Tis Me Michelle

Pronounced sahm-pa-GEE-tuh, what a beautiful name. I wanted to know what it meant and Google informed me it’s a type of jasmine flower and a national flower of Indonesia and the Philippines. Sampaguita is a Filipino-inspired ice cream shop with a variety of unique flavors to choose from. I of course stumbled on it from the TikTok. And to be honest, a lot of the places I’ve been through TikTok have been overhyped, but this place was spot on.

Right in the same parking lot, you can find Qreate Coffee + Studio, Mamak Asian Street Food, Poke Hana, Haan Coffee, and more! It’s quite the location. Of course, during a busy day or time, it may be harder to find parking, but there is plenty available. Anyways, I entered from the back through the parking lot and immediately loved the vibes. It has such cute decor! It is a rather small space that they’ve maximized with a decent amount of seating. So I could see it being a great hangout or date spot, or you could do what I did and take in the cute aesthetics and take my cone to go.

Now the flavors. I wish it weren’t awkward to sample all the flavors. I settled on trying 3 flavors before my final order. Of course, I started with the namesake, which is an “almond vanilla bean ice cream perfumed with a hint of jasmine + lychee jellies.” Then I tried the Choco Peanut, which the lovely server perfectly described as a Snickers bar; it was spot on! And finally, the Soy Sauce Butterscotch, because it was so intriguing. The server did mention the soy sauce was simply to add that salty flavor, and it was more like ‘salted caramel’, which honestly makes so much sense. The last one was too sweet for me since it really was just butterscotch-forward, but I loved the concept.

There were so many more I wanted to try! So I will definitely be back! I’m not usually a fan of flowery-tasting things, but it was such a light flavor and I am a fan of lychee, that I ultimately went for a scoop of the Sampaguita! It was so good, and I would have gotten a scoop of the Choco Peanut too, but you know, I gotta look out for myself (and my bank account) every now and then.

They also have soft serve options, which… I was so tempted to try. I will definitely be back.

Update: from way in the future 4/13/25 (original was posted 8/15/23)… I went back. Discovered what a Mais con Yelo was and am obsessed. Officially crowning it my favorite dessert in Orlando. A shaved ice parfait type deal, with all my favorite things. Bottom layer is a corn puree type base, not sweet, but with all the corn flavor, but there were just a couple of small sweet pieces of flan/custard. Topped with straight shaved ice, making it a nice, refreshing treat. Next was a layer of cornflakes, adding another layer of crunchy texture. Topped with vanilla soft serve (which you could get vegan as well), that was absolutely luscious and a lil drizzle of condensed milk. Absolute delight.

Rating: 9/10