‘Chill’ out with a unique frozen treat

One of Patchwork Farms’ newest tenants has a unique take on the traditional ice cream parlor.

Chill Ice Cream and Bubble Tea opened in January and brought with it the rolled ice cream trend that has been popping up around the greater Birmingham area.

Owner Trieu Ho said he had hoped to be the first in the area to open a rolled cream shop, but unforeseen delays set the opening back to January.

Chill is, however, the first place in Vestavia Hills that folks can get the unique treat, and Ho said that on weekends in particular, he can barely keep up with the number of customers interested in trying it out.

Ho is originally from Vietnam but came to the United States in 1981. He has since worked in and owned nail salons in Vestavia, Homewood and Birmingham, but over the last year decided he wanted to take his career in a different — and sweeter — direction.

Rolled ice cream originated in Thailand, where it is more directly translated as “stir-fried” ice cream because of the method of taking a base and adding ingredients quickly while “cooking,” or in this case freezing. Over the last five or so years, the treat spread throughout Asia and then to the rest of the world, thanks in part to its popularity on Instagram and other social media platforms.

Ho said that as an avid street food fan himself, he came across the dessert first in Atlanta and other, larger cities.

“Big cities always get the fun stuff first,” Ho said.

At Chill, Ho said, the process is basically the same as any rolled ice cream shop. The customer chooses a base — either sweet cream, vanilla or iced coffee — then chooses mix-ins to flavor the ice cream. Where Chill sets itself apart, he said, is the special formulation of the bases: sweet but not too-sweet, and accommodating of the mix-in flavors.

There are also house specialties such as the s’mores and cookies-and-cream flavors, which Ho said were particularly popular in the first couple months of business.

As spring and summer arrive, he said he expects the specials to include more tropical fruits and flavors.

In addition to rolled ice cream, Chill also offers bubble tea, known as “boba,” which is also a popular Asian treat.

Customers can choose a regular, fruit or milk tea as a base, then customize with different flavors. The final touch, which sets the teas apart from other beverages, are the tapioca pearls, bursting juice bubbles or fruit jellies added to the bottom of the cup.

Chill also offers iced Vietnamese coffee, one of Ho’s personal favorites.

Since opening, Ho said he has had an overwhelmingly positive response to the unusual dessert, but that he is open to suggestions and comments from customers.

“Nothing’s perfect, but we do our best,” he said. “All comments are welcome.”

Chill is located in the Publix shopping center at Patchwork Farms at 3066 Healthy Way, and more information can be found on the shop’s Facebook page @ChillDegrees.