Ice cream has always played an important role for anyone living in the Philippines. We've all had our favorite ice cream and ice cream-adjacent treats back in our younger days-ones we've unwrapped in giddy excitement and licked fast before it melts away, inevitably getting our fingers sticky from their sugary residue.
Fast forward to the present day, a number of our childhood ice cream favorites no longer exist and have been replaced by other brands. But we have to admit: every now and then, especially when summertime comes along, we can't help but reminisce and miss the days when these favorites still existed.
So while we don't have an actual time machine to take us back, we've listed down some discontinued ice creams so we can all stroll down memory lane together.
These are the discontinued ice cream desserts that need to make a comeback:
Funwich
Ask any Gen Z for an ice cream sandwich and they'd probably answer Dairy Queen, but for the Millennials and older, it all started with the Presto Funwich. This is an ice cream sandwich that uses dark chocolate cookies for its buns and a thick layer of ice cream in the center for its filling.
The Funwich ice cream filling either came in vanilla or dark chocolate flavor and each pack was priced at not more than P20 back in the 90s.
Selecta Paddle Pop
Selecta's Paddle Pop may look like vanilla ice cream that is tinted with rainbow colors, but it was much sweeter than that-sweeter than vanilla. If you try to recall its taste, Paddle Pop was cloyingly sweet because it was actually a toffee and butter caramel-flavored popsicle with swirls of yellow, blue, and pink.
The last post we saw from Selecta Philippines dates back to 2015. So yes, that's how long the popsicle has been M.I.A. from the ice cream freezers.
Nestlé Pops
Nestlé Pops came in a bright red tub and inside were flat-bottomed, teardrop-shaped vanilla ice cream pieces coated in hard chocolate. This ice cream was easy to eat as it was less messy to eat, the only "downside" was that it was such a shareable treat that you might feel like you have to split it among friends. But hey, no judgments if you decide to have a whole pack to yourself.
This was such a flex back in the day as this wasn't exactly the most affordable, budget-friendly dessert for most students.
McDonald's McFlurry with M&M's Candies
McDonald's used to have two McFlurry flavors that weren't seasonal-the McFlurry with Oreo, and the McDonald's McFlurry with M&M's Candies. We're focusing on the latter. This dessert mixes their vanilla soft serve with rainbow M&Ms, which after a while, bleed its colors into the melting white ice cream.
The former had a huge fan base which is probably why it's still in the market, but maybe if McDonald's sees more people clamoring for its return... Maybe, just maybe, they'd bring it back.
Jollibee Swirly Bitz
The other cookies and cream ice cream way back when was Jollibee's Swirly Bitz. There wasn't anything special about Jollibee's version of a cookies and cream ice cream-it was their vanilla soft-serve with crushed cookies. But, if anything, it sure was such a classic dessert made well that it had a lasting impression.
There were times Jollibee would launch a limited edition sundae that slightly resembled the Swirly Bitz. Those, well, only were available for a short time, and what's left on the menu (permanently) is their Chocolate Sundae Twirl.
Tivoli Ice Cream Bars
Tivoli is another ice cream product by Presto and was considered the "ice cream of the masa" because of how affordable it was. It had a crunchy chocolate shell that when you bite into it, reveals a layer of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce inside.
For those who weren't born yet during Tivoli's heyday, the ice cream bar is akin to Magnum, or maybe even Twix ice cream bars.
