Thai rolled ice cream, I Tim Pad, ไอติมผัด,

Spending a week in the coastal town of Mũi Né in Vietnam, known for its beautiful beaches and good Kite Surfing conditions, we discovered this very entertaining way of making Ice Cream. The gentlemen making this delightful dessert opened his stall around dinner time, after finishing his day job, and customers were quickly lining up for this most enjoyable treat.

Rolled Ice Cream originated in Thailand around 2009 and after becoming a popular snack the idea of making this fresh Rolled Ice Cream spread to neighboring countries and even into the United States.  “I Tim Pad” is street food,  vendors use a frozen pan to create yummy ice cream from fresh ingredients, shopped, mixed, spread and rolled right in front of you.

Most vendors nowadays will use a pre-made liquid base which is spread out on a frozen pan of -20c. The liquid base commonly is made of a milk base combined with some flavors, sometimes fresh fruit is added and chopped on the pan. After the base is spread-out, frozen and rolled, pieces are stacked in a cup and decoration is added.

We experienced the more traditional way of making this treat, full smiles and jokes along the way. Being on a holiday, having heaps of time to spend, waiting for your dessert is not a problem at all, free entertainment included.

The first step is up to the customer, picking your flavor. In our case, we always choose a fresh fruit like the passion fruit which nicely balances the sweetness with the tanginess of the fruit itself. The fruit is cut onto the frozen plate and a some sweet condensed milk is added. Two filling blades are used to chop and mix the ingredients and spread out over the plate to freeze.

After a few minutes of freezing, the ice cream is ready to be rolled. The ice cream is cut to the width of the blade and rolled one by one. Using a little tong, the vendor puts the rolls in a cup and garnish with your favorite topping. Next, please!

The result! Happy faces!