When Afnan Liaqat came to Canada as a student in 2009, he had plans to become an electrician engineer. Little did he know that path would also take him into the ice cream business.
Liaqat works in private security by day and co-runs Wellington West’s Happy Rolls ice cream stand by night. It first opened at 1195 Wellington St. W near Hamilton Ave last summer and has been expanding ever since.
“You don’t get rolled ice cream everywhere. It’s a bit unique,” said Liaqat. “There are a few places that are doing it, but this is our own recipe. People come and see the ice cream being made fresh in front of their face.”
The rolled ice cream trend started as street food in Thailand about 15 years ago and is also called Thai rolled ice cream or stir-fried ice cream. It’s easier to make than you might think: First you prepare a frozen ice cream base, spread it on a cold surface, chop and mix it with your desired toppings and flavours, then, unsurprisingly, roll it.
Flavours at Happy Rolls include: cookies and cream, peanut butter cup, mixed berry lemon, and maple pecan, to name just a few. One of their most popular is strawberry cheesecake.
“What we do is we add fresh cut strawberries in front of customers on our cold plate and then a mash of cheesecake, a little bit of strawberry sauce, and then we add our ice cream mixture,” said Liaqat. “The process is fascinating to a lot of people.”
For those who can’t have dairy, there are shaved ice options which include fruit juices, jellies, and boba bubbles. Chocolate strawberry cups are also a fan favorite, and new this year is the addition of mini pancakes and banana pudding.
“People are comparing it to the viral banana pudding that’s trending on social media from Magnolia Bakery in New York,” noted Liaqat. “Some people are saying it’s even better than that.”
If business continues to pick up this summer, Liaqat hopes Happy Rolls can expand to a few more locations, and perhaps a store of its own.