Bella Gelateria
1001 W Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC

It is said that Vancouver is a “foodie” (and, darn I HATE that word) city. However, from what I have seen, to a lot of people, that “foodie” mentality is not related to that spirit of adventure on finding and trying new food/dishes but to go to places to been seen and/or follow a hype. So, whenever there is a lot of hype about a restaurant, for the most part, I am dubious about how good the food is – it does not necessarily help when they focus on how “nice” a bathroom is. In the grand scheme of things, chances are, if “a lot of people” like it and I sense some hype, chances are I don’t necessarily like it. Take, for example, Coast (my post here), which has been lauded by a lot but, to me, it is nothing but overrated. And, except for a couple of bloggers whom I have serious doubts about their opinions, I will have to say that, when Vancouver food bloggers say it is good, I have to check by myself. I certainly “help” when those bloggers are Mijune, whom I call the Queen of Desserts, and Sherman, whom we agree one time too many, say that Bella Gelateria is really good…

(On that note, Mijune’s post is here and Sherman’s post is here)

I admit I do eat gelato/ice cream once in a while. However, me growing eating soft serve (like this), there are times that I don’t necessarily differentiate one from the other… OK, probably with the except of the really soft mass produced ice cream. I know this might sound I am snobbish about this; however, let me put it from my perspective: Not being that much of a dessert person, if I were to actually eat some, I would go for broke – and that usually ends up meaning to go for either (1) something I grew up eating, like the soft serve mentioned above or (2) go for more denser type ice cream. So, growing up eating this type of “dessert”, that also means it creates some type of expectations.

But back to Bella Gelateria. Unlike Mijune, let’s just say I didn’t interact that much with the owners or the staff. Instead, I had some samples and made my order. But, given there are interesting notes about this place, like the origin, where the “chef” learned his craft, the batches of gelato, et al, you might want to check her post (again, link here), as well as Sherman’s (again, link here). As for me…

I have a really odd habit while in gelato places: I seldom ask for samples. Let’s just say the visuals and the description rather than tasting it. I know I shouldn’t be doing this, after all, these samples are “Free”. OK, let’s just say I would rather trust my gut instincts as to what to order and stick with it. In this case, this order conveys that dichotomy of flavours: either you are a vanilla person or a chocolate person. As for me, how about ordering both?

In this case, the vanilla is Tahiti Vanilla and the chocolate was chocolate Grand Marnier. On the vanilla side, while I had a hard time finding the specks of the vanilla beans, I will have to say there was a deep vanilla taste in it. It wasn’t a plain vanilla… It was a bit difficult to describe but there was an unique vanilla flavour in it… As for the chocolate Grand Marnier, it was a bit mixed. The chocolate was there and there was a hint of orange in the back. However, not sure that combination work that well, as the bitterness and the sweetness was conflicting somewhat. But, overall, it was a pleasant surprise…

Just for kicks, on another day – namely, Canada Day, I decided to drop by again. This time, I did sample a couple of flavours, including flor de latte and lime cilantro, which after talking to others, confirmed it tastes like a margarita (i.e., the drink), I decided to order a combination of flavours that sounded good in theory but didn’t realize that it looks horrible for picture taking purposes. In this case, it was nougat and dolce de leche. In this case, it was almost white on white… >_<

In the case of the dolce de leche, it tastes like an extremely sweet version of the vanilla gelato. Probably a bit too sweet for my liking but, to those who have a sweet tooth, this might work fine (probably even better than any vanilla offered). As for the nougat, it was also sweet but a different type of sweetness – one that had a bit more nuttiness. It was good but, again, it went above my sweetness tolerance threshold.

At this point, I will have to agree with Mijune and Sherman’s assessment this place is really good, specially compared to other gelato shops in Vancouver. However, it is not perfect. In a move that will make the authenticity policy shake their heads, I didn’t really like the fact it melted extremely fast, though this is mainly because I am used to the denser ice creams. Don’t believe me it melts fast? Look at the pictures above and check the drops of the melting gelato! Now, when I mentioned this to Mijune (and re-read her blog post), it was mentioned that, in Italy, it usually melts this fast. And, despite I eat fast, it was going a bit too fast for my liking. The other issue (that can go both ways) is that some flavours are not there the whole time – partially due to the small batches. As a result, some of the other suggestions given to me weren’t available. But, again, that might not be necessarily a bad thing – if you are used to ordering the same flavour over and over, it gives you a reason to try another flavour. So, would I come back? Well, if I am in the area and crave for an ice cream-like dessert, I will have to say I will…

Adria Gelato
224 – 7155 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

After my visit to Taste Nice, on my way back, I decided to stopped by somewhere in between for some dessert. Normally, if I want dessert, I would order it from the same place I am having my meal but I chose to do something different this time. Then I remembered Adria Gelato, a small shop in Highgate Mall – an area that has seen its share of improvement in the last couple of years. In fact, a friend of mine who used to liven in the area around 2002 said it has changed so much she could not recognize it anymore!

This shop is in the second level of the mall, next to Save-on-Foods so, if you are driving around, you won’t have known it is there. How do I know it is there? Well, sometimes I drop by the library kitty-corner to this mall, hehehe. Anyway, when a shop has gelato in its name, you have to order “that”, right? And here it is:

A two scoop ($5), the bottom one being hazelnut and the top one tiramisu. Before I continue, I must mention that day was slightly chilly (as in 3C, not too sunny and slightly windy). Call it “fight fire with fire” scenario, hehehehe. Anyway, the tiramisu scoop was not that good, as I could not really taste the coffee. The hazelnut, on the other hand, had a roasted hazelnut flavour, which was the main reason I wanted a scoop (I had a sample before I ordered it). And, in both cases, it was creamy indeed.

Close-up of the tiramisu gelato layer. Creamy….!

Overall, it is not the best gelato I have had but, considering the neighborhood, I must say it is quite good. I might drop by again if I am in the library again and want a dessert… ^_^

Mum’s Gelati
849 Denman St
Vancouver, BC

First, where…

Wait, isn’t that… Yesterday’s picture? Actually, yes! After my lunch at Ma Dang Coul, I went next door, to Mum’s Gelati! ^_^

In my head, running a gelato shop in this area ought to be difficult. I mean, from Robson and Burrard to Denman to English Bay, I think there are about six or seven (if not more) gelato/ice cream shops… Anyway, here is the shop inside.

I didn’t take a close-up of all the varieties but, in addition to the expected flavours, they had some interesting ones like chocolate-Grand Marnier…

Which is what I had along with a scoop of chocolate-hazelnut (just under $4). Though it tasted great, I was slightly disappointed with the texture, as it was more on the lines of ice cream than gelato (as for the difference, TS of [eatingclub] vancouver recently wrote a really god post about gelato, I highly recommend you check it). In the end, because they had some interesting flavours, I am willing to give it a try again; however, if I do, I will be doing it thinking of ice cream rather than gelato.