December 2012 – May 2013
Our love affair with New Zealand’s ice cream actually began at an ice cream shop in Samoa, where we sampled the famous Hokey Pokey flavor (vanilla with bits of honeycomb toffee) in the Tip Top brand of ice cream. This was also the first ice cream we had after arriving in New Zealand.
Since then, our ice cream experience has only gotten better. As it turns out, in a country full of specialty ice creams, Tip Top is far from the best – just the average supermarket brand (and pretty much every brand makes the hokey pokey flavor). In fact we’ve gotten to be ice cream snobs: “Look, they have ice cream! Never mind, it’s only Tip Top.”
We do have some favorites. Kapiti is very good, sold in ice cream shops and supermarkets, and is like the Haagen Daz of New Zealand. Then there is Much Moore, which we found at a chocolate shop in Whangarei, which I love because of the whipped-like texture. Our favorite ice cream in Northland by far is Movenpick, which is actually a Swiss ice cream. It has a thick, creamy, gelato-like texture and rich flavor. They have several locations in New Zealand and locations throughout the world. They are pretty much everywhere except the United States! It was there for awhile until some legal issues made them pull out. That’s a shame, and I hope it returns soon.
There is another great ice cream here that is more a method than a brand. It’s a machine where they put in fresh fruit and vanilla ice cream and it blends it all together into a soft-serve-like texture. We actually first had this in Moorea, then Samoa, and now New Zealand. I cannot imagine they don’t have these machines in the States! If you see one, try it!
Movenpick remained our favorite ice cream until the day we went to Waiheke Island near Auckland. There, we went to a coffee house that served a special, hand-packed ice cream made in Auckland called Kohu Road. We tried the dark chocolate and salted caramel flavors and came to the same conclusion: this is the best ice cream we’ve ever had.
In conclusion, if you are reading this in the United States, we recommend:
1. Keep an eye out for the Hokey Pokey flavor of ice cream. I think Ben and Jerry’s might have made it for awhile and maybe they will again.
2. Keep an eye out for Movenpick Swiss Ice Cream shops: I’m sure they’ll be back.
3. If you see someone has a Flavorama machine or something similar, give it a try! It’s fabulous.
And if you’re ever in Auckland or Waiheke Island, make sure to try the Kohu Road! –Cyndi
