Memories brought by savoring on sundaes are just peachy. I have noticed that as we grow older, we have a tendency to think back to the time when we were youngsters. Why does ice cream always have to be the culprit? However, not all ice cream eating experiences give that nostalgic feel on me, only those selections that really put the heavens on it's proper places.
Today is my father's birthday and I just had to dedicate this post to him. Again, for the nth time, I'm not anywhere near my parents to celebrate with them.
For the record, let me mention that the first placer in my Foodie list goes to my Papa. Haha. He is the ultimate "No to food wastage" food connoisseur! If my mother thought me how to adore chocolates, Papa was the one who brought me and my siblings to what used to be the fanciest ice cream bar back then in Makati, the Magnolia Ice Cream House, near the what was known then as Shoemart. That's how we started looking at ice cream on a whole new level.
I used to remember the dirty ice cream vendor putting scoops of not so flavorful frozen concoctions in between the slit of a sliced "monay." Gone were the days. Since I first had the chance to see scoops upon scoops of ice cream on a beaming boat-shaped glass bowl, topped with peanuts, chocolate pieces and syrup, with sliced bananas on the sides, I never looked at ice cream the same way again. How can a sundae not give you the jeepers, if all that was chocolates were playfully put on a frilly short-stemmed glass and topped with more chocolates and nuts? Days after that date with our Papa, he went abroad to work, but his jolliness and sweet attempts to show his love for his three children remained.
That ice creamery had been torn down decades ago. It had been long since specialty ice cream houses came back. I have almost forgotten that precious time with my siblings and Papa. Thanks to Swensen's Ice Cream for stirring it up for me.
Just before the Christmas bend, I was invited to try out Swensen's Waffle Sundaes. I was able to dig in to three varieties from the five they have on the menu. My first choice was Super Bowl Strawberry. A crunchy waffle basket was filled with a large scoop of strawberry ice cream, drizzled splendidly with strawberry coulis (sauce), slices of bananas, cream and finished off with walnuts and cherry.
One glass was really enough for me, so I just had to ask and get a couple of spoons from the other bloggers who were also invited. My seatmate had an order of Super Bowl M & M. It's a vanilla ice cream topped with banana slices and plenty of M & M's.
For the die-hard chocolate lovers, there is Super Bowl Choco. The waffle basket got a thin coating of chocolate, which was filled then with chocolate ice cream, chocolate syrup drips and topped with brownie and chocolate bar slices and mini chocolate kisses. Wait, of course how can I forget the chocolate coated cherry and waffle on top of a cream. Oh yeah, chocolate fever on the rise there...
What I love about Swensen's array of ice cream selection is that it's not that sweet compared to other known brands in the market. Talking about the price, I'm hands down, since it's way more affordable than the artisan gelati which sprouted all over the metro, but just as creamy and intensely-flavored.
Also, the waffle is right to my sweetness level and crunchy to munch on too, it didn't even sog though the ice cream had been sitting on it for a while.
When you are at Swensen's, expect an agonizing amount of time in choosing your kind of ice cream, for they have A LOT!
And since it was my first time at Swensen's, I also got to taste some of their unusual varieties which include the Mango flavor. I also had another treat, it's some kinda of a Mango Ice cream with sticky rice parfait, which is a different experience in itself. Imagine eating pandan-flavored sticky rice with ice cream, need I say more.
With all that shared, I owe my father a great hug. Though, I could not repay whatever dining lessons I got from him, since I could not treat and over-indulge him to the likes of Swensen's, because of the darn diabetes, I'll just pass this on to my kids, which I'm sure he wouldn't mind.
Address: 2/F Eastwood Mall, Veranda, E Rodriguez Ave
Bagumbayan, Quezon City
