Ritz-Carlton (Norman Love) Chocolates

Chocolate.  Not something I have blogged about much lately, but, it is one of the first product types I ever reviewed regularly.  Bars, truffles, and such ... strangely I'm not super into chocolate desserts (although, yes, I love a great chocolate cake, a chocolate mousse, etc).  I used to run a chocolate tasting club in my office even.  So, yes, I'm kinda a chocolate girl, and literally start every day with either a truffle or decent sized hunk of chocolate alongside my coffee.  Every day.  Without fail.

Travel.  Pre-COVID, I travelled, for my job, a lot.  120+ nights a year on the road, and I learned quickly to join a hotel chain loyalty program (Starwood, now Marriott), and stay true to it, quickly earning high status, and enjoying all the perks that came along with it (if you travel that much, it really does matter!).  This past year, they gave all the high loyalty members a "gift".  The gift was $100 to spend ... at any of their boutiques.  

It turns out that $100 doesn't actually get you much at many of these boutiques - sure I could get a small travel sized bath product from any of their brands (and I do love the W Bliss products!) - or I could get some random kitchen dishes from Courtyard ... and that is what my "responsible" self almost did.  But my attention pretty quickly went towards the few culinary offerings.

"Indulge in the curated decadence of The Ritz-Carlton gourmet collection. Savor the flavorful taste of sustainably farmed caviar, gift our delicious chocolates, cake and exclusive coffee to a special someone or treat yourself."

The Ritz Carlton boutique has a couple "gourmet" options: their signature chocolate cake (which was sold out from the time I got the gift until it was set to expire, so not an option), caviar (way more $$$ than $100), branded coffee, and, chocolate collections (dark or milk & dark, 16 or 25 pieces).

So my choice was clear.  I was going to "splurge", and use my entire $100 gift just to ship myself a box of 25 very expensive chocolates - $59.99 for the chocolates, plus tax, plus required expedited shipping.  I knew there was no way this was maximizing the value, but hey, it was a gift, and I wanted chocolate.

The chocolates are branded as Ritz Clarton, but, a considerable bit of digging on my part lead me to the source: Norman Love Confections.  (The tip off?  One particular truffle with a very unique name allowed me to track these down).

"Norman Love has been producing beautiful handcrafted chocolate in Fort Myers, Florida since 2001. With an emphasis on artistry, premium ingredients, and innovative flavor combinations, the renowned chocolatier has earned significant national and international acclaim for his edible masterpieces."

I don't know much else about the chocolate maker, but Norman Love produces a large range of bars, "specialties", e.g. all sorts of flavors of malt balls, chocolate covered cookies, chocolate pops, chocolate caramels and toffee, hot chocolate, and more.

The Assorted Collection, 25 Piece: Packaging.

"Presented in a jewelry box-inspired package, each collection includes one piece each of 25 different flavors and designs.  Due to the required expedited shipping, this item will incur a $24.99 flat rate shipping fee."

As expected, given the price tag on these chocolates, they came nicely packaged, in a gift box with a silver satin-y bow.  I can't say I really felt it was "jewelry box inspired" though ....

The box was inside a cooler bag, with a (totally melted) ice pack.  At least they tried?  That is what my $25 expedited shipping got me ...

The Assorted Collection: Guide (2 Sided).

The included guide is two-sided, and mostly easy to match to the actual products.

Just looking through the guide made me pretty excited.  It really was an incredible assortment of white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate, with every type of filling you can imagine - creamy, sweet, nutty, fruity, spicy ...

I couldn't wait to get into this!  The good news? After tasting these chocolates, I completely understand why Norman Love has won so many awards.

The full lineup:

Milk Chocolate:

1. Caramel Macchiato
2. Dulce de Leche
3. Peanut Butter Marshmallow
4. Peanut Butter & Jelly
5. Sicilian Pistachio
6. Tahitian Caramel

Dark Chocolate

1. 80% Coueur de Guanaja
2. Coconut
3. Cookies 'N' Cream
4. Hot Dark Chocolate
5. Peanut Butter Cup
6. Raspberry
7. Tiramisu

White Chocolate:

1. Key Lime Shell
2. Yuzu Mango
3. Passion Panna-Cotta
4. Strawberry
5. New York Cheesecake
6. White Chocolate Raspberry

Truffle:

1. Sea Salt Caramel Truffle
2. Dark Chocolate Cream Truffle
3. Passionfruit Truffle
4. Roasted Almond Truffle
5. “Shot in the Dark” Truffle
6. Hazelnut Praline Truffle

You can probably guess which one lead me to the Norman Love brand name discovery ...

The Assorted Collection. 25 Piece. $59.99 + $24.99 (mandatory) Shipping.

"Inspired by a life of travel and exploration, this curated collection for The Ritz-Carlton features hand-selected chocolate from plantations around the world. Superior ingredients, including spices and nuts, are paired with chocolate of varying degrees of intensity to create new flavor combinations. Color, shape and texture are given equal weight as taste, resulting in edible works of art."

The Ritz Carlton shop calls this "The Assorted Collection", and sells it for $59.99.  The same box is also known as "the Signature Collection" at Norman Love directly, which they sell for $52.50.  Just sayin'.

This comes out to ... $3.40 per piece if you include shipping, $2.40 if you don't.  Yes, these were expensive chocolates.

Milk Chocolate

My box included 6 each of the milk, white, and truffle varieties, and 7 of the dark.  I selected a piece on any given day just based on my mood.

Milk chocolate isn't really my "goto" chocolate, but Norman Love makes very high quality milk chocolate, and I found myself gravitating towards these frequently.

Caramel Macchiato.

"Rich caramel cream and fresh espresso are swirled with sweet white chocolate and captured in a milk chocolate shell."

This was ... ok.

The milk chocolate shell was fine, as with all the chocolates, not too thick, not too thin, and quality chocolate, creamy milk chocolate.

Inside was smooth, creamy caramel.  Not too runny, not too stiff.  But I didn't taste any espresso or coffee flavor, nor the white chocolate either, it just tasted like caramel.  Not quite as advertised.

So "fine", a quality piece, but, it didn't deliver on the macchiato front.

***.

Dulce de Leche.

"A sweet layer of dulce de leche covers a decadent caramelized white chocolate ganache."

This one took a while for me to try, as I usually approached my box in the morning, cup of coffee in hand, barely awake, and wanted something ... less sweet.  Finally though, it was time to go sweet.

And quite sweet this was, as I expected.

Lovely creamy milk chocolate shell that melted in my mouth.  And inside, just as promised, a sweet white chocolate ganache, with a layer of gooey, even sweeter, dulce de leche above it.

Creamy, creamy, creamy, and sweet, sweet, sweet.  But quite enjoyable, high quality piece.

***+.

Peanut Butter Marshmallow.

"“Mallow” out with a classic combination of marshmallow, peanut butter and white chocolate ganache."

Ooop!  I took this one thinking it was the Dulce de Leche, really in the mood for caramely flavor, and was quite surprised when I bit in.  Heh.

But once I reset my expectations, "uh, that seems like peanut butter ....", I really enjoyed.  Smooth, creamy, quality milk chocolate shell, and a lovely sweet smooth peanut butter center.  The ganache really was extraordinary, so smooth, and perfectly balanced - it was certainly sweet (although it didn't taste like marshmallow exactly), but it wasn't cloying, and the peanut butter was quite present, but not too rich.

A very nice piece, although if you really wanted to taste "marshmallow" I'm not sure you'd be happy with it.

****.

Peanut Butter & Jelly.

"Fresh strawberry jam and creamy peanut butter coated in Swiss milk chocolate bring out the child in everyone."

This was one of the very last pieces I tried, because, well, I intentionally tried to "save the best for last" in some ways.  I was fairly certain this would be a winner.  I mean, peanut butter and jelly ...

It was good.  But ... it turns out, I like peanut butter & jelly.  And I like peanut butter cups.  And I like chocolate coated strawberries.  But ... I think there is a reason we don't put the jelly/jam in with the peanut butter in chocolates normally.

The peanut butter was great, super smooth and creamy.  The jam was good - fruity and flavorful.  Of course they went well together.  They each went well with the creamy milk chocolate too.  But put it all together and ... sum was less than its parts.  

It really surprised me that this didn't come together in the way I hoped, but, it didn't.

Side note: They call it peanut butter & *jelly*.  But the description says *jam*.  Ahem.  Which is it, Norman Love? :)

**+.

Sicilian Pistachio.

"Say “Ciao” to your cravings with this pistachio and white chocolate ganache, covered in milk chocolate."

The most memorable thing about this piece was the lovely green color of the filling.  It really was just a vibrant and really nice color.  It was striking.

And everything else about the piece?  Not memorable, in any way.

The milk chocolate shell was creamy, but fairly lost amongst the generous filling, I didn't really taste chocolate much at all.  The filling was very sweet, creamy, thick, um ... green, but only had a subtle pistachio flavor (if any, really).  I could easily have believed it was just white chocolate.

Don't get me wrong, it was a tasty piece, but, chocolate and pistachio both did not come through.  Lovely green white chocolate ganache though!

***.

Tahitian Caramel.

"It begins with a layer of creamy milk chocolate and a buttery caramel center accented with the essence of vanilla beans."

Tahitian Caramel was the last milk chocolate piece I tried as it was simply the most boring, and not one I was ever inspired to select, until I had no other choice.

This was the third "caramel"-like piece I tried - the dark chocolate caramel machiato and the dulce de leche were essentially caramels as well.  And ... it truly was the most boring.

Yes, quality, creamy milk chocolate shell that kinda melted in my mouth.  Perfectly smooth creamy balanced caramel inside, not cloying.  But ... that was it.  I didn't taste the "essence" of vanilla, there was no pop of salt, just nothing particularly interesting, at all, about this piece.

Totally fine, a simple classic, but bo-ring.

***.

Dark Chocolate.

While I had 6 each of the other varieties, since there were 25 chocolates total, Norman Love had to include an extra of one kind, and I was pretty happy dark chocolate got the bonus piece.

80% Coueur de Guanaja.

"All chocolate to the very core, this intense dark chocolate ganache will satisfy your deepest cravings."

I actually saved this piece for last.  I was really excited for it.  Deep, rich dark chocolate ... yes!

It was a nice piece.  Dark, smooth, creamy ganache, with the hit of bitterness you want inside a real dark chocolate.  It tasted almost like cocoa.

I liked it, but didn't love it.  Not quite sure why.

***.

Coconut.

"Sweet coconut flake and rich coconut cream go into the white chocolate filling within this dark chocolate confection."

Aww, a shell, how cute.  Not sure what that has to do with coconut though.

Anyway, this was a nice piece.  Thin snappy dark chocolate shell, good quality, but a thinner style, so it was not dominant in any way.  This piece was all about the creamy inside.

Inside was sweet white chocolate ganache, subtle coconut flavor, and a tiny bit of coconut shred for texture.  Not quite as intense as some may want, but I liked it.

More of an indulgent, sweet, creamy piece than a "chocolate" one though, so it it didn't quite satisfy my chocolate craving.

***+.

Cookies 'N' Cream.

"The fine dark chocolate crunch and smooth white filling you’d expect from this all-time favorite gourmet treat."

Heh, ok, first, a confession.  When I tried this, I thought it was the coconut one - the guide lead me astray!  Turns out, expectations, uh, influence how we feel about things.

Here was my review:

This one let me down.

The dark chocolate shell was perfect, they really do nail the proper thickness, enough to really taste the quality, smooth dark chocolate, but easy to break through.  

The filling though was ... boring?  I expected to really taste coconut, I was even hoping for shredded coconut inside, and this was just ... smooth white cream, sweet ... and I really didn't taste coconut, at all.

A fine sweet truffle, but not coconut.  ***.

Well, yes, self, not coconut.  I clearly didn't detect the dark chocolate crunch either, but I did at least recognize that the inside was just smooth white cream?  Heh.  Oh well.  Disregard this review.

Hot Dark Chocolate.

"Intense dark chocolate infused with jalapeño pepper for a delightfully spicy sweet combination."

This was a nice piece.

Again, very high quality dark chocolate shell, smooth, creamy, perfect thickness, slightly sweet style.  And inside?   Yup, some slight heat - it wasn't crazy intense, but, the heat was there, mixed in with the dark chocolate ganache.  Slightly spicy, slightly sweet, but mostly just incredibly well balanced.

I'd even like more heat, but the level here was still quite enjoyable.

****.

Peanut Butter Cup.

"A pure American favorite in all its glory, creamy peanut butter mixed with smooth milk chocolate and encased in a thin bitter sweet shell."

I find there some days that are "peanut butter days".  You know, those days where you just really, really want peanut butter.  (This happens to other people right?).  When I woke up one morning, having one of those days, this piece finally jumped out at me.

I've had my share of "fancy" peanut butter cups - from brands featuring organic nut butters, from high end chocolatiers, etc (e.g. Unreal, Jer's Squares, Chocolove, Skinny Cow, Vosges, Lindt, and local favorite Cocotutti).  This concept was not new to me.

But this one still was quite memorable.  A very, very, very good peanut butter cup.

The shell of course was part of the success - high quality, snappy, smooth dark chocolate.  But it was the filling that really impressed me.  Sooo smooth.  Sooo creamy.  Truly, as the description said, "glorious".

This was peanut butter cup perfection, I don't think it gets any better than this.

****+.

Raspberry.

"The yin and yang of flavor pairings, fresh tart raspberries lend a luxurious berry flavor to this irresistible dark chocolate confection."

Fruity chocolates aren't usually my go-to, but I was really in the mood for something fruity, and I was really in the mood for dark chocolate, so this looked perfect.  Chocolate and berries.  Classic.  

As with all the truffles, the shell was quality, smooth, shiny dark chocolate, not too thick, good snap, fairly deep flavor.  Inside was fruity dark chocolate ganache (no seeds), sweet and fruity, and a touch sour even.

It was a fine truffle, but not particularly memorable.

***.

Tiramisu.

"Ciao down on creamy vanilla mascarpone and rich espresso ganache enrobed in a dark chocolate shell."

Snappy dark chocolate shell.  Creamy vanilla ganache layer at the base.  Espresso infused biter ganache on top.  

Check, check, check.  A lovely piece, very balanced between sweet and bitter.  Only mild complaint is that I didn't taste mascarpone, and I wouldn't identify this as "tiramisu" rather than any other espresso based truffle, but I loved the very very bitter deep espresso flavor, and the complimentary creamy sweetness.

****.

Truffles

I really enjoyed many of the "regular" filled chocolates, but was eager to dive into the truffle collection too - all round, all filled with flavorful ganaches.  Most of the best pieces of the box were truffles.

Passionfruit Truffle.

"Travel to the tropics with the vibrant flavor of passion fruit, mixed in a milk chocolate ganache."

Passionfruit.  I *love* fresh passionfruit.  When I'm somewhere it grows locally, that is.  In the US ... yeah, not so much.  And passionfruit "flavor" things usually let me down big time.  Just sweet, usually fake tasting.

But one day I really, really wanted a fruity truffle, and so the passionfruit jumped out at me.

I loved it.

The milk chocolate shell was smooth and creamy, actually *good* milk chocolate.  The kind the melts in your mouth, if you take the care to eat slowly.  And inside, a fruity, milk chocolately ganache.  Incredible smooth and rich, light chocolate flavor, plenty of fruitiness.  It didn't taste fake, it was the right level of sweet, and, most of it, it actually tasted like passionfruit.

I was quite surprised by this piece, every element of it alone was perfectly executed, and together it was a delight.

****+.

Dark Chocolate Cream Truffle.

"A 49% dark Venezuelan chocolate made from Criollo beans and blended with cream and butter."

This was the first truffle I tried, and I was very, very impressed.

The shell was smooth, shiny, snappy quality dark chocolate, as with the dark chocolate pieces, not too thick, not too thin.  Quality.

Inside was lovely.  Thick yet creamy, beautiful chocolate ganache.  Soooo smooth, so rich, and full of deep dark chocolate flavor.

I savored every moment of eating this piece.

****+.

Hazelnut Praline.

"Pure and delicious Hazelnut praline is better than ever in this luscious milk chocolate truffle."

This was a good version of a pretty "standard" flavor these days.  Creamy milk chocolate and hazelnut isn't really novel at this point, and there wasn't anything extraordinary about this, but the inside was creamy smooth milk chocolate ganache, with little caramelized bits of hazelnut praline, lovely, um, Nutella-like flavor.  All coated in their standard quality milk chocolate shell.  

I'll give an extra point for the crunchy bits of hazelnut on top too.

Solid, fine, but less special than other flavors. ***.

Shot in the Dark.

"Power up with extra shot of espresso and coffee-infused cream in this intense dark chocolate filling."

This one delivered on its promise.  Unlike others that may have had subdued flavors, there was *no* denying the espresso in this one.  Smooth snappy dark chocolate shell, and creamy espresso filling.  It was bitter in a good way, and, well, tasted like coffee.  No, like espresso.

It truly was an espresso shot ... wrapped in dark (chocolate).  Well named, Norman Love.

***+.

Roasted Almond Truffle.

"This milk chocolate truffle is sweet perfection from the milk chocolate shell to the creamy milk chocolate and almond center."

Wow, yum.

This was the last truffle I tried, as I wasn't particularly excited for it.  It turned out to be lovely.

Very smooth, creamy milk chocolate shell.  The milk chocolate shells in general seem a bit thicker than the dark, resulting in a creamier mouth feel, vs the snappier dark chocolate.

And inside, sweet, smooth, creamy, almond ganache.  I thought there would be almond bits, but there were not.  Just smooth and luxurious, which worked really well.  The "roasted almond" flavor was quite nice.

Complex flavors in this one, and truly enjoyable.

****.

Sea Salt Caramel Truffle.

"This perfectly balanced dark chocolate truffle is filled with sweet golden caramel and topped with red and pink sea salts."

A very classic truffle, perfectly done.  Same dark chocolate shell - snappy, not too thick, slightly sweeter dark chocolate style.  The sea salt on top amped up the overall flavor, and even provided a tiny bit of texture.

The caramel inside was quite sweet, but buttery, and had quite a depth of flavor.  Far more than I expected.  It was not a runny style per se, but it was not thick either.

You definitely need to be in the mood for a sweet piece,  but the quality of the caramel in particular made this standout.

****+.

White Chocolate

And finally, white chocolate.  Not "real chocolate", but, sweet, creamy, and yes, I like white chocolate too.  It just has a different place in my life, not for mornings alongside my coffee, but rather for afternoons, or evenings, when I want just one more bite of something sweet.

Key Lime Shell.

"This tangy classic is made with fresh key lime juice for a feeling of Florida sunshine with each bite."

I know, how many times have I mentioned that I don't like lemon, lime, etc in desserts?  Key lime is *never* something I go for.

And yet, one day, this piece jumped out at me.

And ... I liked it.  

The tangy, slightly sweet, lime filling was delightful.  The white chocolate shell I thought was actually a bit too thick, the first time I've ever thought a ratio was off in a Norman Love piece, as the white chocolate took over.  I wanted more lime, less shell!

Tangy lime, who knew.  I guess I was in the mood ...

***+.

Yuzu Mango.

"Exotic yuzu jam and sweet mango blend beautifully in this creamy white chocolate ganache."

This was the first white chocolate I tried.  After the success of the "real" chocolate based truffled, I had high hopes that Norman Love would do white chocolate justice - not just sweet and waxy, and, indeed, they did.

Yes, the shell was sweet white chocolate, but it was smooth and creamy.  Inside was bursting with what I think was a mango liquid, and a yuzu ganache.  A tiny hit of acid from the yuzu, sweetness from the mango, and creaminess from the white chocolate.  All in one little bite.  And then it was gone.

I guess that means it was a success.  ***.

Passion Panna Cotta.

"A light buttermilk ganache layered with passion fruit and vanilla jam covered in white chocolate."

Sooo not a piece I'd ever normally select, but, after the success of the other passion fruit piece (the truffle), I was actually excited to try it one evening when I was in a "I want something sweet and fruity!" mood.  Plus, I obviously love panna cotta ...

This was not as good as the truffle, by any means - the passion fruit in particular had a bit of the "fake" taste to it.  And I didn't really love the white chocolate shell either.  BUT the buttermilk ganache was fabulous  - it really, truly, tasted like a panna cotta.  I didn't distinctly find any "vanilla jam".

Overall, a bit eh, but that buttermilk tang was pretty great.

***.

Strawberry.

"A heavenly couverture saturated with fresh strawberries make a creamy filling ripe with temptation."

For some reason, I was expecting a juicy, fruity filling.  I'm not sure why, but I was surprised when I bit in and nothing came gushing out.  Instead, it was a smooth, thick, sweet filling.  It tasted ... nothing like strawberries.  No fruitiness.  Just smooth, creamy, white chocolate.  Fine, but boring.

I was really surprised by this one, even with reset expectations, as, well, it literally tasted like ... nothing but white chocolate.  

The only dud of the entire batch.

**.

New York Cheesecake.

"Rich, freshly baked New York Cheesecake is blended into a white chocolate ganache for big city flavor."

Yum.  That is about all I have to say about this one.

The white chocolate-cheesecake ganache was delightful - sweet, creamy, tangy from the cheesecake aspect.  The white chocolate shell was certainly sweet, but it too was so smooth and creamy.  Together?  Just, well, tasty.  Sorry, I don't have a better word for it, but this was just good.  Simply put.

****.

White Chocolate Raspberry.

"This popular flavor from our Valentine’s Day collection has taken a permanent place in our hearts with its delicious combination of tart fresh raspberries swirled into sweet creamy white chocolate."

My very last piece.

It was a lovely piece.  I was in the mood for sweet, and white chocolate, and this was everything I wanted.  Smooth creamy white chocolate, both inside and outside, with a hint of raspberry in the filling.  So sweet, lightly fruity, and, well, just really what I was craving.

****

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Serendipity Ice Cream

As an avid dessert, and ice cream fan, I've known about Serendipity for years, but never visited, even when in New York, where their flagship is.

I wasn't able to visit one of their locations, but, they distribute both ice cream pints and sundae cups to grocery stores, and one day I just couldn't resist trying it, drawn in by the crazy flavors.  And I'll admit, the brand, at some level.  You can also buy their famous hot chocolate mix, in several varieties (regular hot chocolate, salted caramel, and mint), and "Frrrozen Hot Chocolate" is a featured part of the ice cream lineup, available as a pint, a sundae, and an ice cream cake.

Individual Sundae Cups

Sundae cups are self-contained, ready to eat, complete sundaes.  Intended to be single servings, I think, but I found it quite easy to break into two servings, just given how decadent they are (some are >500 calories!).

My very first Serendipity product was one of these to test the waters.  Let's just say, waters tested, I dove in!

The cups are made in 4 varieties, I tried all of them.

Cookie Dough.

"Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream with Cookie Dough Variegate and Topped with Cookie Dough Variegate and Mini Chocolate Chips."

Well, this was my first Serendipity experience, and it turn out to be delightful!  I was really, really surprised by how much I enjoyed this.  But, warning: this is a sweet one.  I actually forgot that it was supposed to be cookie dough, and thought it was salted caramel.

I know it didn't look like much - the mini chocolate chips were just scattered around on top, not well distributed, and there weren't actually very many.  The description said there was a cookie dough based topping as well, but it wasn't there, unless you count the little bit of the cookie dough swirl on the top?  It didn't look special.  But it really was good!

First, the texture was perfect - it wasn't an ice cream that froze too solid, nor too soft. I was pleased that it seemed to be the right serving consistency, right when I pulled it out.  I'm quite used to needing to pull my ice cream out in advance (and really, usually plan that, heating my pie, my cobbler, etc while the ice cream softens), but for this, since it was a complete sundae cup, I didn't need to.

The only chocolate in the cup was the little chips on top, which wasn't quite what I expected, as I thought the cookie dough pieces, or the cookie dough filling would have some, and I did like the crunch and texture (and definitely the small size!), but I wished they were integrated more.

Cookie Dough: Inside.

The vanilla ice cream was indeed creamy.  It was decent enough vanilla - I wouldn't call it amazing, it was just simple vanilla, not vanilla bean, but, it was good vanilla ice cream.

The vanilla did have elements of "cookie dough variegate" integrated (my first time hearing that term, but basically, just, a varied inclusion in the ice cream, in this case, the vanilla with the cookie dough elements, which when looking at the ingredients says both cookie dough filling and pieces (neither containing chocolate chips, just FYI).  What this seemed to be was a few small chunks of cookie dough near the bottom (not very generous), and lines of the same cookie dough swirl that you could see on the very top, 4 thin ones, down the sides.

The cookie dough variegate was super sweet, again, I thought it was salted caramel at first bite, but it was more clearly cookie dough, particularly the chunks as I got to them.  The chunks were good, very buttery, and, sweet.

I really did wish there was more cookie dough, more chips, more cookie dough swirl.  As you can see here, the majority really was just the vanilla.

Overall all though, this was easily a complete dessert, didn't need additions, and was easy to pull direct from freezer and consume.

I am a little surprised by the nutrition stats on it though.  The container really is a single serving, it looked like less than 2 scoops ice cream really (although I at 171 g, I guess it really is 2.5 scoops of half cup servings?), and it was 520 calories!  For what looked like just 1.5 scoops of ice cream, and no real toppings, that seemed ... high. Was it the cookie dough?

I really did enjoy this, and would get it again.  It made me very excited to try more sundae cups.

Salted Caramel.

"Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Variegate and Topped with Caramel Variegate and Chocolate Flakes."

Next I went for the ever trendy Salted Caramel sundae cup, another vanilla ice cream base, this time swirled with chocolate "filling", caramel "filling", and some "choco flakes" (even though the product description does not mention the chocolate swirl).

Something had happened to this sundae cup. I blame something in the distribution line, perhaps a delayed shipment in the COVID world? It had clearly melted and re-frozen, with more freezer burn than I have ever seen on a product before.  There was a layer of actual ice on top!

So, hard to really evaluate this one.  The ice cream wasn't the smooth creamy vanilla from the previous cup, and seemed to have separated out into icy layers and cream layers, and that just was not tasty.  The salted caramel and chocolate swirls were ... ok, but not very interesting.  Just, well, chocolate sauce and caramel sauce.  I didn't really taste much salt.  Nor find flakes.

I dug to the middle of the cup, the bottom, anywhere looking for some part that didn't seem ruined, but, this was ruined. Very hard to evaluate.  Clearly, this didn't go well for me.

There is a similar pint available, Salty Caramel Pretzel, that has chocolate covered pretzel bits in it as well.

Birthday Cake.

"Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream with Pink Frosting Variegate and Topped with Pink Frosting Variegate and Sprinkles/Crunch."

Next up?  Yup, the ridiculous Birthday Cake.

Another vanilla ice cream base, with a variegate, and something sprinkled on top.  It looked great, with the swirls of the pink frosting, but the sprinkles and crunch were a bit, uh, meager?  

Well, it said vanilla ice cream, but this was really, really sweet, and I think it was cake batter flavored, not vanilla.  The Birthday Cake *pint* flavor is a cake flavor base, so it seems reasonable that this was too?  The ice cream was creamy and smooth, not amazing, but not bad.  But, it sure seemed sweet.  Very sweet.  Maybe that was all coming from the pink mix-in, it was a bit hard to tell, but, sweeter than any standard vanilla, no question.

The "pink frosting" was a cream cheese based swirl, not really what I'd consider a frosting, as it wasn't light and fluffy, but, it definitely tasted like, well, birthday cake.  Very nicely done on this.

I can't say the sprinkles on top added anything to it, but there were more integrated throughout, and I did appreciate the fun and colorful element.  The "vanilla crunch" was just laughably non-existent.  It *would* have been nice to have a crunch element, and I ended up adding crushed up Bugels on top of mine.

Overall, I was pleased with the sundae, the standout element being just how intensely cake tasting it truly was.  However, it was too sweet to just eat like this, so I ended up mixing it 2 parts Birthday Cake sundae to 1 part regular vanilla ice cream to mellow it out a bit.  And I added whipped cream and fresh strawberries to *really* turn it into a sundae.  And, the aforementioned crushed Bugels.  I wouldn't get it again, but had no qualms finishing it all.

As I mentioned, they also make a Birthday Cake pint, that is a cake batter base, with pink frosting swirls, and sprinkles, just with pieces of pound cake mixed in too.

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate.

"Creamy Chocolate Ice Cream with Whipped Cream Variegate and Topped with Whipped Cream Variegate and Chocolate Flakes."

I saved the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate for last, as I'm not a huge chocolate ice cream fan, but, I knew this is their signature flavor, so I should try it. 

Like the others, it had a "variegate", this time whipped cream, which you can see running down the sides here, and was topped with more of it, and this time, chocolate flakes.  The description doesn't say it, but it also had chocolate flakes in the ice cream, it was not plain ice cream.

The ice cream was ... well, like several of the others I had tried (all from same grocery store), ruined.  Grainy.  Only slightly chocolatey.  I really did not like it, besides the chocolate flecks in it.

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate: Top.

Here you can see the generous "whipped cream variegate", which tasted much more like marshmallow than whipped cream to me.  It was gooey like marshmallow and just crazy sweet.  So much sweet.  Cloying.  There was plenty on top, and plenty throughout the cup.

The chocolate flecks ("Choco Flakes" according to the ingredients) on top were really the only part of this that I liked.

Pints

Serendipity also makes standard ice cream pints for retail.  Or, at least, the pint *form* is standard, but what is inside?   No exactly "standard".  Very, very different from most pints of ice cream you'll find ... Flavors have fun names "Unicorn Bliss Sundae", "Humble Pie", "Outrageous Banana Split", and the like.  And all are loaded with inclusions.

I've tried many.  But warning, these trend very, very sweet.

 Unicorn Bliss Sundae

.

"Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream with Pink and Blue Cookie Dough Pieces and a Glittery Swirl."

I almost grabbed the Birthday Cake flavor, but then I saw the unicorn, and, well, embraced my inner child.  I really should have actually *read* the descriptions, as the Unicorn one was actually just cookie dough.  Doh.  Birthday Cake sounded much better, cake flavor ice cream base, with pink frosting swirls, cake pieces, and sprinkles.

But it turned out, this wasn't just another colorful children's ice cream that was just plain vanilla cookie dough in disguise.  Nope, this was entirely different from regular cookie dough ice cream.

And, um, it was insanely delicious.

So, yes, it was a light blue color, "Blue Vanilla", colored using spirulina, rather than food coloring.  And it was just a vanilla base, a sweeter style I think, and really an excellent foundation: smooth, creamy, melted perfectly.  It is clear this is a quality base product.

But it was the mix-ins that were insanely good on this one.

Unicorn Bliss Sundae: Glittery Swirl, Cookie Dough Pieces.

Inside the pint was very generously loaded up with mix-in.

The cookie dough pieces were good size chunks, and yes, they were bright blue and pink.  Silly, yes, but they were great, not *chocolate chip* cookie dough, regular sugar cookie dough, sweet, buttery tasting, and quite delightful.  Above average cookie dough pieces.

And then, um, the "glittery swirl".  This turned out to be totally and completely different from anything I imagined.  I thought it would be a soft component, but instead, it was actually solid chunks, all different sizes, some small but some gems like this that were quite large.  And what was it?  Well, it kinda seemed like very sweet white chocolate, with a fascinating texture from the edible glitter inside.  The glitter wasn't sparkling exactly, but it added the texture, and the colors were fairly vibrant in it, this time made from red cabbage extract, turmeric extract, and radish extract, in addition to spirulina.  Kudos to not just using Red #40 and Blue #1 everywhere! (They are used in the cookie dough though).  The swirls were *crazy* sweet.

Overall, I kinda adored this pint for a little while, but only in small "doses".  It is a dangerous pint, higher calorie, sugar, and fat than your standard ice cream, and one that makes you just want to keep digging through it and eating more and more (uh, oops, did I just admit that I consume direct from pint?).  Perfectly soft creamy ice cream, delightful buttery chunks of cookie dough, and sweet crazy swirl?  Yes please.

Frrrrozen Hot Chocolate.

"Hot Chocolate Flavored Ice Cream with Whipped Cream Swirl and Chocolate Shavings."

Next, unintentionally, I tried the Frrrrozen Hot Chocolate.  

How did this happen unintentionally?  Well, I had another flavor on my grocery list when my mom did errands for me, and, this is what she came home with instead.  I was fairly sad, as I'm not really generally a big chocolate ice cream fan.

This however was pretty extraordinary.

Perfectly creamy chocolate base, er, "hot chocolate" base.  Flavored with "Frozen Hot Chocolate Flavor", whatever that is.  What I do know is that it was rich and milky, and really delightful.

Mixed into the base, semi-sweet chocolate curls, decent size flecks of chocolate goodness, and plenty of them, well distributed throughout.  They added delightful texture.

And then ... the "whipped cream swirl", which really was more like a ooey gooey marshmallow swirl to me, just like the sundae version.  It was quite sweet, and, there was plenty of it.  It really brought a fun element to the creation, basically turning it into an ice cream sundae, no additions needed.  I would have probably preferred something more representative of whipped cream than this sweeter marshmallow style, but the gooey nature was pretty remarkable.

This all just came together very, very well.  I could see it as "hot chocolate" inspired, with that crazy marshmallow-like swirl.

I still don't seek out chocolate ice cream, but this was a wonderful version of one. ***+.

Salty Caramel Pretzel.

"Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolatey Covered Pretzel Bits and Salty Caramel Swirl."

Next up, trendy salted caramel, but not what I expected, not a salted caramel base, but rather, a vanilla base, with a salted caramel swirl, and, the pretzels, coated in milk chocolate.

Salty Caramel Pretzel: Top.

Like all Serendipity flavors, it took little effort to find the mix-ins, even at the top.

The vanilla ice cream base was good, above average, decent quality vanilla.  I liked the "Salty Caramel Swirl", although I didn't get the salt from it, the caramel was gooey, sweet, and quite tasty, in small doses.  But very sweet, and if you got a section with tons of this sauce, it was ... wowzer.  A lot.

The pretzel bits I was torn on.  Small little nuggets, er "nibs" according to them, coated in milk chocolate, that broke off as you took a scoop, leaving plain pretzels and bits of chocolate behind.  The pretzels were rather soft, so didn't add the desired crunchy element I was really looking for, but there were tons of them, so they could add up to a nice crunch if you got enough.  They didn't give the salty component I was looking for either, just a very slight salt.  Much like many Ben & Jerry's mix-ins, they made me sad due to texture, but were almost awesome..

But overall, I did like it in some ways, again, like all Serendipity pints, soooo generously loaded with goodies, which I adore.  Hard to stop digging into it!  But like most Serendipity pints, just, too sweet overall.

*** (for the chocolate pretzels!).

Birthday Cake.

"Cake Flavored Ice Cream with Swirls of Pink Frosting, Cake Pieces and Sprinkles."

And finally, I tried the Birthday Cake, the one I intended to get that first time, when I got distracted by the Unicorns.  Pink frosting swirls, hunks of birthday cake (just pound cake), and sprinkles, in a cake batter base, not just vanilla.

I ... was not particularly into this one, the first time I tried.  Like most of the flavors, it was just sooo sweet.

The ice cream base is "cake" flavored, yes, it tasted like generic boxed sweet vanilla cake.  Sweet being a key here.  Within the sweet base is plentiful sprinkles, pink and blue, also kinda sweet, but mostly waxy.  And then, the pink frosting swirl, yup, just more sweet, a hard style, not really "frosting", just this harder pink sweet stuff.  And the cake, it said pound cake, but I didn't find any the first time I had this pint (more on this soon).

Overall, this was just not very good.  Yes, too sweet was part of the problem, but also the components were just generic and fake tasting - boxed cake, waxy sprinkles, meh.

My least favorite, and not one that I found any redeeming component of.

Birthday Cake: Later.

Except of course I kept trying it, as I had an entire pint to get through.

Once I finally found the cake pieces, and was ready for sweet, I enjoyed it significantly more.  Amusingly, the cake was my favorite part - and I never like pound cake!  It worked in here, soft but firm, moist but semi-frozen, really kinda fascinating.  It was the classic "problem" though, of a pint with hunks of a goodie you really want - the cake! - but them being rather sparse, which required digging, and of course, just eating more and more of the ice cream.

I did still find the base ice cream "meh" sweet, and the pink frosting got to be too much *very* quickly, and the sprinkles were crazy sweet and very generously throughout ... but again, it had its place, I guess, and I really did kinda like it.

**+.

Read More...

Jon Donaire Desserts

Back in the day, Jon Donaire was a regular commercial bakery.  But somewhere along the way, they switched to wholesale, making frozen desserts for foodservice distribution, along with running an outlet store near their home base in southern California.  Yelpers *loved* the outlet, praised the goods, and spoke highly of the ridiculously low prices.

Then Jon Donaire was acquired by Rich Foods, now their major distributor, and they no longer operate the outlet store.  

I was not familiar with the brand until the year of COVID, when I started trying desserts from random establishments, and discovered that many of them were using Jon Donaire.  You may have had their goods and just not known it as well... apparently the cheesecake at Long John Silvers is theirs?

"As a brand under Rich's Products, Jon Donaire crafts the taste of luxury and decadence into traditional desserts, but at an affordable price. The ready-to-serve design allows you to serve customers at a moment's notice, without compromising quality. And because they’re premade, these desserts save time and effort in the kitchen and eliminate the need for specialized or costly equipment.

Jon Donaire products are made with quality ingredients at an affordable price. With their extensive variety of cakes that are beautifully and professionally decorated, Jon Donaire products are a great addition to any establishment. Add a classic, luxuriously rich option to your dessert menu with Jon Donaire desserts."

Anyway. The brand has a few signature items, cheesecake and a "Chocolate Overload" cake, both of which you can find at nearly every delivery generic pizza place around San Francisco.  They also make a number of ice cream cakes.  I can't say I've been impressed with anything I have tried, so after trying a few items, I've moved on, and skip dessert, even though I'm a dessert girl through and through, when I realize somewhere uses Jon Donaire (spoilers are often ... 1) the Jon Donaire boxes near their trash cans or in the coolers or 2) the name 'Chocolate Overload' on their menu).

Tiramisu.

"Two layers of sponge cake soaked in tiramisu flavored sauce are layered with cream and mascarpone cheese, then finished with a dusting cocoa."

My first Jon Donaire product.  From a local pizza place, identified because the boxes were piled up near the trash when I went to use the bathroom.

I actually took one look at this and thought, "well, this isn't going to be remotely authentic!"  I can't say I've seen tiramisu sliced like a traditional cake slice before.  This wasn't the fault of the pizza place I picked it up from, as the folks at Jon Donaire are the ones who sliced it this way, it comes pre-sliced and portioned.

Anyway.  

Yes, it had all the components of traditional tiramisu: layers of cake, soaked in, um "tiramisu flavored sauce", with cream-cream cheese-marscarpone mix between them and on top.  The "tiramisu flavored sauce" I guess meant ... espresso? Amusingly, if you look at the ingredients to figure this out, you'll see ingredient #2 (after heavy cream) is ... "tiramisu syrup", made from high fructose corn syrup and artificial coffee flavor.  So, there you have it.  No real espresso was harmed in the making of this product.  I kinda think it is not actually caffeinated in any way?  It certainly did not have a very good espresso kick to it.

Anyway, it was ... highly mediocre.  The mascarpone layer wasn't all that strong in the mascarpone department.  The cake did soak up the tiramisu sauce, but, it wasn't great either.  Not particularly strong coffee flavor.

Overall, just, mediocre.  I finished it, but, not with any glee.  Would definitely not get again.

**.

Classic Cheesecake.

"Velvety smooth cheesecake on a delicious graham crust."

Undeterred, I went for cheesecake, from a different pizza place, but one that had the Jon Donaire boxes in proud display in their case in front.  Cheesecake is a classic for wholesale, and is something that even a lackluster brand can usually do decently.

But this ... was not good.  Not that I was expecting awesome cheesecake or anything, but, yeah.  Wow.  I dub it "the most boring cheesecake ever".

Consistency wasn't great, not particularly rich nor creamy, and certainly not much cream cheese flavor.  The crust was just graham cracker, pretty cardboard like.  No back crust.

Meh.  Bo-ring.  I didn't want it.

**.

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake.

"Rich, creamy cheesecake swirled with sweet strawberry puree on a graham crust."

You'd think I'd stop trying their goods, or at least would give up on the cheesecake, but I didn't get this knowing it was Jon Donaire until it was too late.  And yes, from yet another pizza place in San Francisco.

The strawberry swirl cheesecake is the same base cheesecake, just with a swirl on top, strawberry.  It at least looked slightly more "fancy"?

But the cheesecake itself was still the same - not very rich nor creamy, not much cream cheese flavor.  Again no back crust, just the base, and that was just cardboard graham cracker.  Meh meh.

The strawberry swirl was fruity, and not that bad, but, it didn't really make this a compelling cheesecake.  I scraped the top off, and enjoyed it with some whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cookie.

Marginally better than the plain but I surely wouldn't get again. 

**+.

Read More...

Gelato Messina, Syndey

Update Review, 2018 & 2019 Visits

During my last visit to Sydney, I attended an event catered by Messina (which I've reviewed before, originally, in 2015, and in 2016).  However, the gelato clearly had melted and re-frozen, and was kinda freezer burned, so, it is hard to fairly judge the gelato as the base had very clearly suffered.  Luckily, I also swung by the shop a few times on my way home from the office, to get a treat on a warm day, or try a fun new weekly flavor.

The very next week, I attended an event with one of their "Trans Cakes", but alas, I wasn't able to get a photo before it was destroyed (er, I mean, enjoyed).

As always, Messina had some very interesting flavors, some of which I liked more than others.

Boysenberry / Salted Caramel.

BOYSENBERRY
 "Our own yoghurt gelato with poached boysenberry coulis."

Eh.  Slightly tart.  Fruity.  Not my style.  Way too freezer burned to really reflect on though.

SALTED CARAMEL AND WHITE CHOCOLATE
"Salted caramel gelato with white chocolate chip."

I didn't find this very remarkable.  I'm not sure why.  Just kinda plain sweet gelato? No real salt, no caramel, no white chocolate ... just, sweet?

Bounty /  Nonno Carlo (Nov Special).

BOUNTY

"Coconut milk gelato with desiccated coconut and choc chip."
I wouldn't naturally pick the Bounty flavor, but, I enjoyed it.  Lots of chocolate flecks throughout for some crunch, and tons of coconut flavor from the desiccated coconut.  It really did taste like a Bounty bar, just, as gelato.

I liked it, but probably wouldn't order myself.

NONNO CARLO 

"Strawberry sorbet with vanilla cream and marsala soaked brioche. Nonno knows best."
I'm not a sorbet girl, so I wasn't into the fruity strawberry sorbet base, and the chunks of brioche really were just soggy cake randomly in my gelato.  This isn't one I'd ever pick, and certainly wasn't for me.

[ No photo ]

The Slab Trans Cake. $68.

"This cake can be eaten from the fridge or the freezer. caramel mousse. caramel sponge. peanut milk chocolate crunch. peanut butter cremeux. finished with milk chocolate glaze and Messina print chocolate square."

I didn't get a photo of this, as it was at an event, and the organizers cut into it before I had the chance to capture it nicely.

Let me describe it though.  It is a decent size cake, serving ~10 people, a square shape, and, from the outside, just coated in chocolate ganache.  We choose to serve it from fridge not freezer, left out for a little while before serving, both techniques are recommended by Messina.

It was a very good cake.

The caramel mousse was sweet and a great texture, truly a mousse.  The caramel sponge was just a thin layer, and although I'm not a cake girl, it was nice to have for the soft texture.

I *loved* the peanut milk chocolate crunch in the center.  Awesome texture, but also, peanut butter and chocolate are a fantastic match.  I'd love to just eat that crunch by the spoonful, perhaps topped with a little whipped cream!  The peanut butter cremeux was also most welcome, again, more peanut, and yet another creamy element.  Same with the "milk chocolate glaze", smooth, creamy, and complimentary flavors.

This all came together fantastically well, and I'd gladly have another, larger!, slice.

2 Scoop: Pandan & Coconut Sorbet,
Milk Choc with Choc Peanut Fudge Gelato. (Jan 2019)

I tried ... at least 6 flavors on the day I finally selected this.  I really wanted to get a new flavor, to like something different, but in the end, I went for two of my reliable favorites: pandan coconut and milk choc with choc peanut fudge.  I was pleased with my choices.  Sometimes, reliable and consistent is best!

PANDAN & COCONUT
"Pandan & Coconut sorbet. Pandan is a green asian leaf used in Asian cooking."

I am not a sorbet girl.  I really am not.  Honestly, this may be the only sorbet I actually like (and certainly the only one I order, even when there are tons of gelato choices!).

What I like about this is how balanced it is.  The coconut is not too strong, it is not too sweet, and the pandan not only adds color obviously, but also just a really nice subtle flavor.  I really find this enjoyable, and far creamier than any other sorbet.  I'd believe it was gelato, honestly.

MILK CHOC with CHOC PEANUT FUDGE
"Milk chocolate gelato lathered in choc peanut fudge (all Messina chocolate is made in-house)."

Hidden under the scoop of pretty pandan & coconut is my other, long time, absolutely favorite flavor: milk choc with choc peanut fudge.  I just adore this.

The milk chocolate is rich, the base is incredibly creamy, and the fudge is more like brownie batter, thick, gooey, deeper chocolate flavor.  I just love this so much.  I wish it had crunch from some chunks of peanuts too, but, still, this is a great flavor.

I also love how this one melts, it just gets perfectly melty, and if it melts too fast, I just drink it like a milkshake, and I am not sad.

[ Other flavors sampled ]

COCONUT & LYCHEE
"Coconut milk gelato with lychee fruit - this was the first ever flavour we ever made from scratch."

This was too sweet for me, but, kinda refreshing for a gelato.  If you like strong sweet lychee flavors and can imagine it by the scoop, you'd like this.  I'd certainly want to pair it with something else.

FAIRY BREAD (November 2018 Special).

"Toast and butter gelato with 100's & 1000's crunch."

I really enjoyed this one.  I didn't necessarily notice "toast" nor "butter" in there, but, the gelato base was good, creamy, and I adored the sweet and crunch from the very generous amount of 100's and 1000's.

FINGER BUN (January 2019 Special).
"Brioche gelato with whipped cream, raspberry puree and coconut icing. We don’t want none unless you got finger buns, hun."

This one was too sweet and fruity for me.  I also didn't really find coconut icing, nor whipped cream.  And the base didn't taste like brioche exactly.  Not my thing, mostly due to the raspberry puree.

HOKEY POKEY
"Fior di latte gelato with chocolate covered honeycomb."

This was sweeter than I wanted, due to the honeycomb, which added big pockets of, well, honey.

MACADAMIA CRUNCH
"Caramelised white chocolate and macadamia gelato with macadamia crunch."

This was pretty good, sweet, but not too sweet, and I liked the crunch.  I wanted more larger chunks of macadamia however.

PEANUT BUTTER FLORENTINE (November 2018 & January 2019 Special).

"Peanut butter gelato with chocolate coated peanut praline. It’s peanut butter florentine! Peanut butter florentine!"

This was pretty delicious.  Peanut flavored base, smooth and creamy, bit bits of the praline in it.  Definitely one worth getting.

I had it again in January, and again enjoyed it.  Very peanut forward, and I loved the crunch.

PISTACHIO PRALINE
"Fior di latte gelato with white chocolate and pistachio fudge and pistachio praline."

I almost liked this one.  Not too sweet, lots of texture and crunch, but, it tasted too much like pistachio.  Which I realize is a funny thing to say, but, really, I wasn't in the mood for pistachio.  If you are, Messina also makes a classic pistachio flavor, green in color, smooth, no nuts integrated throughout.

Update: I had this again in March, when someone ordered Messina for the office as catering, and had tons left over.  I liked it, strong pistachio flavor, sweet but balanced by the nuttiness, and I just loved all the crunchy bits in it.

BLACK FOREST (March 2020 Special)
"Chocolate fondant gelato with kirsch cream, cherry jam and kirsch soaked chocolate sponge."

This was good!  Very rich, very creamy, deep dark chocolate, and fruity boozy flavors.

ODE TO ZENO (March 2020 Special0
"Rosewater gelato with crushed pistachios, whipped cream and rosewater soaked brioche. "

Hello, Persian flavors!  A lovely sweet rosewater gelato base, and the pistachio was the right compliment, I loved the crunch from the nuts.

Sweeter and not really my flavors of choice, but, if you like rosewater and pistachio, this would be a winner.

Update Review, January 2016 Visit

As you know, I used to love Gelato Messina, and I've reviewed it several times before.  Go start with those reviews if you haven't read them before ...

On this visit though, I dunno, I just wasn't into any of the flavors.

Small Choc Mint.

"Real fresh mint gelato with chocolate chip."

Another visit, I did the thing I always say not to do.  I got this flavor without tasting it first.  That isn't to say that I didn't taste flavors, I tried at least 5 or 6, and just didn't like any. I felt bad, so I finally just picked this, assuming that a mint chocolate chip was a safe bet.

And, it was fine, although not very minty.  I guess it was creamy, and it did have nice chunks of chocolate, but, maybe I'm just over gelato?  I didn't enjoy it much at all, and I didn't enjoy the 5 or so other flavors I tried before settling on this either.

I did like Ojan's Milk Chocolate with Choc Peanut Fudge though ... that really is the best flavor.  I need to just stick with it.

Other flavors I tried:

• Banana Split: "Banana and caramel gelato with chocolate chips, crushed peanuts and whipped cream."  Tasting notes: I somehow didn't taste any of the signature components ... no chocolate chips, no peanuts, and definitely no whipped cream.  I did taste banana.  I guess a sample just wasn't big enough to do this one justice?
• Pannacotta with Fig Jam and Amaretti Biscuit: "Pannacotta gelato base".  Tasting notes: The fig was really strong in this, I didn't taste 'pannacotta', not that I know what that would taste like anyway.  Fig was really all I really detected.
• Nutcase: "Peanut and coconut gelato with candied cashews, roasted coconut and sesame seeds."  Tasting notes: This had too much going on.  Lots of bits in it, all competing with each other, rather than complimenting.
• Return of the Mac: "Macadamia and milk chocolate gelato annihilated with white chocolate and macadamia cookies." Tasting notes: This was Levi's pick, and I had a bite.  It was totally crazy, annihilated was the right word, it was loaded up with huge chunks of cookies.  Not bad.   Crazypants.
• Wagon Wheel: "Shortcrust gelato with marshmallows, raspberry puree and choc chips." Tasting notes: I accidentally tried this one, when I meant to ask for another flavor.  I know I don't really like Wagon Wheels anyway, and this was just too fruity for me with generous raspberry puree.
• Pavlova: "Vanilla gelato with raspberry and passionfruit puree and baked meringue". Tasting notes: This was way, way too sweet.  The passionfruit was overwhelming.  Bits of baked, crunchy meringue inside was strange.

Update Review, May 2015 Visit

No visit to Sydney is complete without at least one stop at Messina for gelato.  On my recent visit, it wasn't summer any longer, but, we still couldn't resist the temptation of delicious gelato.

Wait, do you not know about Messina?  In that case, I suggest you go read the review from my Jan/Feb 2015 visit below, and then return here, since I'm skipping all the general details this time around.

Specials Board.

On this visit, one of the specials on the week was "Messina's Momofukup".  OMG.  This sounded like basically the best thing ever: "Cereal Milk gelato smashed with Momofuku crack pie".  For the unfamiliar, this is referring to the two famous creations from Momofuku Milk Bar in New York: the cereal milk and the crack pie.

Cereal milk is basically the sweet milk left after you eat a bowl of sweet cereal, and they have made it into soft serve ice cream at the Milk Bar.  Its crazy sweet, but amazing.  But even more amazing is the Crack Pie, honestly, the most addicting pie I've ever tasted.  Very aptly named.  Both insanely delicious on their own, and I could only imagine how amazing this combination could be.

I smartly asked to sample it rather than just diving in to getting a scoop, and I'm glad I did.  It turned out to just be too sweet.  I expected sweet, but, this was just too much.  I guess some things are better individually!

[ No Photo ]

Chocolate Peanut Butter

It didn't really matter that the Momofukup wasn't a winner, as Ojan had eyes only for the Chocolate Peanut Butter.  I did want to try something new, but, I liked it previously myself, so I went along with his decision, and opted to just share with him.

Sadly, it lost its magic on me.  The gelato was fine, but it didn't melt in quite the creamy way I remembered.  Maybe that is just because it wasn't a warm day?  But the bigger issue, is that it seemed just like chocolate, I didn't really pick up any peanut butter.  The magic of chocolate peanut butter flavor is, well, the combination.

Original Review, Dec/Jan 2015 Visits

On my first visit to Sydney, a friend introduced me to Gelato Messina.  It was, at the time, the best ice cream-like treat I had ever had.  I can’t even count how many times I returned over the course of that stay, or the next visit, or the next.  For some reason however, on my recent trip, it took me a full 2 weeks into the trip before I made it to Messina.  The weather just wasn’t as warm as I was expecting, and there were too many other things that kept coming up.  I don’t know.  I have no excuse.  I regret it, and won't make this mistake again in the future.

Anyway, Messina.  Gelato.  Great gelato.  They have several locations around Sydney, including the crazy busy one I used to queue up at in Darlinghurst, and now, they even have a shop in the food court area of the Star Casino, right near my office.  Score.

Every day they offer about 40 flavors, and each weekday they come up with a new special, available for one week only.  Those flavors tend to be far more crazy than the standard offerings.  The staff are always far more patient than seems possible, and offer to let you try as many flavors as you need to make up your mind.

Milk Chocolate with Chocolate Peanut Fudge, Single. $4.

This was Ojan’s pick, not mine, since I rarely go for chocolate ice cream.  But wow, it was good.  The peanut butter was rich and totally amazing, smooth and creamy.  The gelato itself was light and creamy.  The consistency was magical.  It melted perfectly.  Wowzer.  One bite of this, and I instantly remembered why I love Messina.

When we visited a few days later, and neither of us ordered this flavor, we both regretted it, and vowed to just get it again next time.

Gianduia Bianca, Tiny.  $3.

"White chocolate & hazelnut gelato with hazelnut praline"

I opted for the gianduia bianca in a moment of pure indecision.  For some reason, I wasn't loving any of the flavors I tried that day.  And I tried many.  I like praline, so, I went for it, even though, I don't normally like hazelnut.  Whoops.  I panicked, after feeling bad for trying so many flavors and not loving any (I had tried 4 or 5 at this point!).  The staff member was ridiculously friendly and told me to try as many as I liked, but I felt bad and just made a decision.  A rather poor one.

Anyway, it as very sweet, as both the base, and the praline, were very sweet.  It had chunks of hazelnut and very generous chunks of the praline.  Certainly well crafted, and I appreciated how much candy they put in it, but it needed something to balance out the sweet.  Luckily for me, Ojan ordered the regular gianduia, which was rich was chocoaltey, so I stole a little of his to mellow mine out.  It was better this way, but I wouldn't get this flavor again.

Unknown.

I found this photo from one of my earlier visits.  I don't recall what kind it was ...

My full sampling notes from flavors tried on this trip:

Classics

• Apple Pie: "Real apple gelato with our own house made apple pie throughout".  I wanted to love this since I love pie and ice cream, but somehow it was just not interesting, although I admit, it was loaded up with pie for sure.
• Caramelised White Chocolate: This was just very sweet.  It didn't taste caramely, nor white chocolatey.  One of my least favorites.  Perhaps good in combination with something else.
• Gianduia: "Chocolate & hazelnut", Rich and chocolatey, but not as good as chocolate peanut butter fudge.  If you want a chocolate one, just go for that!
• Salted Caramel and White Chocolate: "Salted caramel gelato with white chocolate chip." This is their best seller.  It was ... yup, salted caramel.  Sweet and salty.  I think I've moved on past the novelty of salted caramel however, so this was rather lost on me, but everyone else loves it.

Gelato

• Pandan & Coconut Sorbet: I actually really liked this, as I was really into asian flavors, like coconut and pandan, while in Sydney, but I'm not really one for sorbets.  Bring on the dairy!

Weekly Specials

• P NUTTY: "Peanut butter gelato with peanut butter cookies and peanut custard."  This was actually pretty good, as I love peanut butter, but it was a bit much.  Probably great paired with a chocolate or vanilla base as a second scoop.
• FO SHIZZLE: "Caramel custard gelato with candied hazelnuts, raspberry puree and chocolate chips."  This was also pretty good, as someone who likes lots of mix-ins, I appreciated all the assorted "stuff" in it.

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