Kakigori knockouts exist in a pretty little place at Karrivin
Watching chef Sam Constantino build kakigori is an apt allegory for the space’s metaphorical cycle of destruction, conception, and eventual resurrection.
Rising from its panaderya past to form a shaved ice dessert spot, AzukiToyo is everything you’ve come to expect from a Jordy Navarra and Hiroyasu Kawate collaboration. But unlike the transitory nature of the kakigori, AzukiToyo is an absorbing slow burn.
Over a collaboration dinner in Japan in 2019 about halo-halo and at a time when Kawate of two Michelin-star restaurant Florilège was delving into kakigori pop-ups, the two chefs’ idea of a new partnership blossomed to infuse “Toyo’s perspective with the spirit of Azuki to Kouri”—the brick and mortar fruition of Kawate’s kakigori explorations.
Now in 2025, those soul-searching conversations have manifested themselves in a little architectural wonder at The Alley at Karrivin.
AzukiToyo’s genius isn’t just in the kakigori themselves but also in the feelings the place evokes. It’s the kind of space that cares about both performance and precision. From the five-person team moving like clockwork in the kitchen to the ornate produce bouquets thoughtfully placed in various corners of the eight-seat space, AzukiToyo turns the experience of scooping into a frozen summer treat into an unequivocal triumph of maximalist taste and minimalist design.
Against a backdrop of repurposed wood studs and mango wood blocks forming a binakael pattern on the wall and large glass windows that frame the glowing episodes inside the space courtesy of One Zero Design and Studio Ong, AzukiToyo is resolutely focused on its icy future while fondly looking back at its baking hot past.
There is, however, no introspection needed when it comes to the menu itself.
The kakigori section only consists of five bowls in total. Three of which are seasonal and constantly changing (the current lineup features lychee at pomelo, azuki at matcha, and mais at keso) while the two—the azuki at merengue and halo-halo—serve as the anchors of the moving ship of a menu. And rightfully so, given that these two represent and reference Azuki to Kouri and Toyo Eatery.
You can also find two cold teas and a lightly roasted Ya-Yuu hot tea that, albeit not technically a pairing, extract the most out of the shaved ice dessert’s flavors.
It’s an intimate menu, yes, but it’s also definitely expansive. Ingredients pile up like textured, colorful snowcaps, far from being a straightforward shaved ice dessert. AzukiToyo’s kakigori sells a snowy fantasy that starts with the ultra-clear or clarified ice fed into the kakigori machine.
Once the finely shaved ice forms a mound (or a mountain or a hill, if you wish to call it that), the AzukiToyo creativity ensues in the open kitchen—a statement of their commitment to transparency and consistent customer engagement.
The azuki at matcha is striking in its simplicity with an icy foundation doused in matcha from a Nara tea farm called Inokura. On top are gooey meringue chips that melt lovingly into the pretty green ice to lend a cloudy sensation with each bite. As you scoop more into the middle, a shiratama mochi reveals itself to add a satisfying chewiness.
In contrast, the halo-halo kakigori turns the volume up with an avalanche of toppings—13 in total from the original 15 ingredients. It’s admittedly the hardest to conceptualize, they say, as the current version is the fifth iteration before the AzukiToyo team found the right one that preserves the essence of halo-halo without the need to mix it.
On first glance, the halo-halo kakigori looks like an obscene explosion of flavors. It’s heavy in ingredients—ube in foam, chip, and sauce forms; crunchy candied pinipig; rosella and pandan jellies; langka prepared like banana cue; saba; and leche flan, among others—but the more you get into the riot, the lighter and smoother it actually is, with nary an “umay” feeling.
Elsewhere, the lychee and pomelo kakigori equally makes a big citrusy statement, plus an edgy tartness from the rosella, while the mais at keso brings a different, slightly savory peak to the table, focusing on an indulgent combination of Quezon corn, keso de bola, and candied pinipig. Think mais con hielo elevated to the next level.
In actuality, that’s what AzukiToyo is doing—taking a time-tested and well-loved dessert into an undeniable state that indulging in one can never feel wrong.
