I was sitting down and watching Masterchef on TV when I noticed that from Gelato Messina was on the show. I’ve made two trips to Gelato Messina and realised I haven’t actually done a write up of it, so here it is ๐
I discovered Gelato Messina last year after doing some research on the best foodie spots to visit while in Sydney for the weekend. Gelato Messina popped up on Tripadviser as the best restaurant in Sydney. I remember thinking it had to be good if a gelato store was considered the best restaurant. There are various Gelato Messina stores across Sydney selling gelato. However, I was interested in the creative department (laborotorie and patissier) where monoporzione (meaning single portion) mini gelato cakes in cute forms are created. At this stage, this is only available at the Darlinghurst location. My partner and I walked into Darlinghurst from the city (through the rain) to visit the store that is split into two areas – the creative department and the main gelato store next door.
Back in 2013, a cabinet filled with mini gelato cakes were displayed for purchase. What amazing creations! I really wanted to try the Royale with cheese (the cute mini hamburger).
The other end held…well, a boobie cake.
But I was there to try out Dr Evil’s Mini-Me Magic Mushroom and there was only one left for the day.
You may recognise the below photo as my profile picture on my blog, Facebook and Twitter. Such a cute and expertly constructed dessert.
A breakdown of what was inside is shown.
What can I say…this was an awesome dessert. Lots of different elements and flavours including popping candy ‘grass’ on the bottom. The gelato is smooth and delicious. The dulce de leche caramel is a beautiful golden brown and full of flavour. It’s also a good sized portion that can be shared between two.
I went again earlier this year and the layout had changed. There is no longer a full cabinet of monoporzione (*sad) instead there is a selection of three displayed in mini glass boxes along the wall. A few of the larger creations are also on display against the opposite wall.
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| The larger creations |
I was greeted by one of the chefs working inside who presented me with a menu of more dessert items that could be ordered. Everything on the menu is $10. Seems like there is a different flavour each month which is incorporated into most of the desserts on the menu. Vanilla custard gelato was the flavour that month. It all sounded wonderful and there was so much I wanted to try.
I chose the Kalamansi – one of the three monoporzione. It is shaped to look like the kalamansi fruit and looked like perfection with kalamansi lime and ginger sorbet, honey gelato and honeycomb coconut biscuit.
This was such a refreshing and beautifully balanced dessert with the sourness of the fresh lime sorbet balanced with the heat of ginger. The honey gelato offset the sour and spicy with a subtle sweetness. The honeycomb biscuit gives that extra textural element. YUM! You’ll enjoy this if you like citrusy desserts.
The chef mentioned the Packin’ Cones was one of his favourites so this was ordered too (and appeared on Masterchef!) This version was filled with freeze dried raspberries, raspberry jellies, raspberry meringue, raspberry jam and the gelato of the month, vanilla custard gelato. It’s then dipped in chocolate and rolled in freeze dried raspberries.
I enjoyed cracking this open and discovering the surprises inside. The jellies were soft and chewy. The small pieces of meringue just melted in my mouth. The raspberries worked wonderfully with the vanilla. The choc top gave a bit of a crunchy chocolately hit but there wasn’t enough to overpower the beauty of the raspberries.
If you don’t feel like indulging in the creative department, Gelato Messina’s shop next door is always packed and there are so many interesting flavours to choose from.
I love Gelato Messina! All gelato cakes are made in house and by hand. The creative department’s menu provides lots of options and the varying flavours of the month means dessert flavours will regularly be changed. It’s a shame that there’s now only three monoporzione to choose from each month, but it just means more visits to the store ๐ The larger creations vary in price (roughly $48-$85 each, the latter serving 14-16 people). These can be ordered online and some are customisable. The Chef mentioned both mini and large cakes have about 15 minutes before they start to melt so I can’t bring any home to Canberra.
There isn’t much room to sit inside the creative department as there is only one bench and a few stools looking out the window. However, staff are happy for you to sit in the gelato shop next door with your dessert purchase if you can find an empty seat.
Highly recommended for your next dessert fix! I can’t wait to go back.
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Foodgasm 9/10
