Location: 730-742 George St, Haymarket NSW 2000

Taste-type: Desserts

Price: Two scoops (glass or waffle-basket) $9, Premium flavours +$1. Dessert dishes around $14

How to get there: Train or tram to Central, then a quick walk inside Capitol Theatre.

Contact: 02-92818322

The heat continues to crash down in lethargic waves upon the denizens of Sydney and Shinobi Valley, so the Trainee and I seek refuge in a well-known oasis of desserts.

With two outlets in the city (the other shop can be located near Town Hall station), Passionflower has a reputation as one of Sydney’s more eclectic dessert houses, offering Asian-style ice cream desserts at a reasonable price. More pertinently, their ice cream is cold. The Trainee and I limp sluggishly into the confines of the Capitol Building with relief. Bandits and samurai fall easily to my blades, but fighting the temperature is a tasking battle for even a skilled ninja.
We find salvation scooped up and dumped in thick (and edible) waffle-baskets. I cut into my combination of Lychee w/ Rose Petals and Green Tea with gusto, letting the smooth blend of flavours dissolve creamily on my tongue as my titanium core slowly expels steam and floods with liquid nitrogen. The tinge of rose-petal is hard to discern but adds a refreshing touch to an already pleasing lychee flavour, although I note the green tea has none of the sharp freshness evident in higher-quality ice-creams of this flavour.

The Trainee goes for the rather more pedestrian combination of Cookies and Cream and Hokey Pokey, but seems to enjoy it all the same.

We also spot a pair of prospective lovebirds snacking next to us on ice-cream and waffles. However, the Trainee’s subsequent reconnaissance reveals this dish to be less than aphrodisiac for the pair. We offer our commiserations to the male but chuckle all the same.

Once again, I fail to try the more exotic dishes in Passionflower’s range like the much-vaunted Final Fantasy, but remain satisfied with simple scoops of ice-cream from this dessert parlour. Unfortunately, my katana warps when we step back outside, creaking with an old blade’s groan. I am similarly displeased, for all-black jumpsuits and summer weather do not mix particularly well.

Ed: there are actually 3 Passionflowers in Sydney, the third being in Darling Harbour (thanks CitrusandCandy)