These scoops are a feast for the eyes and the mouth.
At 2nd City, a new Filipino taqueria in the West Village (525 Hudson St.), the only dessert on the menu is a purple frozen treat called ube macapuno. It melds two popular Southeast Asian ice cream flavors — ube (purple yam) and macapuno (coconut) — for a novel confection with a unique texture.
“I’ve never had these two combined before,” says the restaurant’s Filipino-American co-owner and chef, Jordan Andino. “It reminds me of halo-halo, a shaved iced dessert that’s also popular in the Philippines.”
Andino, 27, spent four months with a New Jersey-based creamery tinkering with ingredients to find the perfect recipe. His final product (one scoop for $2.95, two scoops for $3.95) has a mellow, slightly earthy taste from the ube and an appealingly gritty texture from the macapuno.
“It’s not overly sweet and creamy,” says Andino. “This is the perfect dessert.”