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The ice cream frenzy in Singapore really caught up with me lately. Within a period of 2 months, I checked out 4 different establishments to try out their unique ice cream. Frankly I have never been an ice cream fanatic. I just wanted to find out what was the frenzy all about and to understand more about the unconventional modern ice cream.
My first stop was at Udders Ice Cream (www.udders.com.sg), situated at Goldhill Centre level one. My friend and I ordered the "Mao Shan Wang" (Cat Mountain King) durian ice cream, "Orange Choc Bitters" ice cream, "Rum Rum Raisin" ice cream and Waffle with chocolate sauce. I loved the taste of durian ice cream very much. Strong durian taste and not too creamy and sweet. I could actually taste small pieces of durian. The "Orange Choc Bitters" ice cream was very rich and unique, combining well orange and dark bitter Belgian chocolate. The "Rum Rum Raisin" ice cream had a strong rum content, with twice as much liquor than normal. Honestly I got abit tipsy after a few scoops. Lastly, the Waffle with chocolate sauce was very good. Very crispy and flavourful. Service from the lady boss was friendly.
• Food & Beverage 8/10 • Ambience 6/10 • Service 7/10
Next I visited the newly-opened Marvelous Cream (www.marvelouscream.com) located at City Link Mall basement one. The ice cream outlet is the first overseas store outside of Japan. The store uses the "Cold Rock" concept – ice cream is mixed with fruits and various toppings (nuts, sprinkles, chips, etc) on top of a frosted granite slab. I ordered a regular 100ml cup of "Angel's Parfait' ice cream, which consisted of white milk cream (ice cream imported from Hiroshima, milk from Hokkaido), strawberry, melon and macaron vanilla. I liked the rich milky flavour. The ice cream was smooth and not too sweet. Service from the staff was friendly.
• Food & Beverage 7/10 • Ambience 6.5/10 • Service 6.5/10
My third stop was at Haato (www.haato.com.sg) located at Liang Court Shopping Centre basement one. This flagship outlet was formerly known as "Gelato di Crema" and has been at the same shopping mall for 16 years. Haato produces gelato in Singapore, using traditional recipes from Japan. The staff at the counter recommended a mix of black sesame and green tea gelato in a cup. The combination was very good. The gelato mix was rich, smooth and not too sweet. The green tea gelato is the best I have eaten so far. The staff were quite friendly and chatty.
• Food & Beverage 7.5/10 • Ambience - • Service 7/10
I came across the fourth store – Yoguru (www.yoguru.com.sg) – by chance while I was at Raffles City Shopping Centre basement one. I was invited to try a small cup of soft-serve yogurt ice cream by a friendly Korean store manager. The ice cream tasted really good and refreshing. I was told that Yoguru uses fresh ingredients without preservatives or additives. Every yogurt ice cream is non-fat and produced at the store. This health benefit concept hailed from South Korea (the owner of Yoguru is a Korean). From my personal perception, Yoguru does not project a "made-in-Korea" identity and brand. I did not see any Korean icon, from the logo to the store design. I saw Yoguru merely as a local establishment selling healthy yogurt ice cream.
I ordered a regular cup, combining Original (white yogurt) and YoguBliss (mix of dragon fruit and promegranate), with no toppings. I was surprised by the generous amount! The yogurt ice cream mix was tasty and not too sweet. What came to my mind while eating was: "a very healthy dessert". The Korean store manager was very friendly and patient.
• Food & Beverage 7/10 • Ambience - • Service 7.5/10
I wanted to give a friend a birthday treat and we decided on Thai food at SuanThai (Liang Court Shopping Centre #B1-03/04/05). My friend and I ordered the standard A La Carte Buffet (SGD19.90++ per person), with 29 dishes to choose from. One time order for some dishes, such as seafood tom yam soup, beef salad and stuffed chicken wings. With an additional $1.50+, there is free flow of pineapple rice. Overall the dishes and desserts were delicious and value for money. The pineapple rice was the only disappointing dish, having a strong thai spice aroma. I highly recommend the stuffed chicken wings, chicken wrapped in pandan leaf, beef salad and desserts.
Service was good and assorted dishes were served rather quickly.
• Food & Beverage 8/10 • Ambience 6.5/10 • Service 6.5/10
After checking out both Netsuretsu Ichiban-Tei and Baikohken last month, it was another round of ramen frenzy time again. This time I checked out another 2 hokkaido-style ramen restaurants. The first was Noodle House Ken, located at Orchard Plaza level one. I ordered the shoyu ramen, plus a plate of gyoza. The noodle (thicker than Baikohken) was well-cooked and not too soggy. The charsiew was quite tender and delicious, but the stewed egg was quite ordinary. The soup was not too salty but somehow had a strange pork bone smell. How disappointing! The 5 pieces of gyoza were average, not very well-fried. Done in a hurry I suppose. Service from the waitresses was not too friendly.
• Food & Beverage 7/10 • Ambience 6/10 • Service 5.5/10
The second ramen restaurant was Ramen Santouka (www.santouka.co.jp), located at The Central Shopping Mall level two. I ordered the shio ramen, plus a plate of gyoza. The fat curly noodle was well-cooked and springy. Very delicious. The tasty charsiew was not too fatty, simply melted in my mouth. The soup was very concentrated, salty and quite oily. The fried chopped garlic gave the soup a strong aroma and taste. Certainly my favourite kind of soup - INTENSE! Overall the shio ramen was outstanding. The 5 pieces of gyoza were nothing to shout about, too soft and not crispy. The waitresses gave very friendly service. They even provided a basket to put my bag.
• Food & Beverage 8/10 • Ambience 7.5/10 • Service 8/10
