Amazing ube ice cream sandwiches at Mata’s Philippine Cuisine

If you’re looking for a different kind of dessert, check out the ube ice cream sandwiches at Mata’s Philippine Cuisine in Tampa (on West Waters, a quick drive west of Dale Mabry)!

Ube (pronounced “OOO-beh”) is a sweet purple yam from the Philippines. It has a flavor that I describe as a mild mix of vanilla, white chocolate, and hazelnuts. It’s been a Filipino sweets staple for centuries, but only in the past decade has it become popular in North America. That’s a shame, because you’ve been missing out on some amazing, colorful dishes as a result!

They put the ice cream between “krispy treats” made out of sticky puffed rice (which often gets called pinipig in the Philippines, but that isn’t accurate). Just think of it as ube ice cream between Filipino rice krispies treats and enjoy the flavor.

It was great, and I’m coming back for more!

We also left with dinuguan, chicken adobo, pinakbet, and ginataang bilo-bilo.

Mata’s Philippine Cuisine is in Tampa at 4350 West Waters Avenue — east of the Veterans Expressway, west of Dale Mabry.