Ice Pan

I can’t believe I found out I had my very own Ice Pan in my backyard of West Hollywood AFTER they closed it down :(
VIVA LA ICE PAN!

YES, THE ICE CREAM IS MADE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE.
you pick what you want in it…
you pick the…
type of milk
flavor
fruits /​cookies /​nuts
They show you the liquid form and pour the liquid on a silver pan and… BAM!!! ICE CREAM!!! a;sldkfjal ;d soo goood…
strawberry ice cream + mangos
mango ice cream + strawberry
vanilla ice cream + oreos
green tea ice cream + mochi
GAHHH!
when there’s a line… the wait takes a while…
but… GO DURING THE OFF HOURS! AMAZING!

Cool innovative process of customized ice cream! Although the concept is same as Cold stone, this is more of healthy alternative :)
It is really cool that you get to choose what kind of milk, what flavor and what ingredients you wanna have on your ice cream and the fun of watching it being made (right in front of you!)
Strawberry is good!
It’s a bit pricey for a frozen yogurt: $ 3.95 for a small. $ 4.95 for a medium, $ 5.95 for large.
The only disadvantage is there’s only two US locations. One in West Hollywood & One in Las vegas.

Concept wise, Ice pan is very cool and innovative. They make your ice cream fresh and you can customize it. You pick you size, flavor, and type of milk. The novelty of this place comes from watching them make your ice cream. They stir up your mix and pour it out onto the ice pan and start mixing it (kind of like how Cold Stone’s mixes in toppings). I have to say, it looked like a work out and the tip jar expressed those sentiment’s well.
Staff was very nice. It was my first time there and I didn’t know what I wanted to get so the guy gave me suggestions for if I wanted something sweeter or lighter and kept talking to me until I made my decision. The person mixing mine was also very nice, but I felt so bad because I could not really under stand what she was asking me through her heavy Korean accent, but I think she was asking me about a mix in, which confused me even more because I had paid and I didn’t want to pay extra for it.
I decided to get the watermelon, which I was really hoping to be like watermelon milk, but it fell short of my expectations. It was refreshing but the flavor was not as stung as I had hoped for. I tried my friend’s pistachio, which had an awesome flavor, but texturally it really turned me off about how grainy it was because the pistachios weren’t ground up like a fine powder, but they weren’t chunks with bite either. It was this weird in between texture that, for me, was off setting. I also tried some of my friend’s banana flavored ice cream which was topped with caramel and chocolate sauce. It was by far the prettiest and best tasting.
I say, it was cool to try this place once, but I don’t know about making continual trips over there unless I lived like really close by.

I discovered Ice Pan on Unilocal (most recently from a review by Lolia S. but also through many others like Marti L. and the other Anthony N.). After finding out that Ice Pan was near a Target I planned to visit, I knew I had to make a stop. Ice Pan is a make-​your-​own-​ice-​cream-​place. It utilizes the Cold Stone Creamery customization process, but it takes it one step further. Not only do you get to customize what toppings are mixed into your ice cream, you get to customize your actual ice cream by selecting the type of milk that goes into it.
First, you select your flavor (such as chocolate, vanilla, coffee, banana, etc.) and then you select what type of milk base (whole milk, low fat milk, non fat milk, soy milk). Since one of the advantages of Ice Pan is that it is supposed to more healthy (no refined sugars, lower fat milk options), I opted for the non-​fat milk. Toppings can be added at $ 0.50 each. They have nuts and chips and fruits. I added the almonds and the banana. After the ice cream is made, you can have it topped with chocolate or caramel sauce at no extra charge.
They make the ice cream rather quickly, but if there is a line, I imagine it would take a long time since they customize each order. The server pours the liquid ice cream base with the mix-​ins onto a cold plate and then proceeds to mix up the ice cream. The ice cream solidified really quickly, which made me worry that the ice cream was going to be icy and dry (and not creamy).
The ice cream was good though. Good chocolate flavor and despite the non-​fat milk, the texture was quite creamy. The mix-​ins were very good. Nice big fruity chunks of fresh banana with crisp almonds. Good contrasting textures in the ice cream. I added the caramel sauce and while it was nothing special, it was still pleasant.
Service was pretty good and polite. Pricing was a little high though. There are better ice creams in the L.A. area that come cheaper. Probably the best option is to go with somebody (or several people) and share a large portion.
Ice Pan is an interesting concept and definitely at least worth one visit to experience something different (though for better ice cream with more distinct flavors, you may want to try nearby Mashti Malone or Brentwood’s Sweet Rose Creamery). Lolia S. mentioned that the line moves slowly and having experienced that before with some Cold Stone Creamery locations, I can imagine it could get slow here. It would probably be best to try this place during non-​peak times.
I think there is a parking structure that supports this complex (which houses Ice Pan as well as a Best Buy and a Target), but I did not see a parking entrance. Metered parking is also available on the street.

This is the coolest way to fancy yourself a cup of ice cream.
You choose the flavor, milk, topping (mixed in or not)
I always get the pistachio flavor because it literally tastes like you’re eating pistachio! Coffee and green tea are also pretty tasty.
It’s really crazy to see the transformation of a liquid to frozen treat! Their open kitchen and workers are always nice (AND they don’t mind you taking snapshots with camera phones =p)
The only reason why it’s not a ⁵⁄₅ is because some of the flavors are not my favorite (i.e. banana)

One word for you ‘HANSOO’, if you don’t get him as your ice creamist than you are a straight up sucker!!!
Part teppan grill master chef, part contractor spackle worker, part Chan Ho Park badassness (
). Hansoo is the only way to get your ice cream on at Ice Pan. He’ll give you an awesome watermelon with lychee mixed in with a sadist and tae kwon do lover’s show right in front of your eyes.
P. S. If you had some irregular problems, the stuff that they use here helps you with your kids at the pool.
P. S.S. A friend once asked, «What do you call that thing they make the ice cream in?» Young miss, I believe IT is called an ‘ice pan’

My friend raved about this place, telling me how crazy they make their ice cream So we went to see what the fuzz is about.
Ice Pan is tucked in this little Target shopping center and when we walked in, it reminded me of Cold Stone slash Pinkberry… very modern and very informational… considering they had pictures of the ice cream making process and such.
So I wanted a green tea ice cream. You can choose what kind of milk you want and also any mix-​ins. This included whole milk, 2%, soymilk, and your regular mix-​ins that you usually find at Cold Stone and/​or yogurt places. I got 2% milk and mochi…
The ice cream wizard worked his his magic: he poured the liquid onto the pan and started creating the ice cream. It was almost like a workout for his arms… He was really creating the ice cream to what we are used to seeing… The ice cream proved to be very good and fresh. Also… it’s healthy!!!

Love that they offer soy ice cream! Being lactose intolerant, I get really excited whenever a dessert place offers non-​dairy options, so when I found Ice Pan on Unilocal,I knew I had to go try it on my visit down to LA.
The ingredients were all very fresh and they do not use any artificial coloring or preservatives. Every cup of ice cream is freshly made to order with the flavor and milk base you choose (whole fat, low fat, non fat and soy). The ice cream is instantly blended with fruits or vegetables to make the flavor you choose. The blended mixture is then poured onto the ice pan and once it freezes, they’ll mix your toppings in (fruits, nuts, granola, chocolate chip, coconuts, mochi, etc.). I like that they provide you with all the nutrition facts too.
Flavors I tried:
Mint chocolate chip w/​soy milk
–Delicious! Love the fact that I was able to choose a non-​dairy ice cream that isn’t fruity flavored like what sorbets are usually made with. Chocolate chips are made with dark chocolate also!
Strawberry
–Very tart… probably because it’s made with real strawberries. Taste more like a sorbet than ice cream.
Red Bean with lychee and red bean toppings
–Best combination! The red bean ice cream is delicious and the lychee and red bean mix-​ins made this ice cream even better! You must try this combination!
Prices are reasonable and the staff were super friendly and helpful. Will definitely have to come back here on my future visits to LA.

Okay, reiteration time! To simply grasp what Ice Pan is, first imagine Cold Stone and then imagine something 10 times better and cooler!
So here you have Cold Stone.
Pick a scoop of premade ice cream.
Add additional toppings.
Slap it around.
Then you have Ice Pan.
Pick an ice cream flavor.
Choose the type of milk. (Soy, non fat, low fat, whole)
Add additional fruits. (Blended or mixed in)
Add additional toppings.
Slap it around.
Love that it’s lactose-​intolerant friendly! And love being able to customize my own ice cream! But the real spectacle is seeing how it is made. It starts out as a thin liquid blended with your choice of flavor and milk. Once poured onto the pan, it hardens up and gets scraped off.
The mixture is spread and scrape for a while. When the time is right, the mixture is cut in half and slapped onto the pan with great force. Slap! Slap! Slap! It’s a bit shocking at first. Like a bunch of disgruntled workers taking it out on your ice cream. But by slapping like that, it incorporates air into the mixture and creates the smoothness and creaminess of the ice cream.
Coffee ice cream: YUM!
Red bean ice cream: YUM YUM!
Banana ice cream: YUM YUM YUM!
Yogurt ice cream: Not as yum! Ice cream was good, but the mixed in mangoes lost its texture from being on the pan.

Bottom Line — It’s fun to see your choice of ingredients being scraped and flopped in front of you as it feezes and becomes ice cream (or soy ice cream in my case). I’d suggest checking it out!
I came on 22 May 2010 with a few friends, and we each ordered something different. I had soy with strawberries mixed in. It was okay, but I couldn’t really taste the strawberries.
My friend had green tea with soy milk and pistachios mixed in (and then chocolate on top). OMG that was surprisingly tasty!!! I am going to order that combination the next time I go.
I got the regular size, but found it to be too big for me. I think the small size should more than satisfy most people.
The service was really good. The cute blonde guy behind the register was pretty patient with everyone trying to decide what to get, and the gal who made my order was really nice, too!

After eating at Taste on Melrose… I craved for some ice cream… looked on Unilocal and this was the first review that popped up so I went with it. hehe =]
I really like the color of the place — — red =] Everybody that worked there were Korean. I was standing around deciding what to order when the very nice heavily accent owner came up to us and instructed us how to order.
I ordered the Strawberry flavored soy based ice cream with granola, banana and strawberry toppings. First bite I thought it was tasteless, it was definitely not very sweet… the owner did tell us they use no sugar at all. =/​After a few bites I started liking it. =]
I have to say though, the service was fantastic. He was very smiley, friendly, and energetic.
It’s sort of like Cold Stone… but definitely not as rich and sweet. I believe this might be healthier too because they don’t have all those sweet chocolate and chocolate bar toppings. most of them were fruits. =]
I would definitely come back to try their other flavors =]

Customizable ice cream. Like Coldstone’s but waaaaaayy better!
Here they make the ice cream. It’s like magic. Pour blended concoction onto the ice pan and it immediately freezes and turns into the texture of ice cream. ooohh! mix in choice goodies. ahhh! scoop into cup. voila!
I opted for a Whole milk Mango and the guy suggested adding kiwi fruit. Good suggestion. mmmm… creamy tart goodnessssss!
Sweets with a show. I like!

It was pretty empty when I came last Saturday, but then again, it was pouring outside. :P
Ice Pan is different because it’s natural, so it’s a lot healthier. You pick your type of ice cream and milk (non-​fat, low-​fat, whole, soy), and they blend that fruit/​vegetable with the milk and pour that onto the «ice pan.» It hardens pretty much instantly, and then you get to see the worker slap it around to get the right consistency! Then you can either get your toppings mixed in or added on top afterward.
I got the strawberry one with non-​fat milk. I don’t know if it’s because of the milk or if they all taste like this, but it didn’t tase like ice cream! It tasted more like thick sorbet or a semi-​frozen smoothie! I also tried the green tea with low-​fat milk, which tasted better, but still not completely ice cream status. So if you’re looking for ice-​cream consistency, maybe get whole milk or go somewhere else. BUT having said that, it was still good, so you should try it. And they add chocolate/​caramel syrup if you wish. Annnd, even though I didn’t order it, the lady topped it with free strawberries, which were super fresh and red! So nice of her! :)

Talk about fresh ice cream. Ice Pan makes your ice cream in front of you. You order in a few easy steps. 1. Size 2. Flavor 3. Type of milk i.e. non fat, low fat, etc. 4. Toppings. What’s even cooler is that they don’t charge tax. Sweet!
The cute little lady pounded the heck out of my non fat strawberry ice cream. You watch the liquid concoction slowly turn into this creamy hard texture. This is all done on their magical pans that I am assuming is deathly cold. When you order your toppings you can either opt to have them topped on your ice cream or mixed in. I decided on blueberries and kiwi mixed in with my ice cream. You also have the option of mixing/​topping chocolate or caramel sauce. It was definitely an interesting experience. They call you as they’re making your ice cream so you can watch. They seriously pound the heck out of it. It’s no joke.
As the ice cream began to harden, she mixed in my fruit. She began to passionately pound at my ice cream and a blueberry flew out. I think she saw my sorrow for the lone fallen blueberry because she quickly went to get another blueberry to replace it. My ice cream didn’t taste anything like Baskin-​Robbins. It was more icey and it wasn’t so thick and milky. It was probably be what the offspring of ice cream and sorbet would taste like if it were to mate somehow.
Ice Pan is like a healthier version of Cold Stone. Those that are lactose intolerant should give this place a try. They offer soy milk! I’m not sure if Ice Pan is the first to come up with this type of concept but I found it to be impressive and so innovative! Can’t wait to come back and try their Mango flavor with soy milk.

I’m usually not the type of person who is impressed by frozen treats that entice you with novelty. And yet, this is one of the few places that can use bells and whistles to draw you in… and still has the flavor to keep you coming back. I ordered the red bean with whole milk and mochi mixed in. Onto the highlights!
Likes:
1. You can chose your base with any flavor (whole milk, non fat, soy, etc). This tops other places where they may offer 2 alternative flavors that are soy based… but that’s it.
2. Exotic flavor choices. Mmmm… red bean ice cream. I’d like to suggest another flavor to add to the menu… how bout some purple yam ice cream?
3. Toppings. Each size (4 oz or 7 oz) comes with one free topping. Extra toppings are 50 cents each. You can have it mixed in or placed on top. They don’t skimp either.
4. Located at the Target/​Best Buy complex. After succumbing to mass consumption of products I never needed and will probably never use, I could always use a convenient ice cream pick me up.
5. Considering all ingredients are fresh and natural… you can TASTE the difference. You leave with your sweet tooth satiated, but without regret.
Dislikes:
1. I’m too happy post-​ice cream to really think of one. I consider this a good sign.
The service was quick and top notch. It was really neat to watch the ice cream people in action smashing and bashing that creamy confection. I definitely want to try their other flavor combinations like pistachio, coffee, or pomegranate with kiwi, strawberries, or coconut. Ahh… the possibilities.

OK, seriously!?! This NEEDS to become the next big fad, take over norcal, and shut down all those tart frozen yogurt places because that was so 2009. Wait, it is 2009.
Anyways this stuff is seriously the best. Yeah, it’s healthy. Mmhmm, it’s cool that you can order what kind of base you want for your ice cream — soy milk, whole milk, non fat milk, etc. Yeah, their list of flavors is pretty awesome. Pistachio, anyone? Ok, so it’s even MORE amazing that your cup of ice creamy goodness is flavored with FRESH ingredients (and not syrup), and that you see them make your order, mix in the flavors. Yeah, it’s pretty cool that they let us pick ANOTHER topping to mix-​in like they do at Coldstone.
But the MOST amazing thing about this place is how every spoonful is busting with the flavor that you picked, and that my mango ice cream tasted just like mango because, guess what, it really is. Actually, it was like a real mango to the nth degree (how do they do that?). My strawberry mix-​in was the perfect accent. My mango pleasure lasted for quite some time, given the size of my ice cream. I snuck a few spoonfuls of my friends’ and they were all delicious; unfortunately I had to keep my eyes on the ball and attend to my mango goodness!
Even though the workers custom-​make every order, it didn’t take too long to get each one. The cashier was super-​friendly with some of us who were first-​timers. The price of ~$ 5.00 for a size «small» was on the steep side for a treat, but for a treat like this, I’d gladly shell out.
5 stars, hands down, book shut.

I’ve only been a few times and each time it’s great! You basically customize your own ice cream and best part, you see them making it right in front of you. There are two sizes and the smaller one is still big enough where 2 girls can share, unless you’re like me and kill that easily. done dadda.
My new favorite: non-​fat coffee cream with oreas mixed in and caramel on top. =)
Oh yea, I just saw that they added watermelon ice cream!!! EEEEEEKKK!!! I was too scared to try it (had to stick to my coffee ice cream), but if ANYONE has tried that please let me know how it is! Gawd I love me some watermelon juice and now… ice cream? =)

I love how this place is so unique! It’s kindaaaa like Coldstones in the sense that they mix the ice cream for you, but it’s cool because they seriously POUND it and SLAP it around on this big flat pan and add milk to it too! Working here is definitely bound to make you buff!
I got a regular size strawberry ice cream with soy milk and oreo toppings ($ 4.95). I was expecting it to be more of a creamy artificial strawberry flavor (which is what I wanted), but instead, it was more like a sorbet. «What the heck?! This tastes like REAL strawberries!» :pout:
So I actually didn’t really like MY ice cream concoction too much, but I still give this place 4 stars because my friend’s ice cream was AWESOME! He got the coffee ice cream with low fat milk and oreo topping and daaaang, it was one of the best coffee ice creams I’ve ever tried in my life! And I’m not even a coffee fan! I’m definitelyyyy getting that combination next time!

As an ice cream fiend, I’m always on the prowl for great ice cream places like Ice Pan.
I don’t want to sound like a douche but this place is «legit.» I came here specifically because they’re open later than most ice cream places (close at 10pm Sun-​Thur and 11pm Fri-​Sat). Who would’ve guessed that this place is located right in the same shopping center as my favorite Target and the Best Buy where I bought Rock Band 2 and got a free Rock Band shirt. Now I’ll just have to come here more often.
Going to Ice Pan is an experience as they slap up that ice cream right in front of you. So not only are you getting healthy and all-​natural ice cream, but it’s hand-​made and you get to see chefs whip it up to your liking. Something about watching your ice cream made for you from scratch is cool. Like ice cream and a show. It’s fun because the chefs each have their own style and technique like chefs at Benihana’s and their craft is a blast to watch.
You even get to pick different kinds of milk with whole and soy included in the choices. Then you get to pick your flavor of ice cream toppings and they have a plethora so you can get a pretty crazy combo.
*I should make a note that the chefs were really cool. One kept referring to me as sir even though we were probably around the same age which I thought was funny. But he also complimented my choice of strawberry + whole milk + bananas as toppings and then cut up those bananas right into the ice cream. The problem was, Camellia C. once again got the better tasting one when she doubled up Mango + Mango. Who would’ve thunk it?
Here’s a pic of the process:
And a pic of the finished products:
There’s no tax for a 7oz. ice cream at $ 4.95, it’s healthy, all-​natural, and hand-​made, and most important of all… it tastes amazing! They have slick deals from time to time too, so there’s really no reason not to check this place out.