A Malaysian chef in Shanghai is rewriting the rules of ice cream flavours
“One scoop of the foie gras, please.” Not exactly your standard ice cream order – unless you’re at Di-solve (1st floor, Unit 01, 718 Wuding Road, Jing’an), the new Shanghai ice cream parlour from Cheras-born chef Leafy Ng, former executive pastry chef at one-Michelin-starred Obscura.
Since opening right by the dry deck fountains at PAC Shopping Mall in May 2025, the swimming pool-themed ice cream parlour with iridescent tiles and a lifeguard’s chair for photo ops has been making a splash in Shanghai.
Ng’s creations take ice cream lovers on a journey with unconventional flavours. The foie gras scoop uses Maison Rougié duck liver from Quebec, sous-vided and blitzed with apple brandy from The Gingi Project in Penglai. Palo Santo from Peru perfumes his mango sorbet. Perilla oil, which Ng first tasted in Seoul, mimics the mung bean popsicles of his Malaysian childhood.
“Of course, I seized the opportunity to introduce my customers to Malaysian flavours,” Ng says. There’s kaya toast ice cream ribboned with salted duck yolk, creamy chocolate sorbet brightened by kaffir lime leaf and curry leaf ice cream with a subtle hint of the fragrant herb and coconut water. It’s the kind of menu that makes sense only if you grew up with a pantry full of pandan, soy sauce and Milo tins.
And because it’s Shanghai, seasonality dictates the flavours on display. Summer is fruit-forward, but when the plane trees start shedding, Ng pivots to fat and crunch – nuts, seeds, dried fruit. In the cooler season, watch for Chinese torreya from Shaoxing in Zhejing province and olive kernels, one of the classic Five Nuts Mooncake’s star ingredients.
Imitation is the best form of flattery, and so popular is Di-solve that some of its bestsellers are reportedly being replicated in other ice cream parlours. “How do I know? Well, they use the exact same name as my flavours,” laughs Ng.
Customers can count on finding 14 non-alcoholic ice cream flavours in the front case and six spiked ones in the back room, making Di-solve a delightful discovery for customers with restless, roving tastebuds. @disolve_sh
More ice cream shops to try in Shanghai
Zhong Yao Tang. Once the stuff of bitter brews and poultices, Traditional Chinese Medicine ingredients get a glow-up at this gelateria, which took Shanghai by storm in 2024. Perfectly curated for today’s wellness set, the menu includes flavours like Happy Wild Chrysanthemum (meant to cool the body and calm the nerves) and Guizhou Black Glutinous Rice (said to fortify Qi). 267 South Xiangyang Rd, Xuhui; 3 Hunan Road, Xuhui
Mimilato. Best friends Ruomi and Zhen Yi built Mimilato as a love letter to China’s seasons. Spring means mugwort mochi, summer brings blushing rhubarb, autumn ushers in porcini gelato and December is all about strawberries dressed for Christmas. 1251 Changle Rd, Xuhui; Hengshan Garden Hotel, Wanping Rd
