Out & About #143 | Kekou Gelato (Queen St. West)

The new shop was first spotted on a Friday afternoon while roaming the stores in the area.

Of course, I wasn't the only one to spot it.
Photos soon began popping up on my various social feeds, introducing new products exclusive to this particular location while the Baldwin is closed for the season. It probably wasn't the wisest decision to set out on the windiest day of the week, but the journey ended up being executed purely out of curiosity.

As with other posts I've chanced upon on the World Wide Web, this new location is indeed much much​ more spacious than their first. 
Contrary to the claustrophobia-inducing size in Grange Park, the Queen St. W shop is definitely more serene, and also no longer void of chairs and bathrooms.

​The interior exudes a cafe-style aura, complete with sugar cone-like light fixtures (or is it just me?) and the same string of (Christmas) lights utilized outside their Baldwin shop. I didn't find the string lights to assume a particularly cohesive property with the other decorations, but I suppose store management had wanted to retain some of the elements.
A few large tables and benches are situated in the lobby area, likely serving as refuge for courageous gelato- and soft serve-goers during the upcoming Canadian winter.

​Lighting isn't exactly abundant; only the front half of the store is actually exposed to window light. The back of the shop mainly relies on incandescent bulbs to provide illumination, though this happens to result in a high degree of glare on the glass below that's meant to shield buckets of gelato.

She did provide me with samples of the new soft serve flavours, Jasmine Green Tea and Almond Tofu, but was incapable of explaining the difference between Jasmine Green Tea and regular Green Tea when asked. Information has also been supplied in regards to the popularity ranking of the flavours, but without specific reasoning behind them.

​Both soft serve flavours tasted of, well Jasmine Green Tea and Almond Tofu. Neither stood out to be as being exceptionally original, but this may have been due to the fact these are flavours that I've already become accustomed to.

​I was also tempted to try one of the items from their newly-developed drink menu, as a steaming latte would definitely hit the spot given the windy conditions of the outside world. On second thought, though, I probably wouldn't have enough hands to hold two things while taking photos. To avoid another melty soft serve and churro disaster, I opted to leave the drinks for another visit.

​A major difference that I noticed was that the gelato machines could be seen in full view from the ordering area. Amidst my photo-taking, it was observed that a member of the kitchen staff was in the process of using mixers for some unknown purpose, all while making a discreet attempt to check his phone.

​It took me quite a while to digest the menu, not because it was overwhelmingly vast, but because I was attempting to distinguish new additions from the existing choices.
Unlike the girl who had served me during my other visit, the girl who was tending to gelato sampling and the cashier wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about her job. It was quite a shame to see, as unauthenticity practicially oozed out of her every word and plastered smile.

The final result of my various reflections was a double sccop of Red Bean White Chocolate and Hong Kong Milk Tea Gelato in a Seaweed Waffle Cone.

The flavours had been distinct enough while I had sampled them, but they had lost this uniqueness once paired together and eaten in the cold. As previously mentioned, I absolutely despise when ice cream/soft serve/gelato melts quickly. This increased rate of melting forces me to rush in finishing off the dessert, instead of savouring each bite as I would prefer. The top scoop of Red Bean White Chocolate began to trickle down to the second almost as soon as it was placed onto the waffle rack. No signs of improvement were exhibited even after I had stepped back outside and into the cold; white droplets continued to drip off the cone and onto my gloves. It was not exactly what I had wanted after pulling clean gloves from the wash.

View the full album HERE !​

Once the top scoop had been munched away at, I was finally able to taste the stronger flavour of the two: the Hong Kong Milk Tea. This one was less melty, and was very much a joy to devour. Reaching the top of the cone, I had expected to still be able to savour a slight bit of HK Milk Tea within it. However, this was not the case. The bottom had simply been placed on top of the cone, and none had fallen through it. It was as if the cone was a completely separate component, and a soggy one at that. The standard crispiness was nowhere to be found, and the bits of dried seaweed had essentially created no impact whatsoever on the overall flavour. It wasn't a mix of sweet and salty, but instead a stale, bland Pizelle cookie.

​This honestly saddened me, as my first visit was such a delightful experience. It was true that the gelato was still as prone to rapid melting as ever, but I hadn't thought that it was that challenging to store waffle cones in such a way that they wouldn't transform into soggy gelato handles.

I was informed that, to date, the location has been open for a few weeks; I sure hope they settle into their new environment quickly as to produce better products.

I'll probably still return to try their drinks, but can't promise a third visit if the drinks fall below expectations.

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