Gelato with a View -- Gelato Mania in Cape Town, SA

One of my favorite stops of the honeymoon was Cape Town, South Africa. When we were planning our honeymoon, I told K that a safari was at the top of my list. Several people had recommended Kruger National Park in South Africa, telling us that it was a great location for "safari beginners" (which we certainly are!). And it seemed silly to K to go all the way to South Africa without seeing Cape Town.

While people rave about the coastal city of Cape Town, K and I were still blown away by the spectacular natural beauty surrounding the city. When I think of Cape Town now, the word that comes to mind is "dazzling." There is so much to do and see here. Some of the highlights for me included riding the rotating cable car up the steep sandstone and granite slopes of Table Mountain and the day-long tour of the Cape Peninsula and Constantia Winelands that we took through Luhambo Tours. I'd highly recommend both experiences!

View of Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain

Wine tasting at Steenberg Vineyards

Between our planned activities, K and I enjoyed exploring different neighborhoods of Cape Town. We both agreed that if we ever moved to Cape Town, we'd love to live in Camps Bay. The coastal suburb is a mere 15-minute drive from downtown Cape Town, but it seems like a world away. K said it reminded him a lot of Malibu or Manley Beach, with its white sandy beaches, open patio restaurants, and volleyball parks.

Like any good beach town, Camps Bay has its fair of ice cream and gelato shops. Many of Camp Bay's good restaurants and shops are found in the Promenade shopping center. With its stunning views of the beach, its easy to see why the spot is so popular.

Panorama from the Promenade (photo cred: K)

I quickly zeroed in on Gelato Mania, a shop advertising "artisan gelato." It was late afternoon, and I was a bit hungry. A snack was in order to tide us over until our dinner reservation at the Woodlands Eatery.

Gelato Mania has a bold and lively decor, and the gelato flavors and toppings match the fun vibe. We discovered that there are five outposts of the small South African gelato chain, and that they all share the same cheerful decor and gelato. There had to be more than two dozen flavors -- all of which looked like crowd-pleasers. While none of the flavors sounded too outlandish or unique, everything sounded yummy. I was told that the most-popular flavors included After 8 Mint, Angelo Blu (bubble gum!), Tiramisu and Chocolate Hazelnut. There were even several sorbets; the Mango looked particularly good! But I was sold on the Cherry Bomb and Quello (described as having "loads of caramel"). And while the numerous topping options looked enticing, I figured these flavors would be fun enough on their own.

Gelato Mania's prices seemed reasonable to me -- R46.80 (about $4 USD) for my two scoops -- but this must be pretty expensive by South African standards (cost of living is much lower there than in the States). But this view itself is worth something, right?

Gelato with a view

The verdict? Gelato Mania's gelato lived up to my expectations. While it wasn't the most dense or refined gelato ever, my scoops were sweet and flavorful. The texture was light, but the gelato melted fast in the warm afternoon heat. For any East Coasters or Midwesterners, the Cherry Bomb reminded me of the Black Cherry ice cream at Friendly's. The cherry flavor was strong and sweet, and little bits of sweetened black cherries were found throughout the scoop. While it was good, it wasn't exactly memorable. But the Quello was a different story; the gelato base had a rich custard-like flavor. But it was that caramel that took this gelato over the top. When the staff of Gelato Mania scooped the Quello out of its bin, they made sure to grab a healthy chunk of that caramel coating. The resulting caramel swirl was a showstopper; its buttery depth and sticky consistency was reminiscent of the center of a fancy caramel truffle. I don't think I could return to Gelato Mania and not order the caramel again. And I have a feeling that this won't be our last time in Cape Town... or our last time at Gelato Mania in Camps Bay ;-)

The Stats:
Gelato Mania
Shop 11, Ground Floor
The Promenade, Victoria Road
Camps Bay, Cape Town 8040
(Multiple locations in South Africa)
http://www.gelatomania.co.za/

Hong Kong's Ice Cream Gallery -- Foie Gras and Lobster, Oh My!

After a relaxing and luxurious few days in the Maldives, it felt strange to be in the bustling metropolis of Hong Kong. (I should mention that we visited before the major protests, which I'm watching on TV right now!)

Hong Kong is one of K's favorite cities, but this was my first time visiting. And even after just 36-hours there, I can totally understand his infatuation. There is a magical quality to the city; it's a densely populated with both people and skyscrapers, but the hilly and lush terrain gives it a Jurassic Park-like feel. And Hong Kong was an important British colony until 1997, when it was formally handed over to the People's Republic of China. So it retains some of its British/western identity and has a huge expat community. So we were able to find a craft-beer bar for K and a gluten-free grocery store for me!

Hong Kong is well-known for its vibrant food scene. The number of Michelin-starred restaurants is growing, and world-renowned celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver have recently opened restaurants. K and I had one of the best meals of our honeymoon here, at Ho Lee Fook, where everything is spicy and addicting (I'm looking at you, shredded chicken salad with the mysterious "strange sauce").

But the most memorable culinary experience I had in Hong Kong took place in the late afternoon, when I was on the hunt for some local ice cream. And while I've had tried some very interesting flavors (remember cheese gelato and yak soft serve?), nothing prepared me for our visit to the Ice Cream Gallery.

Tucked inside a shopping mall, the Ice Cream Gallery has dished up over 600 different ice-cream flavors since 1994. Owner Arron Liu is known for churning out some of the finest (and most expensive!) gourmet ice cream in Asia.

What the Ice Cream Gallery lacks in colors, it makes up for in creativity and. Much of the ice cream is created in the style of French crème glacée, made from full-fat imported French cream and eggs. Some of these flavors sound more like fine cuisine than ice cream! French White Truffle, French Lobster, King Crab (!), French Foie Gras... I could barely believe my eyes. And even the traditional, classic flavors receive the special treatment; Pure Vanilla features Madagascar vanilla bourbon and Philippine mangoes are brought in for the Mango ice cream. According to their website, the Ice Cream Gallery doesn't use any artificial flavors or colors, stabilizers, gelatin, or preservatives. The lack of food coloring explained why the colors behind the glass ice-cream case were fairly muted.

The most interesting savory-sounding ice creams caught K's attention, and neither of us could settle on just one flavor. But we finally settled on four flavors (hey, it was our honeymoon!), and we ordered small cups of the following flavors:

French Foie Gras - made with fresh Roujie foie gras
French Lobster - made with fresh lobster
French Rose Champagne Chocolate - made with organic French roses, champagne and French 80% dark chocolate
Japanese Sesame 

The insane creations at the Ice Cream Gallery don't come cheap. We had to fork over the equivalent of $35 USD for our tasting smorgasbord.

L to R: Foie Gras, Rose Champagne Chocolate, Lobster, Sesame

The verdict? I don't think my taste buds have ever been so disoriented! I tried the Sesame first and was thoroughly impressed. Sweet, toasty, and just slightly gritty, this ice cream was delightful. It wasn't the creamiest ice cream, but I enjoyed the airier texture. Next up was the Rose Champagne Chocolate. This flavor was sweeter than the sesame, but it retained a deep chocolatey flavor. The champagne flavor hit later, as the ice cream melted on my tongue. I couldn't detect rose at all and wondered if I'd misinterpreted the name. Was it rosé champagne? Nope... I confirmed that rose was indeed a separate ingredient before I left. And now was the time for the savory flavors. The Lobster ice cream immediately reminded me of a rich lobster bisque.... but frozen and a tad bit sweeter? I'm not sure if the sweetness was just left over on my palate, or if there was actually a bit of sugar involved. The Foie Gras definitely tasted sweet, but it lacked the distinct fatty and salty flavor of foie gras. K said that if it was a blind taste test, he wouldn't have known it was foie gras (and the boy loves his duck liver). Neither of us wanted to finish the two savory ice creams, but we were both glad we'd tried them. The Sesame, on the other hand, I couldn't let go to waste. All in all, I'd really only recommend the Ice Cream Gallery to adventurous eaters. If you're a vanilla-or-chocolate kind of ice-cream eater, you may prefer to try Hong Kong's other shops. But if your taste buds are up to a challenge, walk run on over to the Ice Cream Gallery for an unforgettable experience.

The Stats:
Ice Cream Gallery
Windsor House/ICG Shop (Ground Floor - G16)
311 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
http://www.icecreamgallery.com.hk