The newly opened dessert shop on Carter Road has brought the Mexican paletas (popsicles) for the first time to India. But, we're not sure how many Indians will take to this new concept
The newly opened dessert shop on Carter Road has brought the Mexican paletas (popsicles) for the first time to India. But, we're not sure how many Indians will take to this new concept
With the introduction of a novel concept like the Mexican Paletas to the Indian foodie, Aloha might have got many intrigued. Being a self confessed foodie, we didn't want to miss the chance to drop by for a bite into the offerings at the newly opened dessert store in suburban Bandra.
The attendant at work preparing the Tropical Sno
The address stated that the store was located opposite a famous cafe on Carter Road and the landmark helped us reach our venue without much difficulty.
But, opposite the cafe we noticed a store with stalls outside that were dishing out dosas and chaat. We entered only to find a door on the right that led us to our Mexican experience Aloha.
With the space crunch in Mumbai and the exorbitant rent prices, we don't blame them for being housed inside a store. We entered and realised that there was no seating area, which means people are expected to pick up what they like and walk across and enjoy their dessert by the sea.
Triple Berry Paleta
The store looked inviting with a board listing a host of flavours, and the icebox containing different colours of flavoured paletas. Paleta is a Latin American ice pop and is usually made from fresh fruit; in Mexican, it means fresh fruits on a stick.
Aloha has a wide choice in paletas ranging from Pear & Guava, and Lemon Grass & rose petals to Mulberry Yoghurt and Fruitilicious. We chose the Triple Berry (Rs 70), a combination of Raspberry, Blueberry and Strawberry.
The first bite felt refreshing and tasty but soon we felt that the popsicle didn't have enough flavour and we couldn't taste the berries as we would have liked to.
A while into the task of eating it and we felt we were biting into ice with a wee bit of flavour in it. We decided to move on and try the plum cake paleta (Rs 100). It did taste like plum cake but it left an after taste we were not too comfortable with. It didn't taste bad, but we not very impressed.
Aloha offers not just Mexican, but also Tropical Sno, a dealership of an American company. Tropical sno is Hawaiian shave ice. The attendants informed us that the machine they had at the store was specifically designed to shave ice to the perfection of snow.
Again, we had to choose from a wide variety of flavours including blueberry, blue raspberry, cola, vanilla, pineapple, tiger's blood, cotton candy and a lot more, but the attendant unflinchingly gave us a taste of almost all the flavours before we could make a choice.
The regular sized tropical sno is priced at Rs 50 and includes just snow and flavour while the large one priced at Rs 100, along with the snow and flavour include Hersheys syrup + scoop of ice cream + two toppings of your choice.
We chose the large American Kala Khatta flavour (which included Cola, Lime and Margharita) and waited while the attendant prepared it with practiced ease.
It tasted refreshing with the slight flavour and ice and would make for a perfect dessert on a hot sunny day. The chocolate, though, settled at the bottom and didn't seem to blend with the rest of the concoction.
Overall, a decent experience and perhaps the best part is that they use 100% natural ingredients with no colour or preservatives. So, if you are an ice-cream fan and are looking for something different, Aloha could be worth a try.
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At Aloha, Next to Carter's Blue, Carter Road, Bandra (W).
CALL 9833141983
Aloha didn't know we were there.
The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals.