It’s hard to pinpoint what keeps bringing me back to Remicone, the new Korean soft serve store in Northwood Town Center. It’s certainly not their prices, but the experience. Remicone’s colorful flavors, ice cream (or maybe concrete, for those in the know) truck-shaped service counter and small tables make it a memorable hangout spot.
Just a 10-minute bus or bike ride from Northwood High School, Remicone soft-opened on Nov. 28. Customers can order off the store’s menu of soft serve desserts, ranging from $7 to $9, or craft their own from a multitude of conversation-starting toppings, including Dubai chocolate, churros and boba.
Their signature milk soft serve leans much more on the cream than the ice, mixing well with toppings without sacrificing sweetness. Still, pairing the soft serve with strong toppings is essential for when the ice cream taste alone inevitably grows old.
For example, the popping candy and cotton candy included in the “Thunder Bomb” easily makes it the store’s most eye- and tongue-catching dessert. With Remicone’s serving sizes—perhaps fortunately—kept moderate, the cotton candy cloud, almost as big as the cup, creates a spectacle that just about justifies its price.
The creaminess of the soft serve complements darker flavors well, especially “Bean Bliss.” The powerful flavors of its multigrain misugaru coating and sweet red bean give it a deep, Korean festival taste, one which you can enjoy even after the ice cream has melted using the Biscoff that comes with it. The Dubai chocolate achieves a similarly unique, though relatively weak pistachio flavor.
Remicone does have a harder time pairing with refreshing flavors. The “Mangocaron,” for example, leaves you rationing your remaining mango syrup and scavenging for the next mini macaron. As always, the enigmatic blue flavor—in this case, the “Hawaiian Beach”—remains your best option, with a strong soda syrup somehow able to make the ice cream feel even cooler on a hot day.
And for those looking for a change of texture, Remicone’s food holds its own despite not being its specialty. Its berry crepe is covered generously in chocolate and filled with strawberries, banana slices and blueberries that imbue freshness into the usual explosion of carbohydrates. The corn flakes mixed in give a crunchy and less sweet accent to the soft, but not unfirm crepe texture.
With free Wi-Fi and laid-back indie rock or soft pop playing in the background, Remicone, despite its industrial, ready-mix concrete name and interior design, cements itself as a sweeter competitor to typical cafes or study spots.
