Right now, you probably have one burning question: namely, what the sweet fuck is ‘dirty ice cream‘? The confusing phrase is used to describe ice cream made in the hawker markets of Manila, where delicious ice cream is whipped up in a steel drum using ice and salt. Not your normal way of making ice cream, but then neither is liquid nitrogen, and look how well that turned out. To find dirty ice cream in London, you need only make a trip to Kentish Town, where Mamasons have been whipping up a storm since 2017, or to their slightly newer home over in Chinatown.
One thing they’re aren’t whipping up here is vanilla ice cream. Or strawberry, chocolate, or any of the other usual suspects. Mamasons are heavily influenced by their Filipino heritage, which means the scoops are altogether a little more unusual.
Black coconut, barako coffee, and ube (a kind of purple yam) are the flavours of choice here. Best of all, you can have them neat, or topping off an ube brownie.
Top of the dessert tree here is the bilog, which is the Filipino answer to the ice cream sandwich. A traditional milk bun is filled with ice cream, lightly toasted, and then liberally sprinkled with icing sugar. Which sounds pretty magical right about now. Mamasons aren’t afraid to experiment, and they regularly try out new desserts, all with a Filipino twist. A quick scroll through their Instagram reveals cheesecake, doughnuts, brownies, and macaroons, all of which look insanely delicious.
You’ll be blowing hot and cold if you get a scoop with a steaming cup of imported Filipino coffee, or white chocolate and ube hot cocoa. Alternatively, plump for a milkshake to really double down on the sugar intake.
And, if you thought you’d had enough of their purple magic, think again! You can make the switch to both purple hot chocolate and milkshakes at Mamasons, if you fancy a day off from their exquisite ice cream.
When it comes to ice cream this summer, you’d do well to remember the immortal wisdom of Christina Aguilera, because it’s gonna get dirty.
Find more information about Mamasons on their website.