Aqua S, Sydney

Final Review, 2018/2019 Visits

Sadness, sadness, sadness.

My favorite soft serve in Sydney, Aqua S, has closed their Sydney location, the one that was just a few blocks from the hotel I stay at regularly.  It has been replaced by trendy drink shop, that does have some soft serve, but, not the same.

Luckily, for those of you not in Sydney, Aqua S remains a strong brand, with locations worldwide now (I visited in Singapore actually!), and I highly, highly recommend.  The creamiest soft serve you'll find, and really unique flavors.

If this is your first read of my accolades, you may wish to start with my original review from 2015 and update 2016 review.

Taro Milk Tea (top), Sea Salt (bottom), Popping Candy. $6.

On this visit, my flavor choices were Rose Watermelon (ahh! Death!), Taro Milk Tea, and the signature blue Sea Salt.  I did consider not getting ice cream for safety reasons, after I confirmed that the watermelon rose flavor had real watermelon in it, and I really should have been worried about cross contamination, but ... taro is one of my favorite flavors, and Aqua S is one of my favorite soft serve ice cream shops, so, uh, I risked it.  Don't tell my mom.

So, taro it was.  But I wanted to hedge my bets, and get sea salt too.

Unlike last year, when the options of having two flavors in a cone/cup stacked one on top of the other was absolutely not allowed, this was now an acceptable thing.  I opted to go this route, just in case I didn't like the taro for some crazy reason, I could knock it off the cone, and at least enjoy the sea salt.

The taro however was great, so, it would have been fine to get a cone of just taro, or swirled with sea salt.  It was creamy, decent taro flavor, and it melted beautifully in the sun.

The sea salt I can't imagine a full cone of, as it is quite sweet, but, the flavor is certainly unique, and it too was quite creamy.

Credit cards had a $6 minimum, and since the ice cream was $4.50, this meant I needed to get a topping.  The toppings at Aqua S are always a bit odd ... I love caramel corn, but it doesn't work great on a ice cream.  Same with torched marshmallow, a great item, but, on my ice cream? Mochi did sound good, but is only available in cups, and I wanted to lick from a cone.  So, popping candy it was, even though I knew that was a ridiculous non-value.

As I expected, the tiny tiny quantity of popping candy was clearly not worth $1.50, but I did like the pop it added.  I really just want sprinkles, or anything else crunchy on the outside!

Overall, it was good, very creamy, good flavors, but didn't excite me as much as it had previously.

Elderflower Blueberry & Sea Salt / Popping Candy / Caramel Corn. $7.55.

I tried the elderflower blueberry on its own first and found it far too sweet and floral, and ... not tasting like blueberry at all.  But I disliked the other special even more (a too spiced chai tea flavor).  I almost left, and went elsewhere for ... something else.  I knew there was no other ice cream nearby that I wanted (sorry Oh, Matcha!, but your soft serve is lackluster ...).

But I really wanted soft serve, and I do adore the amazing consistency of Aqua S soft serve.  So I stayed.  I almost just went for plain sea salt, but at least minute, decided on a twist with the elderflower blueberry.

The consistency was again perfection.  Really just so smooth, so creamy, just, perfect soft serve ice cream.  It melted nicely.  I love their ice cream, really.

The sea salt was sweet and salty, a nice flavor, as always.  The elderflower blueberry was definitely tempered by the swirl, but I still don't think it tastes like blueberry at all, and I think I would have liked the sea salt by itself more.

My toppings were a success though.  The caramel corn, while a bit hard to actually eat off a cone, was really good caramel corn.  Fresh, super sweet, very crave-able.  Honestly, I'd buy a cup of just that if I could!  I think if it was hot and sunny the caramel corn would be a disaster though ... you can't lick your cone with it in the way, and you'd have to frantically just bite it all off.  But for not too hot days, it works, and I did love it.  Worth the $1.50.

The popping candy might not have really been worth $1.50 ... there wasn't much of it at all, but I did like it when I got a pop.

The cone was a dark color for photogenic purposes I think, it tasted plain, and wasn't a very good cone.

Overall, I was happy enough with this treat, although certainly not my first choice of flavors.

Mixed Berry (top) / Slime Brulee (bottom) with Popping Candy & Caramel Corn. (October 2019). $7.55.

For Halloween, Aqua S went "spooky" with one of the flavors.  My options were mixed berry (ok, that isn't the spooky one) and "Slime Brulee" ... which is really just crème brûlée flavored, but it is green.  Given my love of crème brûlée, I was super excited to try it, but I'm very glad I asked to sample it first.  

Slime Brulee was sweet.  Very, very, very sweet.  It did taste like crème brûlée, very custard-like, but, it was so very sweet.  I knew instantly that a full cone of it would be too much, but I did like it.

My option of course was to swirl it with sea salt, the always available flavor, but I didn't think that would actually improve things.  So I went for the Mixed Berry on top, and the Slime Brulee on the bottom, knowing the top flavor would likely be the more generous serve.

I really did like Mixed Berry.  It wasn't any distinct berry flavor, certainly not strawberry, not blueberry, more like raspberry.  It was clearly fruity, but not too fruity, and not too sweet.  I dislike fruity ice cream normally, strawberry ice cream is the bottom of the barrel for me, and most other fruity flavors of froyo or ice cream I am never excited for, but ... I grew up in the land of Black Raspberry soft serve, and this instantly reminded me of that.  In New Hampshire, where I lived, black raspberry was always the third flavor at a ice cream shop: vanilla, chocolate, and black raspberry.  Most places had 2 machines, and the 4th flavor rotated, but black raspberry was just as common as vanilla or chocolate.  I thought this was normal, until I moved out of the area, and realized black raspberry isn't actually everywhere.

Anyway, the mixed berry flavor really delighted me, and it was basically like a far better version of my childhood.  

Both the slime brulee and mixed berry were perfectly creamy, rich, premium ice cream.  Aqua S really truly just makes excellent ice cream.

As always, I was a bit let down by the topping choices: still just caramel corn, popping candy, torched marshmallow, fairy floss, or mochi (if you get a cup only).  I love caramel corn, but on a cone it is just odd.  I still got it, and just went in with a plan - I asked for a spoon, had my own cup with me, and knocked the popcorn off immediately, into the cup.  I ate it *after* the cone, and loved it.

The popping candy was awesome as usual, really, just so much fun, and I prefer it over classic sprinkles.  I went prepared with extra sprinkles and a crumble topping to add on as I went, since I knew they never really apply that much.

I'd get this again, likely just the mixed berry (maybe with sea salt), with just popping candy, and my own extra toppings.

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Other flavors sampled.

• Honey Citrus Grapefruit: I was fairly certain that I would not like this flavor, but I tried it anyway, since it was the only flavor, besides a chocolate based on, when I visited. And ... yeah, this is not for me.  It was tart, it was more like sorbet than ice cream, and just not my thing at all.
• Elderflower Blueberry: Another rotation where my options weren't exactly ones I was excited for, but still, I tried.  The elderflower made this a bit too sweet for me, and, well, floral.  Just not my thing.  It also didn't really taste like blueberry.
• Chai Tea: Too aggressively spiced, definitely not my thing.

Update Review, December 2016 Visits

Last year, I went to Aqua S for the first time, and learned why Aqua S had so much hype.  Yes, their brilliant blue soft serve, and ridiculous toppings ARE instagram sensations, but, also, the soft serve ice cream is really, really good.

I couldn't wait to return during my visit to Sydney this year.

Popup Setup.

Amazingly, my first weekend in Sydney, I ran into Aqua S, unintentionally, not at their own store.  They were at the Gap store, at the Westfield mall, doing a special popup event.

They had two soft serve machines set up on the counter.  I have no idea if these are the same grade as what they use at the shop, but it was a pretty impressive mobile setup.

Made to order!

At the popup, they had only one flavor, the signature sea salt soft serve, and two toppings (colorful popping candy and torched marshmallows, which, they torched to order).

I got it all.

Small Sea Salt ($4) + Popping Candy + Torched Marshmallow ($2.80) = $6.80

The sea salt had a good flavor, slightly salty, sweet.  But it wasn't nearly as creamy as I remembered, a bit icy even.  I wonder if this was just because of the popup machines?

The popping candy was again fun, more fun than sprinkles, and served about the same purpose.

The toasted marshmallow I had not had before, even though people Instagram it all the time.  It was ... well, a toasted large round marshmallow.  It was good, but, I couldn't help but wonder why I was supposed to want it with my ice cream.  It was served on a white chocolate cookie stick (Pocky?).

Overall, I enjoyed my ice cream, but it wasn't the sort of thing I'd go rushing back for.

Matcha Latte (bottom) + Rose (top) ($4) with Popping Candy ($1.50).

Aqua S rotates their flavors every two weeks now.  On this visit, the flavors were matcha latte and rose, in addition to the menu constant sea salt.  So options were: matcha latte, rose, or sea salt, all on their own, or matcha + sea salt swirl, rose + sea salt swirl.  I was immediately torn by indecision.

I knew I liked the rose before when Ojan got it, so that alone, or swirled with sea salt, was certainly a contender.  But I love matcha.  But I was also worried the matcha would be too strong on its own, and wanted to swirl it with sea salt.  So I wasn't actually indecisive.  I knew what I wanted: matcha swirl with sea salt on the bottom, rose on top.  Which is what I ordered, only to be rejected.  "Sorry, only two flavors" she said.

I understand the two flavors policy ... in that I couldn't get say, matcha, rose, and sea salt as three separate layers.  But the swirl comes out of a single machine, just like a single flavor.  I could get matcha without the sea salt on the bottom and rose on top, no problem.  How was it actually different to get the swirl than a single flavor?  I asked again, saying, "but the swirl is just one lever anyway" or something like that.  Still a hard no.

I asked if the matcha was very strong, and she said yes.  She said it was very bitter and was best swirled with sea salt.  But I couldn't get that, and rose.  Sigh.  She also wouldn't let me sample either flavor.  They do not allow any samples.

In the end, I opted for the matcha and rose, not swirled since they can't swirl.

The rose was lovely.  Such a subtle, beautiful flavor.  It was a bit intense on its own, and might have been a bit better swirled with sea salt, but it was still fabulous.  And, as with my first visit, it was just incredibly creamy and melted perfectly.  I loved it.

The popping candy was again a fun topping.  Like sprinkles, but, actually fun.  I really, really enjoyed my ice cream.

And then I reached the matcha layer.  To say it was bitter is an understatement.  It was *crazy* bitter.  Now, I love matcha, and this was a great matcha flavor.  But ... it was just not at all sweet, and not what I wanted, particularly not after the sweet rose flavor.  Really, this needed to be swirled.  As I had wanted.

I kept trying to like it, but couldn't.  I ended up throwing away the bottom of my cone, as I just couldn't bring myself eat it.

Just like that matcha, I was bitter.  I knew it would be better swirled, and I still really don't understand why it wasn't allowed.  Grumble.  Policies.  But I'll still go back.

Original Review, 2015 Visits

Aqua S is an ice cream shop in Sydney, named for their signature flavor: Sea Salt, which is ... aqua blue.  Yes, the sea salt ice cream is blue.  This might set the scene a bit for what is to follow.

Aqua S opened during my last visit to Sydney, and was a serious rage at the time.  Lines out the door and down the hall.  So much hype.  So much Instagramming.  Why?  Well, they created a product that was extremely novel and photogenic, and thus, social media went crazy.  Baby blue soft serve, in black cones, surrounded by a cloud of cotton candy, garnished with caramel corn.  Yes, seriously.  I walked by a few times (including when I got matcha ice cream across the hall at Chanoma), and I was tempted to swing through myself, but, figured it was all hype.  Something that over the top can't be good, right?

On my recent visit in February, the hype had worn down, but, reviews were still very positive.  People comment constantly on how creamy the ice cream is.  I grew up in the land of soft serve ice cream, so, I'm always on the lookout for good soft serve (NOT froyo, ice cream!).  So, ridiculous toppings and colors aside, it went on my list of possible places to try.

A few days into my trip I looked up Aqua S's weekly special flavors, and it was a done deal: taro and rose.  I adore taro.   I had to visit, no question.  I dragged Ojan with me.

Somehow, even on a 95 degree Sunday, at 2:30pm, there was hardly any line.  The ice cream was great, and I'll certainly be returning.

Aqua S Interior.

The small shop is decorated in ... aqua.  Aqua, aqua, everywhere.  There are a few tiny tables, but even on a non-busy day, they were all full (except the one pictured here, which was filled moments later).  Most patrons take their ice cream and wander through Regent Place, where it is located, and show off their ice cream for basically everyone else walking by to gawk at.

And gawk they do.  For good reason.

Popcorn Machine, Fairy Floss Machine (cotton candy).

The menu at Aqua S is not extensive.  Only 3 flavors of ice cream, one of which is always the signature Sea Salt, and two other flavors change every two weeks.  You can swirl either of the weekly flavors with sea salt, but not each other.  Cup or cone.  One size.  And then, 4 toppings to pick from ($1.50 extra).

Topping choices are ... interesting.  No sprinkles, no chocolate dip.  Instead, they have fairy floss (cotton candy), sweet popcorn, popping candy, and ... grilled marshmallow.  Yeah.  If you opt for the fairy floss, it forms a halo around the cone.  It looks ridiculous, and I don't think makes any sense.  How would you possibly eat that?

Anyway, right behind the counter is a fairy floss machine, making it to order, and a popcorn machine filled with the sweet popcorn.

Grilled Marshmallow and Popping Candy Station.

At the counter in front is the popping candy and grilled marshmallow station.  The marshmallows are on sticks, and then just stuck into your ice cream, which also doesn't really make sense to me.

Taro, with Sweet Popcorn, and (Free!) Valentine's Day Pearl Balls.  $5.50.

I obviously went for the taro.  I added the sweet popcorn because I love caramel corn, and, the bonus free topping of silver balls, which are not normally available.  This was a special for Valentine's Day.

I kinda laughed when I got my cone though.  It looked good, but ... uh, how do you eat popcorn off a cone?  I picked off a kernel, and then realized the bigger problem.  My cone was melting fast, and I had no ability to lick around it to save it.  Within moments I was going to have ice cream dripping down my arm.  Uh-oh.

So, I set about eating the caramel corn first, picking it off as fast as possible.  But ... it wasn't actually good.  It tasted stale.  I didn't actually want it.  So, I just picked it off and ditched it.  Then I could lick around my cone, save it from melting, and enjoy it.  Phew.  A stressful moment was had though, I assure you.

Ok, so, sweet caramel corn?  Not recommended as an ice cream topping.  The pearl balls were fine.

As for the ice cream, I didn't actually taste a ton of taro.  But it was the creamiest, smoothest, soft serve I've probably ever had.  It was really just absolute perfect consistency.  Not icy, not over churned.  Just, perfect.  And it melted beautifully, albeit rapidly, in the 95 degree heat.

The cone was black, but tasted the same as any other sugar cone.  I was hoping it was chocolate.

So, overall, well, it was damn good soft serve.  I'd get it again, but obviously leave off the popcorn.  $5.50 for a cone though ... a bit steep (but it was only $4 without the topping).

Rose and Sea Salt Swirl, with Popping Candy, and (Free!) Valentine's Day Pearl Balls. $5.50.

Ojan opted for the signature sea salt and rose, swirled, with popping candy.  His was beautiful, the aqua blue sea salt and the pretty pink rose were both stunning, it was covered in colorful candy, and had some bling from the pearls.

The sea salt really didn't taste like much to me, it was sweet, but honestly, I didn't taste any salt.  The rose however was really quite good, which shocked me, as rose is not really a flavor I normally go for.  But it was sweet, subtle, and really, really quite good.

While many of the toppings at Aqua S are totally impractical, it turns out, popping candy really is quite fun, and just as easy to deal with on a cone as sprinkles.  However, $1.50 for a little sprinkle of popping candy seemed ... excessive.

His was also a perfect consistency, really quite good ice cream, and I'd gladly get the rose again, although I wish I could swirl it with taro.