If there is one food or snack that is often readily associated with summer (and summer heat, to be more specific), it’s probably ice cream. But if you’re tired of the usual flavors and they all just seem, well, vanilla to you, then it’s time to look for something different. Something with a zing, perhaps? Something like the chill and spiciness of the Sili Ice Cream, right where its home is in Legazpi City, Albay.
There’s a major upside to being a person that is not picky when it comes to food: you can be more adventurous with your palate. This means you’d be more open to trying out food that you’ve never had before, or much less even thought existed.
Just like when we were in Davao City and I got a taste of the “lechon ice cream”. Now that one, I was a bit on the fence about because I think I’d have a more decisive verdict on how it is if I tried some from other makers. (Basically, it was your usual flavored ice cream, with tiny bits of lechon – or roasted pig – skin mixed in, and topped with several strips of the skin as well.)
This time it is another ice cream – the Sili Ice Cream. Yes, that’s ice cream, with chilli pepper flavored in.
A Must-Taste, Or So They Say
In one of my previous visits to Legazpi City, we purposefully went to “Red Labuyo“, this restaurant right beside Daraga Church, for their Sili Ice Cream. But it was closed at the time. I vaguely remember our driver that time suggesting another restaurant that is famous for their sili ice cream, but our group was already disappointed at the failed first attempt, so we decided to just go straight to Cagsawa, and forget about the Sili Ice Cream. (Read my posts about our visit to the Daraga Church and the Cagsawa Ruins.)
Fast forward several months later. I’m back in Legazpi, and the Sili Ice Cream came back to my consciousness. And I heard the name 1st Colonial Grill, and remembered that was the name of the restaurant that our driver told us about.
So when we arrived in Legazpi City and checked in at Andamar Citihomes, our first order of business was to grab lunch. So we headed to the newly opened Ayala Mall and lo and behold, there’s a 1st Colonial Grill there!
We decided to have our lunch here, and have Sili Ice Cream for dessert.
1st Colonial Grill claims to be the “Home of the Original Sili Ice Cream”, having originated the concept and the product in Bicol. Check out their menu below.
Yes, your eyes didn’t trick you. Their Sili Ice Cream has three levels. LEVEL 1 has just a little bit of a bite to it. Level 2 is moderately spicy. Level 3 is very spicy.
But wait, there’s something they didn’t include in the menu. They have a Level 4, and they call it the Volcano Level. According to the staff we had a chat with, only a handful of people were able to finish an entire serving of the Volcano Level.
One serving has three scoops. Sili Ice Cream has this pink color, which looks really inviting, and I sometimes wonder why they didn’t just color it a fiery red.
Oh, the indicator of the level of spiciness is the number of chillies stuck on the ice cream once it’s served.
I went for the Level 2 the first time (I thought going Level 1 is no fun at all.)
On our last day in Legazpi, we went to another 1st Colonial Grill branch for lunch and made it a point to have another round of their sili ice cream. I just stuck to Level 2, but shared a Level 3 with someone else. One of us, however, ordered the Level 4. Hmm, I’m not quite sure if he was able to finish it, If he did, it was with a lot of pain and effort, I’m sure.
Here’s the Volcano Level one.
So…. what did I think of it? First, look at this before and after.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I remember when I tried the flavored sili halo halo at Cagsawa. I thought it was just your regular halo halo, with some chili extract added, so that the ice-cold juice afterwards will have you feel some heat burning the roof of your mouth and down to your throat.
Or that time when I tried the sili kape at Dinawis, where I drank brewed coffee with hot chili mixed in, so there’s the heat of the water and the chilis.
These two instances, I felt like the chili was just an ingredient added after the end of the food preparation process. They brewed the coffee, then added the chili extract. They gathered all the halo halo ingredients, then mixed in the chili extract.
The Sili Ice Cream, however… I think the chili extract was added from the very beginning of the process of making the ice cream. It was not an afterthought; it was the main component.
So this spicy cold thing is not joking around. Even the Level 2 was quite spicy already, and while I do like some spice, my level of tolerance is not 100% for Level 3. Maybe the most for me would be Level 2.5, if there is one?
I’d probably be bored with Level 1, but Level 2 is more my speed.
Ice Cream Lovers Rejoice!
Here’s great news for those who are not up to going the spicy route with their ice cream. The non-spicy ice cream flavors are also pretty good! Of course, we just had to try some of them, and we picked those that we normally don’t see everywhere.
The violet one is Gabi Ice Cream (Taro Ice Cream, basically) while the green one is the Malunggay Ice Cream (or Moringa Ice Cream).
Here is one that I really liked: the Kalamansi Ice Cream. I loved the distinct taste of calamansi (kinda like kumquat) with every bite.
Oh, and here’s another winner! The Tutong na Bigas Ice Cream. Literally, it’s “burnt rice” ice cream. Don’t ask me why, but I loved how it had that slight aroma of burnt rice and when you bite into it, it’s almost like tasting a bit of burnt rice as well. Love it~
I don’t have photos, but we also tried the Pipino Ice Cream. Which stumped me, because pipino or cucumber does not have any strong flavors at all, and essentially water. Maybe that’s the one unremarkable ice cream flavor that we tried.
If we had been able to go back there a couple more times, I’d probably have tried the other ones. I’m still curious about their Salabat (Ginger) Ice Cream.
1st Colonial Grill Offerings
Just to help you out, here are some of the other offerings you’d definitely enjoy at 1st Colonial Grill. (And no, this is not sponsored.)
Pinangat was highly recommended. 1st Colonial’s definition: “Layer of fresh taro leaves slowly simmered in coconut cream made more delicious with morsels of pork and salted shrimp”.
Among the several dishes we tried, this was another highly recommended one, especially for large groups. It’s their Tinapa Fried Rice. Tinapa is a Philippine delicacy that is essentially “fish cooked or preserved through the process of smoking”.
It’s kumpletos recados, IMO. It’s got the tinapa flakes, hard-boiled eggs, some herbs, diced tomatoes, strips of green mango, and mixed in with fried rice.
From what I’ve gleaned in our short stay in Legazpi, 1st Colonial Grill is one of the more established names, although there are a lot of other noteworthy restaurants that you should most definitely check out.
If you ask me, though, your Legazpi or Albay visit won’t be complete if you don’t go on a Sili Ice Cream #foodventure.
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