http://www.gelato-milany.com/
I'll be the first to admit I have a phenomenal appetite, but during the hottest days of Summer, I find it trying to think about eating anything more than cold fruit and ice-cream. Ice-cream is a Summer staple for me and because I know many of you guys share this stance, I'm going to share this amazing gelato cafe.
Milany's is co-owned by Olympian Tatiana Grigorieva and was recommended to me by a friend in uni. We were waiting for patients and the computers in the clinic stations were vacant so he took the opportunity to Google the website for me to browse. Um... have you clicked the website? It's impossible to look at the photos in the menu page and not want to go.
Full menu of ice-creamy stuffsWhen we went to Lure last week, my dining buddies were tossing up between Room4Dessert and West End Freestyle for dessert but I INSISTED we try Milany's. The driver was hesitant because we rarely go Northside so anything located North of the CBD seems like a long trek away. This wasn't the case at all... Milany's Cafe is on Racecourse Rd, Ascot - literally 5min or so from the city.
I liked the place as soon as I saw it. The storefront is WIDE and open and bright. Perhaps my imagination is more expressive than most but I felt like I was being welcomed into ice-cream land! The moment you step inside, you see the fridge displaying all the flavors. The staff is friendly and we were offered tastes of anything that we were unsure of.
There are a limited few tables indoors and an expansive outdoor area.
Some of the goodies looking pretty side-by-sideI've actually been to Milany's twice now so there's a decent stash of photos to share. The first time, we ordered poffertjes with dark chocolate gelato and a 3 scoop bowl to share. On my second visit, we went for their cocktails (which are basically like sundaes) as well as a gelato thickshake.
Poffertjes with a scoop of dark chocolate gelatoTo be PERFECTLY honest, I wasn't totally blown away by the poffertjes but I'm willing to concede that this might be because I never understood the appeal of these things anyway. They're like pancakes... but small. So what? The dark chocolate gelato was quite amazing though. Deep, rich and not overpoweringly sweet.
3 scoops of gelato - biscuit, Turkish delight and cherry ripeFor the 3 scoops, we chose a flavor each. I chose the biscuit flavor and while the flavor was nice, I would have liked greater chunks of biscuity goodness. My friend was crazy for the Turkish delight flavor but since I'm not a fan of Turkish delight, needless to say my personal opinion is skewed. The cherry ripe flavor was quite good though. Of special mention is the gingerbread cookie - really crisp and yum.
Mini death by chocolateI loved the mini death by chocolate sundae. It has 2 scoops of ice-cream (milk chocolate and dark chocolate) and a smothering of glorious toppings. Though it was the 'small' size, it's quite substantial just because it's so rich. My favorite addition was the salted caramel pop rocks. So good!
Strawberry fantasyThe strawberry fantasy was huge and very impressive. Strawberries and cream is a foolproof winning formula and this takes it to a new level.
To put things into perspective re: size...The strawberries were perfect and fresh and the combination with cream and gelato makes this perfect for Summer.
Pistachio gelato thickshakeI have nothing but raves for the pistachio gelato. You can chose up to 2 different flavors because they use 2 actual scoops of gelato to make the thickshake (none of that powder or syrup rubbish). I was contemplating mixing flavors but decided to be safe because the staff (owner?) pointed out that he can't be accountable for taste if I go too crazy :p. I have no regrets whatsoever because the pistachio flavor was spot on. I've mentioned before that I always try pistachio whenever I'm at a gelato store and even though I didn't taste this in an actual scoop of gelato, I think the thickshake is quite indicative of flavor and IT WAS GOOD. The texture was fabulous too - smooth and thick.
I'll clarify one more time - Milany's is highly recommended. It's quite unique in Brisbane, being the only 'ice-cream restaurant' that I know of. By that I mean there is an actual menu featuring ice-cream as the primary focus. In Sydney, I was taken by Passionflower and now here, we have something similar so that is something to write home about :D.
Clean sweep
There is a first time for everything! Today we visited for gelati. We ordered two single cups of gelati, yes takeaway. We received our cups and walked outside. After a quick chat with the wife we decided to take a quick seat to enjoy our single cup of gelati. Yes, we changed our minds and decided to sit. How long would it take to eat a single cup in 32 degree outside temperature - four minutes? Two bites in we were asked to leave by the manager (yes bounced from gelati) Why? Well we ordered takeaway which means buy and leave, dont daly. The manager did offer to transfer our now melting single cup of gelati into a bowl so we could remain at the table . Maybe its me. Are we tarnishing the image of this establishment by changing our mind and sitting down and eating from the takeaway cup? As mentioned it was our first visit, we didn't see the rules printed which apparently we broke. I wasn't embarrassed, more perplexed. Takeaway and dine in prices are the same, the difference is the serving vessel. Isn't it better to have two returning paying customers than two perplexed leaving customers. Thanks for the single cup of gelati. It was an experience that deserves to be retold to friends.
ReplyDelete