I was made aware of this ice cream shop by the owner of Mammamia in Tokyo.
The visit
Gelato dal Cuore (from heart) is located in a quiet street in Jingan.
The interior is contemporary and well designed. Some seats are available.
I quick scan of the counter shows both classic and original flavors: dark chocolate, tiramisu, hazelnut, but also mango lassi, mint chocolate, pumpkin, strawberry milk and black sesame. They produce small batches of gelato freshly made daily in the traditional Italian way.
I had chocolate and tiramisu. Both flavors were strong and creamy. A perfect specimen of Italian ice cream.
The check
Two flavors cost 35 CNY (5 USD) and three flavors 48 CNY (7 USD). They also have some hot drinks.
Highly recommended.
Where in Shanghai:
600 Shaanxi Bei Lu, Near Xinzha Lu, Jingan district
Address in Chinese: 静安区陕西北路600号
Check out their Instagram account.
Finding original Italian ice cream (more correctly I should say “gelato“) is always a challenge in Asia. For this reason Gelato Mammamia immediately stands out as an authentic experience that has no comparison elsewhere in Tokyo.
The visit
I easily reached my destination following Google Maps. The ice cream parlor is located just a short walk from Ueno Hirokoji station. It is not a cafe, it is more like a kiosk and there is no indoor seating.
The display featured both traditional flavors and more exotic ones. We spoke to Andrea, the owner and master gelataio, who personally makes the gelato from scratch working with the machines inside the parlor that can be seen from the street.
Andrea shared that over the past 3 years or so he experimented with over 150 flavors, building on local quality ingredients. Recently he was the first in Tokyo to offer a red chocolate flavor
All the flavors available were very tempting. I settled for a classic, lemon, and for a red shiso. Shiso is a perennial plant that has multiple uses in the culinary Japanese tradition. Its leaves are used to serve sashimi and during the summer a red shiso drink is very popular. This juice was the starting point to obtain the shiso sorbet on offer. I enjoyed the two flavors as very refreshing. The lemon was made from top class ingredients and the flavor was very distinctive.
The gelato is made according to the Italian artisan tradition with no artificial flavors, artificial colors, corn syrup, animal gelatins and other chemical additives so often found in ice cream nowadays.
The check
I enjoyed the payment system: the parlor is equipped with a ticket machine (similar to those found in some ramen joints). I found this system very practical because it avoids the gelataio inside to handle banknotes and coins with all the unpleasant consequences.
The ticket for a cup with two flavors was 450 yen (around 4 USD), a very reasonable price given the quality and also the generous amount of gelato poured into the cup.
For those who like authentic Italian artisan gelato Mammaia is a must-go destination. I will certainly come back in my future trips to Tokyo.
Where in Tokyo: 3-42-11 Yushima, Bunkyo 113-0034, Tokyo In Japanese: 3-42-11, 文京区, 湯島 (a short walk from Ueno Hirokoji station)
Check their Facebook page for the latest.
Currently open daily in the afternoon (2-7pm), except on Mondays.
In my trip to Chiang Mai of course I had to try the khao soi, one of Northern Thailand’s iconic dishes. Khao soi is basically a curry soup (but in the curry there is also coconut juice) with deep-fried crispy egg noodles on top and normal boiled egg noodles soaked in the soup. It comes with either beef, chicken and pork and it is usually served with a side dish of pickled mustard greens, shallots and lime as a condiment, along with chili paste. Normally it is a mildly spicy dish, but the level of spiciness can vary depending on the establishment.
The street khao soi: Khao Soi Khun Yai
Following food youtuber and blogger Mark Wiens’ advise, I tried my street khoi soi in a diner located along the northern perimeter of Chiang Mai’s old city called Khao Soi Khun Yai.
The diner is open only until 2pm, so I went for a breakfast. I was not the only tourist, I guess Mark Wiens can really make a difference with his recommendations! They are tourist friendly with an English menu now:
I am not a fan of noodles, ramen and such, but I found this khao soi a delicious dish. Mixing the soft boiled and the crispy fried noodles gave the dish a particular texture. I chose to have chicken in mine and I enjoyed every bite. I finished the soup. (Looking back with more experience I can add that the fried noodles were a bit soggy and that overall this was a very spicy khao soi, which may be good or bad depending on your taste.)
Special bonus: I enjoyed their longan juice too!
Total price: 40 THB for the small khao soi, that would be 1.20 USD (plus 20 THB for the drink).
The luxury khao soi: Le Grand Lanna
Le Grand Lanna is a luxury Thai restaurant located on the ground of the five-star resort Dhara Devi. It is around 8 km outside the old city.
Their khao soi was pretty much the same size as the one tried in the other restaurant and came with the usual pickles, lime and chili paste.
What to say? I enjoyed this bowl as well, but I found it more of a soft ball. The soup was less tasty, less spicy and the egg noodles gave me the impression to be cut by a machine, if not bought ready-made (I am pretty sure that at Khao Soi Khun Yai were hand-made).
The khao soi was part of a set menu, but the cost from a la carte menu (after service charge and tax) was a little over 350 THB, around 11 USD.
The verdict
Was the luxury khao soi worth the extra money? While I am not a khao soi expert by any stretch of the imagination, I do not think it was worth. Clearly you are paying for the ambience, not for the food.
To be honest, the two dishes were quite similar, but I found the soup of the khao soi served at Khao Soi Khun Yai more tasty and spicy. Also, their noodles, especially the dried noodles on top, presented a better texture.
For other reasons, I would not recommend Le Grand Lanna as a destination in Chiang Mai. On the other side, khoi soi is really a dish to try while visiting the city and the multitude of diners serving khoi soi are certainly more interesting than the glossy environment of Le Grand Lanna.
Japanese have a word to describe the lunch boxes for train trips: ekiben. Ekiben is a type of “boxed” (bento) take-away meal that is commonly sold at rail stations and airports. Ekiben were already popular in the 19th century; today they are mass produced in food processing facilities and combine two of the elements of a good Japanese meal: delicious food and nice presentation. I personally have very bad memories of meals consumed on trains in the US, Europe and China and I just try to avoid the experience. But when I am in Japan, I gladly incorporate an ekiben in my days on the road. Here’s a few examples from my trips.
The first one was advertised as the lunch box of the movie stars… found at Kyoto station on the way to Tokyo.
This specific ekiben sported a nice piece of marinated mackerel, a bite of unagi (fresh-water eel in its sauce), a piece of cutlet, and some other delicacies (a fish ball, a piece of fried tofu, etc.). And of course a good ration of rice.
Total price for this meal on the go, including a coke and a red been sweet (sold separately): 1,505 yen (around 13.55 USD). The ekiben alone was 1,010 yen, around 9 USD. As compared to overpriced meal options available in train stations and airports in other countries, not bad.
Here’s the unboxing of another ekiben (in my memory even better than the one described above):
This ekiben had a large portion of tonkatsu (pork cutlet), omelette, pickles, rice, even some spaghetti!
Finally a very nice ekiben consumed on the train between Hakodate and Sapporo for ony 980 yen (not even 9 USD):
Ekiben are my favorite cold lunch boxes in the world. If you happen to travel by train in Japan, arrive at the station a bit earlier to shop for an ekiben, so you will not miss the little joy to unpack it and consume its content.
One of the pluses of Ho Chi Minh City’s food scene is that it still leaves room to compelling personal stories. Sure, international chains are already everywhere, but if you are patient enough you can still find self-motivated individuals that just want to do the right thing. The owner and artisan behind Ralf’s Artisan Gelato has one of these stories to tell. For him gelato was a destiny, Vietnam is probably an accident. He first tried to take over a gelato parlor in Germany when he was in his mid-twenties, but the Italian owner called off the deal. So he went on another professional trajectory for 30 years or so. Finally, he was able to acquire a gelato parlor in Germany and spent the past 10 years learning and perfecting his trade. Finally, life brought him in Vietnam where all what he learnt finally came together.
The visit
I was introduced to this gelato parlor (you will see why I cannot write ice cream in a moment) by a good friend of mine in 2017. Now, every time I visit Ho Chi Minh City a stop is mandatory. My latest visit dates back to July 2018 and on this occasion I had a chance to speak to Ralf and I was even given a tour of his laboratory.
Certificate of membership Gelatieri per il Gelato
Ralf’s Artisan Gelato is a representative of the Italian tradition, but using the Italian term “gelato” to designate its creations is not just an homage to Italy. Rather, gelato indicates a distinct production process that leads to something different from ordinary industrial ice cream. The key is that gelato contains less fat (less cream and more milk is used) and less air than ice cream and it is served at warmer temperatures. This results in a more organic, intense flavor and a richer texture. The association Gelatieri per il Gelato (Ralf is their only Asian member) also stresses the use of fresh, natural, high quality ingredients and the production in small batches.
But there is more. Even in Italy, the vast majority of gelato parlors use semi-finished products to quickly produce their gelato. Ralf is among the few artisan that produces his gelato from scratch. This means that he picks the best ingredients and turns them into gelato step by step. For example, producing a batch of passion fruit may involve a week-long process that starts with letting the fruits mature to the right point, harvest the pulp and so on. This is not a process that can be easily scaled and, not surprisingly, real gelato artisan operates small shops.
These points were optimally illustrated by my choice, a scoop of coffee ice cream and one of Marou chocolate (Marou is a Vietnamese brand of chocolate… more in another review). The coffee flavor was intense, but not pungent like in some industrial ice cream I experienced elsewhere and the texture of the chocolate was closer to a mousse than regular ice cream.
Fish sauce
Pumpkin seed oil
Yogurt and black rice
Before leaving I also tasted a few of the more exotic flavors available. Ralf created a fish sauce flavor that is scoring very well with locals (not my cup of tea, but fish sauce is so intimately part of the Vietnamese culture that I am not surprised the flavor can have a lot of admirers). I liked another Vietnam-inspired flavor, yogurt and black rice (a typical Vietnamese dessert). Finally, I would recommend trying the pumpkin seed oil that has a nutty back-taste and is made with pumpkin oil imported from Austria.
The check
One scoop currently sells for 60,000 VND (2.62 USD). Two scoops like in my order make a good portion, so you will spend between 2.60 and 5.20 USD to taste this labor of love. I find the price point more than reasonable considering all the work and dedication necessary to get to the finished product. Besides, industrial ice creams sell for around the same (sometimes even more). I am not even comparing these prices with Shanghai or Hong Kong where prices are higher, but the quality is spotty. The gelato can be tasted in a cup or in a cone (I prefer the former). The shop also has tables and I and a friend enjoyed the gelato indoor with complimentary iced tea, but, of course, it also makes sense to enjoy it as a street food (in this case cone is the right choice!). So, all in all, I want to say thanks to Ralf for teaching me something new about food and for having brought this tradition to Vietnam. I hope to visit him again and again.
Where in Ho Chi Minh City: 39 Đặng Thị Nhu, Phường Nguyễn Thái Bìn, District 1 At the time of posting it is closed on Mondays and opens at 1pm during the week, at 11.30 on weekends and keeps open till 10pm. Check their Facebook page for up to date information.
UPDATE I also would like to share this gelato drink popular in Germany and Austria that Ralf has on his menu:
It is basically a chocolate drink with two scoops of gelato (also the coffee version is available). It is an extremely rich drink highly recommended to chocolate lovers.
Japan loves limited editions. Or at least marketers in Japan do. Even the most trivial product gets special editions released in limited quantities for a limited time. Japan also loves convenience stores (called combini)… the Lawsons and 7/11s in Japan offer quality food for quick launches and dinners (nothing compared to their counterparts in other countries).
Combine these two elements and you will get limited editions gourmet desserts.
At the beginning of June 2018 Lawson launched a dessert featuring a collaboration between the famed chocolatier Godiva and Uichi Café, a brand of quality desserts sold in convenience stores. At the time of this post – late June 2018 – a few units are still available here and there (we found ours in Kyoto). They will be gone soon. Limited edition marketing has the upside to keep things interesting, but it clearly has the downside to abruptly interrupt the supply of a new product you might end up liking.
The Godiva roll cake is delicious. It is basically a sponge chocolate cake with soft serve Godiva chocolate and a layer of gianduia chocolate that gives additional texture and flavor. Sold for 450 yen (around 4 USD) including tax.
So next time you travel in Japan pop up in Lawson, 7/11 and maybe Family Mart (they are the major chains and are literally everywhere); chances are that you can get something special and unrepeatable.
PS: do not exaggerate… this small cake alone is 420 calories.
This specific ekiben sported a nice piece of marinated mackerel, a bite of unagi (fresh-water eel in its sauce), a piece of cutlet, and some other delicacies (a fish ball, a piece of fried tofu, etc.). And of course a good ration of rice.
One scoop currently sells for 60,000 VND (2.62 USD). Two scoops like in my order make a good portion, so you will spend between 2.60 and 5.20 USD to taste this labor of love. I find the price point more than reasonable considering all the work and dedication necessary to get to the finished product. Besides, industrial ice creams sell for around the same (sometimes even more). I am not even comparing these prices with Shanghai or Hong Kong where prices are higher, but the quality is spotty. The gelato can be tasted in a cup or in a cone (I prefer the former). The shop also has tables and I and a friend enjoyed the gelato indoor with complimentary iced tea, but, of course, it also makes sense to enjoy it as a street food (in this case cone is the right choice!). So, all in all, I want to say thanks to Ralf for teaching me something new about food and for having brought this tradition to Vietnam. I hope to visit him again and again.
Japan loves limited editions. Or at least marketers in Japan do. Even the most trivial product gets special editions released in limited quantities for a limited time. Japan also loves convenience stores (called combini)… the Lawsons and 7/11s in Japan offer quality food for quick launches and dinners (nothing compared to their counterparts in other countries).