The scoop on Floyd’s ice cream

There’s something about ice cream on a hot, summer afternoon that always brings a smile to many faces! Whether it’s a choice between vanilla and the classic chocolate, or a more adventurous flavor, ice cream lovers will not hesitate to plunge, spoon in hand, straight into a pint of their favorite frozen treat to relieve themselves of the heat. I nostalgically look back to not so long ago when my children would look forward to a visit to their favorite ice cream parlor after a Sunday family outing. Which brings me back to more innocent days when a Saturday gimmick with my high school classmates would find us hanging out at an ice cream shop, sitting and twirling atop bar stools, as we traded gossip about school, boys and whatnot between spoonfuls of cherry topped sundaes. It’s a pity that these days, ice cream parlors are very few and far between.

Well to my delight, on one of my recent movie dates with my hubby Benny in Eastwood City, I was able to spot such a deal. Right by the cinema lobby was a quaint ice cream bar called Floyd’s. Of course, the sweet tooth in me could not resist the force and dropped in for a closer look. I curiously watched as one of their crew would mix ice cream on what looked like a slab of granite stone. Later, I would find out that this process of using granite stone is an American ice cream tradition. This technology of using a frozen mixing-in granite slab allows for the mixing-in of different confections, such as candy, cookies, fruits or nuts, into the ice cream without it losing its body and flavor. According to Francis Lu, Floyd’s operations director, this is the first of its kind in the Philippines, and Floyd’s is proud to have infused this technology in their wholly owned Filipino corporation.

At Floyd’s, I can actually make my own ice cream dream come true. Well, what I really mean is you can create your own ice cream concoction (which they aptly call Frozen Thrills). It puts you in complete control of your taste buds. You first select the base flavor, then choose your mixer (or as Floyd’s calls it "smoosh-ins") among a wide variety of candies, nuts, cookies and whatever delights – you name it. And then you watch the magic happen as they smoosh, smash, squish, squash, crush and crunch your ingredients on their frozen granite counter. The result is a frozen delight that is uniquely your own.

If you are running low in imagination, you can never go wrong as you pick from their recommended list of Frozen Thrills. Choose from Dulce Vita, Yin and Yang, Almondine, and Chocolate Bliss. I actually enjoyed the Choco Strawberry Chill, which is a blend of Rocky Road and strawberry ice cream mixed with bits of moist chocolate cake, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate and strawberry sauce.

Ice cream cakes are also back in fashion with their delightful offering of strawberry shortcake, Turtle Pie, cookies and cream pie and sans rival, to name a few. Now, you could say that you can have your cake and ice cream, too!

Ice cream is a passion food; it is also a comfort food. It is good to have at the end of a horrible day, and at the end of a great day. A scoop makes for a great tranquilizer when one is stressed out. Me, I’m just happy to have found an ice cream parlor on a hot summer day. It made me feel like a kid again!