You Haven't Lived Until You've Eaten Gelato Shaped Like Piglets
If we told you Vyvy Hoang, who hails from Germany, decided to open a shop in her adopted hometown of Westminster, CA, based on her favorite German food, you'd probably assume she was shilling bratwurst or schnitzel. You'd be wrong: She sells gelato. Apparently, the Italian dessert is just as popular elsewhere in Europe. "[In Germany] gelato is about a euro per scoop, so around here, I thought ice cream was pretty expensive at $5 or $6 a scoop," Hoang told the Los Angeles Times. "I wanted to bring something cheaper over to my new home but still hold onto that tradition."
Her scoop shop is called Eiswelt Gelato - eiswelt means "ice world" in German - but Hoang and her staff do a lot more than just scoop the stuff. They decorate the gelato to look like pigs, chicks, bunnies, and pretty much any other animal in the zoo. Recently, Eiswelt added giraffes to the menu: A scoop of gelato is speared on a long, skinny waffle that's been drizzled with chocolate. If you're a fan of more fantastical creatures, you can order a unicorn or Pikachu. The animals were Hoang's effort to spread word of her new business on social media. "Nowadays with Instagram and Facebook, everyone takes pictures of their food," she said in her Los Angeles Times interview. "I think food always has to be presentable now."
Even the flavors are beyond the norm of what you'd find at your typical ice cream shop. There's Thai tea, durian, birthday cake, and rose lemonade, along with classics like strawberry and chocolate, and the creations are not nearly as expensive as you would assume. Even the larger animals will only set you back around five bucks. If you find yourself suddenly wanting to drive to a strip mall on the outskirts of L.A. for bear-shaped gelato, you're not alone: Hoang says people drive five hours to get to her shop sometimes - so, step on it.
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