Ice cream is part of any balanced summer diet, so we were instantly interested when we heard Cold and Curious would be serving nitro-frozen gelato in South Perth during the melting months. *For the purists out there, I’m going to use “ice-cream” and “gelato” interchangeably for the rest of this article. If that riles you, eat a bucket of each and relax.
Plenty of Perth restaurants and cafés already offer a good scoop, but it’s going to be hot for a while. Another sundae stop is unlikely to be a bad thing. Especially one that’s open late outside the CBD, and that focuses on creating original flavours.
Cold and Curious is based at Sprolo café on Canning Highway, though I’m unsure if you can team their creations with a coffee due to the pop-up’s opening hours. C&C will be rotating their flavours regularly, but on this occasion we were able to try three of their ideas.
The clear highlight: smoked vanilla. In this era of freak shakes and general edible excess, it’s tricky to do something new. But I’d never encountered this particular style before - apologies to any trendy foodies currently sighing at my ignorance - and it was delicious. It kept the creaminess you’d expect from gelato, but each scoop was infused with a luxurious smoky flavour. The cocoa nibs and paillette fueilletine (no, I don’t know either) added pleasant texture, but the ice-cream itself was one of the best I’ve tried in months.
While I span blissfully in a vanilla vortex, my girlfriend gravitated towards the chocolate ovomaltine. There were deep cocoa tones in the thick gelato, though it didn’t strike me as overly “malty”. Raspberry coulis was an above-average extra: served in the apparently de rigeur syringe, it hit exactly the right spot between tart and sweet.
We finished our frozen foray with “kava toast” gelato topped with toasted brioche and coconut. Some might find the mellow flavour too reserved, but as a committed ice-cream fiend, I really liked the light, low-key sweetness of this blend.
The texture wasn’t as silky soft as some gelato you can find in Perth, but all three had a real depth of flavour. Preferred texture comes down to personal preference, but most would agree that the “nitro” element at Cold & Curious - which sees the ice-cream rapidly chilled for a super-smooth product - looks pretty cool.
I’d be interested to know if the nitrogren results in costs bubbling up. For a pop-up, $8.50-9.50 for a tub of gelato - $7 for a sorbet - struck me as being on the expensive side. However, that could be explained by a) the considered and sometimes unusual ingredients, and b) my not quite having adjusted to Australian pricing.
Overall, I thought Cold & Curious seemed a welcome addition to Perth’s ice-cream scene; it’s always good to have more choice away from the city centre. These guys have just opened again after the New Year break, and I think they’ll continue to pull in punters on merit.
Cold & Curious Nitro Gelato is open 5.30pm - 10pm, Tuesday - Sunday, at Sprolo Coffee, 138 Canning Highway, South Perth.
Disclaimer: foodie cravings was invited as a guest of Cold & Curious. See disclosure policy for further details.
