Monday, March 4, 2013

Beat the Heat at Stickhouse

My mom had called me up to let me know how freezing it was in Milan, Italy.   Every time she does that, it brings me back to the times when I was experiencing tough wintery afternoons, getting skin sores, unending headache, stuffy red nose and layers upon layers of clothing enough to encapsulate an Asian body from the harsh season in an unfriendly European country.   And of course, it always mark the TLC moments my brother had shown me during our short visit there, one treasured experience that to him may not be that special but to me was a BIG deal, was one of those wintery nights at the Duomo, after some quick bites at McDonald's he brought me to a gelateria (a gelato house in Italy).
There's me and my kids enjoying Piazza de Duomo, Milan,  2003
Could you ever imagine me following our youngest family member, being like a big brother (well, he is way bigger than me now), and me following him on my thick big jackets like a little girl for her ice creamy treat.
Gelateria?  Gelato?
Oh, I'm pretty sure you've heard of those food terms.  Gelato as against any ice cream is softer yet denser.  That is why they require a slightly higher serving temperature, a perfect point where your scoop is firm but not hard and not so soft that it melts immediately.  Gelato recipes usually include more egg yolks, more milk and less cream. It actually has less fat than regular ice cream, but gelato's low overrun (having to develop more air into the mix) makes for an extremely dense, rich and creamy treat.
And now the real and good thing.   Gelato is now almost available in every corners of any malls.   To be honest the first gelato that I have ever tried was at SM Megamall, and even more fancier, it was on a stick.  
Read my post about it at the link below and check out my choices:
At Stickhouse


Just seeing the photo above, could give you an idea of how glorious an array of flavors and colors each stick could offer serious gelato eaters. 
Now that summer has arrived an uncontrollable desire for something sweet and cold yet not fattening comes to mind- gelato.   Whenever you may be caught strolling away time on hot temperature at the mall, be sure to stop-over at Stickhouse.
I can actually compare them to a dive bar.  Each stick gelato can be coated with almonds, hazelnuts, coffee or pistachio  and dipped either in white or milk chocolate.   You can opt to have it dipped or coated half-way or full.
With that, let me share their menu.




Let me now tell you why it's a better snack or dessert choice.
For one, because of the absence of air as it was churned, this gives a lasting  taste, making each bite an indulgence.    Because they are strict to only using natural ingredients, specially for the fruit flavored gelato sticks, you are assured of eating the good quality without the guilt premium iced dessert.   You may also want to take note of this, if it is a high quality cream ice cream (meaning chocolate, hazelnut, stracciatella) it should not be too liquid nor too thick, the creamier it is the less noticeable the ice clusters are. If the ice cream is flaky or wrinkly it is likely that something went wrong during the process of  preservation.
Gelato like the ones at Stickhouse, need to be eaten hastily.  If the gelato does not melt quickly, especially if it is extremely hot outside, it means that it contains hydrogenated vegetable fats, and that is not the kind they offer.
 Last good reason to stop over at the Stick House is their new offerings.   Cupido is two flavors of heavenly goodness in one bite.  It’s  their  new Gelato and Sorbet with sweet filling, named Strawberry Sorbet with Chocolate Gelato filling  and Chocolate Gelato with Vanilla Gelato filling.   What better news is that they are also available as dessert options at any Ristorante Bigoli's branches.

2 comments:

  1. Ohhhhh! I saw this last weekend! ANd I was like grabbing my friend and said that we should try this! In fact this was really at SM megamol.

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