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| Hawaiian shave ice |
Cold weather notwithstanding, I found myself craving for cold desserts these days. Most possibly brought about by a colleague of mine who seems to have a penchant for cold desserts most especially when the weather is cold and got influenced by it at some point. Though I still frequent cafes to get my usual dose of hot coffee, there were certain days wherein the pull of soothingly cold dessert is too strong to ignore.
Gelatissimo
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| chocolate truffle gelato |
I was with my colleagues of the current company that I'm working with one time in SM Megamall to get a respite from work. We chose to chill at Gong Cha located at The Atrium since most of us like the comfort that milk tea brings. I, for one, love Gong Cha. I already even had an order in mind (Ice Cream Milk Tea) as we lined up from the long queue that already snaked its way out the entrance of the milk tea place. But when my friend (Angel) who was right beside me in that long queue pointed to a huge semi-circular stall that displayed gelato of all flavors imaginable and on different delectable hues, glinting behind the glass case it seems to me like precious rubies and stones. It's the newly opened Gelatissimo scooping station located where Gong Cha once hold court. I was so transfixed by it that I just noticed I was already right in front of the glass case as if pulled by a strong gravitational force. My face almost pressed the glass as I gazed upon each and every gelato flavors. All those flavors (Profiterole, Biscottino, Rum & Raisins) enticed as I tried to make up my mind which one to order. I almost asked for the chocolate gelato with chili but at the last minute decided to have the Chocolate Truffle Gelato instead on a sundae cup. The chocolate flavor on this gelato smolders with a smoky note at the end. Dark, intense, I think I went to heaven and back. I've read somewhere that after you tasted a really good gelato, you'll never go back to regular ice cream. That could possibly be the case with Gelatissimo.
2/F SM Megamall Atrium
Dona Julia Vargas cor EDSA
Wack Wack, Mandaluyong
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Caramia Gelateria
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| gelato from Caramia |
From one eye-rolling goodness gelato to another, Caramia Gelateria in Robinsons Galleria (the dessert branch of Italian restaurant, Amici) has a special spot in my heart. This gelato station was where I usually go to when I'm still working at Eton Cyberpod. But aside from gelatos, I also ordered cake slices here and gelato shake once in a while. Especially love the Pistachio Cioccolato cake and the Pistachio Gelato Almonds shake. It isn't obvious that I'm all crazy with anything pistachio, is it? He-he! On this visit, I felt the need to reward myself after a long work week so I asked for the tallest, biggest cup they offer and the lady at the counter scooped up three gelato flavors of my choice. Pistachio, of course, Toffee Almond Roca and Mocha Stracciatella). Soothing creaminess with nuggets of chocolate and bits of nuts as I combined each flavors with one single swoop of my spoon. I closed my eyes momentarily and eagerly anticipated what this weekend has in store for me.
2/F Robinsons Galleria
West Lane, EDSA
Ugong Norte, Quezon City
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Masatami Shave Ice
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| rainbow shave ice from Masatami |
Apparently, halo-halo is not only being offered exclusively in the Philippines. There were various iterations of sorts on other countries. Like the Ice Kachang in Singapore, the Ruamit in Thailand and the Shave Ice from Hawaii. I was so happy to learn that this popular Hawaiian dessert can now be had via Masatami Shave Ice located just right outside the supermarket of Robinsons Galleria.
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| photo grabbed from Masatami Facebook page |
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| rainbow shave ice (up-close) |
I wanted something fancier and colorful so I decided to have the Rainbow Shave Ice w/ Snow Cap on my first visit here in Masatami. I let the girl at the counter to decide what best to put as add on to my shave ice order. Using a cup that somewhat resembles a flower in full bloom, the vanilla ice cream goes in first, followed by some azuki beans. Then a gargantuan amount of shaved ice. Colored syrups were then added to provide that rainbow color to the shaved ice and then topped with condensed milk that serves as the "snow cap".
Just looking at the finished product made me feel really happy. Upon tasting it, somehow reminds of Razon's Halo-Halo, believe or not. Albeit with not a lot of trimmings. It's cold, sweet and quite too pretty to eat, if I may add. This cold dessert just brought out the kid in me.
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| Swiss Cheese Flavored Shave Ice |
The next time around, I decided to try the Flavored Shave Ice wherein the shaved ice were finer and has the consistency of an ice cream. I asked what's their bestseller and was offered to try the Swiss Cheese. Half-hearted, I dived in, not really knowing what to expect. I'm not really big when it comes to cheese flavored ice cream, you see. For the add ons, I asked for the azuki beans however the staff courteously informed me that the azuki beans will not go well with my flavored ice shave. She immediately offered the nuts and rice crispies as better alternative for toppings. I was impressed.
My fears on trying this shave ice variant proved to be unfounded. I kinda like the mellow saltiness of the cheese on this dessert followed by the sweet creaminess that one would expect on a regular ice cream. The rice crispies and nuts provided that much desired texture. Just love it! :)
The Peanut and the Banana Ice for the Flavored variant would be my next target. :)
Robinsons Galleria (just right outside the Supermarket)
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