
Travel
"Unique characteristics" of Gero
Aomori is the land of red and juicy apples that account for half of Japan's apple reserves and Hiroshima is the place bringing the famous "Japanese pizza" Okonomi to life, whereas Gero is well-known for the "Gero fresh milk" and dairy products.
We have experienced Gero cuisine with Hida beef rice bowl, cold soba noodles, and Indian spicy curry in part 1. This time, I will take you to places with "distinguishing features" that are most famous in Gero – of which you cannot stop taking pictures; therefore, make sure your phone is fully charged!
4. Gero chocolate milk – leave a sweet taste in your mouth
From the original Gero fresh milk, GERO GERO miruku sutando has created unique products that can attract both locals and visitors from far places.

There are so many different things on the menu that when I came here for the first time, I had to apologize to the person after me for taking so long to order. I had to consider it for a long time since everything looked so beautiful and appetizing.
Still, I chose the chocolate-flavored Gero fresh milk because the image of chocolate streams flowing together with the delicious white milk was so tempting and looked like a sweet invitation that makes my eyes light up.

My eyes were satisfied and after the first sip, so were my taste buds. The fattiness, sweetness, and the mild bitterness of chocolate combining with a crunchy cookie is the perfect way to enjoy a sunny afternoon in Gero.
However, the plus point is also the minus point, because the fatty taste, no matter how delicious, can easily cloy customers' appetite. As a result, just have enough to enjoy and memorize the taste and not to become sickening of it.
The milk I ordered costs 460¥ including tax. Besides, you can also choose puddings with flavors such as tiramisu, green tea, and milk to have with different fruits such as mango or strawberries. However, don't take to long so as not to apologize to the next person as I did.

The bottles in the 700-yen biscuit set have 4 flavors: original, apple, matcha, and cacao, and I'm sure any girl would blurt out "Kawaii!" the first time she sees these bottles.
5. Gero Pudding – melt in your mouth
The little adorable shop is outstanding with the image of a green frog - the icon of Gero city - outside. Although the shop is relatively small, nobody seems to care. Instead, the place is always crowded from the moment it's opened.
There is no need for a flowery name since the only product sold in Gero Pudding is Pudding.
There are 6 flavors on the menu: "nostalgic" flavor, "rich and creamy" flavor, matcha flavor, melon flavor, coffee jelly flavor, and special seasonal flavor.

The first time I came here, I (and you should also) tried the "rich and creamy" flavor to fully experience the deliciousness from Gero milk.
When compared to the pudding in Vietnam (often known as caramel or flan), the pudding here is softer and silkier with a fattier taste thanks to Gero milk. However, the caramel at the bottom is a little too sweet and does not have a good coffee aroma.

It was not until I came here did I realize that Japanese men are very fond of sweets, especially pudding?
Ever since I walked into the shop until I left, I saw a lot of males, from high school and university students to office workers, coming here to treat themselves with a delicious pudding to relieve the stress after hours of working and studying.
6. Gero milk ramen – a unique way to go "outside the box"
Who said milk is only suitable for making sweets or can only be a quick snack instead of the main dish? Wipe that thought out of your mind right now, because Momoan restaurant has invented a ramen bowl with broth made of Gero milk.

The broth is the perfect combination between sweetness and saltiness coming from Gero milk, butter, and typical ramen cooking spices. The pork slices were marinated beautifully, but I wish they were less fatty to make the bowl less greasy and more appetizing. However, the taste of seaweed and soft-boiled egg did a great job in lessening the greasy feeling when having this dish.
When coming to Momoan, apart from milk ramen, give yourselves a treat by ordering beef shumai and gyoza, even though they are not made from milk. The beef shumai here is really special since I could easily taste the aromatic minced lemongrass wrapped in the smooth and chewy layer.

To me, an international student in Japan, where lemongrass is nowhere to be found, this lemongrass flavor did a great job in reminding me of my homeland's cuisine. I paid 850¥ for the ramen and 480¥ for the shumai (tax excluded).
One more plus for those who do not have so much free time is that the restaurant is opened until 12 AM. You see, it's hard for me to find a reason to refuse these attractive dishes!
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