Kitschen Desserts: Paradis Natural Ice Cream

Last Sunday, my friend Gina and I had merienda at this new ice cream place along Tomas Morato called Paradis. Home-made ice cream is becoming an increasingly popular dessert in Manila so I was curious to see what unique thing they could bring to the table.

What Paradis offers is all natural, home made ice cream in unusual (read: some of you will even think WEIRD) flavors. Some out of the ordinary flavors owner Troy Hatcho came up with are Agasajo (Chili Chocolate Saffron), Pumpkin, Pineapple Rosemary Sorbet, Coco Vanilla, Red Beet and Orange and even Malunggay.

I tried the Pineapple Rosemary Sorbet and it was a nice twist on the fresh taste of Pineapple. It was refreshing and I enjoyed it. Other flavors I tried are the following:

Agasajo (Chili Chocolate Saffron)-- I personally found this a little too spicy. I have had hot chocolate with chili, and in fact, even make chili chocolate truffles myself and when working with unusual pairings with food, one must realize that less is more. At the end of the day, ice cream is a dessert and I would prefer a bittersweet dark chocolate with a hint of zing that coats my throat as opposed to having to drink water and fan my tongue after every bite.

Wasabi-- I felt the same way about this flavor. It was a bit overpowering to the point of making the ice cream less enjoyable. Dessert shouldn't be so stressful. Flavors for these two were good, it just needs to be toned down.

Caramel-- I loved this one. In fact, I can say it was my favorite. It had that taste of caramel right before it burns (Im saying this in a good way)The taste lingers on the tongue and I couldn't stop eating it.

Coco Vanilla-- If you're a fan of Coco Jam, you'll love this flavor because it tastes exactly like it. Gina got a whole cup of this and enjoyed it immensely.

Peanut Butter-- I liked the flavor but felt the consistency was a bit too thick and sticky and not creamy enough. I almost felt as if I was eating plain peanut butter.

Red Beet and Orange-- Before you say "Gross", let me say it was actually really good. It was more orange and less beet, except for the lovely raspberry color. Troy said kids love this flavor. I didn't like the thick consistency. Ice cream should always be creamy.

Guava Passionfruit Sorbet-- I love guava, anything guava so you already know I loved this one.

They also have this think they call YOlive, which is an olive oil based yogurt. It sounds kinda shady at first but let me assure you, it is AWESOME. It has this almost nutty taste to it and I kept eating it, even if I was supposed to be trying everything else. Will definitely go back for this one.

They also have a decent menu of savory food such as quiches, sandwiches and salads. They're also open for breakfast. Unlike some dessert cafes that tend ot put savory dishes as an afterthought, you can actually go to Paradis to enjoy their food even if you don't plan on eating ice cream. It's actually pretty good. I had the 3 mushroom quiche with button, shitake and oyster mushrooms.

Paradis is located at 1/F Unit B Kojack Building, Tomas Morato cor. Sct Castor street, QC. Call 5760589 to reserve space for meetings etc. Free wifi when you buy!