Adriano Zumbo Patissier

I have been a fan of Adriano Zumbo macarons for a long time. For a while, I had a tradition of trying new flavours every time I visited Sydney, but it’s been some time since I’ve stopped in. After breakfast at Sokyo at the Star, we couldn’t resist the multicolour, sweet-filled window of Zumbo’s. I’d tried all of the macaron flavours on offer, so looked further along the window to the tarts. There was an impressive array, but my eye was drawn to the peanut butter and raspberry combination called ‘Peter, Bob and John’ (PB&J). The tart was a good size and prettily presented with chunks of raspberry and peanut brittle on top. The first mouthful was silky smooth – the chocolate ganache was creamy and soft, and a perfect contrast to the sweet, slightly crispy base. The second mouthful was all about the raspberry gel (the ‘jelly’ in PB&J), which is tart compared to the sweet ganache. The peanut brittle added great textural pops, although I thought that the peanut butter flavour could have been stronger. Overall a delightful treat combining two complementary flavours. Zumbo remains the king of sweets.

Adriano Zumbo Patissier, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont NSW http://adrianozumbo.com/

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/

St Ali

Note to self: the South Melbourne markets aren’t open on a Monday. Luckily St Ali is – in fact they’re open 365 days, so you can’t get it wrong (like I did with the markets). Instead of wandering through the markets a friend and I settled in at St Ali for afternoon tea, soaking up the sunshine from their outdoor seating which looks out onto the street. We were both tempted by the cake display and I caved first and ordered the fruit danish and a ‘hydrate’ juice, while my friend picked the lemon and marshmallow tart and a ‘detox’ juice. The juices were served in large, tall glasses and didn’t have much foam – mine had watermelon, apple and mint, although I could still taste the carrot from the detox juice which must have gone through the juicer first. The danish was lovely and crisp, with the pastry flaking off in large pieces to enjoy. The fresh blueberries, apricot and strawberries sat on a bed of custard which brought the whole sweet to life.  I could have happily eaten another if it hadn’t been so filling! Definitely a great place to while away an afternoon.

St Ali Coffee Roasters, 12-18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne VIC  www.stali.com.au

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

Bellissimo Gelateria

It’s that wonderful time again, #icecreamthurs! Cairns has a wonderful night market, which we managed to visit after a day-long bus tour of the Atherton tablelands (such beautiful countryside). We were pretty tired, but it was a lovely warm evening, and we couldn’t help but notice Bellissimo. There was a  buzz around the gelateria, and when we approached the display it was clear why – there’s a huge range to choose from, and the flavours range from the traditional lemon to red bull! The ferrero rocher option quickly caught my eye and the friendly lady piled up an architectural miracle in the small cup I ordered. I couldn’t believe the amount of gelato I got! I was also really impressed with the service – the staff were attentive to each customer and were very welcoming. The gelato itself had a lovely flavour to begin with – like biting into a cold ferrero – but it did fade the more I ate, which was a bit disappointing. The texture was lovely and creamy, and we enjoyed eating our icecreams while having foot massages at the markets. I couldn’t quite finish mine, but it added to the lively atmosphere of a night at the market.

Bellissimo Gelateria, 54-60 Abbott Street, Cairns QLD, no website