Gelupo, Soho

July 21, 2013August 6, 2013rosieblogging A Must, Soho Tags: best ice cream london, best ice cream soho, food, gelupo, gelupo review, gelupo review 2013, ice cream, restaurant, restaurant review, where to eat london, where to eat soho Leave a comment

To enjoy the warm weather whilst also trying to combat its parching effects, I went on a late night quest for good ice cream. Apparently quite a few Londoners had the same idea as we snaked around the dinky interior of Gelupo, waiting patiently, to get our fix.

As we queued we laughed at the irony at which Gelupo’s temperature sat, comparing ourselves to a pair of Alsatians in a warming Volvo begging for air. Seemingly a perverse employee had turned the heating dial to ‘inferno’, perhaps to exaggerate further the cooling effects of their gelato. Whatever their reasoning, I can’t pretend that I didn’t open their freezers pretending to admire the ‘ice cream cakes’ on offer when I really was after some emergency, cool air, relief.

photo from http://www.cntraveller.com/recommended/uk/halloween-in-london/halloween-gelato-ice-cream

As usual Gelupo’s ice cream was delicious. A quick taste of the watermelon, cinnamon and jasmine was fresh and well-balanced but maybe a little too complicated for my dehydrated taste buds. Instead the honey-dew melon hit the spot, as did the salted caramel and pecan. In particular, the ‘black forest gateaux’ option of milk chocolate with cherry swirls was creamy and soothing with an addictive sour note cutting through the rich chocolate base. Need I say I’ll be going back for more.

7 Archer Street, London, W1D 7AU

Oddono’s, Hampstead Heath

July 10, 2013August 2, 2013rosieblogging Hampstead, If You're In The Area Tags: best ice cream 2013, best ice cream hampstead heath, best ice cream london, ice cream, ice cream oddono's, oddono's hampstead heath, oddono's review 2013, where to eat hampstead heath, where to get the best ice cream london Leave a comment

A recent stroll on Hampstead Heath began with a large scoop of Oddono’s gelato. I say scoop, there were three in total, and they were more shovel sized which was fine by me.

A mix of salted caramel and banana in one cone made me fondly recall the out of this world salted caramel crème brulee and banana split ice cream concoction I was treated to at Zoilo. The velvety banana gelato was natural in flavour, the salted caramel a perfect balanced of syrupy sweet with a hint of salted savoury. The tub of the mango sorbet was creamy and surprisingly rich yet with a hit of sweet, fresh, mango.

Oddono’s itself is kind of nondescript in décor and feel, which matters not as I rarely go for an ice cream to sit and admire the shop’s interior and ambience (Gelupo, in Soho, aside). So off we went, slurping our treats before we even got the edge of the Heath. I fear Oddono’s will feature heavily in my sustenance over the coming months…

8 Flask Walk, London, NW3 1HE

Chin Chin Laboratorists, Camden

January 6, 2013January 17, 2013rosieblogging A Must, Camden Tags: best food blog london, best ice cream camden, best ice cream london, best place to eat camden, best place to eat london, best restaurants in london, chin chin laboratorists, chin chin laboratorists reviews, eat, fill my boots, fillmyboots, fillmyboots blog, food, food blog, london, london food blog, london restaurant review blog, restaurant, restaurant review, restaurant review blog, top restaurants london, where to eat camden, where to eat london Leave a comment

It must say something that I travel to Chin Chin Laboratorists in the dead of winter, woolly scarfed and gloved, to get my ice cream fix. I’ve been travelling to Chin Chin’s in Camden Markets for a while now. The chap who started this place is amazingly passionate about what he does and creates out of this world ice cream with a few unassuming electric mixers and huge vat of liquid nitrogen. The science bit: the use of liquid nitrogen as the freezing agent means that the scary sounding -196 degree boiling point enables a speedy freeze and resulting tiny ice crystals, creating a ridiculously smooth texture.

Our first excursion of 2013 has just taken place and, as per usual, it hit the spot. My old faithful is the deliciously rich and velvety valrhona chocolate with fresh raspberry sauce. It takes a will power to refuse that I clearly don’t possess. The creamy blend is poured into said mixer and a good glug of liquid nitrogen then added. The nitrogen fog that subsequently engulfs us makes my fellow ice cream guzzler think of Shakespeare’s three witches cauldron and me think nostalgically of the atmospheric ‘stars in your eyes’ mist, make of that what you will.

In addition to the chocolate, the other staple offering is the vanilla, beyond that it’s anyone’s guess as to the starring weekly specials. This trip they are English trifle and a kir royale sorbet. Luckily, I’m allowed a taster of the latter to try and tempt me away from my constant, it’s delicious with creaminess equal to ice cream itself. The former is ordered by my companion. The ice cream takes on the flavour of the sponge and custard and a frozen berry jelly is added to complete the interpretation. It of course tastes like the best trifle ever made (sorry mum). Previous highlights that I recall fondly include a ‘walnut whip’ concoction made of marshmallow, walnuts, chocolate and the ‘apple and cinnamon doughnut’ creation.