The most incredible ice cream in the world: GIAPO, New Zealand
Monday, 12 March 2018
I always knew I was a big foodie but it wasn't until I got to Auckland that I realised just how big a part of my life it is. Yes, I'm still travelling, but my time here is going to be a bit different from my travels so far because I'm planning to stay a while and living in a brand new city (about as far away from home as I can get) means a whole load of new food to try.
Walking around the supermarket is even more exciting than it is back home (no joke, food shopping has always been one of my favourite things.) I have discovered kumaras, (aka sweet potato) Cadbury's Caramilk (which NZ was going crazy for when I arrived), and I have eaten more ice cream since I got here than I have ever before in my entire life. Mcflurry's are absolutely loaded with toppings but ridiculously expensive, we get through a family sized tub three times a week and I'm making my way through New Zealand's selection of ice cream bars, but my daily habit hit its peak when I visited GIAPO last week. It popped up on Instagram again and again and the photos looked out of this world so I had to visit.
Located on Gore Street, in what I have decided is the posh part of town, GIAPO can be spotted from a mile away, its the one with people outside at all times. With everyone holding these weird and wonderful creations, on my first visit, I near enough ran inside of order one for myself.
It was quite overwhelming at first; apart from some strange flavours like Avocado with Sweet Soy Gravy, the menu gave nothing away and seeing things like Hokey Pokey, Afghan Cookies and Kofe Samoa listed meant nothing to me as an English person. Luckily they have someone to talk you through the whole process and ordering becomes all part of the fun. The staff there really make the whole experience such a luxury, from talking you through each flavour to handing out water and wet wipes (absolute essentials) afterwards!
We went for two traditionally Kiwi flavours, Hokey Pokey (which I now know just means honeycomb. lol) and Afghan Cookie which is a chocolate biscuit of some sort. Now usually when it comes to ice cream, I always go for a tub but if you're gonna do it, you might as well do it properly, right? GIAPO is such a vibe when it comes to serving the ice cream; if you don't fancy one of their crazy cones, you could always go for a Yorkshire pudding or a chocolate cup instead. For me though, the crazy indulgent cones were too much to resist. I picked a chocolate coated waffle cone with golden nuts and freeze dried raspberries the first time and when I came back with Jonny, I was feeling even more boujie and went for one painted in gold.
For those of you who are wondering, Jonny is my boyfriend and he's from New Zealand. Remember my blog post on Phuket? I met him there and it's just been full on crazy ever since. He was on holiday with his friends and had to go back to work a few weeks later so I guess I kinda just followed him home haha.
With the weird and wonderful menu (and I'm not just talking about the ice cream or the cones - you can order yours with a chocolate Sky Tower replica on it if you want), GIAPO must be some of the most innovative ice cream in the world, it's definitely the most extravagant I've had.
As well as my order, which was obviously delicious, I also love the way that the store has been set out in that firstly, you don't get to pick your toppings. Each flavour has its own combination and that's what you get. Secondly you don't see them put it all together like you usually would so you have no idea what it's going to look like when it arrives. When they were brought out to us, mine had been dipped in melted chocolate and had honeycomb chunks sticking out of it and Jonny's was a bit of a monster covered in cornflakes with a chocolate biscuit on top. I only have photos of mine though as I haven't started putting my blogger demands on him yet and he took a bite out of it as soon as it arrived ahah.
Eating them was a lot of fun and with all my ice cream training since I arrived (lol) I managed to finish the whole thing without dropping any of it. I would have been pretty upset if I did because honestly, the whole thing was so delicious. Once I had gotten through the layer of chocolate on top, the ice cream itself was soft, creamy and full of flavour. And the cone? Yeah, that was a really good idea. I've never had anything like it before so if you're ever in Auckland, this place is a must. They also have vegan and GF menus so there really is no excuse!
I'm already planning my next visit so keep an eye on my instagram story because there is a lot more I want to try. Namely, the hot chips in a cone (odd but I'm very interestd) and their famous 3D printed chocolate squid which is a tribute to TE Papa, the real one that's on exhibition in Wellington!
