I'Milky Peanut and Sesame Milk Ice Cream Stick with Boba review

小農沐白 花生芝麻牛奶珍珠雪糕

My tastebuds instantly knew they wanted this the moment I saw these! This is from a Taiwanese brand called I'Milky. This is a peanut milk and black Sesame milk ice cream bar with boba. 

actual product

The peanut milk is on top and the black sesame milk is on the bottom. The sweetened boba is only on the sesame milk side. Both the peanut milk and black sesame milk are not sweetened. I liked how less sweet it is... but if you have a sweet tooth, you might not enjoy it as much as I did (the boba is the only ingredient that is sweetened and makes the bar sweet).

 impressions

• the peanut milk has a strong Asian mild peanut taste
• the sesame milk has a strong black sesame taste (but not sweet)
• the boba is the only agent making the popsicle sweet
• the boba is very VERY sweet and unlike "real" boba, it is very soft and a bit slimy

I would recommend this if you do not have a sweet tooth but enjoy (Asian) peanut and black sesame taste. I stress Asian for peanuts because Asian peanuts have a less "peanutty" taste compared to "western" or "North American" peanuts (if you are looking for something like Kraft's/Jif's creamy peanutty taste, then you will not enjoy the peanut milk side)

That being said, I liked it because, without the sweetness, I was able to fully enjoy and explore the black sesame taste and peanut taste... I liked how the boba's gave me a nice sweet touch which paired really nicely with the black sesame.

Score: 8.8/10

Website: no website

keywords: 小農沐白 花生芝麻牛奶珍珠雪糕

Haagen Daz Macadamia Nut short review

Haagen Daz Macadamia Nut

Of almost all of the Haagen-Dazs ice creams I have tried (and I have had quite a few, to date I have had 20 of their flavours already), This is one of my favourites. In fact is my all time favourites. (I like Green Tea, Vanilla, Strawberry, Double Chocolate... etc, yes, but I would always opt for Macadamia nut).

here is the list of ingredients:

Cream, Condensed Skimmed Milk, Sugar, Water, Roasted Macadamia Nuts (8%) (Macadamia Nuts (99%), Sunflower Oil, Coconut Oil), Egg Yolk, Brown Sugar Base (3%) (Brown Sugar, Water, Sugar, Butter, Salt)

Haagen Daz Macadamia Nut ice cream

These are the reasons why I like it so much and I why I think you will too:

• creamy. It has the creaminess of Vanilla but it is richer
• loaded with Macadamia nuts/pieces
• it tastes like Macadamia nuts
• it feels like a Macadamia nut melted in your mouth
• it tastes very natural (and no additives or chemicals)
• it is always available 

score: 10/10
website: https://haagendazs.co.th/flavours/macadamia-nut-ice-cream

also... please check out my personal blog and follow me around Tokyo :)

Haagen-Dazs Specialite 抹茶のオペラ review

Haagen-Dazs Specialite Matcha Opera

As Christmas approaches, there is bound to be some seasonal limited food items available. And of all products available, Haagen-Daz's was the one that caught my eye!

After dinner, I found this Haagen-Dazs Specialite 抹茶のオペラ (Matcha Opera) at my local convenient store. My friend told me that this is heavily advertised around Tokyo: trains, subways or even random posters. After indulging in this, I started seeing this everywhere, too.

layers

This ice cream consists of 4 layers:

• gold and chocolate
• matcha ice cream
• almond sauce and cookies
• blond chocolate ice cream

impressions:

• slightly pricy (¥450)
• the chocolate layer was very richly chocolate
• there was gold dust to justify the price (?)
• the vanilla ice cream cookie crumble layer was really delicious!
• each layer was very well defined bringing out their characteristic
• the layers tasted good together and apart

Haagen-Dazs Matcha Opera

was it worth it?

despite the pricey price tag, I would say yes, it was worth it. This was probably one of the best desserts I have had this year! It was extremely well made, like a very expensive ice cream cake in a small container (the kind of cake you would find in patisseries which cost ¥500+). The combination of flavours was impeccable. While the chocolate and matcha layer were on the bitter side, the almond sauce and blond chocolate layer were sweet, creating a perfect balance between the layers and producing a delicious result.

score: 9.5/10

website: http://www.haagen-dazs.co.jp/matcha_opera/

(press release) http://www.haagen-dazs.co.jp/company/newsrelease/2017/_specialite_1121.html

Hokkaido Milk Ice Cream @ Sweet House Cha Cha review

store front of Sweet House Cha Cha

how to find this place

Sweet House Cha Cha is located across from City Super at Harbour City, I am not sure whether other City Super's have this, but while I was at City Super at IFC, I couldn't find Sweet House Cha Cha... so to be safe, I'll say it is just available at Harbour City's City Super.

2 cones of Hokkaido Milk Ice Cream from Sweet House Cha Cha (menu item C1)

Price: $28 HKD per cone (approx. $3.60 USD)

Hokkaido milk is perhaps one of my favourite milks (is milks a word?) in the world... I hardly drink milk... I literally need cereal to lure me to finish my glass of milk... but when it comes to Hokkaido milk... I can finish a glass of milk without struggling.

I am always excited when I see Hokkaido milk products... and a few years ago, I found this place after grocery shopping at City Super... they have green tea ice cream as well... but I still prefer the Hokkaido one (the green tea flavour isn't bad... it tastes strongly of Matcha...).

You can choose between cup or cone (I only order cone)

impressions

• very strong Hokkaido milk taste
• creamy
• no bloating feeling

If you had to ask me, I would say this is probably the best Hokkaido milk ice cream I have ever had. I have tried many... even some in Tokyo but I still like this one. Unlike most Hokkaido milk ice creams this one does not give you a bloated full feeling... I think the fat percentage is not as high as others.

I highly recommend you to try this if you ever visit Hong Kong :).

Score: 10/10
Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweet-House-Cha-Cha/1519920984889891
address: 尖沙咀廣東道17號海港城3樓

Haagen Daz Gelato dark chocolate chip review

500 ml of chocolaty goodness

Prior to finding this product, I had no idea that Haagen-Daz had a Gelato collection!... Since I am a Haagen-Daz, Gelato and chocolate fan, how could I resist this?

Impressions:

• Sweet
• Lots of chocolate chunks
• Rich chocolate taste

a look at the chocolate chunks

This Gelato was surprisingly sweet, I wasn't expecting it to be so sweet, the main cause was the dark chocolate chunks. There are lots of hidden dark chocolate chunks (if you scooped out a teaspoon, there are about 4 chunks!). It is strange though, you can't tell they are there till you put the spoonful in your mouth, let the warm of your mouth melt away the chocolate gelato and taste the dark chocolate chips! Despite the dark chocolate chips to be.. well... dark chocolate, I found them a bit too sweet. Their size was perfect, not too thin nor thick.

However, that being said, I always thought Gelato was a healthier option... but when I looked at the nutrition facts, I was slightly shocked:

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1/2 cup

Servings Per Container   3.5

Amount Per Serving

Calories  270  (from Fat  110)

score: 8/10

website: http://www.haagendazs.us/Products/Product/3791

Greg's Ice Cream - Candy Cane Flavour review

Greg's Candy Cane Ice Cream

It's Christmas Season at Greg's Ice Cream!

We had a warm day last week, so while passing Greg's, we decided on getting ice cream. To see all the "Greg's Ice Cream reviews I have written, please click here.

Greg's is quiet this time of year, since it is getting cold. There were a few visitors but no long lines. One of the advantages was that almost all the ice cream available that day were there (not sold out), I think there were about 10 different flavours to choose from.

The one that caught my eye and I really wanted was the Candy Cane flavour. And why not? It is cold, with about a month's time to Christmas, who wouldn't want some Candy Cane? Besides, I was really fascinated as to how it would taste.

thoughts:

• very minty
• quite sweet
• candy cane bits can be smaller

As weird as it sounds, I did not really like the large Candy Cane bits in the ice cream, I understand that they needed to be there, but they were too big and were stealing the (taste?) attention from the ice cream. It was a very minty ice cream, so minty that I was craving for more a few hours later.

It is definitely a really good tasting ice cream, however, next time when I get this, I would probably pick out the larger bits/pieces before eating. If you love minty stuff, this is defnitely the ice cream for you, it will also satisfy your sweet tooth too!

website: http://gregsicecream.com/scoophappy/

Haagen-Dazs dulce de leche caramel ice cream review

photo credits: http://www.haagendazs.com/Products/Product/2459

I have always been a fan of Haagen-Dazs ice creams, they taste really good.

I had the chance to try out this dulce de leche flavour and I quite like it. I learned that dulce de leche is caramel.

in short:

• creamy
• great strong caramel taste
• not very sweet

I think having caramels once in a while is ok. I haven't thought about "Caramel" ice cream, since I usually thought caramels should be served "hot" because it enhances their flavour and chewiness. But, after trying this ice cream, I was able to taste the richness of caramel cold.

Definitely give this ice cream 10/10! (If you are a caramel fan, I highly recommend you try it!)

Roasted Marshmallow Ice Cream @ Greg's Ice Cream Review

I didn't take a picture this time, it looked light brown, sort of like the look of coffee flavoured ice cream.

After hearing countless stories and compliments about Greg's Roasted Marshmallow Ice Cream, I decided to give it a try.

I was a little disappointed, I was expecting something more "tasty" and yummy. I guess everyone has their own definition of yummy. Prior to trying this, I was expecting the "roast" to taste "crispy" with a campfire "roast" taste.

Some blogs described the taste as "smokey-sweet just roasted on a campfire flavour."

When I first tried it, my tastebuds were slighty confused, I guess that's why "Roasted" is in its name, it had a scorch taste to its Marshmallow flavour. When I refer to Roast I expect "firewood" roasted taste, I think the marshmallows they used to make the ice cream were over roasted.

I think it is good to "try" but I didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought it would.

read my review about the place: http://simplemomentblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/gregs-ice-cream-happiest-ice-cream-in.html. To see all the "Greg's Ice Cream" reviews I have written, please click here.

Greg's Ice Cream website: http://gregsicecream.com/

Pistachio Ice Cream @ Greg's Ice Cream Review

Pistachio Ice Cream @ Greg's. Notice how colourful the Pistachio bits are

mhm, that's all I can say to describe how I felt when I first took my first spoonful of Greg's Pistachio ice cream.

Unlike most Pistachio ice creams this one was not coloured green. Instead, it was a white coloured ice cream that filled with bits of "fresh" pistachio, which were very crunchy.

I really liked how colourful the pistachio bits were: green, yellow and brown/purple.

The ice cream wasn't too sweet, but just enough to enhance the Pistachio bits.

I highly recommend it! I think this is going to be one of my favourite ice creams for now. I also noticed that it melts faster than other ice creams in the shop... I'm not sure why though... (the Pistachio bits maybe?)

You won't know what is Pistachio Ice Cream till you have tried this one! And it is good :9

read my review about the place: http://simplemomentblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/gregs-ice-cream-happiest-ice-cream-in.html. To see all the "Greg's Ice Cream" reviews I have written, please click here.

Greg's Ice Cream website: http://gregsicecream.com/

Greg's ice cream - The Happiest Ice Cream in the World! review

I have FINALLY tried Greg's Ice cream and it is good! No disappointments at all!

Greg's Ice Cream is located on Bloor near Spadina (The Annex). After weeks of hearing my friend talking about this place I knew I had to give it a try.

I went on their website and learned that Greg's ice Cream has been in business for nearly 30 years! After trying their ice cream I think they will be in business for many more 30 years!

Greg's Ice Cream is special ice cream place, with a variety of flavours, They range from "normal" flavours like vanilla to weird flavours like Star Anise. I didn't have the guts to try their Star Anise flavour, instead I got Rum Raisin.

I was really surprised by the amount of Rum they dreneched the raisins in, most of the time, when I order Rum Raisin, they usually taste like raisins + vanilla ice cream. This was not the case at Greg's... I finally know what Rum Raisin should taste like! On top of that, the ice cream was very creamy. I hear their Roasted Marshmallow is extremly popular, the next time I go, I will definitely check it out!

The shop is small with only a few tables, which is alright since it is located in downtown where people would rather go and explore than sit and eat their ice cream.

The downside I would say is that you can order what they offer that day, they do not offer all flavours every day, instead, they have a "what's serving today" and you choose from that. It can be a good thing as you know that the ice cream must be "fresh" but not so if you are going there expecting a specific flavour.

Overall though, this is definitely one of the best ice cream places I have ever tried (especially in Toronto), with a reasonable price and an amazing high quality. I think I will spend much time (and money) at this place this summer!

To see all the "Greg's Ice Cream" reviews I have written, please click here.

website: Greg's Ice Cream

Jack Astor's Desserts review

For those of you who have been to Jack Astor's how many of you have tried their dessert menu? I have gotten that chance this week for an early birthday celebration.

I have to say, of all the similar restaurant chains (e.g. Moxie's, Milestones, etc) I have to say their desserts are less pricey and taste really good, with large portions.

My friend and I decided to try more flavours so we got 2; 1 which was a sundae filled with Whipped Cream and nuts on top and a 2nd ice cream sundae filled with popcorn, caramel syrup and marshmallows on top.

I was surprised that it did taste quite good and not too sweet.