I scream, you scream, we all scream...

ICE CREAM!!! :D

Summer has well and truly kicked in. And unlike many of you, I am not a big fan of the heat. Since my high school days, I've always been that girl who shies away from the sun as much as I can. 

And I still do that. The Boyfriend finds it amusing how much I dislike the sun. The sun and I can never be best friends.

The only thing I appreciate about summer is the daylight savings, and of course using the heat as an excuse to indulge in ice cream! Although I have ice cream in winter also anyways! :P 

Whilst I am flying thousand of miles above in the sky, on my way home to Malaysia, below are a number of places around Melbourne where you can find good, decent ice cream (not in any specific order) to battle this crazy heat:

#1 -Movenpick

The Boyfriend and I can be quite crazy sometimes. This was us at Movenpick Doncaster with 8 scoops of ice cream (2 scoops not pictured) and 2 pieces of waffle. I know right.

We started off doing really really well, with every scoop tasting so good. But the more we ate, the sicker we felt. And yes, if you were wondering, we finished everything, which explains my fat waistline. :|

Movenpick is also available in the CBD at QV, or in Melbourne Central where the food court is.

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#2 - Jock's

I can't for the life of me remember the flavour of this ice cream, but all I remembered was its creamy goodness!

But apart from saying that I enjoyed this scoop of ice cream very much, I can't comment too much as I've only been there once.

I seldom venture out to Albert Park, and had to get The Boyfriend to drive me all the way out there just to try this and satisfy my cravings. Very spoilt girl, I know. :P

But my cousins who live much closer at St Kilda, love Jock's. They swear by Jock's even! So I guess that's a good sign! ;)

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#3 - Helados Jauja

Some of you long term readers might know how much I love Freddo's gelato. My friends often find me saying that, "If you have never been to Freddo, then you've never been to Melbourne. Best GELATO!!!"

But guess what? I have finally found a place that is on par with, or as some would say, even better than Freddo. And that is none other than Helados Jauja.

Of course I couldn't go past the durian flavoured gelato - it was so smooth, so creamy and tasted just perfect. Oh-so-good! You need need need to try Jauja if you haven't already. GO GO GO! ;)

Although there are many new gelato places, if or when I am craving for durian gelato, I'd go back to either Freddo's (nearer to me) or Jauja's (when I don't mind walking that extra block). But in all honesty, I don't mind either - both are good!

Ice cream is love! Nuff' said. ;)

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#4 - Gelato Messina

Gelato Messina is a well known gelateria brand that hails from Sydney. They recently opened up a store in Fitzroy (I swear Fitzroy is becoming a food haven), and it is getting mad popular.

The queue can be quite crazy, I've seen pictures of gelato fans forming a long bee-line out the door. Thankfully when I visited, it wasn't as crazy. There was a crowd, yes, but service was surprisingly quick - select your flavour, cone/cup, pay and off you go.

They do have a nice fit-out where you can hang around with your mates if you're lucky enough to score yourself a seat. ;)

As for the gelato, they were pretty good - consistent creamy texture, and yummy flavours to boot. They do have a wide variety of options, on one side, the lighter, fruitier options, and on the other, the richer flavours like chocolate, salted caramel and you get the jizz.

They are also very reasonably priced at $4 for a scoop, $6 for 2 scoops, and $7 for 3 scoops. The bargain hunter in me always gets so tempted to go for 3 scoops, but I have to control because all these eating that I'm doing is taking its toll on my weight.

Many has dubbed Gelato Messina as their absolute favourite. They've even been voted best gelato in Australia by Australian Good Food Guide. But whilst I like Messina and I agree they were great, but they're not my favourite, nor are they The Boyfriend's. We could not find a 'WOW' factor.

I am however keen to return again, to try out other flavours. Maybe that might change my mind? We'll see. ;)

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#5 - N2 Extreme Gelato

And as I always do, leaving the best for the last. I bet this place looks familiar to you? The much talked about N2 Extreme Gelato has taken Melbourne by storm when they opened up in yeap, Fitzroy last year.

It is a pretty cool concept, making ice cream to order on the spot with their sturdy KitchenAid's, using liquid nitrogen. Very Heston Blumenthal-ish - I like! ;)

I love watching them do their 'thang' through the glass barriers and feel the cold smoke come through the little holes. Or like in this instance, sprinkling a generous amount of sugar on my gelato *gasps* and blow torching! I didn't see no sugar, nope nope nope. *hands on eyes*

Their menu boards are always super quirky and creative too! I love how N2 comes up with a variety of different flavours to choose from and I like that they change their menu on a weekly basis (Thursday if I'm not mistaken), so you always have something new to try.

Their creme brulee gelato are amazing! Cracking through the caramelized sugar, into your little tub of smooth, creamy gelato - so heavenly good! Yum yum! :)

Although they create different flavours, but each one of them are equally as creamy and smooth. Texture is always consistent.

Of course, if you have a wacky idea you'd love to see it up on their menu board, submit your idea here. I've seen bacon (!!!), red bull and other funky ingredients before; see if you can beat those! ;)

Hehehe, I also particularly love how cheeky they are! As for the price, yes they are leaning slightly towards the pricier edge, but the portion is quite big and they fill the cup to the brim so win-win!

They also have an area down the back of the store where you can sit and chill with your friends. Again, as N2 is also very popular, it all comes down to your luck. ;)

Conclusion? I love N2. Period. If you haven't already been, please do yourself a favour and take a drive (or even tram) over! You won't regret it. ;) But I'm not sure about your waistline. :P

Then again...

My new life mantra that I'm living by. Heh, which also brings me to mention, if you're super lazy/no car/can't get to any of the above places, just get a pack of Magnum from your nearest supermarket. That'll seal the deal pretty well too! ;)

Happy summer y'all! Also super glad to hear that the weather is going back down over the weekend. Those who suffers from ezcema that flares up with the heat like myself, I can hear you cheering! :)