SkyIce: The Woman Designing the Flavors
My nose is frozen. Blustery winds tell me to turn around, go back into the subway. Passing through the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn on an unforgiving February day, you see Sky Ice and think to yourself, Thai ice cream? How do they do it? Selling ice cream works in the summer but what about the winters. Well, not only are they doing it, but they’ve been absolutely crushing it for the past eight years. The secret? Follow the warm, spicy aroma and your adventurous spirit inside to find out.
Sutheera Denprapa and her husband, Jonathan Bayer, are the remarkable owners of SkyIce: Thai Food & Ice Cream. I don’t use the term remarkable lightly. As I sat and spoke with them (for actual hours that seemed like minutes), I began to realize their depth of spirit. Owners of a flourishing 8 year old business in one of the pickiest neighborhoods in the country, actively involved in their community, constantly challenging flavor norms in their restaurant dishes, and not least, the dedicated parents of a 10 year old. Note: Each of those things is a full-time occupation on its own! How else can you describe two people who are successfully juggling so many massive endeavors, but remarkable?
Both Sutheera and the seedling idea of SkyIce were born in Bangkok, Thailand. She fondly remembers her family home, in the business district of Sathorn all the way at the end of the street. Chickens and goats comfortably wandered around papaya and mango trees in the yard behind her house. Sutheera recounts to me a funny story of playing with the chickens in the morning only to find out later it was in the pot for dinner. “I just fed them yesterday!” She laughs. Maybe that’s why she believes high quality, natural ingredients are the best for the menu at SkyIce.
She tells me that the city of Bangkok is different now than it was when she grew up: There’s a Four Seasons dominating the view, like many neighborhoods in Bangkok, small homes and beautiful fruit trees have been torn down to make room for large buildings. The air is smoggy and the river behind her home that was once so clear her dad used to jump in it, now is polluted, unsafe to set even a finger.
Sutheera was 27 when she decided it was time to go exploring. She was on her lunch break from work one day when she decided to go apply for an American visa. She returned to work and reported to her boss that she was quitting. And so, the adventure began. She came over to the U.S. to study English for a year and then decided to stay.
She nurtured her hunger for design while going to Pratt and eventually starting a small fashion line when she began to revisit a tiny dream from her childhood. “I never thought that I would have a restaurant. But I knew when I was young: Please, my parents, can they own an ice cream shop?” They never did. But the dream wasn’t forgotten...
Time went on, Sutheera married Jonathan and they had their daughter, Yassy. Sutheera spent many nights, eating pints of chocolate ice cream, endlessly designing, dreaming and wondering: Why doesn’t anyone make Thai Tea flavored ice cream? Durian? Miso? Her love of ice cream combined with her longing for flavors from Thailand and memories of her childhood finally became an undeniable calling. If she was going to get those flavors, she had to make it herself.
Although SkyIce was conceived in the spirit of ice cream, it must be known that it is a far cry from any old ice cream shop. SkyIce is a fully functional Thai restaurant serving up the works: appetizers, mains, sides and dessert, of course.
The menu was created to be different. Sutheera and Jonathan recounted feeling that so many of the Thai restaurants opening up were copies of the last. Dishing out the same basic, pale, dimly flavored Pad Thai and soggy pineapple fried rice. New Thai restaurants were starting to resemble fast food: average, quick, forgettable. SkyIce was going to be what Thailand is: colorful, energized, flavors that make you feel something. So once again, they wanted to eat real Thai food and since they couldn’t find it, they had to make it.
The entire menu is inspired by the regions of Thailand. They make “Provincial Thai Home Cooking” because Thai flavor profiles vary depending on which part of Thailand you happen to be in. Northern Thailand features more of the herbaceous cilantro flavors, minced meats and sticky rice many of us are familiar with, like their “Kang Hung Lay Beef”. The Isan region of Thailand displays more simple, spicy flavors and fermented fish. The popular Somtum (Papaya) Salad is evidence of the simplicity of this region. Southern Thai dishes are generally where we see lots of spice and all of those beautiful rich coconut based curries, to which SkyIce has devoted a whole section of its menu. Finally, there is Central Thailand. The region Sutheera is from. The hub of Thailand, bustling with markets and ingredients from all over the country and imports from China. Dishes like “Grilled Mahi Mahi in Banana Leaf,” “Basil Fried Rice,” and “Pad See Yue” draw their flavors from here.
The Must-Order Food
Massman Curry. One of my favorites that my mother (also from Bangkok) makes, I had high expectations. SkyIce did not disappoint. Creamy coconut milk curry, tangy acidic notes, and just a little spicy on the finish, just the way I remember it. You can pick your protein but I usually go with tofu when it’s offered. It’s just as filling, makes me feel a little bit healthy and it’s usually lighter on my wallet, such was the case here. Potato, onion, broccoli, green beans and peanuts round out the stew and you can choose to have Jasmine Rice or Roti to accompany your delicious Massman. I chose Roti for fun. I could write a whole article on their Roti alone, but I’ll save your Screen Time app from shaming you. The Roti is flaky and layered with happiness, please order it! Even if it’s a side order, because I totally get it if you need your rice.
Pad Thai Woon Sen. For the experimental type, this is different than the Pad Thai you might be familiar with for a couple reasons, but firstly, because the Woon Sen noodle is thin and clear. The next thing you’ll notice is the distinct red-orange color of the noodle. The SkyIce kitchen does something special here, the sauce is tamarind based and very distinct. Running on three main gears of taste: sweet, savory, and acidic, this isn’t the run of the mill, McPadThai over here. This is a highly crafted transformation on a plate. Like most of the mains, you have a number of proteins to choose from ranging from tofu and “mock duck” all the way to mahi mahi or beef sirloin.
SkyIce Palette. You should try every ice cream flavor available. But that’s a lot. Especially if you just ate a giant meal. So to save you from on-the-spot anxiety, or worse, the dreaded “can I taste-” a hundred times, SkyIce has created an easy way for you to take comfort in your indecision. The SkyIce Palette is twelve mini scoops of whichever flavors you choose. This is both exciting and practical for a place churning out over a dozen innovative seasonal specialties.
Here are some of my favorites:
Durian: Funky and Fruity.
Miso Almond: Compact flavor, salty miso complements the almond.
Black Sesame Seaweed: One of their most famous flavors, roasty & nutty.
Raspberry Cilantro: Tangy Raspberry dissolves into a cool Cilantro finish.
Cucumber Sorbet: Fresh and Cleansing.
Honey Ginger: Warm and spicy sweetness.
Belgian Chocolate: Rich and powerful chocolate flavor, packs a punch.
*Fig: Seasonal special, one of the most honest fig flavors you can get.
So what is the secret to crushing the restaurant game in a competitive neighborhood like Park Slope, Brooklyn? Being adaptable to the food demands of an area? Giving people something they can’t find anywhere else? Sure, those are key pieces of the puzzle. But when I asked Sutheera what advice she would give to another immigrant thinking of owning a business, she thought for half of a second. Her message: “Follow your dreams. Discipline is very important too, and persistence.”
Visit SkyIce
63 5th Avenue · Brooklyn, NY 11217
718-230-0910
Subway
2/3 to Bergen Street
B D N Q R 2 3 4 5 to
Atlantic Avenue/Barclays Center