MaPo is one of the newest gelateria stirring up hype around Sydney. With the owner trained in gelato making in Italy, MaPo draws on the visual aesthetic and practicality of traditional Italian gelato-making by storing the gelato in lidded steel pots called pozzetti that maintain the gelato at -11 to -12ºC and protect it from humidity and light. The downside is, the beautiful colours of the gelato do not add pops of colour to the fitout of the shop.

We try three flavours ($8.50) with (top to bottom) pera packham (Packham Pear), melone pesca (rockmelon and peach) and ananas e menta (pineapple and mint).

We’re thrilled to find pear flavoured gelato in Sydney and here, the pera packham has the bright flavour of fresh Packham pears and retains the characteristic grit that comes from juicing/blending the pear. The melon pesca has a mellow sweetness of rockmelon with just the faintest hint of peaches at the back of each bite, while the ananas e menta brought a not-quite-salivating tropical acidity and sweetness that’s cut through by the freshness of the mint.

For their fruit flavours, MaPo boasts of using only 60% fresh fruit, water and sugar. We’re convinced from the colour and flavour of the gelato that a significant percentage of that 60% fresh fruit was made up of banana. All four fruit flavours we tried (we also sampled watermelon) had a pale pastel colour that looked like banana purée with a hint of the colour of the actual fruit flavour, a minor fibrous and creamy texture and taste that recalled mashed bananas just a smidgen before their fragrant ripeness.

Without a doubt, the fruit flavours taste as they’re advertised but there is definitely something else in the background. I would love to know what they do to get such a creamy mouthfeel for a vegan gelato.

MaPo is located at 123 King St, Newtown NSW 2042.