MILK BAR SHAKE UP

Veganism is so entrenched on our food scene it has its own language and Broadbeach’s latest ice cream parlour Mylk Bar spells it out in neon lights, writes Sally Coates

INSIDE plant-based favourite Cardamom Pod, the new Mylk Bar is serving up guilt-free ice cream ... well, almost.

“It’s definitely healthier than regular ice cream,” owner Sean Pinnell says.

“There’s no gelatin, eggs, milk products, sugar, preservatives – there’s nothing artificial.

“That makes people feel a bit more confident to get stuck into an ice cream. It is still a sweet so I can’t say it is ‘healthy’, but it is definitely a better option.”

Starting with a few classic flavours, the focus so far has been on perfecting the taste and process and gathering feedback.

“Being vegan means we’ve been using natural flavours, not using any artificial flavours or additives,” Sean says.

“At the moment we have peanut butter fudge, salted caramel, vanilla and chocolate cookie crunch.

“We’re using real vanilla and making the cookies ourselves – everything is made in-house.

“We’ll add more as we get more adventurous, but first we want to get the flavours right.”

That means taste-testing – a lot of taste testing – which Sean admits was “a very enjoyable process”.

The taste testing also involved trialling different bases for the ice cream, straying from the typical soy.

“Mostly what we’ve done is move away from soy, even though it’s the tendency most people have, to replace milk with soy,” Sean says.

“We’ve used almond milk instead, it’s a little richer and the richness of the nut makes it much creamier.

“We put a lot of effort into getting the right blend, so it doesn’t get watery. The end result is very creamy and a very similar texture to ice cream.”

Reinventing classics, including the humble ice cream cone, is a Cardamom Pod specialty and it’s taking vegan dishes to the next level.

“We’ve been thinking about it for a while, with the Brickworks location we’ve been experimenting with the limits of vegan food,” Sean says.

“I think there was more of a limit put on vegan food previously, like it was an afterthought. After experimenting we found a lot of food is naturally vegan or dairy free, so it’s not so limiting and there are some pretty amazing things you can do.”

The Mylk Bar concept combines new with old and adds a dash of fun, from cabinet contents to the hot-pink sign.

“The concept is more towards retro milk bars, especially with our bright pink fluorescent sign,” Sean says.

“More of a retro cutie vibe. We’re already doing a classic banana split and we’ll be doing sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, vegan meringue, vegan waffles that sort of thing. It’s a funny mix because the general look and feel is old world but with a lot of innovation and newly imagined concepts.”

The irony of opening an ice cream shop in winter isn’t lost on Sean, but like everything, he’s able to find the positives.

“We’re not so much worried. It wasn’t an ideal scenario, but the GC winter is pretty amazing,” he says.

“A lot of the time we have 22C daytimes and mild nights. When people dine out at night, you’re eating food, you’re rugged up, an ice cream and a stroll is the perfect way to finish the night, no matter what the weather is.

“Being winter gives us time to experiment as well and have even more amazing flavours ready for when it warms up.”

Mylk Bar, 1/2685 Gold Coast Highway, Broadbeach