
In flat, warm Berlin, you are hardly likely to come across heavenly snow-capped mountains. Or are you? At Tenzan Lab — Japanese for “heaven’s mountain” — you can see the ice mountains appear magically before your eyes as founder Masataka Namba uses his hand-cranked press to turn a perfectly clear ice cube (the supplier for which took months to find) into a carefully sculpted mound of kakigōri shaved ice. And while you might come for the novelty of this Japanese summer favorite, you’ll stay for the taste. These fluffy mountains are drizzled with homemade condensed milk and various purees: fruity mango and strawberry, bold matcha and mascarpone, and the classic sake kasu paste, a by-product of sake production. Alongside the ice are taiyaki fish-shaped waffles with sweet kidney bean paste that are as tasty as they are cute, with single-origin green teas sourced monthly from Japan providing the perfect accompaniment. The summer season is the time to head to the hills — or better the heavenly syrup-capped mountains of Tenzan (Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Johanna Rademacher–Flesland & Tenzan Lab)