What’s On profiles some of the best ice cream in Abu Dhabi featuring odd flavours from some of the best restaurants and hotels in Abu Dhabi.

Forget boring old vanilla – stay cool with some of the most unique, and strange, desserts available in the capital…

Dabbouza
This Middle Eastern take on cookies and cream mixes together Turkish delight and biscuit flavours. Added to this sumptuous base is an accent of rose water. Even better, a single serving consists of four scoops.

Flooka, Eastern Mangroves Promenade, Abu Dhabi, Sun to Thur noon to midnight, Dhs49. Tel: (02) 4418224. Taxi: Eastern Mangroves. easternmangrovespromenade.ae 

Dabbouza ice cream at Flooka

Jabal Lebnen
It’s hard to argue against the sticky sweet joy of candy floss. This unusual ice cream mixes together the flavours of cotton candy with fresh ashta ice cream. Topping it all is a generous sprinkling of crushed pistachios.

Café Blanc, Eastern Mangroves Promenade, Abu Dhabi, daily 10am to 11:30pm, Dhs30. Tel: (02) 6779881. Taxi: Eastern Mangroves. easternmangrovespromenade.ae

Black Sesame
Sesame seeds provide the richness found in a range of savoury dishes. Here they become something sweet and nutty, with a rich ice cream that mixes together toasted sesame seeds, fresh vanilla pods, milk and cream.

The Yacht Club, InterContinental, Abu Dhabi, Sun to Tue 5pm to 1am, Wed and Thur 5pm to 3am, Fri noon to 4pm and 7pm to 2.30am, Dhs45. Tel: (02) 6666888. Taxi: InterContinental. dining-intercontinental-ad.ae 

Spaghetti
A tempting homemade vanilla ice cream is given a new look with this unusual dessert. The ice cream is pressed through a potato ricer to give it the shape of spaghetti noodles, while strawberry sauce and almond biscuit crumbs create a faux Bolognese topping.

Dolce Café, The Ritz-Carlton, Abu Dhabi, Mon to Thur 1pm to 11pm, Fri and Sat 11am to 11pm, Dhs35. Tel: (02) 8188282. Taxi: Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi. ritzcarlton.com

Spagetti ice cream in Abu Dhabi

Mastic
Sample a traditional taste of the UAE with this pudding that mirrors the texture of gelato. In this silky ice cream, mastic is infused with heated cream and milk to create a unique dish that is stretchy, sticky and sweet.

Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, Le Vendome: daily 6.30am to 11am, 12.30pm to 3.30pm, 6.30pm to 11.30pm, Dhs250 as part of buffet lunch, Dhs261 as part of buffet dinner; Las Brisas: daily 9am to 9pm, Dhs30; Cascade: daily 9am to 7pm, Dhs30. Tel: (02) 6907999. kempinski.com

Oh!-Gaarden
Catering to those who enjoy hops in their dessert, this ice cream mixes Hoegaarden beer with chocolate and vanilla ice cream. The end result is a cherry sorbet. Versions without Hoegaarden beer are also available.

Lemon Tree, Holiday Inn, Abu Dhabi, daily noon to 3pm and 7pm to 11pm, Dhs42. Tel: (02) 6574888. Taxi: Holiday Inn. ihg.com

Holiday Inn sorbet in Abu Dhabi

Olive oil
Fresh olive oil is mixed with the flavours of ice cream in this dessert at Catalan. The end result is a dish that has notes of raw tomato and artichoke.

Catalan, Rosewood Abu Dhabi, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi, daily 7pm to 11.30pm, Dhs55. Tel: (02) 8135550. Taxi: Rosewood, Al Maryah Island. rosewoodhotels.com

Pizza
Adding cheese and bread to ice cream would be a very bad idea, but thankfully the pizza ice cream at Emack & Bolio’s uses more traditional ingredients. It comes with a brownie crust instead of the traditional bread, plus vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, and marshmallows.

Emack & Bolio’s, Dalma Mall, Mussafah, Abu Dhabi, daily 10am to midnight, Dhs99. Tel: (02) 5516069. Taxi: Dalma Mall. emackarabia.com

Ice Cream pizza in Abu Dhabi

Avocado
There are many reasons you should eat avocados: they’re rich in vitamin E, lower cholesterol and are good for your skin. It turns out they make for tasty ice cream too. Love Doughnuts is well known for its unique flavours, and its avocado one will please both sweet and savoury fans.

Love Doughnuts, Guardian Towers, Al Muroor, Abu Dhabi, Sun to Thur 7am to midnight, Fri 2pm to 11pm, Sat 8.30am to midnight. Tel: (02) 4466240. Taxi: Guardian Towers, Al Muroor. lovedoughnuts.com

Wasabi
Yep, you read that right. Dessert dips into the unusual and slightly spicy with this sweet ice cream. Mixing together the flavours of wasabi with Tahitian vanilla bean, full cream and a hefty dose of sugar, this dessert comes served with mango and coconut ‘Tapioca Sushi’.

Teatro, Park Rotana, Khalifa Park, Abu Dhabi, daily 6pm to 1am, Dhs45. Tel: (02) 6573333. Taxi: Park Rotana. rotana.com 

Wasabi ice cream in Abu Dhabi

Rose petal
Roses aren’t just for giving to your loved one on Valentine’s day, they make for a pretty decent dessert as well. Sofra BLD sells a version of this subtle and aromatic pud.

Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, Bain Al Jessrain, Abu Dhabi, daily 6am to 11.30pm. Tel: (02) 5098888. Taxi: Shangri-La Hotel. shangri-la.com/abudhabi

ICE CREAM BY THE NUMBERS

15 Pints of ice cream eaten in six minutes by World Ice Cream eating champion Joey Chestnut this year

54 Some claim ice cream was first made in AD54-68, when Roman emperor Nero sent his slaves to fetch snow, which he mixed with fruit and honey

4m Height of world’s largest ice cream cone, made by British chef Heston Blumenthal in 2012

880 The cost in dirhams of the world’s first ice cream cleanse at Kippy’s, a vegan ice cream store in Los Angeles. Dieters eat five pints of the ice cream a day