Nights in the city might still be cool now but the heat can be unbearable during the day. Fortunately we can escape to air-conditioned malls or find respite in frozen delights like halo-halo, ice cream and gelato.

Since December 2012, Bono Artisanal Gelato has been churning out dense, flavorful gelato in small batches daily—the better to maintain freshness and quality.

This year, the Filipino-owned brand was chosen to be one of 16 participants from Asia Pacific at the Gelato World Tour on March 20-22 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

“This is the first time we were asked to try out to represent the country. At last year’s Gelato World Tour, we were only there to assist,” said Zarah Zaragoza-Manikan, chief R&D of Bono. “Even if we were asked to try out, this did not guarantee our inclusion. We had to go through a selection process.”

Since they would be representing the country, Manikan and her team picked flavors that they felt were distinctly Filipino.

“Our mangoes are undoubtedly the best in the world so we chose that and added an ube (purple yam) swirl. To give the gelato texture, we soaked dried ripe mangoes in rum. The inspiration behind that last ingredient are rum-soaked raisins.”

Structure and balance

Manikan said they had to perfect the batch they sent for sampling as it would be judged on structure, flavor and balance. “It couldn’t be soupy or rock hard,” she said.

Whether the brand wins the coveted World’s Best Gelato title, Filipino customers can still sample a scoop or two of Mango Ube Symphony at Bono Gelato branches in SM Aura, The Podium, Mega Fashion Hall and SM Southmall.

The gelato brand recently relaunched its Affogato, vanilla gelato with a shot of freshly pressed espresso.

If vanilla is too plain, you can choose another one like Bourbon Butterscotch, Cioccolato or Milo Dinosaur.

Kids will love Kooky Monster, Bono’s new and whimsical gelato flavor made of real cotton candy, chocolate chip cookies, tiny marshmallows and chocolate chips. The cool blue cotton candy color adds to the fun and is sure to remind kids and kids-at-heart of that furry blue monster.