Jo Jeleto!
That's an exclamation from Gujju mom to daughter, passing the new Gelato shop at the old hang-out for the South-but-not-too-far-South Mumbaiite, Phoenix Mills. I'm sure a lot of you know what the damn thing is - I must confess, I had no clue till I had one in Hong Kong a couple of months ago. If you're among the lucky ones who don't know what it is, as always, wikipedia provides the ready answer.
Apparently, it's been in Delhi for quite some time, but I haven't seen it in Mumbai before this (unless you can correct me, educated reader). I tried a couple of flavors - the Caribbean Lime sorbetto (which if you checked the wiki link is pretty much like our own ice gola - water, sugar and flavoring) and an italian dark chocolate gelato, and V tried the strawberry yoghurt (or some such) gelato. Our verdict - Caribbean Lime sorbetto was brilliant (but that could be because we're partial to ice golas), strawberry thingie was nice (V likes strawberries more, so she liked it a lot more) and italian dark chocolate was quite sad - more like frozen cadbury's milk chocolate.
Interesting comparison between this guy's sorbetto and ice gola guy at Shivaji Park, who is no slouch when it comes to providing mean ice treats. I had a kala khatta some time in April, and it was quite awesome. The presentation is nowhere near as sophisticated (obviously!) and the price is on the higher side (25 bucks a pop), but a gola after a walk/run in the park is quite a match for the sorbetto.
On the milky side, the gelato is a lot creamier than the Natural's ice cream just around the corner, so this will be an interesting battle to watch - India's contribution to the food world (as a plaque in the Naturals store in Prabhadevi defines it) vs Italy's contribution to the food world - may the best ice cream win!
Other interesting things happened in the parlor. Perizaad Zoraabian (of the toothy smile) and Rashmi Uday Singh (of the food column) descended on the store and proceeded to photo shoot to kingdom come as V and I sat outside enjoying our gelato/sorbetto. It was quite funny to watch - Perizaad Z feeding store owner (I think) and random phirang (dunno who) some gelato, with a very wide smile. Pretty sight. Here look:
That's PZ behind the counter, photographer atop stool taking photograph and RUS standing watching and choreographing the show.
Anyways, question pops in my head - given the large vegetarian population in Mumbai, will the name 'gelato' be an issue? You've read the wiki on the subject - gelato just means frozen stuff, but the closeness of the name to gelatin will be an interesting problem for the gelato-men to solve, especially if the veggies frown on jeleto-eating. And we know how bad that can be in Mumbai.
Apparently, it's been in Delhi for quite some time, but I haven't seen it in Mumbai before this (unless you can correct me, educated reader). I tried a couple of flavors - the Caribbean Lime sorbetto (which if you checked the wiki link is pretty much like our own ice gola - water, sugar and flavoring) and an italian dark chocolate gelato, and V tried the strawberry yoghurt (or some such) gelato. Our verdict - Caribbean Lime sorbetto was brilliant (but that could be because we're partial to ice golas), strawberry thingie was nice (V likes strawberries more, so she liked it a lot more) and italian dark chocolate was quite sad - more like frozen cadbury's milk chocolate.
Interesting comparison between this guy's sorbetto and ice gola guy at Shivaji Park, who is no slouch when it comes to providing mean ice treats. I had a kala khatta some time in April, and it was quite awesome. The presentation is nowhere near as sophisticated (obviously!) and the price is on the higher side (25 bucks a pop), but a gola after a walk/run in the park is quite a match for the sorbetto.
On the milky side, the gelato is a lot creamier than the Natural's ice cream just around the corner, so this will be an interesting battle to watch - India's contribution to the food world (as a plaque in the Naturals store in Prabhadevi defines it) vs Italy's contribution to the food world - may the best ice cream win!
Other interesting things happened in the parlor. Perizaad Zoraabian (of the toothy smile) and Rashmi Uday Singh (of the food column) descended on the store and proceeded to photo shoot to kingdom come as V and I sat outside enjoying our gelato/sorbetto. It was quite funny to watch - Perizaad Z feeding store owner (I think) and random phirang (dunno who) some gelato, with a very wide smile. Pretty sight. Here look:
That's PZ behind the counter, photographer atop stool taking photograph and RUS standing watching and choreographing the show.
Anyways, question pops in my head - given the large vegetarian population in Mumbai, will the name 'gelato' be an issue? You've read the wiki on the subject - gelato just means frozen stuff, but the closeness of the name to gelatin will be an interesting problem for the gelato-men to solve, especially if the veggies frown on jeleto-eating. And we know how bad that can be in Mumbai.
posted by The Invizible Man at 8:11 PM
9 Comments:
bandra had one a few months back, there's also one at the infinity mall..
There's also one in Bangalore called Mama Mia. On CMH Road. It is very good but expensive. Between 30 and 50 bucks a scoop. Though they have an awesome Sicily Lemon Sorbetto and some Kit Kat, Ferro Rocher, Baileys and Kaluha gelatos.
ah, the educated reader responds... thanks, saint, now that I know, will definitely do the check on bandra vs infiniti mall vs phoenix mills!
Baileys and Kahlua gelatos sound quite delicious - should try those the next time i'm in bangalore. thanks for the tip, b.b.
There are in fact not one but two in Bandra that I know of - one off Carter Road and the other at Value supermarket.
I didn't think much of the gelatos though. Give me a gola any day - though preferably without a side order of gastro...
cool stuff, rohini. will defly try out both, tx.
i'd have preferred golas any day, it's the ruddy gastro that tips the scales pro-gelato...
the dood goes celebrity-spotting in Bombay again! nice!
Just tried some yesterday at the same place.... Melon and Creamy Brownie . Tasted all the flavors and didn't like too many.Thought it was over-rated( if rated by anybody - didn't read RUS) and over-priced. Don't think it would do very well in Bombay
abodh, maybe you're right mate, this may not do too well... but knowing bombay (esp. south b.), it could be the next raving madness! you can never tell in this city!!
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