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
No comments:
Post a Comment