Best cold treats in Hong Kong

Heat and humidity -- just typing that out makes me lazy. It could've been the long day, but mostly Hong Kong's grueling summers just get to me.

Fortunately, Hong Kong is blessed with adventurous chefs sensitive to our needs and here are their best and most cooling concoctions for these long summer days.

Lobster ice cream

Blueberry cheesecake ice cream, tofu ice cream ... boring. Try lobster and white truffle ice cream from the al fresco Ice-cream Gallery.

Owner and chef Aaron Liu incorporated the flavors of French fine dining into his ice cream and came up with some of the most unconventional flavors in Hong Kong. 

Not only is his ice cream free of artificial flavors, each also varies in texture, richness and price. Take the ginger, vinegar and egg ice cream for example, Liu soaks sliced ginger in balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, bringing out a sweet and spicy flavor bomb.

Another of his favorites is bacon and egg ice cream, which offers rich wholesome egg flavors and mouthfuls of grease-free bacon goodness.

Something more posh? Liu's ice wine ice cream is the choice. A bottle of HK$1,200 (US$154) full-bodied, Canadian ice wine is used to make each batch of this cool and classy alcoholic dessert. 

The French white truffle ice cream is full of pungent white truffle notes but more subtle when compared to black truffle. The lobster ice cream is made from freshly-caught lobsters and tastes exactly like one.

Some flavors do fall on the expensive side, most are reasonably priced. But hey, no one says fine dining comes cheaply.

Ice-cream Gallery, unit G117, The Repulse Bay, 109 Repulse Bay Road, +853 2838 8086

Snow mountain

What looks like an ordinary snow mountain dessert from the outside -- yes, snow mountain dessert is considered ordinary here -- is in fact hiding multiple layers.

Sugar Ma Ma owner Tony Chan said the behemoth dessert is made to order and takes 15 minutes to prepare.

The outermost layer of the snow mountain is made of egg white and sugar, with a texture softer than marshmallow.

Hidden inside is a large scoop of ice cream and molten chocolate ready to gush out, while scattered around the plate are some mixed fruits for the more sophisticated palates.

Sugar Ma Ma also offers a buffet dessert every day from 2:30 - 9:00 p.m. Heading the buffet department is a former dessert chef at the Mandarin Oriental. Too bad the gigantic snow mountain has to be ordered separately.

Sugar Ma Ma, G09 Connaught Place, 8 Hong Lok Road, Yuen Long, +852 2477 8812