Travel Bite London - Amorino

Amorino is one of my favorite gelato shops - I first came across it in the Marais in Paris, but very happy to know that there are branches in London as well! I went to the Soho branch on a weeknight at about 10pm and there was a line.



Amorino store front in London's Soho

You choose your size at the cash register (or "till" as they call it here) and pay first. You can choose from cups ("coppa"), cones ("cornetto") or take-away tubs. After that, you give your receipt to the staff and they'll scoop your choice of flavors.

Inside the store

I was craving something creamy, so I didn't go for the sorbetti - but I do remember their raspberry and strawberry being really good, and I will try their coconut one next time! They had ran out of tiramsu gelato already, so I chose vanilla, hazelnut and dark chocolate (they do have a chocolate-hazelnut flavor called "L'inimitable").

Don't be deceived by the size of the small, £3.50 cornetto. They fill up the center with one flavor, and put the other flavors on in petals on the outside of the cone! Only the cones get this flower petal scooping treatment.


Flower-shaped gelato!



The gelato was dense, and smooth. Amorino only uses organic and natural ingredients in their gelato and sorbetti, and the flavors shine through so well. There were many flecks of vanilla bean in the vanilla gelato, and crunchy hazelnuts in the hazelnut gelato.

I'm already planning my next trip and the flavors I'm going to get. Lucky for me, Amorino is open till midnight, and till 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

 

Amorino

41 Old Compton Street, W1D 6HF (two other locations in London, others across Europe)

Tel: 0207 494 3300

http://www.amorino.com/en/

 



Quick Bite - Lab Made Ice Cream

Lab Made is a place I've wanted to try for a while, and I finally made it on a lazy Sunday afternoon. And yes, I eat ice-cream in all temperatures. Back in Chicago, when it was -30C out, I would go to Cold Stone with friends and we could eat our ice cream without any fear it was going to melt!

Ice Cream in progress

The selling point is that Lab Made makes the ice cream in really small batches with a Kitchenaid mixer, the ice cream base, and a dash of liquid nitrogen. 

Flavors in rotation

There are four flavors a rotation, and this time (January 4 - 20) it was Custard Bun, HK Crispy Toast (with PB Sauce), Super Lemon Meringue Pie, and Purple Rice. Purple Rice was $39, the rest were $44. We had Custard Bun and Super Lemon Meringue Pie.

Super Lemon Meringue Pie and Custard Bun Ice Cream

I think the highlight of both ice creams was the texture. It was very smooth, but it did melt quickly. The Custard Bun was very creamy, and had a nice custard flavor, but a bit too sweet for me. There were specks of hard egg yolk, which does show they used egg custard, but it detracts from the smooth texture. The Super Lemon Meringue Pie had a clean lemon flavor, not very heavy like Custard Bun. They added a sprinkle of small meringues, which were okay.

A bit of a gimmick, I know, but fun nonetheless. You can keep a track of what flavors they're featuring on their Facebook page. I think I'll stop by again when I see other interesting flavors.

Lab Made
No. 6 Brown Street, Tai Hang, 2670 0071

Quick Bite - Froyo at Smile Yogurt & Dessert Bar

Froyo with Honey Crumbs

I haven't had much froyo lately, but a friend suggested froyo after lunch and so why not! We were in Causeway Bay and it was between Agnes B (which I've had, but I found a bit watery for my taste), and trying a new place together!

Smile offers a handful of froyo sundae combinations, prices ranging from about $40+ to $60+. You can create your own froyo too - the froyo base plus one topping for $36, additional toppings from $5-$10 each. 

I stuck with the froyo and 1 topping (if you can call it a "topping", since it's sandwiched between the two mounds of froyo). I was pleasantly surprised by the froyo texture - it's creamy, soft, and no grainy ice crystals. It's not tart, so expect it to be more like soft-serve. 

Will definitely go back and try their cakes!

Smile Yogurt & Dessert Bar
Shop 509, Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay, 2811 8321

Nibbles - Macarons from Jean Paul Hévin

Was out in Central today and wanted to get some macarons while I was at IFC. The plan was to have them when I take a break from writing my paper this afternoon. I've had the macarons at Le Gouter Bernardaud and wanted to try the ones at Jean Paul Hévin. I ended up buying two - one raspberry and one bitter chocolate.

Frambois'in and Amer macarons

Couldn't help but take a bite!

Frambois'in:

Amer

I think the LGB macarons are a bit too sweet for me, but these JPH ones are good! It wasn't just sweet sweet sweet, like most macarons.

I love basically anything raspberry x chocolate, and the Frambois'in was well balanced. There was a good amount of tartness, the raspberry flavor came through, and the ganache was smooth. The dark chocolate one was yum too (after all, JPH is a chocolatier), and I do like how you can actually taste the nutty almond-ness of the cookie.

JPH has lunch and brunch too in the small seating area adjacent to the shop, but no reservations. Will try it some day, and their signature chocolate drinks!

Jean Paul Hévin Bar à Chocolat et Boutique

Shop 2045A, ifc mall, Central, Hong Kong, 2111-9770

http://www.jphevin.com.hk/

Nibbles - Chez Shibata

Was at Elements the other day and passed by Chez Shibata, a famous Japanese patisserie and tea salon. So I picked up two signature cakes to share with my family at home.














Coeur des bois ($38) - This was the first cake I chose without hesitation. It stood out from the rest because it was bright red, it was heart shaped, and I love raspberries! The Coeur de bois is a vanilla bavarois with a raspberry jelly and a light sponge cake layer on the bottom. The bavarois was light with an airy texture, which contrasted nicely with the tart jelly in the middle. The thin sponge was a bit too wet, which made the texture kind of grainy.














Tranche Maccha ($40) - I love green tea and chocolate, so I decided to get this one too. It's a chocolate sponge cake layered with green tea mousse and chocolate mousse, decorated with chocolate pearls and a chocolate ribbon. This cake was okay - I didn't like the fact that again, the sponge was soggy. It was soaked in an orange liquor, which didn't work so well with the green tea and chocolate. There could be a better balance between the chocolate and the green tea - while I do love some strong dark chocolate, it made tasting the green tea difficult.

I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. There was a huge hype about this patisserie, and the cakes do look like art on a plate. Sadly, it just didn't taste as good as it looked, or as good as it costs. Probably won't be a next time.

Chez Shibata, Shop No.2003, 2/F Elements, 1 Austin Rd. West, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2169-8921