Japanese summers can be very brutal. High temperatures and high humidity plague us all day long. We Ibarakians need to be able to go somewhere to cool off, relax, and enjoy a tasty cold treat. Luckily, there is just a place in Ami town that sells amazing gelatos.
Gelato M
Gelato M is located in the Inashiki District of Ami Town. I highly recommend coming by car. There are no train stations and the bus stop is a bit of a hike. The Ibaraki Eats Duo went on a hot Tuesday afternoon to cool down and check out this cute-looking gelato place.
At first, we were pretty lost. Google kept directing us to the parking lot of a Daiso. We had no idea how to find this place until I saw it from the parking lot we were in on a small side street. We couldn't reach Gelato M from the Daiso parking lot because it was fenced off. So we had to leave the parking lot, turn left into a small side street, and enter the small parking area of Gelato M, a hair salon, and a sake bar. Yeah, those places are just randomly together.
Inside
After finally finding this elusive gelato place, we headed inside to find a small cute gelato shop. There are chairs and tables along the wall to enjoy your gelato. I think the place can hold up to 8 people max. There is also a small table with two chairs outside for outdoor gelato enjoyment.
The Menu
The day we visited, we decided to get our gelato to go. So we checked out what gelato flavors were available. The flavors that day were: Japanese black tea, chocolate, sweet potato, pistachio, strawberry, milk, and coffee (coffee from the Coffee Factory in Tsukuba). There were also small tubs of ice cream to buy and take home, and surprisingly there were small ice cream cakes.
My wife and I decided we would get a cup with two flavors each.
Milk and Coffee
My gelato was a cup with coffee and milk flavor. I keep saying "milk" but it is more like vanilla. The manager of Gelato M let us know that we also got a taste test flavor as a bonus. So I asked for chocolate. The chocolate wasn't too bad. What impressed me was the coffee flavor. I wasn't really surprised. This was the Coffee Factory coffee after all, so I expected it to be amazing. But what did surprise me was how well the milk flavor went with the coffee flavor. The milk toned down the strong coffee flavor just a bit to make the gelato sweet and refreshing. Quite a nice mix.
Pistachio and Sweet Potato
This was my wife's gelato. Her extra taste test flavor was Japanese black tea. All I can say is that it did taste exactly like Japanese black tea. My wife took a bite out of the pistachio and gave it a thumbs up. But what stopped her in her tracks was the sweet potato flavor. She looked at the gelato in awe and urged me to try it. I had the same reaction to the sweet potato gelato. It was amazing. It was so creamy and flavorful. The sweet potato didn't need any other flavor with it. It was fantastic all by itself. I wish I could have bought a 1kg tub of this magnificent gelato.
Both of our gelatos came with a bear cookie that was a nice and cute addition to our gelato. The manager let us know that they get their cookies from a patisserie a few minutes away. After finishing our gelatos. My wife got into the driver's seat of our car and headed for that patisserie.
Ciel Vert
Ciel Vert is a patisserie located in the same district and town as Gelato M. It is a three-minute drive from Gelato M and it is across the street from the ramen place I wrote about before, Hachi to Cho. This is a take-out place only and it sells what a typical patisserie sells: cookies, cakes, and other sweets.
After our gelato adventure, we headed into Ciel Very to find a place crowded with people waiting to order cakes and other sweets. We decided to get two different slices of cake to take home.
Rare Cheese Cake
The first slice of cake we ordered was the rare cheesecake. It was rich and creamy like any cheesecake should be. It was a pretty good cheesecake. I especially liked the white chocolate leaf on top of it. The leaf was perfectly preserved until I held it in my hand for a few seconds.
Chocolate Baniyu?
Ok, I kind of messed up on this cake. I think it is called Chocolate Baniyu, but I am not 100% sure about that. What I can tell you with 100% certainty is, that this small piece of cake was extraordinary. It was so creamy and full of different flavors of chocolate, with a nice little crunch from the hard chocolate crust on the bottom. It's something that I will most likely order again in the near future. The chocolate bear on top was a great little addition to the cake as well.
Our trip to Gelato M and Ciel Vert was fun and delightful. That nice creamy cool gelato on a hot day is exactly what we both needed. Then, those two pieces of cake for dessert after our dinner made our night.
So if you are feeling hot and need to cool down with something tasty, why not give Gelato M a chance? Then, head over to Ciel Vert for a delicious piece of cake. Who knows, you might see me at both locations, enjoying my coffee gelato while trying to decide what delicious piece of cake I want to buy.
Enjoy!
For more information on Gelato M, check out their website:
For more information on Ciel Vert, check out their website:
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