Passionflower

Passionflower is responsible for a running joke I have with a friend of mine. They had a pineapple cake icecream last year which sounded like pretty much the best thing ever – we play the ‘PCIC’ (pineapple cake icecream card) when discovering something amazing. I even have an actual laminated card. Anyway, I was pretty disappointed that the flavour to end all flavours wasn’t on offer when I went back to Passionflower, but another unusual flavour caught my eye – wild lime sorbet. Not quite as catchy, but when I tried a sample I was sold. The sorbet has a sour flavour that is incredibly refreshing and tasted very Australian in the way that lemon myrtle does – there was something native about the flavour that was obvious from the first mouthful (I have since learned that there are native Australian wild limes). The flavour remained strong throughout and whilst not particularly sweet, it was a really lovely dessert. In fact, the sorbet had tiny segments of juice-filled pulp inside, which added texture and intense flavour. This is without a doubt one of the best sorbet flavours I’ve ever tried, – worthy of playing a PCIC, even.

Passionflower, Shop 2, 168 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC                                http://www.passionflower.com.au/Home

Nitrogenie

There is definitely a trend of using liquid nitrogen to make icecream/sorbet, probably because it has such a cool visual effect! I’m not even going to pretend to understand the science behind it, but suffice to say, it’s pretty awesome to watch. Having tried it for the first time in Sydney, I was pretty excited to find Nitrogenie making liquid nitrogen icecream in Brisbane. We went in on a warm evening and I was delighted to see that they had a fruity flavour – mango. Perfect for a tropical night. I ordered a small cup, which when it was ready was disappointingly small, but which turned out to be just the right amount after dinner. The mango flavour was incredibly intense – it really did taste like eating a mango (but colder)! There were even little stringy bits in it, just like a mango. My friend had the salted caramel and from the small mouthful I tried it was superb, although more on the salty side. We took our icecreams down to the river to soak up the night lights and warmth – quite an excellent Brisbane experience.

Nitrogenie, Cnr Ernest St & Stanley St South Bank, QLD      http://nitrogenie.com/

Baskin Robbins

I was first introduced to Baskin Robbins in Adelaide, but I don’t think they have many stores there now. My favourite flavour is a seasonal one called Love Potion #31, which is generally available in summer, but sometimes also pops up at random times during the year. What’s in this magic love potion, I hear you ask? Well, it starts out with white chocolate and raspberry ice creams, swirled with a raspberry ribbon and loaded with raspberry-filled dark chocolate hearts and chocolate chips. Seriously. I was delighted to see it was on offer at the Circular Quay store as I made my way back from a show at the Opera House, and grabbed a small cupful to savour. My favourite part is the dark chocolate hearts with raspberry liquid centres – the bitterness of the dark chocolate and the tartness of the raspberry balances out the sweetness of the icecream perfectly. The raspberry ripple throughout also mixes up the texture, making it one of Baskin Robbin’s more sophisticated offerings. I can’t vouch for its effectiveness as a love potion, but it sure is excellent icecream.

Baskin Robbins Circular Quay, Lot 2, Quay Grand 61-63, Macquarie Street
Sydney, NSW http://www.baskinrobbins.com.au

Frugii Dessert Laboratory

Frugii Dessert Laboratory made a splash when it first opened, and I thought it was high time to check out what all the fuss was about. Dad and I went on a Saturday night and we arrived just before the crowds – there were about five icecream flavours and two sorbets on offer – I picked the passionfruit, orange and apple sorbet, and Dad chose the salted caramel icecream. We picked the small size, and whilst the portion looked quite small, I don’t think I could have eaten any more. The sorbet was really refreshing, with a good balance between the sweetness of the orange and apple and the tartness of the passionfruit. The fruity flavour was quite strong and didn’t lose its intensity the more I ate. I did find the texture a bit icy compared to other sorbets, but not unpleasantly so. The salted caramel was probably the best I’ve ever tasted – rich, creamy and with just the right amount of salt, I’d definitely order it next time, along with one of the delicate cakes on display. A fun additon to Canberra’s dessert scene.

Frugii Dessert Laboratory, 30 Lonsdale Street,  Braddon ACT                                 http://www.frugii.com/

Nitro Lab

Still in denial – how long until summer again? #icecreamthurs. I am a sucker for anything raspberry-flavoured. Wandering up Bourke Street, I came across Nitro Lab (which also seems to be called The Lab Nitrogen Gelato – confusing!) and was sucked in by the prospect of combining two of my favourite things – raspberry and nutella. The lady behind the counter was really friendly, and when I asked about the dairy-free options she gave me a really comprehensive outline of my choices. Luckily, the raspberry gelato is actually a sorbet – I decided not to go totally dairy-free and had the ‘golden gaytime’ crumb and nutella on top. The shop was fairly quiet so I only waited for a couple of minutes for my sorbet – the novelty of watching them make it with N2 doesn’t seem to wear off! The nutella dollop was massive and I tried to mix it in with the sorbet. The crumb was lovely and crispy, although it didn’t really taste like a golden gaytime crumb. The sorbet itself was the right balance between sweet and tart and there was plenty of it in the cup. Yum.

Nitro Lab, 188 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC, no website

Seventh Heaven

First international #icecreamthurs! Singapore is exactly the kind of place where you find yourself wanting icecream. We’d walked a long way in the humid heat to visit the Gardens by the Bay, an incredible botanical garden with huge indoor displays and an impressive array of plants. In between the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest was an outdoor rest area, which by the time we’d wandered through the Flower Dome we very much needed to take advantage of. I was admiring the life-sized sculpture of a pride of lions looking down on visitors when the sign for Seventh Heaven caught my eye. Yep, it was a gelato stall, right there waiting for us! There were a few flavour choices, but being adventurous (and having tried it before in Tokyo), I chose the sakura/cherry blossom flavour. Sakura is (obviously) a floral flavour, and that came through nicely in the generous (but tourist-site overpriced) serving, without being overpowering as some florals can be. The gelato had that lovely balance between creamy and icy and whilst it melted quite quickly in the heat, each spoonful was refreshing and sweet. A perfect treat for explorers.

Seventh Heaven, Gardens by the Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Drive, Singapore  http://www.seventhheaven.com.sg/

Royal Copenhagen

Hello #icecreamthurs! Glenelg has so many dessert options that it can be hard to choose – showing friends from Canberra around, they asked which of the icecream options was the best. I hadn’t had icecream down there for a while (usually opting for fondue), so picked Royal Copenhagen hoping that it would pass muster. Luckily, it did. I chose a single scoop of the Vanilla Meringue, Passionfruit and Raspberry icecream, having never come across this flavour before. It was a good choice – the icecream was beautifully creamy, the sweet vanilla meringue flavour was clear and well complemented by the tartness of both the raspberry and the passionfruit. My only criticism was that the meringue flavour seemed to fade the more you ate, but this is a fairly common issue with icecream. It didn’t hurt that they offer self-service toppings, including sprinkles and nuts – I added plenty of the latter to mine! We also had donuts to share, which came out piping hot and well dusted in cinnamon sugar. They were lovely and soft and I could have happily devoured several more. Royal Copenhagen didn’t disappoint!

Royal Copenhagen Icecreamery & Dessert Bar, 15 Jetty Road, Glenelg SA