Häagen-Dazs Addict

I might have mentioned my undying love for this ice cream once before and I promised you a special post on it.

My story with Häagen-Dazs is complicated - it is a love hate relationship if you will. In that I really really love it but in the same time I hate it because I always eat way too much. But let's start at the beginning...

The first time I tasted Häagen-Dazs was when I was staying with my sister in Brussels for a month in the summer of 1999 (Gees...I feel old writing this date!) We walked in their shop casually one day and the love affair began like all other beautiful things in life - unexpectedly. It was truly love at first sight. I ordered four scoops of chocolate ice cream with the Belgium milk chocolate sauce on top and right there and then I knew my life had changed forever. I was committed for life.

I have never ordered anything else from their menu and believe me - I have had my fair share of Häagen-Dazs visits over the years. I think this fact says a lot about me - I am rationally aware that I should experiment, that maybe there is another ice cream flavour out there that could become my new favourite - like pistachio or yogurt (I would never ever eat vanilla - it is just that - too vanilla for me). But I have never tried anything else and I do not regret this lack of experimentation. Once you find something perfect, why try to fix it?

So chocolate ice cream with milk chocolate sauce on top it is. I have had this treat which I can only describe as magical in no less than 4 continents and countless countries. A very good friend of mine who I used to visit in Paris often always knew where I would request to meet her - the Häagen-Dazs spot on Champs Elysees. Yes, I know I know - who goes to Paris and visits Häagen-Dazs as if they have the real Mona Lisa there (what, you don't know they have a fake in Le Louvre?) Well, I do.

When I used to live in Manhattan I was (un?)fortunate enough to live across the street from a Häagen-Dazs. I might have bought ice cream there several times a week. I might have also tried buying just the milk chocolate sauce...they didn't allow me to - I think even they knew I had a problem! When I moved over to London I was very disappointed by the fact that they don't have pure chocolate Häagen-Dazs ice cream over here. Not sure why but Belgian chocolate (it has tiny pieces of real chocolate mixed in) is the king here. This really annoyed me and baffled me - who takes plain chocolate ice cream off the menu? To this day I think this must be connected to the Belgian mafia - I mean how else would they get to host all of the EU institutions and also put their name on the best ice cream in the world?

I recently stopped going to Häagen-Dazs because I was trying to lose weight eating natural whole foods. I had not had my chocolate hit in months (before you start worrying about my health please note that I have eaten ginormous ice creams on each and every vacation I've had this year every single day ... and I have a lot of holidays:) so when my mom offered to take me to Häagen-Dazs after I treated her to a vegan raw lunch, I couldn't resist and said "if you insist..."

And then the inevitable happened:

See, I was trying to control myself so I ordered "only" two scoops of chocolate ice cream with not one but two servings of milk chocolate (I have also been known to return the ice cream and demand more milk chocolate sauce because I ordered TWO, not ONE serving").

My mom didn't know what she got herself into by inviting me in:

This is how a true addict looks:

My hands were shivering, I started sweating, my eyes popped out just a little and I thought I was hallucinating but it was all real - both scoops of chocolate ice cream and the two servings of milk chocolate sauce. The milk chocolate topping started freezing and turning into solid chocolate chunks that start melting again once in your mouth. Oh Glory!

Unfortunately, just