Gelato Messina - The Creative Department (Laboratorio and Patiserie)

It seems lots of people are talking about Gelato Messina's "Creative Department" (Laboratorio and Patisserie). A friend had shown me a photo of a mushroom gelato dessert and I was intrigued! So too was the rest of our supper group and we went to check it out one friday night.

Located next to the Gelato Messina store in Darlinghurst, the Creative Department is a tiny shop - 2 tall glass cabinets filled with large gelato cakes - I'm already thinking in my mind, who's having a birthday soon? But for tonight, we've only got eyes for the small gelato desserts at the counter. There's 5 of us so we pick 5 out of the 9 different ones to share.

Big gelato cakes, cute gelato desserts, some of our selection!

"Samurai" consists of yuzu sorbet and salted caramel swirl encased in orange scented chocolate in the shape of a magnum ice-cream ($7.90). The yuzu sorbet is refreshing and overall it's not too sweet. "Bitty,,,,,,,,Bitty!!!" is salted caramel gelato, caramel and milk chocolate puffed rice crackle, vodka flavoured milk, coated in white chocolate ($8.90). It looks like a big gelato brick with 2 round domes on top. It's one of the ones that we eat last so by this time the insides have already started to melt and as a result we find it too sweet. If eaten at the right temperature it would most likely be lighter in sweetness. "Royale w' Cheese" is chocolate crackle gelato, financier bun, white chocolate gelato and apricot gele'e, compressed cucumber and white chocolate slice ($11.90). And yes it looks like an actual burger! So cute, but rather hard to divide between a group of 5 so we ended up eating the components separately.

"Samurai", "Bitty,,,,,,,,Bitty!!!", "Royal w' Cheese".

"Mini Me" is Dr. Evil chocolate gelato, dulce de leche jam, peanut butter cookie, vanilla gelato, popping candy and feuilletine ($9.90) and for me the cutest looking one of all being a mini red mushroom. None of the flavours in this are too outrageous but I'm never disappointed with chocolate gelato so it's quite pleasant to eat. Last photo but not least is "Ugly Balls" - manuka honey gelato, lemon and lime gele'e center, rolled in tonka bean and feuilletine ($9.90). It is a little bit ugly but manuka honey has me sold so this is my choice for our selection of 5. And probably one of my favourites - there are only a few flavours but they work well together without being too sweet.

"Mini Me" and..hehehe.. "Ugly Balls"!

The gelato desserts are very novel and cute so I can see myself eating them again. I'm definitely interested in trying the big cakes as soon as I get a chance! Just 3 days later I find myself at their "The Star Store" (at The Star, of course). A simple scoop of gelato simply is the best of all.

What: Gelato Messina - The Creative Department (Laboratorio and Patisserie)
Where: 234 Victoria St, Darlinghurst 2010
How much: Gelato desserts are around the $10 mark