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If a quick beach trip isn’t possible, and regular ice cream doesn’t fit your current balik-alindog program, below are four ice cream brands that have managed to sneak the “health halo” into their refreshing goods:
1. Papa Diddi’s Ice Cream Company
168 Maginhawa Street, Teacher’s Village, Quezon City, Philippines. Sun-Thur 12pm-11pm, Fri & Sat 12pm-12am. +63 2 4343784
A fairly new joint on the famed Maginhawa Street, Papa Diddi’s serves homemade, hand-churned, all-natural premium ice cream. It uses carabao’s milk, rather than cow’s milk, which is very rich in calcium, and is a good source of minerals like magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. But here’s the deal: Carabao’s milk has 100% more fat content than cow’s milk, so more calories. No biggie: compared to cow’s milk, it also has way less cholesterol.
The ingredients are sourced fresh from local farms and churned the same day in small batches. This means some of the flavors are seasonal. The chef and owner tend to be playful with their offerings while infusing local flavor — check out the Roasted Forbidden Rice (black rice), Davao Meets Bicol (dark choco and sili), tarragon, peanut butter and jelly, and Starry Surprise (star anise). “Safer” options like roasted strawberry, dulce de gato, and Tsokolate de Cagayan are also available. PHP55 a scoop, PHP275, pint.
2. Fog City Creamery’s Paleo-Friendly Ice Cream
For delivery and pickup. Pickup points at Valle Verde 5, Pasig and Focaccia Restaurant, A.Venue, Makati. +63 917 8833344
Fog City is one of the better and longer-known artisan ice cream brands. It has a special line of Paleo-friendly flavors that address the needs of those on the diet. The Paleo-lin, which uses coconut milk as base and honey as sweetener, has four flavors in pint-sized servings: crowd favorite Coconut Vanilla (PHP190), Choco Vanilla with Ghirardelli Dark Choco Bits (PHP225), Dark Chocolate Cherry (PHP225), or Dark Chocolate Mint (PHP225).
3. Pipino’s vegan ice cream
39 Malingap St, Teachers Village, Quezon City. Mon-Sat 11am-12am, Sun 11am-10pm. +63 2 4411773
Pipino is a well-known vegan restaurant, and its dessert menu has repeatedly delighted many a vegan in Metro Manila, who are deprived of cheese, cake and whatever else animal products and by-products that cannot be used in their diet.
Pipino’s vegan ice cream is made solely with fruits and vegetables (and nuts and seeds). It sounds limiting until you consider what’s on the list: Vanilla Graham (cashew milk base), Dark Chocolate (cashew milk base), Fresh Lemon (cashew milk base), Banana Sherbet (almond milk base), Mango Soy (soy milk base), Coconut (coconut milk base), and Oreo (cashew milk base). A scoop of each is priced at PHP55.
4. Liq My Stick
For delivery and pickup. Liq My Stick can also be found on Sundays at Legazpi Market, Legazpi Village, Makati, 7am-2pm; and on Mondays at Vincent is Bipolar, 154 Maginhawa St, UP Teachers Village, Quezon City, 6pm til late.
Barely a month in operation, Liq My Stick is a new, handmade line of 100% plant-based ice pops. The homemade recipes are designed as nutritious, made from locally-sourced fruits and veggies, and using organic produce whenever possible. The juices that go into these popsicles are cold-pressed or hand-squeezed so that they remain concentrated. No water added, too. Depending on the pop, it can be raw and sugar-, nut-, gluten-, or soy-free.
Currently, they offer three healthy popisicle treats at PHP120 a pop: Bloomin’ British Tart (organic Beguet lemon x coconut crème), Lover’s Red Velvet (dark cacao x cold-pressed organic beet x coconut creme x organic hibiscus flower), and Jolly Green Detox (cold-pressed organic kale, cucumber, ginger, and pineapple x spirulina).
We know we said ‘healthy’ but if you’re feeling a tiny bit naughty, Liq My Stick also has three spiked flavors, which include Hendrick’s Spirited Cucumber, at PHP150 a pop. For orders, give three days lead time. Free delivery in Makati and the Fort for a minimum of 12 pieces. Pickups at The Fort for a minimum of 6 pieces.
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