I came here with some friends on a hot day. There was a sign inside saying we could order ice cream from the inside or outside at the window. Although the woman working was adamant we only order outside (for samples and final order). Not being able to look at the actual ice cream and be in the air conditioned area was a bit odd. It felt kind of distanced and detached...And awkward as we went from inside to outside to back inside again.
She had a friendly smile though and questioned how many samples we would like. At the time, I only wanted to try 2 of them but after I wasn't very satisfied with how they tasted. I wanted to try one more, but didn't want to bother her after mentioning just 2 for the initial try. I sampled the Kinako Choco Crunch, it was good flavor but kind of a basic chocolate taste. The Blueberry Maple Cornbread really caught my eye. I absolutely loved the creamy blueberry flavor, but the crumbly and dry cornbread ruined the ice-cream for me. I read that the maple cornbread was actually gluten free as well, so I wonder if that had anything to do with the texture of it. If it was pure blueberry ice cream I think it would be so refreshing and delicious!
In the end, I went with my usual the Mango Sticky Rice, Single Scoop in a cup, this cost $6.74. I believe it used to be $5.95, or I wonder if it varies on location? For a single scoop even though it looked like a big and fat scoop, I think it's sort of pricey. The mango sticky rice flavor that day was lacking the sticky rice flavor and texture. And it had an overwhelming taste of fresh & sweet mango. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious. But it tasted like I was having mango sorbet rather than their iconic Mango Sticky Rice.
On a very hot day, some people would probably be willing to overlook the prices -- but if you get double scoop or cones maybe the prices would add up and you'd be surprised. Anyways, this spot had a good amount of seating indoors and a few seating outdoors. They have water cups if you're thirsty and napkins if you need it. They have classic flavors and seasonal, unique...My friends enjoyed the Ube Pandesal Toffee flavor & the Yuzu Poppyseed Cake flavor. I highly recommend trying the flavors out. Come and enjoy ice cream at Stella Jean's! read more