Earlier on in the year, Lynn and I visited Meno Zero Gelato and Dessert Bar in Doncaster East.
I had personally heard raving reviews about this place and being just down the road from where I work, I was eager to try it out so that I could investigate whether it was worth the sneaky trip down during my lunch break. I had their gelato earlier in the year with Ash so I was keen to try their pretty fruit desserts.
They had quite a selection of desserts on display, and despite their giant Rocher calling out to me, we got the 3 fruity ones – Snow White, Chocolate Pear and Fragolina!
Having moved down from Sydney recently, I was missing KOI’s series of fruit desserts that used to be available right down the street from my house. So finding out Meno Zero had similar offerings was quite exciting!
Fragolina – A base of pistachio sponge with strawberry cheesecake mousse and strawberry ($7.90)
The description for the Fragolina sounded just like something I would enjoy so I was quite excited to try it out. However, to my disappointment, the flavours of the cheesecake was way too strong for my liking. We both agreed that it was just too cheesy, and the pistachio base was an odd combination with the strawberry cheesecake.
Snow White – A base of short bread with apple and salti caramel petit gateau ($7.90)
We were pleasantly surprised to find an actual apple piece inside this dessert, and while somewhat enjoyable, the top apple part had a very bitter taste which was a bit overwhelming at times. However, the caramel tart at the bottom was hands down the best thing I tasted, and dare I say, better than everything else we ordered!
Chocolate Pear – Dark chocolate mousse, pear and vanilla sponge ($7.90)
Finally, the chocolate pear bore a strong resemblance to the one served at KOI, and although I haven’t had the opportunity to try them myself, Lynn raves about it. Unfortunately, it is with a heavy heart that we must report, it did not live up to its appearance, and to be honest, we were very disappointed. Although we both enjoyed the overall flavours of the dessert, it tasted as if it had been kept in the fridge for far too long, which always ruins a dish for me.
Alas, the similarities in Meno Zero’s and KOI’s ‘fruits’ sadly end in their suspiciously similar appearance, right down to the pear’s fruity center. The best way to describe Meno Zero’s fruit desserts, unfortunately, would be that they’re a poor man’s KOI. A very very poor man in fact.
As mentioned, their specialty is gelato, so our advice is to ignore the temptations of the pretty desserts and just go straight for the gelato. However, despite reviews saying their gelato is legit and tastes just like the ones in Italy, I can confirm that these are false reports. I visited Meno Zero to fix my gelato cravings shortly after returning from Italy, and while it was delicious, it no way compares to the ones served in Italy!
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