Chi says its this commitment to only the best that has kept Nu Cafe popular even in the wake of competitors opening around town. Nu Cafe has been so successful that Chi was recently able to open a second location, run by her daughter and son-in-law, at Westheimer and Fountainview. It's all the same great flavors and toppings, but a little closer to home for us inner-Loopers.

There are 13 regular flavors (vanilla milk, green tea, coffee, taro, peanut butter, mango, durian, sea salt caramel, chocolate, almond, strawberry, coconut and lychee) that are always on the menu, and Chi adds new flavors seasonally. In the fall, she'll be introducing rum raisin and pumpkin spice. You can try the durian flavor (a notoriously stinky Asian fruit) if you want, but Chi refuses to sell it to people who have never had durian before, because she's afraid they won't like it and won't come back.

Try anything else on the menu, though, and you're bound to be back again soon to taste another flavor or another combination of syrups and toppings. And if you make it into Nu Cafe more than once, Chi is bound to remember you and greet you like an old friend.

"Come back and see me!" she shouts on my way out the door after a big plate of ribbon ice in the middle of a sweltering day. And I always do.

See how snow ice is shaved off the big frozen block in this video.