweet for our taste buds. Toppings include flan, jackfruit, coconut, ube paste, mung beans, and condensed milk. We shared a small for $ 5.
It’ll be interesting to see how this place does. Newly opened, I’m sure it’ll be popular amongst students. It’s a large open space which has much room for potential, so perhaps they’ll expand their offerings into other areas, as well.
I like shaved ice at other places more, specifically when it includes mochi and ice cream (i.e. more like Korean patbingsoo). Recently I tried green tea shaved ice from Joy’s Place in SF (
). As their green tea shaved ice has mochi and ice cream, I like it slightly more. Nevertheless, it’s good to have a shaved ice option in the East Bay.