Driving through the suburban streets of Roselands, in south-west Sydney, the Duo Duo sign on the side of a brick warehouse is an unexpected delight.

A storefront was always the goal for business partners and childhood friends Chris Duong and Dylan Duong (no relation), and when they found the Roselands factory, with its small retail counter, it was the perfect place for the growing deep-fried ice-cream brand to call home.

“When we started, we didn’t have enough money to open a store,” Dylan tells Broadsheet. “The food truck was a good opportunity to test out our ice-cream and figure out what people like. Three years in, we’ve got a consistent following and we’re more confident.”

We think you might like Access. For $12 a month, join our membership program to stay in the know.

SIGN UP

The confidence is well earned. When Broadsheet covered the food truck three years ago, Duo Duo’s original deep-fried ice-cream was already fantastic. But after swapping the sponge cake layer for a mixture of panko and cookie crumb, then adding another layer of panko, its deep-fried ice-cream has evolved to have the perfect textural mix of crunchy and creamy.

The flavours are an ode to both the Asian and Australian flavours the childhood friends grew up with, such as pandan-coconut and durian. “Right now we’re doing apple-pie deep-fried ice-cream,” Chris says. “The fried ball is rolled in cinnamon sugar, topped with cream and butterscotch sauce. It’s a really special one.”

They also recently added doughnuts to the menu in eight flavours that riff on the ice-cream. There’s one with a pandan-coconut glaze filled with kaya coconut jam; one with an earthy Thai milk-tea glaze; and a doughnut with matcha and yuzu glaze with crunchy roasted rice. The OG vanilla glaze, cinnamon and Biscoff cheesecake are takes on Western flavours. There’s also mango-coconut sticky rice.

The doughnuts, available in the store and at Duo Duo’s food truck in Strathfield, are fried fresh in the compact shop. The dough took months to perfect.

“We thought to ourselves, ‘What is a doughnut?’ You think about the Krispy Kreme fluffy doughnuts that disappear in your mouth. They lack a bready texture. We wanted ours fluffy, but nice and chewy,” says Chris.

Ten flavours of the ice-cream, served by the scoop, are displayed in silver posetti (steel storage drums) behind the counter.

“It’s a bit nerdy,” Chris says. “Each flavour is frozen in a posetti, so the ice-cream is at the optimal scooping temperature – minus 15 degrees. With the traditional display, you open the cabinet and all your ice-cream is exposed to warm air.”

As they settle into the new shop, Chris and Dylan are already working on their next dessert: ice-cream bao on Japanese melon pan, a sweet, fluffy bread roll with a crisp top cut with a rockmelon pattern.

The evolution of the business has Chris reflecting on their beginnings. “We’ve come a long way since we started. Dessert has so much potential. We really want to showcase it.”

Duo Duo
67 Chapel Street, Roselands
(02) 9055 1782

Hours:
Tue to Thu & Sun 12pm–10pm
Fri to Sat 12pm–11pm

duoduoicecream.com.au

The Covid-19 situation is evolving in NSW and public health recommendations are subject to change. Masks are mandatory in indoor public spaces. If you have concerns about visiting businesses or public spaces, or questions about self-isolation or coronavirus testing, check out the latest updates from NSW Government.