Ka-Ching For Kacang

With temperatures already hitting the 100-degree mark, our culinary battle to beat the heat is officially on. This year we have new ammunition: ice kacang (kuh-chang), a shaved-ice dessert native to Singapore and Malaysia. With its layered flavors, colors and textures, it's like a snow cone on steroids--and we know where to find the best one in town.

Ice kacang literally means "red bean ice," which refers to red azuki beans (usually eaten as a paste in desserts), but it can be topped with everything from nuts to stinky durian fruit and even chocolate. At Singapore's Banana Leaf, ice doused with super-sweet bright red and green syrup and topped with fruity jelly beans and slices of jackfruit ($5) is treat for the eye and the taste buds.

But for the best version head to Belacan Grill in Redondo Beach. This Malaysian kacang (pictured) is a world of flavors and textures on ice--crunchy salted peanuts, azuki beans, sweet corn kernels and jellies swim in a pool of red-rose syrup and evaporated milk ($4). It may look like an extraterrestrial arctic formation, but the sweet, creamy dessert is one of the most unique things you'll try all summer. Who knows, maybe it'll be the next Pinkberry.

Singapore's Banana Leaf (at Original Farmers Market), 6333 W. 3rd St., 323-933-4627

Belacan Grill, 2701 190th St., Redondo Beach; 310-370-1831