"Mad Lab, a cafe on the bottom floor of Transamerica Pyramid inside Cafe Sebastian, makes kakigori that’s half gelato and half ice. Each chilled bowl uses flattened scoops of gelato as a foundation for freshly shaved ice that’s quickly doused in syrup and then topped with a sphere of pink cotton candy or a swirl of whipped cream. (You can even add some star-shaped sprinkles, freeze-dried strawberries, or gold leaf.) We prefer ordering from the six pre-set options: the piña colada version with passion fruit and mango gelato and pineapple-coconut-makrut-lime syrup has never let us down." - julia chen 1, patrick wong, ricky rodriguez