Welcome Summer With Haagen Dazs Fruity Flavours

I was really happy to be invited by The House of Haagen Dazs to try out their new summer creations of three fruity flavours - Mango & Raspberry, Blueberries & Cream and Yuzu Citrus & Cream (left to right in the above photo).

The Yuzu Citrus Cream is a limited edition premium ice cream made with Yuzu fruit from the Kochi Prefecture of Japan (side note: about half of Japan's Yuzu is produced in Kochi)  as well as sweet orange juice from Brazil. This is truly an international pint when you find out that Haagen Dazs' factory is in France!

I love Yuzu and I think a lot of Japanese share the same love for this citrus fruit that does not produce a lot of flesh or juice but it's used almost like a hybrid between a lemon and an orange. The zest and juice is just so refreshing that this summer flavour from Haagen Dazs was a bit of a no-brainer although I was surprised that they didn't come up with a sorbet. Needless to say, since this is a citrus cream, it was quite delightful and I really liked it, although I personally preferred if it was a little more tart.

The Blueberries & Cream is made with real blueberries from Canada and Europe, giving the ice cream a natural purple hue. No flavourings or colouring was added. As such, the flavour of the ice cream was quite subtle (blueberry isn't a very strong tasting fruit anyway).

Mango & Raspberry may not seem like a natural combination at the beginning but honestly, this works. Mango tends to be quite creamy in taste naturally and as an ice cream, makes it a lot more indulgent and thick. This is nicely balanced with a touch of sharpness from the raspberries.

Haagen Dazs' Head of Marketing in South East Asia, Ethan Lim.

The Head of Marketing for Haagen Dazs, Ethan Lim, explained to us that for these three fruit flavours (and all of their ice creams), "these flavours start with 100% real cream and milk coming from farms close to our factory in France, free-range eggs and sugar."

One thing that I've always liked about Haagen Dazs ice creams is that it's creamy and really smooth. It was later explained to us that the ingredients are blended gently with minimal air so as to ensure that the ice cream is dense and creamy. Yup, it does pass the taste test ;)

Developed by Haagen Dazs' in-house chefs, there is a new summer menu that feature these three new flavours and the first dessert that we tried was the Brioche Fruitee (S$22++). The brioche is from France and the thick slice was toasted before it was topped with a scoop of each summer flavour ice cream. Nothing like a bit of classic hot base with cold ice cream to light up the taste buds! Because this dish comes with cut strawberries and a strawberry sauce, the Blueberries & Cream as well as the Mango Raspberry flavours were a little more well paired. I reckon the chocolate wafer rolls should be removed. Chocolate + yuzu somehow does not gel well to me.

(Left to right) Yuzu Citrus Float, Blueberries & Cream milkshake and Mango & Raspberry Milkshake

If you would rather drink your ice cream, Haagen Dazs has the Yuzu Citrus Float, Blueberries & Cream or Mango & Raspberry milkshakes (all at S$9.90++ under promotion) to please you. Please note that the above are my taster sizes while the normal serving size is a good 4 times the above.

Skip the Blueberries & Cream milkshake. I could only taste milk. The others on my table also skipped that.

The Mango & Raspberry milkshake was really good! It was not too sweet and tasted really like a more liquified version of the scoops.

Crowd (and personal) favourite has to be the Yuzu Citrus Float and the pretty presentation helps too. This is quite easy to recreate as it's essentially a scoop of Yuzu Citrus Cream on top of chopped canned peaches before topping it off with Sprite/7-Up. If you want something less sweet, use plain soda water but this would mean that your initial mouthful of liquid will be quite tasteless until the ice cream melts a little more. Nonetheless, if it's too much trouble, just head onto Haagen Dazs at ION Orchard (4th floor) or Holland Village for this concoction.

If you're into a spot of afternoon tea, you'll be glad to know that The House of Haagen Dazs has a nice selection of teas from Tea Forte (S$9.50++ per pitcher) that you can pair with your ice creams! Ask the wait staff and they'll also be able to advise which tea would pair well with your chosen dessert.

I've always admired Tea Forte's design where the pyramid tea bag is often accompanied by a stiff 'string' for you to steep the tea with. No flimsy string with a tag that you have to try to wrap around the tea pot handle to prevent it from getting in your way of pouring. Don't you think that the leaf at the top is really cute too?

If you order ice tea, they will let the tea steep a little before pouring it into the jug of ice. This is to ensure that your tea is fresh and not too diluted when it's served.

We tried the Iced Ceylon Gold, which is a little bit like Oolong. Very easy on the palate. One pitcher yields about 3 glasses so this is great for sharing.

The alcoholic in me relished the fact that the Haagen Dazs at ION Orchard and Holland Village have cocktails that have been blended with their sorbets!! The above is their Lemon Tequila Shot (S$10++ each but if you buy 10, you'll get 1 free) which is a scoop of their lemon sorbet with tequila and served in a salt rimmed shot glass. Yummeh!

It seemed like I was the only one there really thrilled with these alcoholic blends but Ethan did say that this alcoholic ice cream blends are gaining popularity in Japan. I suggested having Snow White & The Seven Dwarves to them...1 shot glass of milk followed by 7 other shots of whatever blended cocktails. I even shared my recipe for Beer Float! Sounds good, no? However, the group was unimpressed. So sad. Especially since I've been mixing alcohol with ice cream/sorbets for a long time.

Anyway, I'm quite excited to share these three flavours with my family! Especially the Yuzu Citrus Cream and the Mango & Raspberry. In this mad Singapore heat, I think that these Summer Flavours will really help cool us down and improve our moods!

The ice creams are available for sale in pints in all major supermarkets while the special creations are only available in their cafes. Alcoholic cocktails are available mainly in their cafes located at ION Orchard and Holland Village.

For more information on these flavours or on Haagen Dazs in general, head on over to their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HaagenDazs.Singapore) or visit their website www.haagendazs.com.sg.