Netflix series shines the spotlight on this Fil-Am ice cream shop
Photo from sampaguitaicecream/Instagram
Thanks to a sweet feature on Netflix’s “Somebody Feed Phil’s” new season, this quaint Fil-Am ice cream shop in Orlando, Florida, and its Filipino cuisine are shining bright on the global stage.
Co-owned by Fil-Am Marie Mercado and Mo Hassan, Sampaguita Ice Cream caught the fancy of Phil Rosenthal, the worldwide wanderer with a knack for discovering culinary gems. He gave them a huge thumbs up.
State representative for the district Anna Eskamani joined Phil as he revisited the ice cream haven. “I told you I’ll be back,” exclaimed Phil.
And this Fil-Am ice cream shop’s best sellers?
What sets their cold treats apart? It’s their bold, innovative flavors that evoke nostalgia and a taste of home.
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Phil and Eskamani tried the guava creamsicle and soy sauce butterscotch, and those were just the tip of the iceberg. Expressing his love for these authentic flavors, Phil said, “Every bite is fantastic. There’s stuff you never had before, stuff I never had before.”
Sampaguita Ice Cream also serves up buko pandan, a blend of “buko” (young coconut) and pandan that exudes grassy vanilla flavor. And the hospitality of their staff? Big check.
Mercado also offered the two a taste of Sampaguita’s namesake, the Sampaguita flavor — taking Mercado on a trip down memory lane when her mom made her a dessert of milk jelly and lychee.
Sampaguita flavor was concocted as a tribute to her mom, paying homage to her parents’ heritage. In a nutshell, “It’s like a love letter to the Philippines,” shared Mercado.
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In addition, this Fil-Am ice cream shop also boasts of vegan halo-halo which Phil candidly refers to as “mix-mix.” Their halo halo served with ube ice cream on top is a blend of innovation and tradition that Phil described as “one of the best sundaes in the world.”
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Not just an ice cream spot, Sampaguita is one of the landmarks in Orlando’s blooming food landscape that reflects the rich, diverse cultures of the city’s immigrant communities.
As Eskamani puts it, “Marie is such an incredible example of the young people who come to our community and make it their own,” seeing how newcomers carve out their own niches.
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Celebrating their feature in the Netflix series, they shared their pride and joy in an Instagram post, “We are so humbled to represent a part of Orlando, Mills 50, and the Filipino-American community.”
Located at 1233 East Colonial Drive, Sampaguita has proven their success in fusing Filipino and American flavors. The shop has been named as one of Yelp’s top 100 ice cream shops in the US in 2023.
With this global exposure, Sampaguita Ice Cream will surely make its way into the hearts of ice cream-loving customers, Filipinos or not.
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