Jolly’s Ice Cream

Located in a corner of the HiLife carpark, Jolly’s Ice Cream aspires to serve the best yet. Starting off with just 5 flavours in an ordinary kitchen, this tiny ice cream joint had us amazed. Upon inquiring the staff about Jolly’s Ice Cream, we learned that it’s inception took place in Nittambuwa and made its way to Battaramulla in a matter of months. They also mentioned that the ice cream is purely home made and suited to fit vegetarians since the ice cream consists zero animal fat and gelatine. Due to this you might want to keep a couple of paper napkins on standby since the ice cream melts in a matter of seconds, so it WILL get messy.

Mixed Scoops – Rs.210

Bubble Gum

This is definitely NOT your conventional ice cream. Topped off with colourful sprinkles, this blue scoop of ice cream was surely a sight to see.  As our first ice cream, this blew our minds! Remember when as a kid, you would always want bubble gum from a roadside shop in order to collect the funky tattoos that came with them? This tasted exactly like that, except in the form of ice cream! That’s two things a child would love, right there. What really had us swooning over this scoop was how the flavour developed on our palette. At first you taste the sweetness of the ice cream following which the bubble gum flavour just bursts through. This scoop lived up to its name, didn’t disappoint and was definitely out of the ordinary, so I suggest you try this if you’re looking to venture from the usual ice cream flavours.

Cardamom Aroma

The unique thing about Jolly’s is how they mainly focus on customizing their ice cream by incorporating local spices and herbs, which actually works! Compared to the Bubble Gum, this flavour was on a more moderate sweetness level. However the topping of cashew nuts helped alter the taste and added more texture to this light, creamy scoop of herby goodness. This was the first time I had Cardamom in something other than the usual rice and curries, and I must say, it was amazing!

Mango

This scoop had its very own mango topping to match the mango flavour, bringing out its essence and enhancing the proper karthakolomban taste. The topping was extremely fresh and had just the right amount of acidity in it to subtly cut through the sweetness of the ice cream. One thing about mango ice cream is how most of them would have little fibrous strings that you find in a mango, which would get a little too annoying since you had to pull out a couple of threads with each spoonful. Not how I like to enjoy my ice cream. However, Jolly’s mango ice cream is thread free! It tastes very fresh and does not have a single piece sticking in it, so you can leisurely enjoy your ice cream.

Vanilla Nut Cracker – Rs.210

Since we were trying out relatively unusual flavours, we decided to get back to the classics. You can never go wrong with Vanilla, right? 😊 compared to the vanilla ice cream I’ve had, Jolly’s vanilla ice cream is more milky, appearing to be more white than yellow. Three vanilla scoops, topped off with cashew nuts and a home made chocolate sauce (with a hint of coconut in it), had us intrigued. The chocolate sauce solidified due to the cool ice cream, once again bringing a difference in texture along with the cashew nuts. Compared to the previous flavours we had, this seemed rather mundane; however it was not bad. The milk came off sweet and smooth and the chocolate and nuts added a little more flavour along with the mild hint of vanilla.

Waffle Cones

Butterscotch and Swiss Chocolate – Rs. 200

Since we were told that a lot of adults liked the Butterscotch and Swiss Chocolate,  we decided to try them out in a waffle cone. With the butterscotch on top, Swiss Chocolate on the bottom, topped off with cashew nuts and a chocolate chip cookie for garnish, the waffle cone look Insta-ready!  The butterscotch flavour was very mild and  the consistency was very light, in contrast to the thick, dark chocolate scoop on the bottom – so if you don’t have a big sweet tooth, I suggest you try these flavours. The waffle cone was extremely crunchy and did a perfect job in regards to the variety in texture along with the cashew nuts. The cookie though, was very sad. It was rather hard than crunchy and it tasted very stale. It did not match up to the quality of the waffle cone and we just ended up having with cone without it.

Blueberry and Strawberry – Rs. 180

This cone looked too pretty to be consumed! With the blueberry scoop on top, topped off with chocolate sauce and chocolate chips; and the strawberry scoop on the bottom, covered in fresh, thin cut pieces of strawberry, we just had to update our Instagrams and Snapchat! We disposed of the stale cookie once again, because we didn’t want it ruining this lovely concoction of colour and flavour. The two flavours blend so well together and the difference in textures was baffling! The chocolate chips added texture to the smooth, creamy ice cream in which the pieces of strawberries bought it’s own crunch and acidity to our palettes. Not to forget the waffle cone, cleansing our palettes with its crunchy, waffle taste, only to take another bite off a wonderful mix of crunch and flavour.

Single Scoops – Rs.70 each  

Kiri Kopi/Coffee

This was by far, the best coffee based ice cream that I have ever had! It put me back in time, to the evenings where my grandma would hand me a nice glass of milky iced coffee. Jolly’s specialises in making their own topping for each flavour, so we weren’t surprised when we learnt that the topping we had was a coffee sauce although it looked like some sort of chocolate sauce. This sauce however is extremely rich in flavour! The coffee taste is strong (but not overpowering) and the sauce was bittersweet. Along with the sauce it also had cashew nuts, bringing in a nutty flavour. If you need some sort of caffeine on a sunny day but it’s  too hot to have a hot cup of coffee, make your way to Jolly’s because this scoop is worth the effort.

Blueberry

We already tasted the blueberry scoop in the previously mentioned waffle cones, however what made us try this again was its own blueberry sauce since we learnt that each scoop came with its own topping. One spoonful into this and it hit us like a truck! Compared to the previous blueberry scoop, we believed that the blueberry topping was what brought out the true flavour of the ice cream. So if you’re going for blueberry, make sure you get the blueberry topping as well.

Pineapple

After having the blueberry scoop, we went ahead with the pineapple scoop with its very own pineapple topping. Just like the blueberry, this scoop did not fail to amaze. The topping tasted like freshly squeezed pineapple and the creamy ice cream just created a little soft blanket in our mouths in which the cashew nuts cut through.

Jolly’s could use a little work around its outlet since there were only 3 measly tables to sit at. The kids however have a little playground to play in while they wait/enjoy their ice cream. Considering that Jolly’s has only been up and running for 3 months and is a take away ice cream outlet, I guess it’s not a necessity, but it sure would make the wait less miserable for adults. The staff members on the other hand, were very helpful and well trained so we didn’t have to wait too long to get our ice cream, even though there were other customers walking in and out.

Tip: Ask for their Cardamom milk tea, it’s the best around. You’re welcome.