After I guess a month of Colombo (wow!) I finally came back to Jaffna. Murungakai & Papaw galore. Nom nom nom. Oh! & there’s a new ice cream parlour down the block called Lingam’s. It’s literally next door to vastly famous Rio’s. Accompanied by a dear distant cousin I checked out the new joint.

Of singular interest is the near identical menus. You have the Special, the Megaspecial, Sunday super, &c. &c. I get the impression that Rio’s has a much larger menu (assuming Lingam’s menu consists of the large oversiezed ice creams painted on the wall) and selection of ‘short eats.’ (Rio: 1, Lingam: 0)

The Test: 1) Rolls

We started off with the rolls. At Rio’s the rolls are bigger, hotter, crunchier and spicier! Sometimes you get chilly pieces too (pleasant surprise!) The Lingam ones were a bit droopy and bland. (Rio: 2, Lingam: 0)

The Test: 2) Ice Cream

Next ICE CREAM! We had the Special. Lingam’s ice cream is much creamier & not as brightly coloured as Rios (good thing?). It’s slightly less sweet, allowing the milky creamy flavour to come out. & the fruits are fresher too. The only con I can think of is that there’s just a ton of jelly - which is hard to eat with just 2 scoops of ice cream. But overall the Lingam’s ice cream is better (Rio: 2, Lingam: 1).

The Test: 3) Overall

Finally, work culture, at Lingam’s someone is constantly wiping tables and picking up stray napkins. At Rio’s there are always, always, swarming flies! On specially hot & sticky days you almost can’t eat because your hands are full time employed swatting flies (Rio: 2, Lingam: infinity!)

Results

The verdict is, if you want ice cream & rolls, go & get the rolls from Rio’s (it’s so fresh trust me no fly has landed on it) but then come and eat it in peace with spectacular ice cream at Lingam’s.