Categories
2020 news

Filipino “sorbetes” truck wins two national awards in Netherlands

By Gabriela Baron

A Filipino sorbetes (ice cream) truck selling mango-flavored ice cream has won two national awards in the Netherlands.

(Luneta Ice Cream Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)

(Luneta Ice Cream Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)

Luneta Ice Cream bagged the “2020 Food Truck of the Year” for the Ice Cream category and the “Gold Award for Excellence in Product and Service”.

“We are super happy with your votes, shares, and for the all-out support of everyone all over the world. Your super support and cheers made us winners,” Luneta Ice Cream wrote in a Facebook caption.

The company was launched by Rhea Topacio and Dennis Rogacion in 2015. The couple first started selling their ice cream only to friends and families in the Netherlands.

Today, Luneta Ice Cream is available in 30 selected retailers and restaurants in the Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, and Lithuania.

The food truck’s ice cream is available in different flavors such as ube (purple yam), pandan, kapeng barako (Batangas coffee), mais (corn), mango, and macapuno (coconut sport).

“We are excited to see more of you this year and we are hoping to tour with your favorite Luneta Ice Cream in your country soon,” it added.

The De Nederlandse HORECA (Hotels, Restaurants, and Cafe) Prijzen recognizes the best businesses in the Netherlands through public voting.

Sorbetes, sometimes called “dirty ice cream” in the Philippines, is the country’s traditional variation of ice cream. It is usually served in small wafers, sugar cones, and bread buns.

Categories
2015 news

The Sweet Taste of Home

luneta ice cream filipino expat

For many Filipinos, Rizal Park is not only a historical park located in the heart of Manila. Commonly known as Luneta, Rizal Park has become an integral part of the Filipino society through the years, almost synonymous to family days and weekends out.

Summers spent in Luneta conjure up images of sweltering heat made bearable by the cool breeze from the Manila Bay, of colourful balloons in different shapes and sizes sold by vendors along the Rizal monument, Sunday picnics at the Japanese garden, children gathered around the cart of Mamang Sorbetero waiting for their crispy cone of sorbetes and ice cream on a bun, or eating barbecue and hotdogs from the stalls along the Quirino Grand Stand while watching the sunset of Manila Bay.

The memories of summers in the Philippines are what inspired the couple Dennis Rogacion and Rhea Topacio of Dea Chocolates to come up with a line of artisan ice cream they lovingly named after Luneta. With flavours such as ube macapuno, halo-halo, mango and buko pandan, Luneta ice cream not only whets your appetite but also reminds of the beautiful time of growing up in the Philippines.

“We want to offer everyone, Filipinos and Europeans alike, the kind of food that makes someone feel good. Our products give you that cozy feeling, whether you are having a bad day or enjoying a good time. For our Filipino customers, it gives them a sense of being home, a reminder of how home tastes like.” says Rogacion.

Staying true to the tradition of home-made products like Dea chocolates and Taartini Designer Cupcakes, they only use natural ingredients in making the base of Luneta ice cream, giving each scoop a delightfully creamy and silky texture.

“Our ice creams are made with no additional artificial emulsifiers or stabilizers. Most flavours are hard to find and some are even unique to the European palate. You could say that this is
our way of introducing the goodness of Filipino food to the Europeans albeit in a very sweet way,” says Topacio.

Current available flavours of Luneta ice cream are Buko Pandan (creamy pandan with coconut bits) Halo-halo (a mix of white and red beans, nata de coco, kaong, Jack fruit, banana and milk), Mango (made from Philippine mango, the best in the world), Ube Macapuno (purple yam with coconut sport strings) and the classic Rocky Road (with roasted nuts and marshmallows).

Luneta Home-made Ice Cream is available in selected restaurants and retail shops in Europe. They are also open to work with caterers and wholesalers upon request. For more information, visit www.lunetaicecream.com or contact them via email info@lunetaicecream.com or call +316 218 202 88.