Chocolate Ice Cream Taste-off.

Every once in a while we find ourselves here. Walking around every supermarket in the general vicinity of Nugegoda in a desperate attempt to find the extraordinary in what we consider regular.

We've covered quite a bit actually, from rolls to biscuits to maalu paan to CBP, our tastebuds have suffered dearly for these exploits (thus why we take so long to bring another one) and the time has come for yet another. Plus, why not chocolate ice cream? We all (except a couple of heathens here and there) love it and no matter what the circumstance may be, it's always been there for us. 

So, without much further ado, YAMU presents the great Chocolate Ice Cream Taste-off of 2019. 

The Rule Book

If you're an OG who's been with us throughout, you probably already know what's up. But, if you're new to the scene, worry not – we've got you covered.  This is all you need to know. 

  1. The point of us overdosing on chocolate ice cream this fine afternoon is purely to figure out which one is the best of the lot. The whole thing is very subjective, so if your favourite brand of ice cream doesn't get crowned the "Coolest Ice Cream of the Day"; calm down. It isn't the end of the world, fam!  
  2. We've tried to get our hands on every commercially made ice cream brand in Sri Lanka and if we've missed any, we apologize. And, don't expect the likes of the fancy ones charging 300 bucks a scoop to make an appearance. 
  3. The title of "Coolest Ice Cream" will be decided whilst taking the usual factors of price, texture, the strength of chocolate flavour and the office peoples general preference into account. 

Kotmale (2L= Rs. 500) – 2.5/5

Coming in at a very decent Rs. 500 for a 2l tub of ice cream, the Kotmale chocolate ice cream was a mess. Here's a close up of what it looks like when you immediately opened the tub.

Maybe it's because this was one of the only 2 tubs of Kotmale tubs available or maybe it was a bad batch or we don't even know, but the whole thing felt like that scene in Frozen when Elsa spews icicles during her main number. With most of the ice cream being shards of ice and not much cream, it wasn't our favourite. 

Elephant House (1L= Rs. 300) – 3/5

While the texture of Elephant House chocolate ice cream, was on point and the whole thing was pretty creamy but not too creamy, there was a bit of catch.

See, we do understand that chocolate comes from fruit; but getting a bizarre fruity taste is not very ideal when it comes to eating chocolate ice cream. Particularly when you're not a giant fan of fruit and chocolate. 

Nonetheless, not too sweet, with delicate chocolate essence and a texture that's hella smooth when you roll into it, it was somewhat destroyed by the aftertaste. 

Highland (1L: Rs. 270) – 3.5/5

The Highland Chocolate Ice cream looks like it was sent from the Gods in terms of how white it was. Delicately angelic in appearance, it more or less tasted like what you'd expect if you happened to make ice cream out of the kiri packet you get in schools. Creamy to a tea and perfectly sweet, this is the perfect chocolate ice cream for people who don't necessarily like chocolate but wouldn't mind getting some chocolate ice cream anyway. 

Cargills Magic (1L= Rs. 300) – 4/5

Cargills Magic has been one of the OG ice cream brands in Sri Lanka that we all pretty much made our mind about being the best of the lot. And the thing is, even this time around, they did not disappoint. With a super creamy texture and the perfect balance of what commercial ice cream brands consider is the perfect ice cream (excessive amounts of milk, lots of sugar and a wee bit of chocolate), we loved it. Plus, there's always this sense of nostalgia that comes with eating Cargills Magic ice cream. 

Arpico (1L: Rs. 275) – 4.5/5

Not gonna lie, we weren't expecting to like this one. Maybe it's the excessive amounts of brainwashing we've gone through by eating tubs and tubs of Cargills Magic in the middle of the night. But, things are a-changing and we're so so happy they are. 

As smooth as a pat of butter and having the consistency of a mousse, the chocolate ice cream was just utterly beautiful.

It's got more chocolate than any of the others, it proceeds to get darker when you keep it outside and there are chocolate chips in it! It does not get much better than this. Plus, for Rs.275, it's a friggin steal! 

The Score

*Insert Drumroll 

Brand  Score 
Elephant House 3/5
Cargills Magic  4/5
Arpico 5/5
Kotmale 2.5/5
Highland 3.5/5

Conclusion

And once again the underdog seizes the day as Arpico surprisingly beats all our other favs to become a YAMU certified "Coolest Ice Cream of the Day".

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