The sweltering heat calls for cool drinks, gelato, sorbet and our personal favourite – ice cream! From parlours in the city to unusual flavours you can’t miss out on, Rhea Dhanbhoora & Gargi Bansod tell you how to beat the heat with a treat
Ice cream is the perfect pick-me-up to cool off when it’s hot outside. So, we bring you a list of places where you can head down to slurp and lick your way through a hot summer’s day.
OUR PARLOUR PICKS
Hokey Pokey: Offering a selection of freshly mixed ice cream, the USP of Hokey Pokey is that they mix the ice cream on a special cold stone slab. While the flavours are pretty common, they allow you to choose from a variety of extra mix-ins which include chocolate fudge, Oreo cookies, chocolate chips, roasted almonds and a whole range of branded chocolates. We recommend you try their Brownie Break flavour (`60 onwards) which is a combination of vanilla ice cream, chocolate brownie, roasted cashew nuts and dark chocolate fudge mixed on a frozen stone.
Must Try: Chunky Monkey
Where: To locate an outlet near you, visit www.hokeypokey.in
Natural’s: Natural’s started off as a small outlet in Juhu and is today known across the city for turning fruits into ice cream. They use traditional methods to make ice cream and skip the chemical preservatives. They also infuse less air in their ice cream, making it rich and creamy. With a wide range of fruit flavours to choose and at a relatively cheap price of `30 per cup or cone you can easily try a few before you find your favourite.
Must Try: Anjeer and Watermelon
Where: Visit www.naturalicecreams.in to locate a store near you
Movenpick: There is nothing as good as Swiss ice cream. If you’re ready to shell out a pretty penny, head down to Movenpick. You’ll be paying as much as `300 for a scoop of ice cream but it’s completely worth it. A flavour you have to try out is their plain vanilla. It sounds boring, but made with fresh vanilla pods, we assure you that you’ll be drooling and craving more. Their Grand Marnier ice cream is also an indulgent option if you want hints of French liquor and orange in your cold scoop.
Must Try: Their Classic collection which includes Vanilla, Panna Cotta and White Chocolate
Where: Palladium, Phoenix Mills, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel
Gokul: This ice cream parlour started off in Santacruz and has grown into a well known chain for some reasonably priced ice cream. They are famous for their Malai and seasonal fruit flavours. Most of their ice creams are fresh fruit based and you can surely get the real taste of all the fruits as they don’t add any artificial flavours to it. For just `30 you can pick up a cup or cone and for an extra `5 get a freshly made hot waffle cone as well. With the arrival of the mango season, they offer a bowl of Malai ice cream with chunks of freshly chopped mango. It’s something you shouldn’t miss out on
Must Try: Mango & Cream, Mango ice cream
Where: 71-C, Ajay Apts, Saraswati Road, Santacruz (W)
Baskin Robbins: Baskin Robbins came to Indian in 1993 all the way from Glendale, California. It started with 31 flavours with the notion of having a different flavour for each day of the month. They have grown from 31 flavours to around 1,000, with ten different types of chocolate flavours alone! We recommend you try a fruit based flavour with a chocolate scoop in their waffle cones. Besides ice creams they also have smoothies, sundaes and Polar pizzas.
Must Try: Banana & Strawberry
Where: www.baskinrobbinsindia.com
Hagen Dazs: This premium brand of ice cream is known for its innovative recipes and flavours. They also have the most amazing ice cream desserts which you should not miss! The rich flavours and taste is going to leave you pleading for more. Haagen Dazs is a bit steeply priced but worth a visit.
Must Try: Fondue
Where: Ground Floor, Oberoi Mall, Off Western Express Highway, Goregaon (E)
FUN FACTS
- Want a fun summer challenge? It takes around fifty licks to polish off a scoop of ice cream. Go ahead, try it!
- Air is an important ingredient in ice cream as it keeps the ice cream creamy instead of being frozen solid.
- The most popular ice cream topping of all time is chocolate syrup.
- People were a bit crazy about ice cream in the first century. Emperor Nero of the Roman Empire ordered his slaves to the mountains to collect snow and ice to make flavoured ice cream.
- Do you love your ice cream cone? Well, till 1896 there were no cones until a vendor in New York City decided to invent one, just to stop people from stealing his serving glasses!
- In the United States of America, July is celebrated as the national ice cream month.
- The biggest ice cream sundae in history was made in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1988. It weighed over 24 tons!
- Ice cream sticks and ice cream bars were first invented in the 1920s.
GELATO AND YOGURT
If you’re watching your waistline this summer, you may want to step out and have a bit of gelato or a frozen yogurt instead of creamy ice cream:
Cocoberry: The chain that started it all, Cocoberry is India’s first premium frozen yogurt chain. The outlets across Mumbai have delicious flavours ranging from Kiwi and Musk Melon to our favourite, Blueberry. They give you the option of adding toppings according to your tastes and preferences as well.
Where: Cocoberry has outlets across the city. To find the closest one to you, visit www.cocoberry.in
Gelato Italiano: This was the first joint that introduced gelato to the city. They are known for their great taste, freshness and affordable prices. They scoop up a variety of interesting flavours for you such as Madagascar Chocolate, Gelato Kulfi, Cinnamon. Remember to head down to your nearest Gelato Italiano outlet on the first of every month as they offer the flavour of the day for just `9!
Where: Outlets across the city
Yogurtbay: Another popular frozen yogurt chain, Yogurtbay promises a healthy swirl of delicious dessert. Their flavours include the most delicious vanilla you’ll ever taste (Cherry French Vanilla) along with interesting combinations such as Peach Mango and Apple Pie Cinnamon. They’re always coming up with new flavours, so watch for more!
Where: Outlets across the city. Visit www.yogurtbay.com to find a store near you
Amore: So, yogurt may not be your iced flavour of the month — why not try a gelato instead? The gourmet gelato shop, one of the first to open up in the city, has handmade natural gelatos that don’t use any chemicals or preservatives. They have a variety of fresh fruit and flavoured options and a must try are the Mint Chocolate gelato and Musk Melon sorbet. And many of the flavours are up to 98% fat free.
Where: Carter Road, Bandra (W) or visit www.amoregelato.com to find a store near you
AROUND THE WORLD
Here are a few questionable ones from around the world that you may want to stay away from:
- In London, the adventurous few can opt for a Haggis (sheep intestines!) flavoured ice cream. Eek!
- This one isn’t so bad, but we doubt you’d ever be able to finish an entire scoop. Los Angeles serves an entire cone full of licorice ice cream.
- England seems to like the strangest flavours. Imagine mashed potato, gravy, sausage and peas in an ice cream cone — that concoction is what you’ll encounter in some parts of England.
NEW IN TOWN
If you have been to all the above parlours and are looking for a new ice cream parlour for some new taste, here are some newbies in the city:
Ice cream works
This new ice cream parlour comes from the house of Blue Foods and is known for its flavours such as Meetha Pan, Gajar Halwa and Malai Kulfi along with a host of chocolate and fruit based ones. Also, we recommend you try their two handmade flavours: Sitaphal and Strawberry. They also serve ice cream sundaes, cassatas and the rarely found in Mumbai, ice cream cakes.
Where: Shivaji Park, Dadar (W) and the Chowpatty seaface
Zelos n Zest
Though it is a relatively older joint in this vicinity, it has been revamped recently and is gaining much popularity. The Sitafal and Strawberry gelatos are an all time favourites at this place. They also serve some amazing desserts such as Hazelnut and White Chocolate mix with toppings, Lemon Tart and Gooey Belgium Chocolate. So, do try out this fun place!
Where: Shop No. 65, Harmony, Ranade Road, Next to SBI, Shivaji Park, Dadar (W)
MUMBAI SPECIAL!
Here are some ice cream parlours that you’ll find only in Mumbai:
Bachelors: Bachelor's most exquisitely defines the tastes of an urban Mumbaikar. This hangout spot on Marine Drive is famous for its fresh fruit ice cream. You must try their Strawberries & Cream.
Where: Next to Charni Road Station, Marine Drive
Temptations: It is a small place next to the Andheri Shopper's Stop, but it's quite famous. The ice creams here are really fresh and unique. We recommend their Litchi Lake and Made For Each Other Sundaes.
Where: S. V. Road, Andheri (W)
K. Rustom Ice cream: This ice cream shop been around for eons but it’s different, quirky and unique! Known for its biscuit ice creams, this Parsi ice cream shop still gives a feeling of eating an eating in the gone by era.
Where: 87, Stadium House, Opp. Ambassador Hotel, Churchgate
What's the difference between gelato and ice cream?
If you thought gelato is just the Italian word for ice cream, they are quite different from each other. Gelato is churned at a slower speed than ice cream, so it's denser because not as much air is whipped into the mixture. While ice cream is typically served frozen, gelato is typically stored and served at a slightly warmer temperature, so it's not quite completely frozen. Also, Gelatos have about 70% less fat than ice cream. However different they might be, the common thing is that we cannot resist a scoop of either!