Cold Rock ROCKS!

"Heaven, must be heaven..."

That was the song playing over & over in my head while relishing every mouthful of my Cold Rock Choc Mint ice cream with cookie dough mix-in. If one must describe heaven, then this must be IT!Ü

I first got a taste of Cold Rock when I was in the U.S. two years ago. My sister Bambi treated me to dessert and after several minutes of pondering, I finally chose their Choc Mint ice cream (i'm a big fan of chocolates and mint!) with brownies as mix-in. From then on, I got hook! I was again able to eat one cup of this über delicious ice cream concoction, as a treat, for passing my DMV test. Again, I chose the same ice cream flavor & mix-in (clearly, i'm not the adventurous type...HAHA!).

Fast forward to August 2006. My Dad and I were walking along the restos facing Manila Bay at SM Mall of Asia when, out of nowhere, I see this ice cream store that looks vaguely familiar. Going inside, I see my favorite Choc Mint ice cream peering through the glass counters like a love lost and eventually found! Imagine my excitement as I burst out of the store screaming to my dad (OK, that was a bit exaggerated...I wasn't screaming) that this was the ice cream store I was telling him about. The one that sold soooper delicious ice cream. The one I tasted in the U.S. Being a daddy's girl, he immediately asked me if I wanted to buy one. I said no coz I was super busog from eating a hearty dinner at Highlands Steakhouse (also at MOA...which i'm planning to write about in my future blogs).

So anyway, I eventually learned that Cold Rock has a branch in Greenbelt and The Fort. Shucks! Being a Glorietta baby, I didn't know that (oh well...water under the bridge). And that the one at MOA is probably their 3rd store here in Manila. It's also a good thing though (that I didn't know about the Greenbelt and Fort branches) since their ice cream is a bit pricey...actually, a bit too overly pricey for me (coz i'm kuripot). Their prices range from P99.50 to P699.50...plus 25 bucks for every mix-in you want to add. BTW, mix-ins are sort of like "add-ons" to your ice cream (you can opt not to have any mix-ins). Examples are brownies, cookie dough, m&ms, kissables, fruits, and a gazillion more. What they do with this is they SMASH (that's their term) it together with your ice cream of choice on top of their Cold Rock (hence, the name). Don't fret though that after all those smashing action your ice cream would've melt a bit...it won't be. It'll still be as good as it has just come out of the freezer.

When you go out and visit Cold Rock, I suggest you allot at least 10 minutes of your time just for choosing what ice cream flavor and mix-in you want. My favorite is Choc Mint with Cookie Dough mix-in (or Brownie)...as you would've guessed from what i've written above. But they have house favorites or suggestions on what mix-in (or mix-ins) would be good for what ice cream flavor. My dad tried their Ferrero Rocher ice cream, which is their #1 selling ice cream flavor (according to them), with Hershey's Kissables mix-in. It's good but I still love my all-time-favorite Choc Mint flavored ice cream. I usually order their Regular size cup, worth P159.50, and is equivalent to 3 scoops of ice cream...plus one mix-in, thus making a grand total of P184.50. I'm posting their price list below so that you know what you're getting into when you visit Cold Rock the first time.Ü

Go visit Cold Rock. I promise you won't regret it.Ü Your pockets will be lighter (One-hundred, eighty-four bucks and fifty cents lighter for me), but you'll feel like you're in heaven. It's like falling in love...only better. And sans the heartache! wink!

Cold Rock SIZE and PRICE List

• Kiddie P99.50
• Regular P159.50
• Large P219.50
• Small Take Home Pack P369.50
• Large Take Home Pack P699.50

Mix-ins P25.00 (regardless of size)

How To Order:

STEP1: Select your size cup, cone or take home container.

STEP2: Choose your favorite flavor from our range of premium ice cream, low fat ice cream, or sorbet.

STEP3: Mix in your selection of fruit, nuts, chocolates, confectionery, biscuits & fudge.

STEP4: Watch as we SMASH & blend your ice cream on our Cold Rock.