Fighting the wrath of nature with a natural ice cream.
Tokyo certainly hasn’t been spared by this heatwave that suddenly broke out in the middle of the rainy season. Our own Mr. Sato felt duped when she saw the first rays of sun creep through the clouds thinking it was a happy spring sun, only to find that it was the angry and abusive summer sun instead.
Our reporter was caught off guard and hadn’t even taken out his extensive summer gear yet. He wandered the sun-scorched streets of Tokyo in a haze and in search of relief.
He eventually found himself in the Akasaka-mitsuke neighborhood, where he spotted something marvelous in the distance.
It was a simple sign, but its pictogram was a clear offering of the ultimate in summertime pleasure.
▼ Mr. Sato: “ICE CREAM!”
He hurried over and found that it was a Cremahop, an ice cream parlor that specializes in natural ingredients like organic brown sugar without any artificial sweeteners or colors.
He had heard of the chain and remembered that a branch had opened in Tokyo a little while back, but this was the first time he’d ever seen one. What a stroke of luck to come across such an oasis at a time like this!
The sign had a selection of what looked like the flavors of the month with vegan flavors marked with a “(V)” and intriguing combinations like soy sauce banana or peach with jasmine tea.
At the counter, he could choose from one to four scoops at prices from 430 yen (US$3) to 1,150 yen ($8). What Mr. Sato really liked about this place was that they didn’t just show just the different flavors like most ice cream shops do, instead, they let him taste a sample first. This was very smart, obviously because he could know for sure which one he wanted, but also because it planted the seed of interest in the other flavors and increased his chances of coming back again.
It was a very difficult choice, but he settled on getting a scoop of Strawberry De Lait and Pistachio in a waffle cone that cost 60 yen extra but was totally worth it.
As he sat there in Cremahop, it was as if the scorching outside world had completely faded away. He was now in an icy, creamy heaven if just for a little while.
The Strawberry De Lait was on top and was very carefully made with two different varieties of strawberry and butter mixed in with the milk and sugar. Rich, natural flavors burst out of each bite, with a perfect balance of tartness and creaminess.
He was already in ecstasy and hadn’t even gotten to the pistachio scoop yet.
This ice cream was blended with a Sicilian pistachio paste and also had crushed pistachios mixed in. Mr. Sato is a big pistachio fan in general and usually buys pistachio ice cream when the opportunity arises, but this was the ultimate in pistachio ice cream and brought the best aspects of it to the forefront with each bite.
Now full of delicious ice cream, Mr. Sato felt primed and ready to take on the summer heat… until he took one step outside the store and was blasted with the sun’s rays once again.
Unfortunately, no ice cream can completely repel the sheer force of this sun. But thinking about it, he realized that if it weren’t for the pain of the summer sun in Japan, he wouldn’t have been able to appreciate the pleasure of Cremahop’s ice cream. Maybe it’s not all bad after all.
Store information
Creamhop / クレマホップ
Tokyo-to, Minato-ku, Akasaka 3-9-18, Kitayama Bldg. 1F
東京都港区赤坂3丁目9-18 KITAYAMAビル1階
Open: 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Photos © SoraNews24
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