Sweetness with a chill

Kittiporn Manorotkul and Kasema Trirattananusorn have long given up on going out at weekends, preferring to use the time in their kitchen creating yummy frozen treats impossible to find in the supermarket or grocery store.

It may take half a day to peel three kilograms of longan for a tray of home-made ice cream but the fresh fruit flavour of the dessert is more than worth the time and effort, says Kittiporn, who along with Kasema owns Sorbetto Homemade Ice Cream on Sukhumvit Soi 101/1.

“The flavour is very distinctive in home-made ice cream and while we always buy the very best ingredients, we have also learned that different types of the same fruit gave the ice cream a different taste and that some are better than others. That’s very true of the longan,” he says.

The pair started along the frozen path almost four years ago while looking for something they could do together. “We found a good ice cream making machine, both signed up for a short course and decided to open our own place. This area is not brilliant in terms of passing traffic but it’s close to our home, meaning we can stay open for longer,” says Kasema.

“Our recipes were born by trial and error but we gained confidence by catering the weddings of various friends.”

Small and cosy, Sorbetto Homemade Ice Cream is decorated with white chairs and sofas and special woodcut tables. The counter is blue and the walls orange.

The 16 ice cream flavours include black sesame, corn milk, French chocolate, Japanese green tea, Madagascar vanilla, Ovaltine, Oreo cookie and cream, plus sherbets and sorbets made with strawberry, lemon, pineapple and berries. Desserts can be ordered by the scoop or enjoyed with waffles and different sauces and toppings. Affogato al Caffe, ice cream with hot espresso, is a particular favourite.

“Sometimes it’s like raising a child. The shop needs a lot of care and attention in everything from buying the best ingredients to brand building. We learn something everyday,” says Kasema, adding that Sorbetto’s ice creams are made with fresh rather than powdered milk.

“Instead of lime, we use lemon, which I squeeze myself. We also use Madagascar vanilla, French chocolate, and Japanese Matcha green tea for an authentic taste.” 

“The biggest advantage of home-made ice cream is the freshness of the taste. Industrial ice creams just can’t compete. We can also play around with the fruit. For example, during the mango season we used the nam dok mai fruit mixed with coconut milk and served it with sweet sticky rice. It was great,” Kittiporn says, 

“We roast the sesame for our healthy black sesame ice cream and it, along with the soymilk sesame, is very popular with customers trying to diet,” adds Kasema. 

Customers also love the sorbets, with several returning time and time again for a mixed berry or pineapple kick. 

“For the pineapple sorbet, we built layers with dice cut pineapple for a more refreshing and juicy flavour. We’re so lucky to have such an abundance of fruit here in Thailand. They make terrific sorbets. And customers like our new promotion that offers them one free scoop for every 10 orders.”

 

DELICATELY DELICIOUS

<< Sorbetto Homemade Ice Cream is on Sukhumvit Soi 101/1, about 100 metres from the main road.

<< It’s open daily except Tuesday from 11am to 9pm.

<< Check out “sorbettoThailand” on Facebook or email [email protected].