Are you an ice cream lover? Head to this place in Mumbai to try international flavours

Dulce de leche, Swiss chocolate, and Japanese matcha

As we all scream for ice cream in the sweltering October heat, our quick pit-stop at the newly-opened Amul Ice Cream Lounge in Palladium Mall took us around the globe in cups and cones. The USP of the lounge, which serves different variations of the popular Amul ice cream party packs, is that the flavours are now available for a party of one. Each flavour, we further learn, is inspired by and named after a country.

The expansive space follows a bottle green theme, and has comfortable couches along its border. Chairs of a similar colour tone are placed in the centre of the space, which opens up to the third floor of the mall's East Zone section. Occasionally, people drop by with shopping bags in hand, to relax and indulge in a scoop or two. We begin with tasting flavours at the counter. First up, is Irani kulfi, which is really just malai kulfi in an ice cream avatar. We take a pass, and try the other flavours like Italian fudge, American mud pie, English apple, Persian peach, Turkish coffee. Finally, we order a scoop of Swiss chocolate, dulce de leche, Egyptian cantaloupe and Japanese matcha. Each scoop (200 ml), irrespective of the flavours, costs Rs 199. An extra Rs 25 is charged for cones.

Egyptian cantaloupe. Pics/Devanshi Doshi

Swiss chocolate is a balanced mix of bitter and sweet. For those with a bitter palate, we suggest you opt for Belgian chocolate; and for the sweet-toothed, American mud pie will make for the perfect choice. Dulce de leche also leans towards extra sweet; it is caramel flavoured, and sprinkled with almond bites. Japanese matcha, on the other hand, is a flavour which is sure to impress the growing demographic of matcha lovers in the city. It tastes bland at first, but just like the famous Japanese tea, the ice cream leaves a bitter-sweet aftertaste. The last flavour we tried, Egyptian cantaloupe gets all the votes at our table. The fruity melon flavour is the way to get a sinful respite from the heat.

Most of these flavours represent a specialty from the country they represent. While we enjoyed the name play and the rare flavours, we think it is a big miss to leave Indian flavours out of the mix. Amul's already-present gulab jamun ice cream (party pack), for instance, could have been a popular favourite. The lounge also offers select ice cream milkshakes (not allowed for takeaways). Despite the range of diverse flavours, you can only order a scoop in one size and not mix-and-match flavours in sundaes, which, we believe, would have bound to be the ideal crowd-pleaser.

Amul Ice Cream Lounge
At 3rd floor, East Zone, Palladium Mall, Lower Parel.
Time 10 am to 11 pm
Call 7679856529

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'''' Exceptional, ''' Excellent, '' very Good, ' Good, Average. Amul Ice Cream Lounge didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals.