Marvelous Cream, Yurakucho

After any good lunch, one needs a good ice cream. This place has been lightly on the radar for a while, but is out of the way by my usual standards, being on the far side of Yurakucho (practically in Hibya Park). It's the same concept as Coldstone Creamery but...well, I'm not that sure what's different. I'm not sure which came first either, but with 45 stores including one in Singapore, MC would have to be pushing quite hard to take the CC concept that big that fast. One difference is that the staff at MC don't sing, which you may find positive or negative depending on whether you find Coldstone's singing pleasant and cheery, excrutiatingly embarassing, or just annoying. One feature that's similar are the lines, but at Marvelous Cream the store is an odd shape and location that forces people to line up among the closely-packed tables, peering down intently at waffle cones already under consumption.

Choose your poison (from over 30 pre-set options divided into groups like 'Belgian Milk Chocolate' or 'Rich Vanilla' and featuring lots of ingredients - I'm particularly impressed with the pink macaron shells that you can see to the left), then watch it being assembled on the cold metal slabs in front of the ingredient stations. In fact the staff will ask for your number, and when it's your turn will do a bit of a performance, announcing which ingredients they're adding to the pile before they moosh it all up. It stays cold and solid by virtue of the metal mixing stations (a little less elegant than the Coldstone), then goes into your choice of waffle cone or bowl, with or without chocolate dip.

Strawberry shortcake. Hazelnut something. Not life changing, but good on a hot day. When is ice cream not?

Stupdendous! Wonderful! Intrinsic! Well...
The Yurakacho store seems to be something of a flagship based on its standalone glamor location, and has its own blog too.
03-3519-5053