Black Sesame Ice Cream at Okada, Macau

One of my favorite places in Vegas, so trendy that it replaces my urge to visit night clubs, is Okada, a Japanese restaurant that I frequent as often as I can. When I see the sign for ‘Okada‘ at the Wynn in Macau, I can’t help myself: I feel a weight pulling me, like a magnet. Lito, the manager, greets me when I walk in: “Hello Sir!”

He already knows what I’m there for. While I take a seat, he nods and scurries off, and minutes later returns with two glass bowls. Inside, a scoop of Black Sesame and Red Bean ice cream.

The former concoction is unique, made in its Asian way. The texture is gooey, and sticks to both the spoon and the roof of my mouth.

Making a joke, one could say that it reminds them of Play-Dough, and you feel like you can mold it into a castle.

If the texture is noteworthy, the taste is equally extreme. The dark paste is earthy and grainy, it doesn’t satisfy my sweet craving as much as it does my curiosity and desire for exploration.

The Red Bean better resembles a typical American ice cream. Less like a dough and more smooth, it is sweet with a nutty aftertaste. It is merely good, but the sesame one does something that is rare in the world of gelato: it is different. As it alters expectations and widens the indulger’s view to a new possibility of taste, it deserves special recognition.

In addition, the treat is paired with a couple of green tea macaroons, whose crispy outside layer meets with a smooth, almost liquid, electrifying filling.

If the gelato is this good, then one can only imagine how good the food must be.

It would have been better if… I had ordered dinner as well.