Ci Gusta!

Yogurt and salted caramel soft serve

I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I do have serious Monday blues. When I have too much fun over the weekend, I find it a real effort, both physically and mentally, to start back at work.

Here’s the tip for beating those post-holiday blues: according to Assolatte, the Italian Dairy Association, eating yoghurt for breakfast or before going to bed at night is a great cure-all at this time of year, because yoghurt contains phospholipids which work in a positive way to regulate moods and help you deal with stress.

So if you want to revive your energy levels, a lovely tub of frozen yoghurt or Tenero soft serve ice cream with lots of fresh fruit can help you to return to the demands of work with determination. Or, if a cup of gelato makes you happy, go for it!

Italian delicatessen Ci Gusta! (Facebook here) has opened its flagship outlet at Anchorpoint Mall last Saturday. “Ci Gusta!” stands for “We Like It!” in italian and is synonymous with authentic Italian artisan desserts made with premium ingredients.

Ci Gusta! Singapore is a franchise brought in by two sisters Peggy and Claudia. They bagan their year-long journey in June 2010 to pursue their penchant for sweet desserts and childhood dream of opening a dessert parlour. They reserched on popular desserts from all over the world and fell in love with the classic Italian gelato. Hence, they went on to take an extensive gelato-making course in early 2010.

The shop serves 18 different Italian gelato (Picolo $3.90, Medio $5.40, Grande $6.90) every day with exclusive flavours which will make you return for more. We first had dark chocolate crunch, tiramisu and biscotti flavor in a cup. The dark chocolate crunch is very intense, especially for chocolate lovers. I love the biscotti ice cream as it is not too sweet and you can taste the crushed biscuits in the ice cream.

If you love colours, try the peach mango (yellow), blueberry cheesecake (pink) and forest berries (red). I would recommend the blueberry cheesecake flavour. It is actually quite misleading to call this “Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream”. I think non-cheesecake fans will be scared away and die-hard cheesecake fans may be disappointed. There are no cheesecake bits, the cream cheese adds a little zing and a lot of richness.

If you love sweet crepes ($8.90), you can enjoy it with a scoop of geleto/tenaro and a topping. Don’t be turn off by the green sauce on top, it is actually a delicious pistachio cream.

In the past, pancakes were a symbol of friendship and alliance, waffles of good health and good fortune: one more reason to enjoy them both in the company of friends or in the family, and so revive the old customs in the warm and comfortable ci gusta! environment. The waffles ($8.90) here are also served with a scoop of geleto/tenaro and a topping. I prefer them to be thicker actually.

If you need something a bit “stronger” to overcome the shock of starting back at work, try the Caffettone $4.50), their special ci gusta! coffee “laced” with mascarpone.

I hope this post have cleared you Monday Blue! Don’t forget to exercise regularly and to eat lots of fruit to go with the gelato! Happy Monday!