Milani House of Gelato

Overview

It seems for many that gelato has assumed ice-cream's mantle as the height of iced indulgence. Lower fat content, less air incorporated during the churning process and a lower serving temperature all contribute to gelato's smooth, elastic allure.

Many argue that these differences in preparation and serving give gelati a more intense flavour than ice-cream. Whether or not this is true, it certainly seems that way when polishing off a couple of scoops of Milani's banana gelato. So strong is the banana flavour, you wonder whether it actually contains anything other than its namesake ingredient. So impressive is this particular iced confection that it won a Gold Medal at the 2011 Queensland Royal Food & Wine Show.

Milani has picked up a host of awards, having also been honoured at the Australian Dairy Awards and the Australia Dairy Product Competition. The panna cotta seems to be their most decorated creation so feel free to give in to the hype and give it a try. Though, you're just as likely to enjoy any of the other flavours.

The beauty of Milani, is that unlike many ice-cream/gelati shops, where you pick your favourite early in the piece and stick to it religiously, here you'll be tempted to pick something new upon each return visit: dark chocolate, pistachio or French vanilla for example.

Better yet, select all of the above to customise your own sundae. If you need some guidance, consider the Coppa Exclusiva with your selected combination of gelati, topped with whipped cream, drizzled in chocolate sauce and festooned with roasted hazelnuts, wafers and crunchy chocolate bits.

Co-owned by Olympian Tatiana Grigorieva, Milani is incredibly popular and like many of its neighbours on Racecourse Rd, it attracts a crowd most nights of the week. Go there after dinner and you will be lucky to find a table – find yourself in this situation however, and you can always get a takehome tub.