Häagen-Dazs

Update Review, 2023

Another year, another birthday freebies crawl, this year I was in Manhattan for my birthday, which meant I could get my free Häagen-Dazs for the first time ever.  Häagen-Dazs may not be the most exciting, but, I do find that I enjoy their ice cream, and for a generic grocery store brand, it is better than most.

My visit was to an actual Häagen-Dazs store, located in Penn Station.

Cookie Dough, Mini.  $5.99.

"For those who relish a taste of something playful, we re-created a childhood treat. We blend chunks of buttery cookie dough and sweet fudge chips with our finest pure vanilla ice cream. Ah, such sweet memories."

The Häagen-Dazs I visited only had 8 flavors available (Amtrak train station location).  I tried the butter pecan, but wasn't particularly into it, so, I went for cookie dough, without sampling.  It was decent cookie dough ice cream. I appreciated the generous size flecks of chocolate, in addition to the cookie dough pieces.  Basically bits of goodness in every bite.  Fairly nice quality vanilla base, I do always think Häagen-Dazs makes a nice vanilla.

Nothing amazing, but, a good reliable choice. ****.

Update Reviews, 2020-2021

I've reviewed Häagen-Dazs flavors before, both originally in 2013, and later in 2018, so these are just a few updates.  Summary?  While it may be an "everyday" brand, I do find the quality high, and their vanilla has become my go-to.  I'm eager to try some of their new "Spirits" line.

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Vanilla.

"Vanilla is the essence of elegance and sophistication. This marriage of pure, sweet cream and Madagascar vanilla creates the sweet scent of exotic spice and a distinctive taste that lingers on your tongue."

I've reviewed this flavor before, but it continues to surprise me every time I have, just how good it is.

It is *just* vanilla.  Vanilla!  Vanilla is bo-ring.  But this is really, really good vanilla.  Complex flavor (if that is possible with vanilla!), rich, creamy.

I think my favorite vanilla on the mainstream market these days.

*****.

Vanilla Chocolate Chip.

"Our delectable chocolate chips are swirled with our creamy, smooth vanilla ice cream, allowing two flavor titans to come together in this classically indulgent treat."

Given how much I've liked the vanilla before, it should come as no surprise that I adore the vanilla chocolate chip as well.

Same high quality vanilla base, with plenty of chocolate chips (er, chunks?) throughout.

****+.

Chocolate.

"Rich, creamy, and totally indulgent. Made from the finest cocoa and pure, sweet cream, our chocolate ice cream is the ultimate experience."

I often comment that I'm not really a chocolate ice cream kinda girl.  But, much like the vanilla, Häagen-Dazs has done something kinda magic with their chocolate ice cream.

Rich, creamy, indulgent.  Very very "milk chocolate", if that makes any sense.  I always really enjoy it.

****.

Update Review, January 2018

I've reviewed Häagen-Dazs flavors before, so these are just a few updates.

Chocolate Peanut Butter.

"We start with our legendary chocolate ice cream and swirl in ribbons of creamy, smooth peanut butter.  The experience is an irresistible blend of flavors in every delicious mouthful."

Well, this was delicious.  Rich and indulgent.

I'm not normally a huge lover of chocolate based ice cream, but, the peanut butter and chocolate combination is one that is hard to resist.  The ice cream was smooth and creamy, and the chocolate flavor fairly deep and rich.  A very good base.

The peanut butter swirl was excellent.  Very creamy, strong peanut butter flavor, smooth, and, most importantly, it came in very big globs.  

This also melted nicely, and it helped to make it melt a little so the peanut butter also softened.

Overall, very good, and I'd gladly have it again.

Peppermint Bark (Limited Edition).

"Celebrate the season with our rendition of this holiday classic. rich white chocolate ice cream is blended with crunchy chocolaty peppermint bark and peppermint candy pieces."

I didn't know this was white chocolate ice cream until I looked up the description later.  I thought it was a vanilla base.  Which tells you about how, uh, white chocolately it was.

I did like the bits of peppermint bark and peppermint candy though, so I got a scoop.  That said, it had a "fake mint" taste to it that I couldn't quite get past.

Overall, ok, but I wouldn't get again.

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Caramel Cone.

"We balance a creamy blend of caramel ice cream and rich caramel swirls with the sweet crunch of chocolaty cone pieces to create a sweet, harmonious bite."

This sounded far more exciting than it was.  It was just kinda sweet with a few assorted bits of chocolate covered slightly crispy cone chunks.  Better than Americone Dream from Ben & Jerry's because the waffle cone pieces weren't soggy at least?

I should have read my notes from last time, because, well, my opinion didn't change.

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Pralines & Cream.

"Ribbons of golden caramel and sweet nutty praline pecans swirled into our signature vanilla ice cream."

 This was very sweet, but about as promised.  Lots of caramel, lots of sweet covered pecans.  Fine, but you certainly needed to want sweet to enjoy it.

Again, I should have read my notes from before, because my opinion is the same.

Original Review, November 2013

As you may have noticed, I like ice cream.  Particularly when it is part of an elaborate sundae.  Or when served alongside warm pie.  Or soft serve, in a cone, with sprinkles.  But for the occasions when the ice cream craving hits and I'm at home, I always have my freezer stocked.  I have some favorite local brands of store bought ice cream from back in New Hampshire, but I haven't really found any here in San Francisco.  So I've been exploring all the widely known "premium" brands, like Ben and Jerry's, Baskin-Robbins, and now, Häagen-Dazs.  I'm not impressed.  This seems as generic as any other store brand ...

• Caramel Cone: “This creamy blend of caramel ice cream with rich caramel swirls balances the sweet crunch of chocolaty-covered cone pieces for a harmonious bite”. Tasting notes: Decent sweet caramel ice cream, nice crunchy chocolate cone pieces.  Better than the Ben & Jerry's version of something similar.
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: "Chunks of buttery cookie dough and sweet fudge chips blended with our finest pure vanilla ice cream." Tasting notes: it was loaded up with generous chunks of cookie dough, but they weren't particularly good, and the ice cream wasn't very creamy.  Meh. [ Generous amount and size of chunks of cookie dough, good flavor. ]
• Praline and Cream: “Ribbons of golden caramel along with sweet and nutty praline pecans swirled into our signature vanilla ice cream.” Tasting notes: super sweet, too much sweet.
• Salted Caramel Truffle: “Smooth, sweet-cream ice cream, ribbons of rich salted caramel, and decadent chocolaty truffles”. Tasting notes: Not very caramely or salty.  Meh. [ Has little chocolate truffles in it, but not very creamy or interesting. ]
• Spiced Caramel Biscuit: “Crumbles of sugary, crunchy cinnamon-sparked biscuits blended into velvety caramel ice cream.”  Tasting notes: Biscuit pieces give a nice crunch, but otherwise boring and forgettable.
• Strawberry Cheesecake: Tasting notes: just sweet, not good.
• Vanilla: Tasting notes: This was probably my favorite of theirs, which is crazy, because it is so plain.  But it is a decently creamy ice cream with good enough vanilla flavor.  I don't ever want a bowl of it plain, but alongside some pie, or topped with berries and whipped cream, it can hit the spot!

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Malacca Straits on Broadway, Sydney

Ah Singaporean cuisine.  A fairly new discovery for me, as my first trip to Singapore wasn't until 2019, and I've only been twice.  But I kinda love it, and don't really have access to it in San Francisco.  But luckily for me, Sydney does have a decent Singaporean scene, and I was glad to finally start exploring it during my recent visit.

My venue of choice was a slightly wordy establishment, Malacca Straits on Broadway.

"Malacca Straits on Broadway will take your taste buds back to the bustling streets of Malaysia.

From street food favourites like Hainanese Chicken Rice and Nasi Lemak to our signature Golden Sand Prawn, this slice of Malaysia brings honest and soul-warming Malaysian cuisine to Sydney diners. Our menu embraces the best of hawker-style and hard-to-find regional dishes by sourcing the best Malaysian produce available combined with premium local ingredients. Whether you're looking for the taste of home or the taste of an adventure, sample Malacca Straits on Broadway to experience true Malaysia each and every time!"

There were many things on the menu that sounded great to me, sooo many squid dishes in particular, but, I narrowed in on just one thing I wanted the most, from the "Hawker’s Favourites" section of the menu: chai tau kueh.  I first discovered the dish at breakfast in a hotel in Singapore, confused because it was called "carrot cake", but sure didn't look like any carrot cake I knew!  I quickly learned about the dish, and it became an instant favorite.  I even enjoyed it on my Singapore Airlines flight, where I truly was blown away by how good it was - in particular, it was so crispy, and tasted like it had come fresh out of the wok.  I haven't had it since then, pre-Covid, and don't know of anywhere I can get it in San Francisco, so I was pretty excited to reunite with the dish.

Awww.

Malacca Straits already won brownie points with me when I saw my bag.  Not only did they get my name *right* (which, turns out to be thing ... so many places write "Julia" for me, sigh), but they also added a heart.  Aww!

My order was prepared very quickly, and I had it in my hands within 18 minutes of ordering.  Kudos to them for quick prep, and DoorDash for the speedy Dasher assignment and delivery.

Hawker's Favorites: Chai Tau Kueh. $23.80.

"Fried radish cake with sambal, eggs and beansprouts."

I opened my container and was a bit surprised by how much egg I saw, definitely more egg heavy than other versions I've had.  Same with all the beansprouts.  But as soon as a saw the hunks of radish cake, and smelt the incredible aroma of all the sambal, I knew it was all going to delight me nonetheless.  

The radish cake bits didn't have quite as much char on them and dark caramelization I had with other versions (even the Singapore Airlines version), but were great bite size nuggets of texture and abundant flavor from having been stir fried with the generous sambal.  The bean sprouts helped lighten it up a bit, and almost made it eat a bit like a noodle dish, if that makes sense, with the soft and pliable texture.  The egg was well cooked too, and provided some protein.  The flavor was deep, the funk level high, and I loved that.  We just don't get these flavors much in the US.

Overall, it wasn't the best I've had, but, really pleased me, and satisfied a real craving.  I'm definitely curious to try more of their menu now.  ***+. 

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