Vanilla is a little too vanilla sometimes, so I went in search of Canberra's most interesting flavours.

With more than 150 flavours to choose from, from durian, to wattleseed, to cinnamon donut, it was a little hard to narrow it down. In the end I settled on black sesame, partly for the drama of the colour, but the flavour surprised us, sweet but with a nutty savoury at the same time. Also available at That Gelato Place in Weston.

This Canberra icon never ceases to amaze with their range of flavours made without anything artificial. There's a popular fig sorbet at the moment but when I heard there was musk stick on the menu, I couldn't put aside a childhood addiction to those lurid pink lollies. I'll admit I was a little disappointed that the gelato was white but the flavour was ever so reminiscent of a misspent youth. Just a little more refined and classy.

Canberra's new kid on the (ice) block is Spilt Milk Bar in Dickson, opening in late November and doing a roaring trade over summer. The ethos is natural flavours which change with the season so, given how lush my own mint bush is at the moment we went for mint and white chocolate. I knew this one wouldn't be bright green, at Spilt Milk the milk infused with fresh mint overnight before being strained out. Add in generous chunks of white chocolate and you have a winner. They also indulged me with a scoop of bounty. Again, those coconut chocolate bars were a favourite as a kid.

You're spoilt for choice at Messina, with 40 flavours always available, 35 traditional ones (if you can call them traditional) and five rotating weekly specials. You might find combinations such as Jon Snow - white chocolate gelato with peanut caramel crunch and chocolate - on the specials board but the regulars are also impressive. Blood orange comes highly recommended. I was keen to try the pear and rhubarb but I was sold on the pandan and coconut. The palest green, slightly earthy, but fresh on the palate.

The guys at XO are always pushing the boundaries, finding ways to incorporate Asian flavours while serving unpretentious, honest food. And what a fun way to do it, rolling out the soft serve machine. At the moment they're doing a chrysanthemum flavoured treat, a beautiful pale yellow which is rich, yet fresh, the perfect end to an Asian meal.

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