Filipino Ice Cream Gets the Spotlight on Netflix Docu 'Somebody Feed Phil'
"Every bite is fantastic!" Phil Rosenthal, host of the travel and food documentary Somebody Feed Phil, exclaimed. He couldn't stop raving about the frozen dessert offerings at Sampaguita, a Filipino-American Ice Cream shop in Orlando, Florida.
The shop is featured in Season 7 of the documentary, now streaming on Netflix. Sampaguita is owned by Marie Mercado and Mo Hassan, the duo behind The Greenery Creamery, described on its website as "Orlando's first artisanal ice cream boutique."
Rosenthal said he discovered Sampaguita on his last Orlando trip and promised to be back. True to his word, he was back in June 2023 to feature the shop on his show.
ALSO READ:
This Filipino Restaurant Was Hailed a Rising Star in New York State
Filipinos Run the World's Northernmost Sushi Restaurant
"There's stuff you've never had before, stuff I've never had before," he told Anna Eskamani, the state representative of the district.
They sampled various Filipinx flavors like guava creamsicle, soy sauce butterscotch, buko pandan, and sampaguita, the shop's namesake flavor.
"My mom used to make this dessert for me—it was like a milk jelly with lychee fruit. So, this is to honor her," said Mercado. "For me, it's a love letter to the Philippines, a way to honor my parents' heritage and their story through what I know best, which is ice cream."
Buko Pandan milkshake + rose popping bobaÂ
Rosenthal and Eskamani also indulged in vegan halo-halo, which according to the American television writer, producer, and presenter is "one of the best sundaes in the world."
State legislator Eskamani praised Mercado, saying, "She's an incredible example of the young people who come to our community and really make it their own."
She continued, "To me, Orlando has always been a community of immigrants and scrappy, hardworking Floridians determined to improve life for the next generation."
