SEBASTIAN'S ALA MODE BARS AND FRUITCICLES!

     Over the course of the past few years, I've noticed that purveyors in the country have become more and more daring when it comes to their ice cream flavors. 

       One in particular, gets a gold star from me when it comes to- not just coming up with unorthodox flavors, but out of the box concepts with ice cream as well. Sebastian's has taught me that there's so much more you could do with ice cream, apart from just scooping it into your mouth (Which I do quite masterfully, might I add). 

     And for the summer, they're going to unleash some new treats that you will most definitely go crazy for.. Sebastian's Fruitcicles and Ala Mode Bars!

    So this is the day that I ate 16 bars of Ice Cream.

Its Eddie Murphy circa 1983, so expect foul language

        My love affair with Ice Cream began as a child, growing up in the United States. I can totally relate to what Eddie Murphy said about how kids react to the sound of the Ice Cream truck.

            I was one of those kids that would drop everything they're doing at the sound of the Ice Cream Truck coming!  Even when I got older, my friends and I would chase down the Selecta cart, no matter how annoying his jingle was.

          Let's just say if I don't get a scoop of ice cream at least once a week.. I get a little cranky.

        Which is why I'm extremely excited to tell you all about the latest lines of frozen treats that Sebastian's Sorbetero Supreme, Chef Ian Carandang, has conceptualized for us!

FRUITCICLES

       The popularity of Ice Candy is a testament of how Pinoys love Ice Cream. If the real thing is not available, Filipinos will gladly suck on Frozen juice stuffed into a small plastic bag in an effort to beat the scorching heat.  

     Getting inspiration from Fany Gerson's "Newyorkina Paletas", Chef Ian realized that he had the tools, starting with the freshest of fruits, to make a line up of healthier fruit based pops that highlight local produce and opened up a whole new world of flavors that allowed him to flex his creative muscles! 

     The result?  

      Sebastian's Fruitcicles! 

        Though the Mango is the pride of the Philippines, I try to stay away from it because of my hyper acidity. But with the MANGO MANIA FRUITCICLE, that was not going to happen. Made with ripe Mango, with soft mango chunks, this was incredibly comforting and refreshing at the same time.

 

       I'm not a huge fan of desserts with Coconut, but I really enjoyed the BUKO FRUITCICLE. The Buko Juice is boiled and reduced by half to intensify the flavor, then a dollop of coconut cream is added to give it gentle richness, with buko strings added for a little added texture.

       The STRAWBERRY FRUITCICLE is made with fresh strawberries from Trinidad Valley.. Since the strawberry was in its pure form, the acid of the fruit was prominent. 

       There are a few fruits that I am not fond of at all, and Avocado is one of them. My yaya used to make something similar to Sebastian's AVOCADO FRUITCICLE for my sisters when we were young. It was a simple mixture of fresh avocado and Milk, 

Sebastian's AVOCADO FRUITCICLE  for my sisters.. 

it was a simple mixture of fresh Avocado and milk. 

     As the hot months have rolled on, the Watermelon has endeared itself more and more to me, so I took an instant liking to the WATERMELON MINT FRUITCICLE. 

   It's fresh watermelon infused with a touch of fresh mint, giving your taste buds a little tingle after every lick. (There wasn't any other more wholesome way to put it, sorry.)

          If you like sour fruits, then you will definitely enjoy the KAMIAS FRUITCICLE, as it was made with fresh Kamias fruit. 

It was a little too much for me though hehe

   One of favorites of the day, had to be the PINEAPPLE TOASTED COCONUT FRUITCICLE. This was deliciously sweet Pineapple, that had the right touches of acid on it, brilliantly infused with smokey, toasted coconut bits. It was phenomenal.

     Chef Ian, a lover of all things Berries took the liberty of making a MIXED BERRY HIBISCUS FRUITCICLE. This is fresh Strawberry, Blueberry, Raspberry and Blackberries infused with hibiscus tea, and into a frozen treat. A bit too tart for me, but Rina enjoyed it.

ALA MODE BARS

        No one was more excited to release Sebastian's Ala Mode Bars than Chef Ian. (Well, Maybe next to me, that is.) After a year of trial and errors (How does one get that job.. "Sebastian's Taste Tester"?), he has finally come up with the product the way he envisioned it. 

      After seeing a lot of those "Cake Pops" stalls sprouting around the food market scene, Chef Ian toyed with the idea of doing something similar, but with the infusion of ice cream.. making it a Cake Bar.. Ala Mode!

      We know that Sebastian's is the real deal when it comes to Ice cream. The brilliance in Ala Mode Bars bars begins with how the cake does not yield to the temperature. The consistency remained firm yet soft to the bite, despite it being encased in a frozen cream bar.  

           The VANILLA BROWNIE ALA MODE BAR is amazing. It's Chocolate Cake and Vanilla Ice Cream, dipped in Vanilla white chocolate and Dark Chocolate, topped with cake sprinkles. 

          AMAZING. 

         Rina, a lover of all things Dark Chocolate, loved the FUDGE CAKE ALA MODE BAR. The Chocolate Cake is mixed with gooey fudge, and Dark Chocolate Ice Cream, dipped in Dark Chocolate and Milk Chocolate and topped with miniature chocolate chips. 

      My personal favorite is the CARAMEL CAKE ALA MODE BAR. Have you ever tried Estrel’s Caramel Cake? Ever wondered what it would taste like to have it done, Ala Mode? Well this creation proves that if your heart is pure and you believe that there is good in the world, dreams do come true.

  A cake based inspired by Estrel's legendary Pound Cake, is mixed with salted caramel, then Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream, dipped in butterscotch and topped with cake crumbs and a caramel drizzle. 

   This, my friends, is one of the best things ever. And in case you were going to ask... YES, it is way better than that other "Gold" Ice cream Bar out in the market... by a million miles.

 Another playful flavor is the BLACK FOREST ALA MODE BAR. This time, the Chocolate cake is lightly flavored with Cherry Brandy, Maraschino cherries and Vanilla Ice Cream, then dipped in Dark Chocolate and Vanilla white chocolate, and garnished with shaved dark chocolate and a sliced cherry.

         The STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE ALA MODE BAR is Pound cake and strawberry sorbet dipped in white chocolate infused with orange zest, topped with strawberry gelee and a slice of strawberry. Not a big fan of Sorbets so this one didn't endear itself to me as much as the others.

    What caught me by surprise was how much I enjoyed the UBE MACAPUNO CAKE ALA MODE BAR. Delicious Ube Cake, macapuno strings and coconut ice cream was dipped in Ube white chocolate and vanilla white chocolate, garnished with coconut flakes. Proudly Pinoy flavors that tasted nothing short of awesome.

      Another Pinoy flavor was the MANGO TORTE. Mango Cake and Mango Sorbet were dipped in white chocolate infused with orange zest, then topped with mango gelee and a slice of mango. Like the strawberry, I enjoyed the "Cream Bars" more, but no doubt, good stuff. 

      If you have heard of Tres Leches, can you imagine how it would taste as a cream bar? Well, the TRES LECHES ALA MODE BAR is as mind-blowingly good as I imagined it would be. Pound Cake soaked in condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream with Tres Leches Ice Cream, dipped in vanilla white chocolate and topped with cake crumbs and a tres leches drizzle.

     I was deeply honored to be among the first to taste test Sebastian's newest releases. Tasting 16 bars of ice cream in one sitting is no simple feat, but for some reason Sebastian's made it easy (Don't worry, I didn't finish them all). 

   One new flavor will be rolled out from each line every week, until they are all out in the market.. I strongly suggest you get in line and try these bad boys immediately because You're never going to see Ice Cream the same way ever again. 

Sebastian's Ice Cream is Located at:

PODIUM

4rth Floor Podium Mall

Ortigas Center

KATIPUNAN

G/F Regis Center (across Ateneo)

MALL OF ASIA

2nd Floor SM Mall of Asia

Pasay City

If you want to know which flavors are out this week, Like Sebastian's on Facebook!