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| - With Kekou, Toronto *finally* got a place that's on a world-class level (sorry to all the other lovely gelato joints in the city, but they just don't compare to the level of gelato you will find in other city centres around the globe). Kekou offers a roster of flavours for different palettes, with an East Asian flair. They achieve robust flavours, made with quality ingredients, and the service is excellent. Over the course of a couple of visits I tried most of the gelatos, but the standouts included Hong Kong Milk Tea (fantastic!), Pistachio Rose Water, Black Sesame (not my taste but excellently made), and Peanut Sesame (great balance between the two flavours). Some flavours were well-rendered, but they just didn't work together. For instance, the Whiskey Green Tea delivers on both of the flavours, but they don't work together: an early milky sweetness with a strong punch of whiskey gives way to the subtler green tea that feels bitter in comparison. The experience is more like having a shot of whiskey and a chaser of tea, than the spiked iced-tea drink that the flavour wants to evoke. Only one flavour among those I tried was a big miss: the Red Bean White Chocolate, which is not on par with any of the others. I didn't try any of the sorbets, but they look great. The staff let you try many flavours, but holding up the line is just bad etiquette.
Kekou's gelato makers choose not to use stabilizers (among other additives), which typically help lend gelato its creamy smoothness. Yes, this does somewhat affect the texture of their gelato. Although I don't agree with their claim that all contemporary stabilizers are chemically troubling (or their account of stabilizers as a 21st-century shortcut), I respect their philosophy. In any case, most flavours still delivered a smooth texture. I also think the texture could be further improved by changing the serving technique, like using the paddle instead of the ice-cream scoop. It's not as pretty, but it's a better texture.
The only thing that disappoints me about Kekou (not enough to give them anything less than five stars) is that you cannot get more than one flavour in a small cup. A small serving (which is a sizeable scoop) is as much gelato as I want in one go, but it means committing to only one flavour and having a lot of it. I would really appreciate breaking the single serving up into two flavours, even if it means a small surcharge. I suspect this is another byproduct of using a scoop, which makes split servings difficult.
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