I've been craving for a decent milkshake for about 3 months already, and have been craving for soft…read moreserve ice cream for the past month. With so many friends posting photos of themselves at Rita's, it has been driving me nuts. Finally, I got to try Rita's for myself. My dad was skeptical this timewhen he saw people walking out of the store, as he was imagining having the typical Italian gelato. While in line, he got a bit excited seeing the available flavor options and combinations. I got a regular-sized gelati with banana split ice and a mix of chocolate and vanilla frozen custard. My Dad on the other hand got a regular sundae which had chocolate frozen custard, hot fudge and chopped peanut as toppings, then a heap or whipped cream, complete with cherry on top. In the end, it wasn't just me who was very happy to finally try Rita's ice and frozen custard. Even my Dad was surprised with the difference in taste and texture. Looking forward to trying their milkshake next!

At first, I thought Rita's was a fancier rehash of Dairy Queen, with a cute swirly topping of…read morevanilla over some crazy ice cream flavor, based on my Instagram feed. When I heard though that it was custard and shaved ice, I couldn't really grasp the concept. I thought it was weird, and a fad like bubble tea that would soon blow over. The concept took awhile to get my mind around, but there was no denying that what I got was a really refreshing dessert. If you're feeling thrifty, you can drop the custard and stick to the smooth ice that's actually pretty good on its own. There are loads of ices and custard flavors to choose from, but I prefer the simple lemon ice. One time I got the coffee custard, which was pretty yummy. I'm going to try their milkshakes when I can though, I heard the peanut butter flavor is amazing.

Oh my God this gelato was literally LIFECHANGING. Tried it for the first time at SM Aura, ordered…read morethe Ube Velvet and Mango Ube Symphony with a fudge brownie. I did not know my mind would be so blown. First of all, the Mango Ube Symphony is award-winning (according to their menu). I am an ube monster so I ordered the Ube Velvet just because. The fudge brownie also because, hey, I was on vacation. All 3 things that I ordered were de.li.cious. Mango Ube Symphony was a sweet twist of mango with a hint of ube. The Ube Symphony was creamy with actual chunks of ube. The brownie tasted like a more solid brownie batter, if you're into that. I kid you not when I say lifechanging. I braved the traffic to make a second trip to SM Aura before I left the city. PLEASE PLEASE BRING THIS TO THE STATES, SPECIFICALLY SAN FRANCISCO. THANK YOU!

Seriously, this is probably the best Gelato I've had in Manila. I love ice cream, I mean come on…read morewho doesn't? I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream! Bono has seasonal flavors as well, I so miss the cookie monster gelato! Every time I come to the metro I check in to see if the cookie monster has made its way back around the seasons. Their staple varieties are very very good as well, I just fell in love with cookie monster, whether it was the nostalgic name bringing back memories of Sesame Street, or the blue color gelato, it was certainly all good! Their chocolate milo was delicious as well as their California strawberry, honestly it's all good, the mango ube is always a nice treat. Give this place a try, you will be glad you did!

Thinking this was just another over-hyped US-franchised ice cream stores sprouting the Metro. Even…read morewhen my curiosity piqued with so many people lining up in their store in UP Town Center, I was too cynical to try. Good thing I was dead wrong. Trying Rita's for the first time in Greenhills last Saturday, made me realized that Rita's is not just one of those usual ice cream stores. Rita's Frozen Custard seems to elevate soft-served ice cream to a different level with its thick, smooth creamy texture with just a soft light sweetness that cannot be found elsewhere. Some of their treats we were able to try: 1. Premium Fudge Brownie Ala Mode (P180) - A heaven in a cup for chocolate and brownie lover like me. The combination of thick vanilla frozen custard with generous amount of brownie cubes (that were warmed before putting in the cup for that soft fudgy texture) and sweet chocolate fudge drizzle provides a perfect balance of sweet, creamy, fudgy texture and chocolate-y flavor. 2. Regular Halo-Halo Gelati (P150) - It is fun to consume, with Frozen Vanilla Custard on top and buttom layer and Italian Ice halo-halo in the middle with ube halaya, langka, macapuno strips & red beans. I like how the Italian ice feels like a very fine flavored snow, I would love it if it had more of the langka, macapuno and beans inside to break its texture. 3. Regular Ube Cheesecake Ice (P100) - Also a Filipino twist on a classic dessert, with ube halaya mixed in ube ice. 4. Regular Passion Fruit Misto Shake (P160) - Fruity yet creamy. You can really taste the Passion Fruit flavor in it with good balance of creaminess from the liquid Vanilla Custard. 5. Regular Watermelon Frozen Drink and Cantaloupe Frozen Drink (P120) - Their icy drinks are smooth, without big chunks of ice that you get in others, which made it more thirst-quenching. I bit usual as flavor is mainly from syrup but prefer the watermelon flavor. 6. Affogato (P185) - Really, really good! Their frozen Vanilla Custard blends well the fresh shot of espresso. I can really the buzz of their espresso after eating a few spoonful of it. A fun alternative for those who need to stay awake and alert. 7. Aside from the above ice cream and drink treat, they also offer ice cream cakes which they called "Frozen Custard Cakes". We were able to try their Mango Gelati Cake (Mango Italian Ice and Frozen Vanilla Custard topped with rainbow sprinkles) and Cookies & Cream Custard Cake (layer of cookies and cream Italian Ice and Frozen Vanilla Custard topped with Oreo pieces). But what's great about their Frozen Custard Cakes is you can customize it to your liking. You can choose from their different flavors of Italian Ice, Frozen Custard and Toppings to make the cake as unique as you. One whole cake cost only P 1350.00 including a nice box with reusable ice packs. You just need to order one day ahead. Looking forward to go back again to be able to try what other flavors and combinations they can come up with. As Rita's brings frozen dessert to a new dimension of its own, challenging the perceptions and surprising jaded palates of what an ice cream still could be.

So curiosity killed the cat one night, and I decided to find out why Rita's is always so crowded…read more Custard and ice. So, it's not really ice cream? Well, technically speaking, no. The custard (though it looks like ice cream) isn't as cold as a scoop of ice cream, and it tasted and felt more like mousse. It also didn't melt quickly even in the humid summer season. The flavored ice was the best part! It's somewhere between a sherbet and a shake, light and refreshing. It came in all sorts of flavors - cookie dough, cotton candy, blue raspberry, cherry, root beer, strawberry colada, and a whole lot more that I can't put down because they change the flavors every so often. There were several items on the menu and I didn't know what to choose from. The nice fellow at the counter said that Gelatinis were their best sellers, and it turns out those were the swirly twirl thingies that I saw everyone seated at the tables eating. Gelatinis are Rita's flavored ice sandwiched by two layers of frozen custard. I chose cookie dough ice and chocolate custard with extra gummi bear toppings. Funny thing about these toppings - they were at the bottom. I thought they actually forgot to put my gummi bears, but I found them when I got to the last custard layer at the bottom, hahaha! All in all, not bad for P130. I'd fall in line again, especially just to try out all the ice flavors! :)

For an ice cream junkie like me, Gelatissimo is, and will always will be on top of my list. The…read moremoment you step into this bright and pleasant ice cream parlor, good vibes just start to pour in. Standing in front of their glass display case makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. Choosing from their wide array of flavor offerings is a pleasantly stressful task. It's as if I want to try everything in a single sitting. Whenever I feel down or or in dire need of unwinding. Sweets has always been by saving grace. Beautiful interiors partnered with delicious ice cream, if these don't wash away your negative energy, I don't know what will. Forget about your diet for a moment and just indulge.

Gelatissimo has always been considered as one of the best ice cream parlors around and I couldn't…read moreagree more. As a huge ice cream fan, I've been going to different parts of Manila to discover new places that could offer me the best-tasting gelato, and I must say Gelatissimo is simply the BEST. I remember I was in my freshman year of college when I first visited Gelatissimo in the East Wing of Shangri-La. My friend decided to treat me because it was my first time there. The whole place reminded me of the world of Strawberry Shortcake, where everything looks good enough to eat. I decided to have their medio gelato, which had two scoops. For my first scoop, I chose the classic Chocolate-flavored gelato and for the second one, I decided to have a single scoop of Vanilla. It had the right consistency and thickness and the taste was simply divine. They also have gluten free and dairy free products for people who have dietary requirements and those who are just body conscious.

My Milkcow experience was much better when I ate with a friend, especially once I got over my…read moreinitial impression of the eyebrow-raising price tag for such a mini cup. It's still tiny, like a "special sundae," but... To be fair, the last time I visited Milkcow they had run out of Milky Cube, their bestselling flavor along with the Macao Dream. And now I can definitely say that their MILKY CUBE is THE BEST! If you haven't sampled their Milky Cube yet, TRY IT NOW. IT'S SO GOOD. Tasted even better when I added a macaron, cut it in little pieces, and mixed the crumbs around with chewy honeycomb. The sweetness levels were off the charts! It's official. Macarons, honeycombs, and ice cream are a ménage à trois in dessert heaven. UGH. Milkcow's price is still what it is, but their ice cream really deserves the disclaimer of using natural real honey and fresh milk for ingredients. I stand corrected comparing it to McDonald's sundaes.

For our first time, we've tried their soft-served ice cream with honey. They have a really good…read morequality soft-served ice cream as you can really taste the creaminess and milky-ness in the ice cream. While their honey looks like a sparkling clear light golden gem (unlike the usual dark amber color of honey we are used to when we buy a store bought jar). It was sweet and gooey and a perfect match to the milky creaminess of the ice cream. I would love to try their ice cream with honey comb (their specialty) which they highlight on their display eventually, but might have to wait for a special occasion as their ice cream is a bit expensive side for a cup.

The name says it all. This is a place where ice cream finds a home. The name, I think, is apt…read morebecause, when we think of home, we imagine a place without fuss, a place where we can just relax and be who we are. Most of all, it is a place where we find comforting food which we can just eat, eat, eat. No pretentions at all. That's also the feeling I get when I go to Ice Cream House. The ice cream here is not in the league of Carmen's Best or Hagen Daz, but it is also, in my opinion, at par with most ice cream brands sold in the supermarket. Most of the time, I even prefer one particular line of ice cream from Ice Cream House than most brands in the supermarket. That line is the coconut-flavored ice cream often mixed with other ingredients, usually local fruits. But what I like best is the plain coconut flavored one which I can describe as simply delicious. Like a home, it is comforting, refreshing without unnecessary gimmick. I love it just the way it is and, even though I will explore other ice cream brands, I am sure I will keep coming back to this one.

When I was a kid, I used to absolutely love this place. It was cheap ice cream: the kind that I…read morecould actually by with my own allowance which is why I liked it so much. Recently though, I stopped by a branch at Marikina, my hometown. While it was pretty delicious, I think most of the child-like goggle sheen has worn off. Really, Ice Cream House serves fairly average ice cream. I think what was kind of disappointing was that it didn't have a distinctive flavor. Yes, I'm pretty proud that all the ice cream here is homemade (who wouldn't be?) but it's kind of disappointing that there's none of that unique texture and flavor that you've come to expect from ice cream made locally. It tastes like normal western-made ice cream. They offer a fairly decent selection of flavors and combinations (including the beloved banana split) but if you're looking for all pinoy ice cream, you're better off going to your local dirty ice cream vendor.

I am huge fan of green tea ice cream, so that item on a menu board will catch my attention. And so,…read moreDojo Ice Cream in Little Tokyo did. First item on the menu was Green Tea, and i was all poised to get that. BUT! It was followed by Black Sesame...then Wasabi (what?!)...then Wasabi Light...then Miso Sake (WHAT!)...Blue Cheese...Seaweed...oh wow. My adventurous buds were tingling. It took all of my will power to not try to get everything at once. Fortunately, it was pretty expensive and that became a natural control mechanism hahaha. Php 150 for a little 4oz cup! So yes, i chose one first. Black Sesame. Opened it right away. Too hard to get a scoop. So i cooled my heels a bit and waited for it to soften a bit. SO WORTH THE WAIT AND MONEY. It was super rich and creamy, the flavor was intense -- and super loaded with sesame!!! The little tub didn't last too long. Now i can't wait to try the rest of the flavors. More reasons to head to Little Tokyo (more on this later!) PS. They DO have a few safe flavors -- lemon, buttercream, strawberry banana. I will get to those -- after I've gone through the exciting ones.

I truly love Japanese food and it is my favorite cuisine in the whole world. So when an ice-cream…read moreshop offers frozen treats with a Japanese twist to it, all I can say is "Hai!". Located in the middle of Makati's picturesque Little Tokyo is a tiny ice-cream kiosk called Dojo Dairy. With ice cream flavors such as Green Tea, Black Sesame, Wasabi, Miso Sake and Seaweed, to name a few, how can a person with a taste for Japanese flavors resist? Dojo Dairy has a variety of tub sizes available, ranging from 4oz (Php 150), 8oz (Php 270), 16oz (Php 435) and the 32oz (Php 850). So far, my favorites are the Green Tea and the Black Sesame. I've yet to taste the rest but when I find myself in Little Tokyo again, the Seaweed is up next. Interesting flavors make up this interesting kiosk so why not try an interesting taste adventure?

This Carmen's Best is inside Shoe Mart Makati in the 3rd floor. They have great tasting ice cream…read more They have the best butter pecan ice cream I have tasted.

Great tasting ice cream (it's rich) and good service. Seating available, but it's limited.read more