An Encounter of Popsicles.

We here at YAMU love our taste-offs. And what's there not to love? A dozen of the same kind of food on a single table, which would probably destroy our love for it for the next couple of months? YASSSS!

Thus, come last Tuesday morning with its dark skies and drizzles of rain, we set off to get more than our share of ice cream popsicles in an attempt to see what's good.

Introduction

Here are a few pointers before we begin.

This list contains all the popsicles (with cream) we could find in 3 different supermarkets.
Brand-wise, it contains Cargills and Elephant House ice cream popsicles.
As we live in a tropical country. No matter how cold we are, ice cream melts. Viewer discretion is advised as some of the photos might be rather grotesque and undoubtedly horrendous to look at. We apologise in advance.

Now, since we've made ourselves pretty clear regarding how this may harm you, here goes!

Left: Chocolate Wonder Bar (Elephant House), Right: Ice Chok (Cargills Magic)

To those of you who haven't heard/eaten a Wonder Bar; seriously, what are you even doing with your life? The Elephant House Wonder Bar with Chocolate Ice Cream (Rs. 50) happens to be the juvenile version of the OG of Ice creams in SL. For generations, we've seen multitudes of cinema-goers screaming at the guy who brings snacks in the middle of the movie for this beloved (kinda artificial tasting) delicacy. While we're not head over heels in love with it, the fact that it's a classic proceeds us.

The Cargills Magic Ice Chok in Vanilla (Rs. 50) is the slightly chubbier, but a creamier cousin of the Wonder Bar. To be very honest, we prefer this to the Elephant House version, but, that's just us.

Left: Magic Faluda (Cargills Magic), Right: 2 Bar (Elephant House)

I have a bit of a soft spot for the Cargills Magic Faluda (Rs. 30) Ice cream because, once, a long time ago when it was somewhere near the Rs. 20's, it used to be an interval favourite. But, let us not dwell on that. Staying true to its origin, the Cargills Magic Faluda remains, to this day, the same sickly sweet, vibrantly pink stick of nostalgia which is perfect, if you're looking for a good sugar fix.

The 2 Bar Faluda by Elephant House is essentially the same thing as the Cargills Faluda Magic. Slightly more pocket-sized, it proved to be slightly sweeter than the Cargills one. But, all right, nonetheless.

Left: Divul (Cargills Magic), Right: Fruit and Nut (Cargills Magic)

Divul and Ice cream, as strange as it sounds, is a pretty popular concept amongst us locals. Thus imagine the uproar caused when the public found out that there's a possibility of getting it straight up for Rs. 30 from the Cargills next to the bus halt? Nonetheless, while the vanilla ice cream was as lovely as we remember it to be, the divul didn't have as much sourness as we would have liked. But, beggars can't be choosers no? It's still a definite favourite of ours on this list. For sure.

Why Fruit and Nut Ice Cream is green is beyond us. But, Combined with a stick and a white chocolate coating, who cares! Plus, the aforesaid additions actually managed to upgrade this every-grandparents-favourite to a more kid-friendly approach.

Top: Vanilla Wonder Bar (Elephant House), Bottom: Mixed Berry Wonder Bar (Elephant House)

The Wonder Bar with Vanilla Ice Cream (Rs. 50) – a popsicle that will probably never die in the eyes of the people, it promised us a slightly artificial version of chocolate, delicately encasing creamy yellow vanilla ice cream – which they delivered successfully.

The Mixed Berry Wonder Bar is a recent member of the Elephant House, and it was quite good. Yeah, it tasted mostly like vanilla ice cream with a hint of the sweetness of the berry, but upon further observation, a delightfully gooey sauce erupted from somewhere in the middle, which essentially became the berry on top. Plus, those strange black dots at the bottom of it turned out to be berry pieces. Totally worth the Rs. 60.

From Left: Fantastick -Chocolate (Cargills Magic), Fantastick -Vanilla (Cargills Magic), Wonder Choc Shock (Elephant House)

The final 3 on our list happen to be the chocolate and vanilla flavours of the Fantastick range from Cargills and the Chocolate Flavoured Wonder Choc Shock. Clocking in at a smooth Rs. 75, the Fantasticks turned out to be two of our favourites. The chocolate more so than the Vanilla. While the Vanilla did maintain the role of 'strongest shell', the chocolate tasted heaps better. There is no such thing as too much chocolate, am I right?

The Wonder Choc Shock, on the other hand, came at a cheaper Rs. 60. While the coating tasted slightly more chocolatey than the others, it came with a hint of a bitterness that we're used to in cooking chocolate.

The Verdict

While certainly being chillier than the usual, this particular rendezvous just as wonderful as any other. Nonetheless, decisions must be made. Thus we bring you our top 3 (in no particular order).