Secret Scoop Thai Gelato, Berkeley

Every time I pass by Secret Scoop, I'm intrigued. What exactly is Thai gelato? Today I finally got to find out. Secret Scoop was established by owner and ice cream maker Funn Fisher in 2012 as a pop-up shop at events in the Bay Area, and in 2017 they opened their own brick and mortar store in Berkeley. Since the opening, Secret Scoops has received lots of attention, including the East Bay Express "Best of the East Bay" 2018 award in "Best Southeast Asian Sweets". This is particularly impressive, as Funn started out as an architect and UX designer, and has since shifted full time to making delicious ice cream. What makes Secret Scoop so special is the incredible ingredient combinations in each flavor: Chocolate Lemongrass; Thai Coconut Pandan; and Soursop Ginger Sorbet, to name just a few. Funn uses lighter and less-sweet flavors when compared to other Bay Area shops, as she emphasizes Thai culinary styles in her ice creams. The consistency of their gelato is similar to other Bay Area gelaterias, in that their gelato is much more firm than traditional Italian gelato. The ice creams are also not as creamy as traditional gelato, especially the sorbets. However, I was able to find quite a few flavors that had the creamy texture that I prefer in ice cream.

The Secret Scoop Palette. Truly one of a kind, with green sticky rice on top!

While all of the ice creams that I tried at Secret Scoop tasted good, what really sold me on Secret Scoop was their ice cream palette. It's the Thai Gelato equivalent of an ice cream sundae: four scoops of gelato served in a pandan waffle bowl, with a scoop of pandan sticky rice with mango and coconut shavings on top. It was something else. Easily the best sundae I've had in the Bay Area. For my four flavors I chose the Chocolate Lemongrass, Coconut Pandan, Melon Thai Basil (my personal favorite), and Salted Tamarind Sorbet. All of the ice cream flavors were light and refreshing, even the chocolate! It was a nice change of pace from the in-your-face bold and rich flavors of a lot of other ice cream shops. But what was probably the best part was how well all of the flavors complemented each other, I think in part because of how light each flavor is on its own. The sticky rice was fantastic, and while it was a little too sticky to break up and have in each bite, over time the sticky rice absorbed the melted ice creams' flavors and turned into a delicious "icecreamstickyrice" scoop to pick up and eat on its own. The pandan waffle bowl was also delicious, and tasted great both when I broke off pieces to add as a topping on my sundae, and when I had finished my ice cream and the waffle bowl had soaked up the ice cream's flavors. The palette at Secret Scoops isn't cheap at $8.50 with the homemade pandan waffle bowl, but I think it's worth it, especially since it's enough ice cream for two people to share.

Durian Black Sesame

While I was there, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try some Durian Black Sesame gelato (featured in the photo to the right). For those of you who haven't encountered durian, it is probably the stinkiest fruit on the planet. I had it in Bali, and was not a huge fan...but I decided to be adventurous and try it out as an ice cream flavor, and I'm glad I did. Unlike raw durian, this gelato did not smell awful. It smelled a bit like durian, but much more tolerable than the fruit on its own. It also tasted amazing! It was smooth and creamy, and the black sesame in it complemented the durian flavor. I don't think it's for everyone, but it's a great flavor for people looking to try something new, or for folks out there who actually like durian.

All in all, the ice cream is great at Secret Scoop and it's a terrific place to go for anyone craving a refreshing taste of something a little different than the standard Bay Area ice cream.