When it's simply too hot to function in Orlando, the best thing to do is indulge in a frozen treat — and luckily, Central Florida pretty much has you covered on that front, from traditional ices and popsicles to more modern flavors and unique presentations.
Hanalei Shave Ice: Lilikoi shave ice instagram.com/hanaleishaveice Shaved ice with passion fruit syrup, topped with condensed milk and li hing mui, a dried plum powder that adds a sweet-salty-sour taste.
Sampaguita Ice Cream + Bake Shop: Banoffee pie instagram.com/sampaguitaicecream An ice cream version of the classic pie made with toffee ice cream, fresh banana chunks, a dulce de leche swirl and a cinnamon graham-cracker crunch.
Sugar Rush Marshmallows: Frozen s'mores facebook.com/sugarrushmarshmallows Flavors rotate, but we were knocked out by the Berry Cobbler: Blackberry cobbler ice cream rolled in graham-cracker crumbs, stuffed in a vanilla marshmallow, topped with berry drizzle and served on a stick.
Rainbow Sno-Cones: Cream ice rainbowsnocones.com Shaved ice and soft-serve ice cream: a classic combo that does the trick. Rainbow offers a few "cream" flavors of ice that combine especially well with soft-serve — we like the "wedding cake" flavor over chocolate ice cream.
Snowbean Café: Patbingsu instagram.com/snowbean_orlando Fluffy ice-milk in traditional Korean flavors, topped with a surprising variety of fruit, cereal, cookie chunks, brownie chunks ... the combo options are almost endless.
Matcha Café Maiko: Pandan soft-serve cafemaikoorl.com Standard flavors are green tea, vanilla and ube, but there's always a special flavor of the month, and May means pandan! OK, it's pretty similar to vanilla, but it has a lovely green color and slight herbaceous aroma. Ballers can order their cone "Shogun style," wrapped in a sheet of edible gold leaf.
La Isla del Frappe: Crackerjack cheesecake frappe facebook.com/laisladelfrappe Another menu with almost limitless opportunities to mix and match — La Isla del Frappe will top the base of your choice (ice cream blended with fresh fruit) with the toppings of your choice: Ferrero Rocher, tiny slice of cheesecake, caramel-coated corn and peanuts, slices of Swiss Rolls, chocolate-covered strawberries and many, many more.
