With the summer heat making it’s presence known in the city, people are looking for the best way to beat the heat and few ways are as delectable as ice creams.
And it’s not all mangoes and strawberries. A number of shops in the city are offering quirky flavours that are surprisingly delicious. While every Mumbaikar worth their salt knows about the legendary chilli ice cream at Bachelorr’s and the variety of odd and delightful ice creams at K Rustom’s, there are a number of other ice cream shops and restaurants across town, which offer seemingly bizarre flavours — like paan with choco-chips and beetroot — that surprisingly work.
Paan and Choco-chip ice cream at Bina’s Homemade Ice Cream:
Though Bina’s is not a sit-and-eat set-up, their ice creams are popular all across the city and is available in from Marine Lines to Lokhandwala. Bina Doshi, the owner of the business and the chef who creates the ice creams, admits that experimenting with unusual flavours is a bit of a hobby. “My friends and family often suggest flavours and I try them out. One of my own favourites is the Rose and Sabja flavour but maybe the most popular among our unusual flavours is the Paan and Choco-chips ice cream,” she says. And the minty ice cream, with bits of betel leaf and chocolaty goodness is like the perfect traditional rendition of the classic mint-chocochip.
Boondi Laddoo Ice Cream at Where’s My Cone:
With a malai base and boondi crumbles, this is a delight for any lover of Indian sweets and is served in cups or in the form of ice cream sandwiches. Co-owner Sharad Goyal, who has opened the doors to a flagship store in Bandra, on Sunday, says that it is one of the most popular flavours in the shop. “Everyone loves traditional sweets. So, when we thought of doing something different with our ice cream flavours, we thought why not experiment with a few of those flavours? There were hits and misses — the Boondi Laddoo flavour happens to be one of the ones that work,” he shrugs.
Beer Popsicles at White Owl Brewery:
White Owl brewery in Lower Parel is quite popular for its variety of craft brews and now, it’s not just chilled beer but frosty beer Popsicles that customers can indulge in to beat the heat. Made from French Apple Cider, these ice creams are cool and refreshing and come in a bed of biscuit crumbs to keep them from melting. “Our chef has travelled the world looking for unique ideas and beer Popsicles happened to be one of them. We tried with darker porter first, but that was not much of a success. The cider really seems to be a favourite though,” says Richard Baptista, assistant manager of White Owl.
Beetroot Ice Cream and Sesame and Honey Ice Cream at Lemon Leaf:
While Colaba’s Lemon Leaf is known for it’s delicate pan-Asian flavours, their veggie-themed ice creams are definitely worth a try. Mitesh Rangras admits that some of his attempts were far from successful but others were definitely favourites with the diners. “When we were curating the dessert section, I wanted to have something other than the usual chocolate and mango ice creams. While researching, I came across the idea for vegetable themed desserts. The beetroot ice cream and the Sesame and Honey ice cream are definitely hits. In fact, the sesame ice cream, which is inspired from the til chikki, is one of the most popular desserts here,” he says.
