Green tea ice cream on waffle, by Hiroshi Japanese restaurant, TST, HK

For some reasons, I stopped taking ice cream for months.  After a hearty Japanese lunch in Jordan, we walked towards Tsimshatsui for an afternoon dessert.  I picked up a green tea ice cream with waffle and chestnut paste.  Call it a full meal.

 

Nana's Ice Cream, Ekkaimai, BKK

Passed by soi 5 of Ekkaimai, and noticed a new Japanese mall.  There I saw Nana's Ice Cream.  Glad to see it arrived at BKK.  I had no excuse but rushed to this place for a try.  It's as good as what we had in Hokkaido.  The return tray area looks also the same of Japan.  The place was good for a cozy afternoon.

Kyo Hayashiya, Sogo Yokohama, Japan

It's a bit interesting to taste some used tea leaves preserved in salt as a condiment (the small dish on the right side of the below green tea delights.  It turned out as very refreshing from the strong flavour of green tea ice cream, and even making the green tea taste more crisp.

Nana's Green Tea, Grand Front Osaka

It's a bit interesting that those various green tea desserts I tried in Kyoto and Osaka weren't that green tea aromatic than those I tried in Hokkaido.  Even this chain branch wasn't that nice as compared to the other 2 branches I tried in Sapporo.  So don't consider the chain as either just good or bad for all the branches.  They vary quite extremely.  Another example is the Starbucks outlet in Chamonix (France) and McDonald's in Lamai beach (Samui).  These are the worst among all the branches of their groups.

An array of dessert, Sapporo, Hokkaido

It was quite interesting to try ice cream with sea urchin flavour.  However, if we can accept salted caramel, why not go further?  As compared to the other puddings, this ice cream was simply outstanding.  The Hagen Daz new flavour raspberry tiramisu is another delight though it's a bit more expensive than the other common Hagen Daz (about JPY550, vs JPY390).

Tsujiri green tea shop, Singapore

This shop isn't my most preferred choice but I felt like trying this branch as I noticed it just landed Singapore.  A bit disappointed with that little ice cream and the chestnut missing.  Yet, it shouldn't be a slurpy with green tea syrup as the base.  It should be a blended green tea frappe. 

Tsujiri, Emquartier, BKK

Tried the branch in Taipei but that could be the second ice cream I threw into the litter bin (the first one is TWG ice cream).  So I gave it a second chance and tried this new branch in Emquartier.  Found out this shop might be only good at green tea, but not ice cream.  I took this green tea frappe with ice cream on top.  I took a sip of the green tea frappe and found it not too bad but the ice cream isn't too appealing.

Tsujiri green tea ice cream, Taipei

The branch in HK (IFC mall) has long lines when I passed by it a few weeks ago.  It claimed to be "World Best Green Tea ice cream".  I thought it shouldn't be too bad.  This one in Taipei didn't claim as the same "World Best".  They are very honest.  I ordered their signature ice cream with red bean paste and mochi.  The ice cream is very milky with just a very light hint of green tea flavour.  The red bean paste is heavily sweetened and supposed Taiwanese made mochi shouldn't be that bad, but this one is an exception.  I hope the one in BKK (to be opened soon) will be a better one.

Magnum Firenze (Florence)

Venchi Chocolate and Ice cream shop, Florence

This brand has become more popular in Hong Kong and it's quite pricey.  Checked this one in Florence.  Quite a long line but it's worth it as it's just EUR2.7 a scoop (almost half of the price of HK).  Tried their yoghurt and house chocolate.  I prefer the yoghurt one as the chocolate is a bit too sweet.

All about gelato, Vienna, Austria

It's quite an amazing scene that I see people holding ice cream at 10am, lunch time, dinner time and late at night.  It's not just one scoop, but double or triple.  I believe Vienna may be the city that I have seen so many people getting ice cream as well as many ice cream shops.  Most of all, all the shops are in long lines.  So the one without a line should have a problem.

Photo 1-4: this is the first try and the least better one - Castebello - the shop has very good seating area.  5-6: Stanizel - this is a very classic shop and the cheapest one but the best one among all the 3 we tried.  Last photo: this one has a constant long line whenever I passed by it.  As I saw only 7-8 people, I then got in the line and got one.  It's quite a nice one though I prefer Stanizel.

Fresh Green, Nan Jin W. Rd. sec. 1, Taipei

Got curious about the green tea ice cream of this shop because of its downstairs shop which is a renowned Japanese dessert shop which placed the ad. for this ice cream shop.  The place is quite cozy  for a snack break though the ice cream isn't too impressive.   No complaint as it's just from TWD100-160 (aprox. HK$25 to 40).

Green Tea ice cream with Tatsutano, Cha No Wa & Nana's, Sapporo, Hokkaido

Photo 1/2: 立田野茶寮 Tatsutano tea shop - among the 3 we tried, this one is the best as it's very aromatic with green tea and not too sweet.   Photo 2: Cha No Wa - it's branch in HK is one of the most visited place I have been to, but this outlet seems not so good as compared to the one in HK.  Photo 3: Nana's used to be my favourite one but after trying Tatsutano and Cha No Wa, it fell to no. 3.

Icreameria, WTC, Causeway Bay

Japanese food and restaurants have been very popular in Hong kong over decades.  Long queues outside ramen shops, sushi shops and many other BBQ, Japanese buffet, Japanese western cafes.  Either high end or common ones are mostly crowded.  In the recent couple of years, another wave coming in - green tea ice cream dessert.  This shop has opened 5-6 branches in the major spots like Fashion Island, Sogo and this one at WTC.  I tried a green tea ice cream with hot green tea poured in. It blended a strong aroma of green tea and further offset the sweetness, though the ice cream isn't very sweet.  The next night I had to come back here trying another one - red bean mochi ice cream.  Super good!  This branch is even better in terms of deco. and the seats inside.

What flavour of this Green coke?

To go with a green coke, we had an green tea ice cream in green tea frappe, green tea ice cream with kochi and a green tea red bean cake.