Whatever Happened To.....

Writing about these different ice cream brands had me thinking about several that I grew up with, but are sadly no longer around:

1. Coney Island--this was a local brand that had a stall at the Puyat Arcade in Greenhills.  They served very good ice cream with a wide variety of flavors, and it really seemed that the ice cream came from the United States.  I also remember they had very good cherry punch (this is one drink I truly enjoy!)
2. Silver Bell--this brand was sold as the premium alternative to Magnolia in the late sixties, and I can still remember the distinctive ribs alongside their plastic gallon (this was reusable, as compared to the packaging of Magnolia).  Very good ice cream, available in most groceries and shops at that time.
3. Presto--Universal Robina used to make this ice cream as the lower end alternative to Magnolia, but I think they decided to pull out due to thin profit margins.  Despite the perceived market positioning as a lower end brand, I surely enjoyed a lot of their flavors.
4. Carnival--this short-lived brand was the ice cream launched by San Miguel to battle it out with Presto in the lower price bracket.  I remember they had orange flavored ice cream, the only one of its kind at that time!  The plastic tubs were yellow and had a carnival logo!
5. Sorbetero Filipino Ice Cream--this was the upmarket version of "dirty" ice cream that was sold in push carts as sorbetes de caro.  They had local flavors like mongo and langka, and their ube and chocolate flavors were regular mainstays of our freezer.  I remember that a good friend of mine sang their TV ad jingle, it was a very catchy tune.
6. Neapolitan--this was the original ice cream that sold three flavors in a block covered by plastic, and packed inside a carton box.  Very light and had the basic flavors of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla, if I remember correctly.
7. Cool Spot--if I am not mistaken, this was the pre-cursor of Big Scoop ice cream, and I can remember the tin cans used were just about the same as that of the original Selecta.
8. Sison Ice Drop--I cannot recall if Sison made ice cream, but I remember that they ice drops, which were more like icicles (flavoring but little or no milk).

A walk down memory lane--Kongkong was the Chairman of the Board of the Raiders Club, and the four siblings would pop into the kitchen like clockwork to scoop into the ice cream!  Our favorite!