Top 5 Places to Get Affordable Soft-Serve Ice Cream in Manila
In a country where the weather is mostly hot than not, it’s always nice to have some ice cream in hand any time of the day. Even if you don’t want a big tub, the little cups and cones can do the job just fine. Fortunately, smaller sizes can easily be bought in fast food chains and convenience stores.
My family and I recently had a mini road trip to places that had soft-serve ice cream. We got the plain ones, with no syrup or toppings, just so we could taste the bare flavor. We went to Jollibee, McDonald’s, Family Mart, Burger King, and Mini Stop, and here is our verdict:
Top 5 Places to Get Affordable Soft-Serve Ice Cream in Manila
5. Jollibee
Jollibee is a source of Filipino pride, having gone international and with celebrities endorsing it all the time. I ordered two plain vanilla sundaes at the cost of Php25 each. Price-wise, it isn’t so bad. Plenty of other chains have ice cream at the same price. When I brought the spoon to my mouth, though, I realized it might not be my favorite.
The ice cream tastes a bit like butter, is watery, and melts pretty quickly. The cup is smaller than I’d like it to be, too, and too small for the price. Maybe it’s just me, but the ice cream isn’t my type.
Rating: 3 scoops
4. McDonald’s
Imagine eating a cold whipped marshmallow in a cup. That’s what eating a McDonald’s sundae is like. The ice cream is insanely fluffy, with the price the same as Jollibee’s. The only fault here, probably, is the density. The ice cream is thick, so the bottom melts as you go on. When you order the sundaes with syrup, it melts even faster, so you have to eat it quicker.
Even then, though, love ko ‘to.
Rating: 4 scoops
3. Family Mart
Family Mart comes from Japan. Like a lot of Japanese products, it’s very much desired, loved, and considerably popular. Their ice cream, a swirl-all-you-can, costs Php25. For the price, the deal is great. The ice cream is smooth and doesn’t melt easily, either. The cone is good to eat, too. The cone is tall and crunchy, and isn’t wafer-thin like other cones are.
The tricky part merely lies in actually swirling the ice cream.
Rating: 4 scoops
2. Burger King
Sundaes that taste like milk are only good if done well. Disastrous results include tasting like frozen milk powder, being more liquid than solid, and being too mushy. Burger King doesn’t fall into any of these traps. The ice cream is good enough to eat without the toppings and still tastes as if it has them. It costs Php29, slightly more expensive than the previous 3, but it’s well worth it. Try the espresso sundae, too. It will give you a sugar and caffeine rush at the same time.
The texture is firmer than McDonald’s, so it lacks the fluffy component. What they lack in texture, however, they make up for in flavor. It has a good balance of milky and ice cream-like, though. Makes me wish I got a burger to go with that…
Rating: 4 scoops
1. Mini Stop
It costs the cheapest at a winning Php18 with correspondingly small size. It has the same wavering consistency as Jollibee’s ice cream, although the taste is yummier and more vanilla-y. The creaminess is average, in the middle of pretty good and not-so-bad. When you eat it, you’ll feel the ice crystals at first bite. Better to get the ones with cookie toppings to distract from the ice crystals.
Rating: 3 scoops
Average Cost for all the ice cream: Php24
So there you have it! 5 different ice creams tasted all on the same day. These are some of the cheap kicks you can grab and enjoy. Each one can be bought at under 30 pesos, and considering that some of these are delicious, it’s a good deal.
One word of advice, though: be with other people when you try it. The experience is more fun that way. And don’t try them all in one day, either.
For other sweet fixes, check out Cookie S’mores from Cupcakes and Slices: A Must-Try Mouthwatering Treat and Cheesecake Jars by Chef Kally: Share Some Sweet Love.  Better yet, check out dirty ice cream at The Dirty Dozen: Top 12 Must Try Street Foods In Manila because dirty ice cream is still one of the best.
Note: This article was written with the author’s personal opinion and does not reflect the thoughts of When In Manila as a whole
