Aussie does it

MANILA, Philippines – What’s the hottest thing you can think of about Australia? Off the top of my head, it’s showbiz hotties Hugh Jackman and Eric Bana. It’s climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge or taking a hot air balloon ride. And then there’s Cold Rock Ice Creamery, Australia’s leading homegrown super premium ice cream brand whose hot motto is “If you can dream it, we can ice cream it.”

But of course, you don’t have to go Down Under to have a taste of the Aussies’ top ice cream because there’s a Cold Rock Ice Creamery down here — in fact, it’s got three branches located at The Fort Strip, Greenbelt 3, TriNoma, and Alabang Town Center.

Now, this ice creamery certainly rocks: Imagine over 50 ice cream flavors, even more mix-ins (but more on that a wee bit later), and over 3,000 combinations that you can come up with. That will surely melt any ice cream lover’s sweet heart! That means ice cream lovers like you and I can visit a Cold Rock every day for 10 years and enjoy a different ice cream concoction each time.

Having enjoyed with gusto their ice cream creation at Cold Rock while vacationing in the Gold Coast, Sam Sotto-Yambao and her husband Tembong Yambao thought it was a cool idea to bring the ice creamery to the Philippines. (FYI, the brand was founded in 1996 in Queensland, Australia and has since grown to 70 stores in Australia alone. Cold Rock has franchises in the Middle East, Singapore, and Indonesia.) So, they got in touch with the owner and applied for a franchise. A year later, the couple went to Brisbane on a familiarization tour. For three weeks, they observed the manufacturing process and tried their hand at running the business. Sam’s brother Vince Sotto is Cold Rock assistant GM, overseas technical and financial operations. If you ask me, it’s the coolest job anyone can have.

And I daresay it’s the coolest place to be, whether it’s shining or pouring outside. Because at Cold Rock, you can be sure it’ll be raining frozen delights nonstop. It’s certainly changed the way Filipinos look at and savor their ice cream since Cold Rock opened its first branch at the Fort Strip Mall in Bonifacio Global City in 2005.

How do you enjoy your ice cream at Cold Rock? Let us count the ways — or a few of ’em. The chocoholics will go loco over the Aussie’s Best Cookies and Cream that’s a certified best-seller, Chocochipaholic that’s decadently creamy and sinfully loaded with chocolate chips or the Double Chocolate that gives you a double dose of creamy milk chocolate or the Chocolate Indulgence whose name is enough to betray its richness and creaminess. But also high on the list of favorites are the low-fat Aussie vanilla made from the best Australian dairy and vanilla bean essence, the low-fat winter white chocolate that captures the essence of white chocolate truffles, the low-fat coffee made from real premium coffee blended from choice arabica and robusta coffee beans or the low-fat cheesecake that’s as buttery and cheesy as cheesecakes go, the only thing lacking is the crust.

And that’s just for the classic flavors. You’re bound to go nuts, too, over the nutty flavors like the Nuts About Macadamia, pistachio, and Peanut Butter Choco Swirl that’s got the taste of real creamy peanut butter with chocolate syrup swirls, but this one does not come from a jar.

Cold Rock has a selection of fruity treats, too, like the banana cream pie, Coconut Cloud, Must Have Mango, Boysenberry, Very Strawberry and yes, low-fat strawberry. Berry yummy!

Then there are the confectionery flavors inspired by your favorite candies. Bubble gum flavored ice cream with marshmallows is a big hit with kids from two to 82.

Oh, yes, the sight of the liqueur ice cream flavors, like the rum and raisin, Tia Maria, and Irish cream, is enough to get you intoxicated.

Looking for a healthy ice cream alternative? Cold Rock has that, too. Its yogurt flavors are low-fat and lactose-free. It’s also got sorbets made with fruit syrup or fruit puree. When Angels and Demons was showing, Cold Rock came up with its Ice Cream Blockbuster of the Week called Angels and Lemons, a refreshing combo starring lemon sorbet, strawberries, bananas, and strawberry syrup. It was a box-office success!

And now, let’s talk about the mix-ins — the list is simply staggering we can spend the whole day talking about it.

“At Cold Rock, we don’t call them add-ons but mix-ins,” says Marylocke Sotto, who owns the international franchise for Cold Rock Ice Creamery. (Locke has come up with her own cookie dough mix-in.) “My cookie dough recipe doesn’t use eggs, to avoid any dangers of salmonella poisoning. Remember, the dough isn’t baked into cookies but is used raw. (For some reason cookie dough is some sort of comfort food for Americans and I’ve watched sitcoms where is it gobbled up straight from the freezer!) I think we can be justifiably proud of our cookie dough. It is in fact one of our best-selling mix-ins.”

Cold Rock’s mix-ins include fruits, chocolates (like Toblerone, Nestle Crunch, Maltesers, Mars, Chocnut, M&Ms, Snickers, Butterfinger, Hershey’s); cakes, cookies, nuts, fruits, syrups, and assorted confectionery items that make all flavor combinations you can possibly dream of possible.

Once you’ve decided on your ice cream flavor and mix-ins (believe me, it’s one of the hardest decisions you’ll ever have to make), they’re mixed and smashed on the cold rock, a patented frozen granite slab that prevents your ice cream from melting during the fun mixing process.

Yes, it’s also possible for you to drink your favorite ice cream flavor at Cold Rock. Here’s the latest scoop in town: Cold Rock has come up with its Hot Mug that converts your fave ice cream into a hot, comforting drink that’s just perfect for a rainy day. Or you can chill out with a Rockachilla, an ice cream-blended drink that turns your favorite ice cream flavors into a refreshing beverage that you can customize with your choice of chillers (flavored syrups).

Now, how cool is that?

* * *

Cold Rock has branches located at the Activity Center, Alabang Town Center; Level 3, Greenbelt 3, Makati City; ground floor, The Fort Strip Mall, Bonifacio Global City; and at the 4th level, cinema area, TriNoma, Quezon City. E-mail coldrockph@gmail.com for queries.