Mad Mark’s: Vanilla beans from Madagascar, strawberries from California, coffee beans from Sumatra

MANILA, Philippines - Mom and Pops are small scale and independent businesses, typically owned and run by a family.

And that was what De La Salle University Entrepreneurship graduate Mark Isidro had in mind when he conceptualized Mad Mark's. He was inspired by a small corner ice cream shop that he used to frequent and observe when he was in the United States. The owner took notice of his interest and taught him a few tricks of the trade.

Mad Mark's prioritizes quality over quantity. Their menu is not extensive, as they want to focus on perfecting the items that they do have. Hence, a lot of love and care goes into each and every dish, especially their ice cream.

Get this. Their vanilla beans are imported from Madagascar, their strawberries come from California, and their coffee beans come from Sumatra!

After hearing so many great things about this place, a friend and I had dinner here a week ago.

I got their Signature Steak with the Bootstrap Steak Sauce (healthy portion - P225) with two sides (Corn on the Cob and Bacon Potato Salad). Everything on my plate was BIG. And delicious. The slight sweet and tangy steak sauce was a perfect complement. The potato salad dressing had that delicious honey mustard flavor that I love. I only wish they put more bacon bits. Hehe! You can't have enough of bacon, right?

We underestimated their portion sizes and also ordered the Zing Wings with Cajun Fries (P220). I was only able to eat half a piece. I had to leave room for ice cream, right? Their wings had a distinct soya flavor. My friend said it tasted like Korean chicken. It was good but I wished it were crunchier.

But the star of the show would definitely be their ice cream. I heard that the owner does most of the work on the ice cream despite the long and time consuming process. And it shows. I loved their Half Baked Madagascar (with huge chunks of cookie dough) and their Javan Hot Chocolate. They were a bit rough on the edges, but with tons of flavor! And at P68 a scoop, that is quite a good deal for something so delicious!

Mad Mark's, see you again soon!

Original review written on December 6, 2013. Read more customer reviews about Mad Mark’s on looloo.