108 Ice Cream & Cafe

108 Ice Cream & Café is CLOSED people!
The rating that 108 had while they were open does not apply to the Cool Spot that took over the location.
Unilocal Cool Spot and find out why.

This place has been remodeled to apeal to younger folks, complete with bar area & stools and is now called Cool Spot (
). Similar items on the menu like boba drinks, shaved ice, snacks. There’s still even the Hawaiian Special shaved ice. But did notice more shaved ice toppings and it’s served in a nice bowl instead of a styrofoam cup if you eat it there. Shaved ice is still really yummy. They have 10% special on Mondays & Tuesdays and certain other times I forget.
I do miss the no-​frills decore/​atmosphere of the old place though =(

I love this place! I always come here for shaved ice because it is good and cheap. They’re the simple taiwan style shaved ice with traditional toppings. I always get red bean, peanuts, and taro. I really like to get mochi too but they always run out when I go. I ALWAYS add condensed milk. I also tried their green milk tea. The milk tea is a lot cheaper and tastes just as good as tea station. They also have a decent size menu mounted on the wall. This place keeps it real and simple, just the way I like it when I want to enjoy a good plate of shaved ice.

Another childhood favorite, I used to come here every weekend to get shaved ice. I don’t go there as often now, but it’s still the same as it was when I was little.
It’s kinda hard to find since it’s in a plaza, but it’s not too tough. Parking is a killer, so good luck. The store it self isn’t too crowd and it’s really chill. A couple tables and chairs to sit on.
I always get boba, white and pink boba, and something else. You get to chose three toppings with your ice, syrup, condensed milk for two quarters, and it’s about $ 2.75 last time I checked. It’s worth it though, everywhere else I go doesn’t have as good of shaved ice as this place.

I’ll confess that my review is biased with nostalgia. I’ve been going to 108 for ten years now — ever since I discovered how to drive the freeways. :D
108 is one of the more «traditional» pearl tea cafes in SoCal. It’s a real treat to order passion fruit, star fruit, along with the SUPER traditional favorites like black jelly, ai yu jelly, big and small red bean, mung bean, and I’ll stop there because I can go on. Plus the Taiwanese shaved ice? BRILLIANT on a summer day. 108 also serves savory food of the traditional Taiwanese faire.
This is one of my favorite gems in the San Gabriel Valley, and if the thought of a simple honey dew juice with pearls makes me wanna hop in my car and drive over. :D

Darn it, I was hoping I’d be the first to review this place! Yes, I know this place has probably been around since the time of cave men, but it’s pretty hidden and non-​hyped.
I’ve been coming to this place since I was a little girl, always for their Taiwanese shaved ice. I love the Taiwanese version because the new stuff they serve in hip and trendy cafes are from Korean or Japanese cultures. That stuff is not in any way appealing to me with their grass jelly, ice cream, & food coloring, gross.
I love, love, love Taiwanese shaved ice and this is the place where I can get it for the cheapest and most reasonable price in the SGV. 4 choices — oatmeal, the tiny clear boba-​like balls, peanuts, and tang-​yuren (mochi-​like balls) — plus condensed milk all for the price of $ 3.50! I’m in heaven.
This place is small, there are only about 5 tables if you decide to dine-​in since they also have a small menu of Taiwanese comfort food; but sitting at their tables eating shaved ice and fro-​yo (from Nubi) and spending a bunch of $ 0.50 on their little toy machines was really cute and surprisingly a fun «date» for me and my b.

This place is a San Gabriel Plaza institution. We usually go for the Chinese egg/​tortilla things you get for breakfast. You need to try this. But if you order a lot they might look at you funny.
I had a bite of the shaved ice recently, and I must admit it was very good.
The last review speculated that they might close down soon, and I have no idea if this could be true or not. It’s incredibly difficult to gauge the popularity of this place as it can be packed or completely empty, it really depends.
The big mystery is: they have a huge and complicated menu and only one chef– how does she do it?
Don’t fall for the hype of Sam Woo BBQ or Nubi and try this place at once.

With all the recent competition going around 108 I’m afraid it’ll close down soon. That’s too bad. 108 was the first place I had a boba and a shaved ice. Something about this place keeps me going back for more. Maybe its because they have some awesome boba drinks and they still haven’t jacked up the prices like most boba places in the area. Or maybe because after years and years of coming here, the 2 ladies that own the place finally warmed up to me. I no longer get the «evil eye» I once did when I first started coming here. YAY THEY LIKE ME THEY REALLY DO!
I can’t speak for the dishes (that’s because I’m probably eating at Sam Woos that happens to be next door) but its a routine of mine…
a. go order at SAM woos b. order a boba and a pineapple shaved ice with boba c. EAT

This review probably would not be very helpful if you’re looking to try out the main dishes here. I haven’t ordered anything else here but the shaved ice. They don’t have a huge selection of toppings or anything, but everything that I usually want on my shaved ice is available here anyways. The texture of the shaved ice they have here is what makes this place SO MUCH BETTER then shao mei or guppy’s. Shao mei’s ice melts too fast. Do you really have to stack the ice so high at Guppy’s? The shaved ice here is almost like snow. The ladies that work there always puts just the right amount of the sugary syrup and condensed milk so that you can taste it every scoop.

Hmmm… I can’t believe Greg A. beat me to this place. That is so wrong!
A few years back, one of my pal whose dad just moved into the SGV neighborhood would proceed to tell me that this is the best place for shaved ice or bobba drinks. Long story short. I think he was dating someone that works in that plaza so he would dragged me and his son to this plaza.
We would bypassed Tea Station, Tapioca Express, and other bobba joints that are all over Valley Blvd to come to this hole in the wall, dive joint. It was not that bad, but I guess I always wants to succumb into going to those trendy brand tea shops that most hipsters wants to go to… as in Tea Station.
Flash forward to present time… it’s only two years. The woman that was the pull for the man no longer work in this plaza. So in essence, I am coming here on my free will. Since the years gone by, I acquired some snobby foodie sense and entitlement. This place has to performed or it’s going to get chopped down like Little Green Bean or Bobba Loca.
As I described, it’s divey as in like low maintenance. It’s not going to win you over on décor or ambiance unless you feel the cheap tables and chairs are your thing. There is no real atmosphere to think of unless the small space with tacky non-​carpeted floor is your thing.
When I got the bobba drinks before, it was OK. Now I would amend that to a more refreshing drink with a much better quality of tapioca pearls. The shaved ice are also excellent. Especially with the custard and fruits selections, it makes this into one delicious dessert.
I guess I never realized they were as good as Tea Station and a much better reasonable price. Also they have a better selection of shaved ice than the other bobba joints like Lollicup or Boba Loca. It stunned me to find that I should have appreciated this place a little bit more as their drinks and shaved ice are as good as the big chains would have.
The parking situation at this plaza is always a zoo. Going here on a busy weekend is not suggested, but you have other places to shop while you are in there. Ranch 99 market is just across the plaza.
When you do come here, expect to be patient because English was not the fluent language, but they get better at it. Check out the selections of fruits and other add-​ons first before you order the shaved ice. Make sure to ask for tapioca pearls on your tea drinks. It’s worth it.
As in for Greg A… I just can’t believed he knows the place!

I ordered the Hawaiian Special which is shaved ice, ice cream (I chose green tea), red bean, brown sugar syrup, and condensed milk. They gave me way too much ice cream and red bean, and not enough shaved ice. It was heavy and filling like a meal, and not like a dessert. I probably would have given them 3 stars, but the Hawaiian Special gave me a stomach ache.