The Battle of Boracay's Mamas: Coco Mama, Mango Mama, and Ube Mama

(SPOT.ph) The sheer mention of Boracay must-eats assures a Coco Mama recommendation. The idea of treating yourself to vegan-friendly coconut milk ice cream in half a coconut shell, sprinkled with crunchy toppings, all while you’re getting a tan under the sun—really, there’s no argument regarding its Boracay-essential status. So we lay down below the story behind this brand, and which "Mama" is best.

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A Brief Timeline of Boracay's Coco Mama, and the Other "Mamas" in the Family Tree

Coco Mama's first branch opened back in 2016 at D’Mall, where it was followed by a second one in Station 1 in 2022. The other Mamas that followed, Ube Mama and Mango Mama, were launched on April 2023 and October 2023 respectively—both at D'Mall.

It is worth mentioning that Coco Mama, Mango Mama, and Ube Mama will soon have another Mama added to their family tree, but, this time, it’s opening all the way in Baguio, closer to Coco Mama and Ube Mama branches in La Union. Berry Mama will open up north, hopefully by April 2024, and will highlight vegan-friendly strawberry ice cream.

Trivia: Coco Mama is a part of The Sunny Side Cafe Group, owned by Nowie and Odette Potenciano. Other restaurants under the group are its namesake cafe The Sunny Side Cafe, Spicebird, Percy, and Hello Sailor. If you plan on doing a Sunny Side Cafe restaurant hopping, it would be best to grab a Sunny Side pamphlet on your first stop because this entitles you to a 10% discount on your next stops (exclusive to Boracay branches). These pamphlets are typically displayed on the counter, but to be sure, ask an employee for one.

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Who is the best Mama?

In a spur-of-a-moment decision, I joined a group of media friends and embarked on a Coco Mama tour around the island—well, more specifically at D’Mall. All three Mamas, Coco, Ube, and Mango, are all within the area anyway. We bought their specialty from each stall, as they specialize in offering one thing, except for Coco Mama which gives a little room for customization.

Coco Mama

Price: Price starts at P190
Pros: It’s the safest choice of all three Mamas.
Cons: None, really.
Rating: 4.5/5

Once you’ve tried the OG— especially long before the other Mamas arrived on the island—you can’t help but feel a little biased towards the first. It was a constant of past Boracay trips, after all. The scoops of coconut ice cream, pandan ice cream, topped with red rice and pinipig that give it interesting textures, and grated coconut meat from the husks it's served in—nostalgic and familiar.

As controversial as this sounds, I think that Coco Mama is the safest choice among the three. It’s basically the “vanilla-est” of all the Mamas, not that there’s anything wrong with “vanilla” in whatever context comes to mind first. Comparing it with Mango Mama and Ube Mama, this one is simpler in terms of components, too.

Coco Mama is at Station 1 and D'Mall Avenue, Boracay, Aklan.

Mango Mama

Price: P320
Pros: Three words: Mango Sticky Rice.
Cons: None, too—that’s why it gets a 5/5 from us.
Rating: 5/5

Mango Mama’s one item on the menu starts with warm kakanin as the foundation of the dessert, followed by a scoop of black rice ice cream and mango ice cream (both vegan-friendly)—or you can opt to have both scoops of rice or mango—plus cuts of sweet yellow mangoes, crunchy latik on top, and is finished with a drizzle of sweet and salty coconut cream.

In one way or another, Mango Mama’s signature is similar to Thailand’s mango sticky rice delicacy, just a little fancier and made for the beach—not to say that Thailand and its intense heat during summer could not benefit from the idea of having an ice cream version of their well-loved dessert.

Texture-wise, this was better than Coco Mama because of the kakanin and latik; the saltiness of the coconut cream brought out the sweetness of the dessert, and the mango bits served as a great palate cleanser, especially if you’ve been eating grilled seafood at the many restaurants in the vicinity.

Compared to Coco Mama, Mango Mama is relatively more expensive, which could be our sole con, but I'd argue that it is worth the splurge, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t have a soft spot for yellow mangoes. It's the kind of dessert I wouldn't want to share unless you coax me.

Mango Mama is at D'mall de Boracay, Malay, Aklan.

Ube Mama

Price: P320
Pros: There's sooo much ube.
Cons: There's sooo much ube.
Rating: 3/5

A disclaimer: I’m also not the biggest ube fan—but unlike Mango Mama, Ube Mama has failed to win me over to the purple side.

One thing I felt strongly about is that it could have worked if there were more flavor layering. It was an ube bonanza starting with the vegan ube ice cream, with ube pudding that went through a special extruder, palitaw balls (which was more similar to mochi), and cornflakes, all of which didn’t add anything significant in terms of flavor, but, I'll give credit where credit is due and say that they did fairly well in giving the dessert a complex texture. 

Maybe it's just the ube indifference in me, but I believe this dessert was truly made for those who love ube in all forms. If you're the type who jumped on the ube bandwagon and never really left, then Ube Mama is the most obvious choice of the three Mamas.

Ube Mama Boracay is at Palengke, D'mall de Boracay, Boracay, Aklan.

The Best Mama in Boracay: Mango Mama

Mango Mama delivers a distinct refreshing taste that makes it stand out. The way the sweetness blends with the salty sauce; the chewiness of the kakanin to the crunchy latik; and even the play on temperature from the warm kakanin and the ice cream makes Mango Mama the clear winner in my book—with Coco Mama as a close second.

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