I went back here twice in a row because it was just so good! My friend took me to Papa Didi's and…read moreoh my gosh, I will be day dreaming about their ice cream! It was so yummy. I got the ube and cheese. My friend got the choco loving and tres leches. They also have traditional Filipino flavors like pastillas de leche and mango. It was honestly so good. The ice cream was so thick and didn't melt easily. The flavors were also rich and not muted. It had the perfect sweetness. There's a second room next to the ice cream shop for additional seating. The service was also fast. I wish we had this in Florida because I will keep chasing the taste of their ice creaming!

Davao meets Bicol (chocolate with red chili) was a bomb! For this visit, I've tried Chocolate lovin…read moreand Coffee. We've got 2 scoops for a Treat with a free cone. Ice cream was creamy and not overly sweet. The interiors were cute, too.

Just when you thought you've seen it all in UP's shopping center, you come across an unimpressive…read morecomputer shop that also sells--wait for it--Fruits in Ice Cream! I'm talking about the local brand FIC, and not just general fruit in ice cream, clearly. It might surprise some people, but the ice cream booth has been here a long time, at least at the time when I was in my mid-college years, which was... a long time ago. I remember craving ice cream but wanting to try something else from the regular, still pretty good "dirty" ice cream carts around, and then heading to SC for a little bit of FIC's delights. FIC has grown since that time, and the booth carries that same stuff here at much less of the price you'd get from a mall. I don't even know why this is--maybe the cones are much cheaper? In any case, I'm not complaining as the ice cream is amazing still, probably even more so since you're eating it cheap in UP.

I've been craving for a decent milkshake for about 3 months already, and have been craving for soft…read moreserve ice cream for the past month. With so many friends posting photos of themselves at Rita's, it has been driving me nuts. Finally, I got to try Rita's for myself. My dad was skeptical this timewhen he saw people walking out of the store, as he was imagining having the typical Italian gelato. While in line, he got a bit excited seeing the available flavor options and combinations. I got a regular-sized gelati with banana split ice and a mix of chocolate and vanilla frozen custard. My Dad on the other hand got a regular sundae which had chocolate frozen custard, hot fudge and chopped peanut as toppings, then a heap or whipped cream, complete with cherry on top. In the end, it wasn't just me who was very happy to finally try Rita's ice and frozen custard. Even my Dad was surprised with the difference in taste and texture. Looking forward to trying their milkshake next!

At first, I thought Rita's was a fancier rehash of Dairy Queen, with a cute swirly topping of…read morevanilla over some crazy ice cream flavor, based on my Instagram feed. When I heard though that it was custard and shaved ice, I couldn't really grasp the concept. I thought it was weird, and a fad like bubble tea that would soon blow over. The concept took awhile to get my mind around, but there was no denying that what I got was a really refreshing dessert. If you're feeling thrifty, you can drop the custard and stick to the smooth ice that's actually pretty good on its own. There are loads of ices and custard flavors to choose from, but I prefer the simple lemon ice. One time I got the coffee custard, which was pretty yummy. I'm going to try their milkshakes when I can though, I heard the peanut butter flavor is amazing.

Cold Stone has great ice creams, but I'd like to talk about its servers. They're really…read moreentertaining and funny. That time I was there, I gave some of my change in the tip can. It didn't register in my head what went on at first, but I think the severs unanimously yelled something in gratitude. There are also times when I'm at UP Town Center, and Cold Stone had this whole display of catch the ice cream scoop. One guy was at the top of the staircase just outside the shop, and another was on the field. I didn't understand what was going on until the guy by the shop threw a scoop of ice cream with his spatula looking tool, while the other held a Cold Stone cup in the air to catch it. Amazingly, he did! It was an amusing spectacle. Thank God they don't give those flying ice cream scoops away for free. Even if I enjoy freebies, a scoop topped with air dust and flies isn't something I'd like to try out.

The place is tiny and the counter and cashier occupy half of it. The cramped space was maid even…read moreless bearable by the staff's synchronized chanting every minute or so. Honestly, I don't even know what they were yelling; it was just noise to my ears. The staff looked neither amused nor encouraged by this gimmick, and none of the customers seemed to appreciate it either, so I really don't get the point. Annoying, loud, cramped ambience aside, I actually liked their ice cream! It was our first time there, and we were too old and low EQ to come up with our own ice cream concoction, so we just ordered two of their signature creations. Chocolate devotion is just chocolate chips, brownie pieces, and fudge. It was nothing special, and we wished we had just ordered two of the Cookie Doughn't You Want Some, which was really yummy despite its annoying name. Cookie dough, chocolate chips, caramel all swirled in a dense French vanilla ice cream... It's kind of the stuff long work daydreams are made of. My only request: Cold Stone, stop with the yelling already. We aren't listening, your staff isn't listening, and no one appreciates it.

A lot of interesting deserts on their menu but the Rainbow Grilled Cheese caught my eye. Taste like…read moreregular grilled cheese but this is more Instagram worthy. I willingly return to eat here again.

Such cool flavors at this place! Love their leche flan flavored ice cream. Avocado, too! Great…read moreplace to go for exotic ice cream flavors! Took my whole family here and we had a blast with the number of "weird" flavors they offer. :)

J.Co donuts are iconic donuts here in the Philippines. Going to the Philippines from the States I…read morewanted to make sure I dropped by. Equally delicious drinks and most importantly the donuts were delicious. I introduced this place to my fiancé and he loved it as well. Make sure you order the matcha donut which is my absolute fave there. We took out some minis to go as pasalubong and man were they so cute!

When you visit the Philippines, make sure you visit this place as it has a wide variety of donuts…read moreyou can choose from! Great for those who have a sweet tooth. AFAIK, these are available in South East Asia so far.

There really isn't anything special about Rita's. The concept of custard and Italian ice is nothing…read morenew. I've seen these things served at football games or by beach boardwalks. For some reason though, I keep on coming back to Rita's. It's always been a nice way to end the night after a good meal or a movie. For a while, I always ordered the custard-Italian ice combination. I usually opted for the cookie dough ice and chocolate custard on top. This however meant feeling a bit stuffed and heavy at times though, given the nature and consistency of the custard. I then tried to just stick with the shaved ice. I eventually discovered the sour red candy flavor. From that point on, I couldn't get enough. I don't think any flavor will be overthrowing my new favorite anytime soon.

Dairy Queen is one of my favorite ice cream parlors in Katipunan because of its convenient location…read moreand affordable price. As a student, I often have stressful and "I deserve this" kind of moments, so I just walk across from my school to get a treat and eat it on my way back. There are times also my colleagues and I crave for ice cream so we order a Blizzard cake and bring them back to our lab. I usually get a KitKat Blizzard. I like that they have a "Blizzard of the month" and feature a new flavor. When I have a tight budget, I get either their sundae cones or ice cream sandwich. Besides the basic ice cream, they also have drinks like Moo latte and shakes, and also banana splits for sharing. I'm really glad to have grown up with DQ because it did not only satisfy my sweet tooth, but I also got to bond with my close friends during high school, college and even during the present times! It's a classic for me and their ice cream quality did not change over the years (still the just right cold yet creamy goodness they can assure their customers: "served upside-down or it's free!"). I highly recommend to try out their ice cream cakes for a different birthday treat experience and also when they release a new flavor of the month. Check out their new products for every occasion (Halloween, Christmas, summer season etc) and who knows, some of these featured flavors/products might become a regular!

Dairy Queen is one of the most classic ice cream parlors in Metro Manila (even if it's not actually…read moreFilipino). They've got flavors that cater to a lot of palettes, and the classics like Oreo, Strawberry Banana, and Rocky Road definitely do not get old. The Ice Cream Cakes are particularly delectable as well, and they're a welcome treat at any birthday party, or celebration in general! I always find their Blizzards to be nice and thick, full of flavor and immensely creamy. I do wish that Dairy Queen would open a bigger branch already, particularly in Katipunan, where you can actually sit down for a bit and enjoy your ice cream and even work on your paper in peace, because I'd love to do some school work while enjoying a Blizzard. Starr's is well and good, but Dairy Queen just has that older charm to it, and isn't quite as pricey.

Sadly, this place does *not* have horlicks. Ah, Cold Layer... you have spoiled me indeed. But the…read morelack of horlicks isn't going to drive me away so easily. Snow Creme follows the same vein as Cold Layer: something that isn't quite ice cream but tastes kind of like ice cream. It's the same sheets of shaved ice that feel like a cross between ice cream and a slushie. It's usually marketed as being healthier for you than ice cream but eh. When it's this hot, who's counting calories, right? While it might have the same canvas as Cold Layer, Snow Creme has a different application entirely. I could probably say that Snow Creme is the more adventurous of the two. Because really... tiramisu? Honeydew? Pink cheddar? The Pink Cheddar for one turned out to be snow ice that tasted like cheese ice cream with strawberry syrup and a glob of egg pudding. Definitely interesting and definitely not what I expected. But prety good all in all. A medium sized bowl is big enough to share between two people looking for a snack. Aside from that, they also have *some* salty snacks... but if you ask me, the number of mojos you get don't match the 65php price tag. Still, they're good mojos. Not hard, thick cut and mealy... exactly how I like them. Given how warm it's been, it's no wonder they've been pretty busy as of late. While this isn't a place to go for a meal, this is a pretty good place for a quick snack or if you need somewhere to hide from the heat.

Oh, Manila summer. Thou art a heartless rhymes-with-witch. Not only is it hell hot, but the…read morehumidity makes everything so sticky, and the pollution makes everything so dirty. Needless to say, hot-sticky-dirty is a combination that prompts me to either take an ice bath, live inside the air conditioner, or get myself a cold confection. The third option seems like the easiest of the three, and I am glad that Snow Crème is there to cover me. PROS: Their snow ice is like the Pokémon evolution of the halo-halo, if the halo-halo was an Eevee. Finely shaved ice mixed with different toppings and syrups. You can choose one of their pre-set combos or choose your own toppings and syrups; There's just so much choices! Between milk teas and mousses and fruit teas and smoothies, I think you won't run out of options here. CONS: There's a bit of a wait time, during lunch or dinner rush; You may have to watch out and call dibs for a good table since there's always a lot of people in there. TL;DR: Bust the heat with everything Snow Crème has to offer. Take that, Manila summer.

There are a lot of food order options that you can't go wrong with. Our group ordered the Pork Chop…read moreSteak, Creole Grilled Chicken, and the 2Pcs Greek Yogi Fried Chix and they were all amazing. The sauces they have available to pair with the fried and grilled food also do complement them very well. What was not as good was that there were a lot of items in the menu which were blocked out and not available to order at the time. The Pork Chop Steak is uniquely prepared by being pounded and tenderized thin. Personally, I find it a little too thin with the skin or breaded layer sometimes coming off the white meat. Service reliability was a little hit and miss. There are a few times we had to wait to be attended to. That may be passable since towards the end, more customers are starting to fill in. It was perfect that we came in when we did at just before the usual dinner time. We ended the meal by ordering something they are also known for which are the ice creams. My group all got to order different flavours from the big variety of ice cream options available.

Mad Mark's is one of the more popular icecream brands in the city. Good but not great for me. The…read moreicecream is smooth and creamy enough, but think the flavours aren't super strong and there's not as much mix-ins as I'd like (personal taste). Best flavour is easily Javan Hot Chocolate.