Cold Comfort

Soaring temperatures have ensured that every new ice cream parlour is a welcome addition to the city. Cold stone ice cream, ice cream rolls, milkshakes, sundaes, you name it and Chennai has it. The newest on the block is The Scoop Bar in Kilpauk which makes things easier by giving you the choice of selecting your favourite from a small yet tastefully designed outlet.

The paan flavoured Ice Pan Roll is an instant pick-me-up and melts in your mouth revealing the stuffing of an actual meetha pan with beetel leaves. With a vanilla base and flavourful chunks of gulkand, it is perfect for all your postmeal dessert cravings. The regular scoops in a host of new flavours are worth a try too. Give the red velvet a pass and try the Chilli Basil that packs quite a punch with blended basil leaves and a sharp aftertaste of chilli.

Experiment with chikki flavour that has a creamy vanilla base and generous amounts of peanut candy in it. Initially it reminds you of the traditional butterscotch but a bite of the crunchy jaggery laced peanuts elevates it to a whole new level. Regular flavours such as chocolate are freshly made too and are mild on sugar, unlike the packaged stuff in the market.

Looking for a dramatic end to your meal? Try the Liquid Nitrogen Dessert—a fad all over the world. You will be warned that it isn’t ice cream and will receive a set of instructions before the nitrogen arrives in a flask and is poured over a bowl of munchies like corn puffs, strawberry wafers and sticks. Once the fumes die down, you’ll be left with a seriously cold piece of wafer that tastes nothing like the original. It is worth every penny but you’ll want to stick to real ice cream for dessert.

The prices at The Scoop Bar are the next big surprise. For as little as Rs 55 per basic scoop, you can try a number of flavours in one visit.

AT 6/11, Sylvan Lodge Colony Ground Flood, 1st Cross, Kilpauk

TEL 48639949