Scooptopia is the newest ice cream shop in central Phoenix, but it’s serving more than just chocolate and vanilla. Owner Ginalyn Halum wanted to share a taste from her memories of growing up in the Philippines, where she lived before moving to Phoenix in 2002.
That’s why she’s excited to make and serve halo-halo, a colorful shaved ice desert that’s popular in the Philippines but difficult to find in central Phoenix.
For $6.50, you can order a large cup of halo-halo with evaporated milk poured over it. You can customize your order, which normally comes layered with:
Halo-halo is Tagalog for “mixed” and Halum insists the best way to eat halo-halo is to mix the layers together.
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Halum, who lives in Laveen with her family, said the halo-halo from her childhood in Pampanga wasn’t as decadent-looking as the halo-halo she serves or sees in restaurants now.
“I’m introducing it because maybe only Filipinos know it,” Halum said. “It’s refreshing with a lot of variety. The dessert is very popular in our country. I think people can try something different.”
Scooptopia, located near Central Avenue and Camelback Road, offers more than 20 flavors of ice cream supplied by Scooptacular, a family-owned business in Laveen. The selection includes classic flavors, as well as Thai tea, matcha, Grasshopper (peppermint with Oreos and Thin Mint pieces) and Unicorn Poop (purple vanilla bean with sprinkles and cupcake bites).
The ice cream shop also serves Hawaiian shaved ice, bubble tea and Mexican-style mango sorbet with mango slices and chamoy, a condiment that’s both sweet and spicy.
Where: 4700 N. Central Ave, Phoenix.
Hours: Mon-Thurs. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri-Sat, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun 12 p.m.-6 p.m.
Details: (602) 566-3862; instagram.com/scooptopiaaz.
Where’s the best halo-halo in metro Phoenix? Reach the reporter at Priscilla.Totiya@azcentral.com or 602-444-8092. Follow her on Twitter: @PriscillaTotiya.
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