Summer time – it is hot, humid and we need to cool down. What better than a nice ice cream cone to make that happen? In Montreal, we have been spoiled over the past few years in terms of number of great ice cream shops that have opened up across the different neigborhoods. Wherever you live, you can get great artisan ice cream. I have already written about a few – my current champion is Dalla Rose by far – but over the past few weeks, I have tried a few other ones.
First up, Pandan Creamery moved this summer from their original location to Notre-Dame Street just west of the Atwater Market. Pandan brought to Montreal the Thai rolled up style of ice cream where they make it in front of you on frozen metal plaques and then create rolled-up logs in a cup for you.
Presentation wise, it is beautiful – almost rose-like in look – but that presentation takes time as it takes about 5 minutes for each order to be made. Not the end of the world but if there is a line-up when you arrive, remember that when you wonder why the line seems to last a while. The flavours changed daily – there were 8 different ones when we went. We decided to go with the mango ice cream topped with coconut flakes. The mango came through nicely however the texture is a little more brittle and grainy than I like personally. The other issue is that to eat it, you basically need it to melt a bit because there is no easy to eat rolled-up ice cream with a spoon. That makes Pandan a cool spot but with certain caveats for me.
Pandan Creamery
3504 Notre-Dame St W
514 588 6501
Next, I finally tried La Diperie! Now, I know I am a few years behind on this one. What was originally one location on Pine Ave. has exploded this year as they franchised so now, in Quebec alone, there are 21 locations now. The opening of a St-Henri location made it easier for me to finally see what all the buzz is about.
La Diperie is know for their ridiculous dipped soft served cones topped with tons of topping. The amount of choices is a bit ridiculous in terms of both dips and toppings. Plus, they have speciality cones. I decided to go for one of their speciality cone and went for their Lime Key Pie sundae with lemonade lime dip and tea cookie topping. The soft serve vanilla texture wise was great – reminded me of classic Dairy Queen of my youth. Flavour was good as well. The dip was very flavourful and very mimicked key lime pie very well. The consistent of the dip allowed it to stiffen up perfectly around the soft serve so no issues cleanliness-wise but it was very sweet to the point of being a little overbearing.
The concept is good but it is clearly popular enough at this point but I think I need to try a few other sundae to see if the other dips are that sweet as well before I can make this place a to-go for me.
La Diperie
4600 Notre-Dame St W
514 379 1442
Lastly, I went to NDG to try CA LEM, a ice cream shop that was been getting great buzz for some of the cool and unique flavours that have been playing with. They have a variety of different ice cream and sorbets that ranges from normal to more unique. We tried their black sesame which is a weird to think about but worked really well. Just be aware that the blackness of the ice cream means that you will have a very dark tongue afterwards!
They also have a weekly soft serve and sorbet combo – on this week, courtesy of fellow blogger Jason Lee of Shut Up and Eat, it was Peanut Butter and Jelly – that childhood classic in cone form. No one I was going to miss that! The soft serve peanut butter was lucious and had a great nutty flavour. The strawberry sorbet was smooth and also had a great depth of flavour. Very enjoyable and very creative.
Ca Lem is a great spot in NDG and I love their interest in going special flavours. That creativity is always appreciated. If you are anywhere close, I highly recommend stopping in.
CA LEM
6926 Sherbrooke West
So lots of ice cream to get excited about around the city – and that excludes some of the classic like Kem Koba, Havres Aux Glaces, my new favourite Dalla Rose, Aux Givres and many more. The key thing is find your favourite and savour a few cones before the season is over!
Cheers!
Ramblings from the Complex Mind of a 30 Something 
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