What’s a sound that sparks joy for you? For us, it’s definitely the ringing of the sorbetero’s bell to signal that his colorful cart is now roaming our street to deliver the day’s dose of “dirty ice cream,” as our elders used to warn us against. This very same tradition is what inspired the makers of the artisanal ice cream brand Papa Diddi’s to come up with a similar venture called Kalye Sorbetes, a homemade frozen dairy line with names and flavors that are as witty as they are sweet.
Just like the traditional dirty ice cream, Kalye Sorbetes is made with cow’s milk and crafted in small batches. Putting further emphasis on the “kalye” in its name, the brand’s ice cream flavors are named after popular streets and areas in Metro Manila.
There’s Chocolocan named after the city of heroes itself, Caloocan. The ice cream’s rich milk chocolate flavor is achieved with a combination of local tablea and chocolate bits. Meanwhile, the Pasig neighborhood Manggahan is immortalized through Kalye Sorbetes’ mango-flavored ice cream with dried mango bits.
If being locked down at home has left you missing the hustle and bustle in Manila’s famous University Belt, you might want to serve yourself a scoop of UBelt. This ice cream’s flavor is a local favorite: ube halaya studded with cheddar cheese bits.
Another cheesy treat is Kalye Sorbetes’ Quezo Avenue flavor which is inspired by the 7.1 kilometer Quezon City thoroughfare that connects the Elliptical Road and Welcome Rotonda. This ice cream takes on the quintessential cheese flavor you often find in your friendly neighborhood sorbetero’s cart.
Lastly, the Manila street-inspired flavor Kape del Pan is made from arabica beans and spiked with bread bits, a frozen creation that takes after the Filipino habit of dipping bread in their coffee.
In an interview with F&B Report, Kalye ice cream’s owner Paul Perez reveals that Kalye Sorbetes will soon launch avocado and mantecado flavors as well.
Currently, each flavor is available in half gallons for P495, though Kalye Sorbetes says the company is preparing to package the frozen dairy treats in pint sizes soon. Fill up this form to order ice cream from Kalye Sorbetes, or check out its website here for more details.