Ice Cream @ Häagen-Dazs, Shanghai

Ice Cream @ Häagen-Dazs, Shanghai, originally uploaded by yusheng.

I had a little vanilla Haagen Dazs tonight, with a blackberry dumpling. Very simple, and a good complement to that just-out-of-the-oven dessert, make with berries that line our driveway and support the ancient little shed that was there before built the house, and well before we bought the property.

But, I digress. The blackberry concoction I made tonight was an altered version of Strawberry Dumpling, and when I pulled it out of the oven 20 minutes later, it was bubbling quite nicely. This is the reason for the ice cream.

So, I went in search of ice cream. Here is a gorgeous plate, and the notes to go with:

"79RMB/US$9.55. Häagen-Dazs' approach to the Chinese market is very interesting. They are going after the super luxury highend. Their shops are really fancy, with prices to match. You hear this joke a lot: In Shanghai, when you want to impress a girl, take her to Häagen-Dazs.

The name of this ice cream platter in Chinese is 冰雪天堂 (bīng xuě tiān táng)... I forgot what they called this in English (the menu was bilingual as befitting such a "high-end" place), but roughly translated, the name is "icy snow heaven"... Indeed."