Vai Milano's Got Gelato Nerve

It's easy to swat your hand at the idea of yet another high-end ice cream joint coming to town. But with the milk worries here and the constant mistreatment of chocolate, every time I throw down money on a rich, thick scoop of dark chocolate ice cream, whether it's at Deliziefollie, the now-defunct Awfully Chocolate or newcomer Vai Milano, I find myself thankful that this exists in Beijing, even for the very occasional treat. So with that in mind, all hail the new gelato folks in town.

I should confess, I've never been to Italy, so I've never flounced about its cobblestone streets like the girl in Vai Milano's promotional video, chomping happily at a cone in dark sunglasses while riding a bike (maybe that's safe in Milan, but someone should warn her never to do that here). That said, I have eaten a heck of a lot of chocolate, and since Vai styles themselves a gelateria and chocolatier, it bodes well that they don't skimp on the dark stuff.

We tried a cone topped with dark chocolate and pistachio (RMB 42). The pistachio wasn't as near the essence of the lime-colored nut as Deliziefollie's version, but they also don't do a RMB 5 surcharge for theirs. The dark chocolate was extravagantly deep and sweet, though a bit on the melty side by the time I got my cone.

Other flavors I'd look forward to trying: sesame, rum & raisin, bacio and stracciatella. Their servings are generous for the prices (RMB 29 for one flavor, RMB 42 for two and RMB 53 for three), especially considering the density of the Italian ice cream.

Going back to the chocolate, Vai Milano is also serving some of the richest, chocolatiest hot chocolate you'll ever taste. It's made with Valrhona, and is what I'd imagine would happen if you scooped up the dirt from the Garden of Eden and tried to drink it. A small mug of the stuff (think double espresso shot) goes for RMB 18, while a large serving is RMB 43. When I stopped by, they were being very generous about giving customers samples, so ask to try before you go nuts on the large. Most people will be more than satisfied by the little cup.

The folks behind Vai Milano seem ready to expand, too, with two more shops in the works, including one in Sanlitun. So like it or not, there is definitely more fancy ice cream coming to town. And you'll probably find yourself liking it.

Vai Milano
Daily 10am-10pm. Store SM1-28, 6 Chaoyang Gongyuan Lu, Chaoyang District (5905 6335)
朝阳区朝阳公园6号院蓝色港湾 国际商区1号院SM1-28号Vai店铺

Photo: Marilyn Mai