Ice maiden dream

Haagen Dazs, the international ice cream chain, has opened its first flagship store in the city. Ice cream lovers will be excused if they are overwhelmed by the display

What is the 'ultimate' ice cream experience for the Mumbaiite? If ice cream stores across the city are to be believed, a space of 300 odd square feet, with 10 families, crying babies et al is the 'ice cream dream'. Free tasting with plastic spoons and floors littered with tissue papers, however, do not constitute a good time and the new 1,600 square feet (yes, we got our numbers right) ice cream 'boutique' in the city, Haagen Dazs proves that.



How many times have you entered an ice cream store only to be welcomed ratehr warmly by well-dressed attendant behind a reservation desk who will escort you to a table of your choice? How many ice cream parlours in the city can boast of glass panelled walls offering a view of the world zipping past on the Western Express Highway, uber-luxe leather seating and designer fabric chairs with ambient lighting? One glance at the exclusive Haagen Dazs outlet in the city and it had all this and more.

After settling down, we were served water in crystal glasses and handed menus that felt like coffee table books. The menu had well-shot photographs and precise descriptions of products on offer. Twenty minutes were spent in marveling at the menu and after plenty of deliberation we zeroed in on our order, Paradise (Rs 680). One of its special creations, Paradise can be customised, so we headed to the area where the ice creams were on display and tasted over 10 flavours before zeroing in on six. Yum.

What appeared at our table was a treat for all the five senses. A scoop each of Macadamia Nut, Dulche Du Leche and Belgium Chocolate ice cream was placed on a thin and crispy waffle. The ice creams were topped with another waffle, which came with Cookies and Cream, White Chocolate and Raspberry, and Apricot ice cream on top. This was topped with another waffle on which was poured just the right amount of hot chocolate sauce.
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For accompaniments, we were served a generous helping of whipped cream, strawberries, strawberry sauce, almond flakes and a piece of chocolate with Haagen Dazs embossed on it. We took a few minutes to admire the creation, before digging into the whipped cream and strawberries. The cream was perfect; with the right texture and consistency. It wasn't too sweet and blended beautifully with the light strawberry sauce and the almond flakes. The strawberries, however, were frozen and tasteless.u00a0u00a0u00a0

Next was the first waffle layer, which had chocolate, poured on it. The waffle was average but the chocolate sauce was thick and rich. Then came the real deal, the ice creams.

The first bite of White Chocolate and Raspberry ice cream revealed the smooth white chocolate with perfect amounts of raspberry; the signature Cookie and Cream was delicious though the Apricot tasted ordinary. Next up were the stars of the show ufffdMacadamia Nut, made of Hawaiian nuts, which was earthy and velvety. It blended well with Dulche Du Leche, which was a combination of sweet cream and caramel rolled in golden caramel ribbons. The clear winner was its most popular flavour, the Belgium Chocolate. It was rich and silky and to put it simply ufffd out of the world.

Haagen Dazs also serves a mean Banana Split and if in the mood to splurge, there is the Fondue (Rs 1,300), another exquisite creation with 16 scoops of ice cream, eight cubes of sponge cake, three pieces of hard cookies, picola sticks, seasonal fruits, chocolate chip cookies and dark chocolate sauce. Haagen Dazs also has single scoop options, which are lighter on the pocket. Though a tad expensive, Haagen Dazs is a must visit for it offers the ultimate ice cream experience.

At Ground floor, Oberoi Mall, Goregaon (E);
Call 40233700

Haagen Dazs didn't know we were there. THE GUIDE reviews anonymously and pays for meals.