Gelato for the whole family

There's ice cream and then there's gelato. While there are franchised gelato parlors, there is also Papa's Gelato, an Indonesian gelato parlor opened this November at Ancol Beach.

Papa's Gelato, located near the bayside-view seafood restaurant Bandar Djakarta, offers various flavors, including Rum Raisin, Malaga, Kopyor, Strawberry, Bubble Gum, Blue Cura*ao, Coffee Crunch, Vanilla Oreo, Mocha, Durian and Double Chocolate.

Served in a cup, cone, with brownies, waffle, pancake or none, the premium-quality gelato's rich taste and texture is great for family occasions.

Family is definitely the gelato bar's target market, as the logo of Papa's Gelato is a mustached smiling father holding an ice-cream cone topped with melting goodness.

Operational manager Caroline Bumiarti points out that as the logo shows, Papa's Gelato aims to serve customers with warmth and friendly smiles.

"Since Papa's Gelato targets families as customers, we decided to open our first outlet at Ancol Beach, a holiday destination for families in Jakarta," she says.

"We plan to open other outlets in shopping malls, but we're still searching for the right malls that also have the family concept."

Caroline adds her gelato parlor sells only homemade ice cream - fresh, natural and with no additives. She says the milk for the gelato is pasteurized (heated to 85 degrees Celsius) to kill any bacteria.

After pasteurization, it's stored in a refrigerated room at between 1 and 5 degree to prevent the milk curdling. Under this process, the milk can last around two weeks.

The difference between gelato and ice cream, Caroline explains, lies in the content, as gelato uses pure milk and has a lower fat percentage (around 3-4 percent) compared to ice cream (10-18 percent), which uses cream.

"However, customers shouldn't worry about consuming either, because both contain milk, which is good for the health," she adds.

"Besides tasting good and being healthy, we also give our gelato an authentic Italian look to make it look yummy and attract customers."

Apart from gelato, the parlor also sells specialty products such as Frozen Hot Chocolate, made from chocolate ice cream; Papa's Booster Drink, consisting of Oreos and ice cream; Honey Peach Blend; Omelet Ice Cream; Coconut Blend and Papa's Coconut, a mix of coconut ice cream and coconut milk.

Prices range from Rp 16,500 to Rp 44,000 (US$1.70 to $4.50). Papa's Gelato also offers an all-you-can-eat promotion for the month of December. For only Rp 50,000, customers can have all the gelato they can handle; add Rp 25,000, and it's all-you-can-eat gelato and food; add another Rp 25,000, and there's also free-flow drinks.