After enjoying quite the Japanese maki feast at Omakase with the Schmuze Crew, we were all soy-ed and dashi-ed out and were looking for a palate cleanser (and another excuse to hang out) before heading our separate ways. Not wanting to shell out P400 for halo-halo at the nearby Manila Penn, we found ourselves at Amici's Cara Mia Gelateria next door, eyes wide open like kids at the candy store, ogling all the different gelato flavors and ice cream cakes they had on hand.
A few years ago I used to think Cara Mia's gelato was too expensive for such a tiny cup of Italian ice cream. But with all the artisianal gelato shops coming out of the woodwork lately and gelato fever gripping the nation, Cara Mia is pretty affordable in comparison.
The place was still pretty full on a late Friday night, and we were lucky to find a table for all 14 of us to comfortably sit. It took over 20 minutes for our dessert to get served, which made us wonder why - it's not like they still had to churn a fresh batch.
As everybody tucked into their ice cream, I stole a few shots and had a taste of the other orders nearest to me. What I initially thought was Pistachio gelati was actually Mint with Chocolate (P85). People say it's an acquired taste, as they don't like the idea of toothpaste in their chocolate ice cream. I love the feel of the cold mint in my mouth and the milk chocolate bits melting on my tongue.
This also made me nostalgic for Baskin & Robbins. They make the best Mint Chocolate Chip ever. Come back to the Philippines already!
Ana's boyfriend came by and they split a Mango Sans Rival (P122) - Cara Mia's mango gelato is mixed with sans rival gelato with layers of crunchy meringue wafers. They said this was pretty good and not too sweet. I'm inclined to believe them.
I split an order of Di Lusso (P135) with Nica - the bride-to-be! This is like the adult version of ice cream cake, with pistachio, chocolate and strawberry gelato resting on a crust of crushed graham and topped with a layer of rich chocolate ganache.
The bigger chunk of ice cream was pistachio, and that was all I could taste. It drowned out the strawberry and chocolate. Still, It was a really pretty ice cream cake and the chocolate ganache more than made up for the lack of chocolate ice cream.
If you find yourself mucking around Ayala Triangle on a sweltering day, stop by for gelato and a cappuccino at Amici's Cara Mia. With an assortment of gelati, ice cream cakes and regular ol' cakes, too many dessert options can be a good thing!
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Cara Mia Gelateria
+63 2 621 6128
Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati Ave
Bel-Air, Makati
Open Daily: 11am - 10pm
