If you hear a Brit ask for a "99", they are ordering a special kind of ice cream. Usually sold from ice-cream vans, they should be made with soft, rather than scooped, ice cream, into which a chocolate Flake bar is inserted, typically at a 45-degree angle. (In 1930 Cadbury started producing a smaller version of the standard Flake bar especially for ice creams. These were marketed under the name 99 Flake and sold loose in boxes rather than individually wrapped like the traditional Flake. Cadbury now also produces a ready made, wrapped ice cream cone, similar to a Cornetto, with a Flake already inserted, but it's not quite the same as getting one from an ice cream van. And beware, much of the lower-priced ice cream sold in the UK, including that from some ice cream vans, has no milk or milk solids in it at all. Instead, it is made with vegetable oil. The thing to look out for is dairy ice cream, which must contain milk.)
