NS 22 - Orchard MRT Station [ION Orchard]

HAPPY 2011 EVERYONE!

Whether or not the past year had been a blast of a time or a terrible memory, it's all over now and let's look forward to the beautiful years ahead of us! I wouldn't say I had exactly the best times of my life in 2010, but I definitely do know that there are still many more years to come and hence many more beautiful memories to create. (:

Anyway, apologies with regard to my previous hiatus as I've recently got enlisted into the army. So yes, no more hair. I had quite a few ice cream trips in the weeks before I enlisted, but haven't really had the time to get down to typing and all, however, seeing that today is such a special occasion, I shall do up at least one post for the first day of the new year.

I was supposed to have booked out on Wednesday night earlier this week but unfortunately/fortunately (depending on how you see it) I was selected for this week's regimented guard duty in camp, so I stayed in all the way till Friday. So I went out on the first day of the new year with N and E, and we decided to grab my favorite ice cream so far, Latte (otherwise known as milk flavored) ice cream, from Gusttimo!

picture taken from Google Images
Gusttimo Di Roma - ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn #01-17
ION Orchard
Tel: 6509 9380
Opening hours as accorded with ION Orchard

Located at the pocket-burning zone (well that's what poor people like me and my friends call it, since the wallets around the area at that level produce at least two zeroes on a single receipt) of ION Orchard, you could find Gusttimo sitting at the corner area right in front of an escalator coming up from B1.

First started out in Rome, Italy Gusttimo moved on to hit Seoul, Korea and experimented with the Asian taste buds. No doubt they swept the Koreans off their feet with the art of Gelato (just like how they managed to sweep me off of my feet in Singapore). Gusttimo provides a total of 230 seasonal flavors and prepares 32 best in season flavors catered to consumers.

One thing to note about Gusttimo is that they recommend a selection of at least three flavors in a single cup so that the customers could enjoy multiple varieties of quality ice cream in a single purchase. In this case I would say that this so-called policy is very much a form of privilege provided for the customers. I'm pretty sure most of you can guess (without even doubting, due to the outlet's very location) that the high quality gelato produced comes with a erm, high quality price tag as well. At $7.20 a cup, I would say that it is fairly much more reasonable to get three flavors than just a single flavor. However, it is still possible for you to purchase an entire cup of one single flavor at your request. (And that, is very much a privilege as well)

Somewhat behaving like a monster unleashed from a thousand-year-talisman-seal (well that's what happen to most people when they got locked up and tamed in camp) the very greedy me had the biggest appetite for ice cream today and hence we got ourselves two cups of six flavors!


Melon
(honeydew)

Latte
(fresh milk)

Black Rice
(Pulut Hitam)

White Wine

Cream Cheese

My all-time favorite at Gusttimo would be Latte, it's really very simply, milk ice cream. And the relationship I have with milk, is indescribably heavenly. I would definitely also recommend the Melon flavor (by now you all can most probably tell that I love melons, like some psychotic wild animal that lives off on melons and ONLY melons, just like how anteaters survive solely on ONLY ants), which is absolutely strong in its honeydew taste, but do take caution that the flavor can be pretty much overpowering.

The cream cheese flavor, according to reviews found online, is an all-time favorite among the netizens in Korea, so I would definitely recommend it if you are a cheese lover. The cheese taste isn't very strong, and doesn't come hitting you up until after the ice cream melts on your tongue, leaving an after-taste of pure creamy cheese. Do also try the Black Rice as it's very much different from the usual magic you get from Island Creamery or The Daily Scoop. The Black Rice flavor at Gusttimo focuses purely on elevating the flavor of black rice, giving you the pure taste of the main ingredient rather than enhancing the flavor by using coconut milk like IC or TDS.

There was a sixth flavor which I absolutely abhorred cause it tasted quite horrifying (in my opinion), if I'm not wrong it would be the Soy-Vanilla flavor or something. It's yellow in color, my apologies if I'm pretty vague on describing the flavor, but it was just as horrifying as the White Wine flavor (another flavor which I found repulsive), such that I didn't give either flavors any attention at all. :P


By the way, they also have a seemingly awesome ambiance, great for friends to catch over ice cream, or simply sit by and chill. Do note that they also serve pastries that go along with their gelato.


Here's N and E letting you guys know that if you need more information, go on to:

GUSTTIMO DI ROMA

Once again, Happy New Year to all my lovely readers! (:

NE 5 - Clarke Quay MRT Station

Hi my dear faithful readers! Sorry about the slight hiatus previously, have been busy working. And guess what? I'm currently fulfilling my love for ice cream, so much so that I'm scooping ice cream at work too! Decided to get a little money saved for my overseas trip planned in December. But fret not, I will still be working doubly hard to find ice cream parlors and present them to you cause I've still got several MRT stations to cover! (Including the upcoming Downtown Line Stations too)

So for now why don't we save more time and move on to your much awaited post for the day? (:

Today, we're covering Clarke Quay MRT Station. And this area is renowned for all their good food outlets, mostly Japanese and Korean cuisines. (And god I love The Central Mall, partly because I used to work here, and also because they have all the tasty snacks at great deals!) Alright I shall stop being the pig that I am and start getting on with business instead of ranting on and on about great tasty food.

So nearest to Clarke Quay station would be The Central, a fairly new mall, and somewhat pretty desolated in the day. Our first stop, was my much anticipated ice cream parlor cause the outlet located here is a unique cafe version, and also because I used to eat their ice cream daily back when I worked here and also at River Valley Road. (Stop cursing me please, I know it's a sin to gloat about food when you hardly get fat like me, but then again, it's disgusting to be a bag of bones like me. (; )

So my model of the day would be, S! And our first stop for the day would be, Haato & Co!

Haato & Co - The Central
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
Unit 01-74
Singapore 059817
Tel: 6225 6956
Sundays to Thursdays: 11am - 11pm
Fridays and Saturdays: 11am - 1am

Isn't it awesome that they close pretty late on Fridays and Saturdays? Ideal midnight snacks area, and because it has a cafe concept, they have tables and chairs for you to chill with your friends, and it would be pretty accessible to go home from Clarke Quay as they have most of the nightrider buses in service just across the river! Perrrrfect for nocturnal creatures like me. (;

Haato in Singapore has had a long history of 16years, starting out in Liang Court (back in those days they were called Gelato di Crema).


So on this hot wonderful day, we got out double scoop of Chocolate Banana and my usual favorite, Rockmelon. One thing about Haato you'd note is that they serve gelato, which is healthier as mention in previous posts. They also make use of traditional recipes from Japan, being one of the first gelato counters in Singapore to serve ice cream entirely free from preservatives and artificial colorings! (Talk about health criticality, this is one ice cream you would eat to your haat's content and not feel any sense of guilty for taking an additional scoop's worth of bite.)


Speaking of their unique recipe, I dare say Haato has one of the better ice creams in Singapore. The Chocolate Banana flavor is not just rich, but so evenly balanced out that with every scoop you can taste both the chocolate and the banana, it's almost making your brain scream out in overwhelming sensations signaled from the taste buds cause it's forcing the brains to make a decision on whether if it tastes more chocolatey or banana-ish. Totally awesomeeee.

The rockmelon flavor, never fails to disappoint me. Not to creamy to overtake the melon taste, but creamy enough to make the fruitty flavor much more rich in taste, with real bits of juicy rockmelon, this is one gelato you can never learn to hate.


Because the cafe is opened along the river located outside of the shopping mall, they also cater to the late night crowds and serve beer. Otherwise, simply settle for their awesome gelato!

Some interesting flavors you might want to try would be:

Sweet potato with honey & chestnut

Milk Tea

Royal Chocolate

Wildberry

Yuzu (Japanese Citrus Sorbet)

And most importantly, unlike most of the local ice cream parlors set up in Singapore, Haato comes without the usual creative artsy fartsy names that get customers more lost at trying to understand what's the flavor, than simply being spoiled for choice. (Talk about being user-friendly.)


Before we headed off to our next stop, we couldn't help but ogle and drool over their pastry counter! And the Japanese are renowned for their pastries! I'll definitely be back to try them out. Especially due to the fact that we could simply sit by the river and enjoy such sweet treats in serenity.

For more information on Haato & Co, go on to:

Haato - Follow Your heart

Next stop, Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice Cream! おいしいね~

Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice Cream
The Central #01-56
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
Singapore 059817
Tel: 6534 7178

Originated from Japan as a dessert shop and teahouse, Azabu Sabo was founded by Mr. Gyo Kimura-san, with it's very first outlet in Singapore located in Marina Square. Due to the Japanese strong values of being serious and committed to their careers, Azabu Sabo took a step further and brought in their very own Japanese Ice Cream Specialist to introduce their unique style of ice cream making.

As we all know, in Japan, Hokkaido is renowned for two lines of production, their seafood products as well as their dairy products! Using the rich and fragrant Hokkaido milk, rich flavorful ice cream are produced in favor of the ice cream maniacs! Likewise to Haato, Azabu Sabo produces their own line of gelato, focusing on the company's policy of low-fat and low-sugar in their desserts.

Some of the flavors you might want to try would be:

Red Cherry

Sweet Potato

Tiramisu

S and I had our try at the Sea salt & Caramel ice cream, as well as the Black Sesame ice cream. Such are novelty flavors that you would be intrigued to try out, especially the sea salt flavor since it isn't very common.

I like how the saltiness of the ice cream goes very well with the sweetness of the caramel, and even brings back memories from when I had a trip to Taiwan, Tainan, and got to try their renowned local product, the sea salt popcicles. Very interesting flavors that taste interestingly great as a dessert. The black sesame is a little to strong for my liking, but nevertheless, it was the milkiness in the ice cream that made it very rich and flavorful in taste too.


For more information, go on to:

Azabu Sabo Singapore

Anyway, I'd like to mention that it was also at this point, S sneakily pretended to drop her ice cream scoop on the floor in hopes that she could stop eating ice cream. (Apparently she feels that she is very much overweight and too much ice cream will turn her into Godzilla.) Feeling very much cheated by her behavior, I dragged her to our final pit stop here in Clarke Quay.

It's been awhile since I've visited Central mall, and obviously certain things have changed. There used to be a Gobi Sweets and Cakes store (more famously known for their Chocolate and Chili flavored cake) just in front of the bus-stop, but to date, it has been replaced by Marble Slab Creamery (I suppose Marble Slab lovers probably staged a riot here and burned down the bakery. Just kidding.)

Marble Slab Creamery - The Central
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#01-27
Singapore 059817
Tel: 6224 4278

MSC started back in 1983, in Houston, Texas. Due to their extremely high standards for ensuring gourmet quality ice cream, they had the goals of bringing fresh-made gourmet flavors to cater to the public. As such, they developed their "frozen-slab" technique, exhibited at all ice cream parlors to date.

"It isn’t just dessert. It’s the world’s freshest ice cream, made just the way you like it, just when you want it." - MSC


Similar to that of Ice Cream Chefs, MSC also provides a selection of mix-ins, along with their wide range of ice cream variety. However, unlike ICC, MSC has a much more colorful price tag that comes along with their ice cream, going for slightly more than $5 for a single scoop with one mix-in. For the local outlets, they only provide sundries, biscuits and chocolates for mix-ins, whereas for overseas outlet, they come with fresh blueberries, bananas, and even cherries!


The outlet has this very sweet ambiance to it, despite being a relatively small ice cream counter, with only seats enough for a handful of customers, it's still pretty much cosy to get to sit in during the non-peak periods and enjoy your own scoop of ice cream.


S and I had our try of a Green Apple with Cinnamon flavor, mixed with caramelized biscuit. If you are going for ice cream that you wouldn't mind paying a little extra due to the guaranteed benefits of great taste, MSC would be recommended for you. The Green Apple with Cinnamon flavor was very nice, neither to strong in the cinnamon flavor to get you sick of it, but with the slightly sour but sweet taste of the green apple, it was like eating the ice cream version of a really good apple pie. The caramelized biscuit bits added in an interesting zest to the overly flavors, honestly speaking, I highly doubt any flavor of ice cream combined with any type of mix-in at MSC would go wrong and burn your tongue instead of seducing it.


The location of the store was very appropriate, especially if you're waiting to catch a bus that wouldn't come so soon, or simply wanting a little warmth from the sun rays but yet wanting to stay within a cool environment with the comfort of not sweating.


I'm not sure if they're for sale, but they decorated the store with tiny vintage bottles of coke and root beer, adding a little something to the atmosphere. (:

For more information, go on to:

Marble Slab Creamery

I hoped you've found your happiness within this post for today. (:

EW 8 - Paya Lebar MRT Station

Okays so I suppose everyone has been pretty much disappointed after turning up at this space for the past one week and not finding any new posts? (Shameless much, I know but Narcissism is in my genes, it's my favorite gene too you know.)

So anyway, I have been really busy! Busy looking for ice cream and eating ice cream too! Look forward to at least two posts this week. (:

First up, Paya Lebar MRT! Now, the Eastwest Line is truly a killer as most of the stops do not really exactly have a mall nearby, and I SWEAR its a pain in my ass trying to find an ice cream parlour. So just the other day (okay perhaps SEVERAL days ago since I have not had much of a chance to blog since I was away rolling in bed.) R and I were down by Changi doing some business (which is obviously none of your business, hahahaa) and she suggested that we head on over to Parkway Parade for Scoopz!

To get to Parkway Parade, simply hop onto buses 43, 76, 135, and 197 from Paya Lebar MRT Station and alight 6 stops later.

couldn't find the logo, so I took a photo of mini ice cream chocolates!

Scoopz - Parkway Parade
80 Marine Parade Road
#B1- 154
Parkway Parade Singapore
Tel: 6440 3412
Mondays to Sundays: 10am - 10pm

So I've heard about Scoopz quite a few times with regards to their extremely wide range of fruit flavors and awesome durian and jackfruit flavors.


And the best of it all is that Scoopz offer really cheap prices, with a mere $2.50 of out-bursting frozen fruit juice. (And I mean it, it's literally a frozen fruit in a cup, you feel healthier just eating it. No. Sins. Involved.)


So nope, I did not get the durian flavor, but instead had the chance to try my favorite Rockmelon flavor, along with the Jackfruit (Chempedek!). I have to be honest and tell you that I am hooked onto their Jackfruit flavor. It's extremely intense, that I totally neglected my Rockmelon scoop, and they have real juicy bits of the fruits itself, and the chewy texture of the Jackfruit is still encapsulated within the ice cream itself. It was like getting introduced to the fruit all over again, and having the tantalizing sensation where it dances around your taste buds.


And because Scoopz is so awesomely cheap and delicious, I refused to share my cup (What a selfish bastard I can be at times) and hence R got her very own scoop of watermelon sherbet! And what more can I say about the flavors here at Scoopz? You really have to go down and try it yourself, cause it's really not just ice cream, it's iced fruits in a cup. They also serve non-fruit flavors such as coffee and vanilla bean, so it's really a wide variety for ice cream addicts like me, and you. (:

Sadly, Scoopz does not have their very own website, Facebook fanpage (perhaps you guys should set up one if you really love it!), nor email. So for more information, simply hop by Scoopz itself and get a taste of it!

*This post is incomplete as there are still a few more ice cream parlours to be conquered, hence Parkway Parade will be re-visited.*

EW 23 - Clementi MRT Station

Today, we're doing somewhere I'm much more confident of not getting lost around as I'm highly familiar with the location, Clementi. I no longer stay here, but I did grew up high, and spent the first twelve years of my life running around naked in the neighborhood (of course not, the pedophiles that could have been chasing after me might have formed a long line of queue that stretched till Pasir Ris! Do you sense narcissism here? Hmmmms, I'd better reflect. )

Coming back to Clementi brings back nostalgic memories of the old fountain that used to be the attraction of the old and run-down place. I came down with THM today, secondary school best friend and still my best friend to date. (: Today, the area is almost newly refurnished into a brand new Clementi Hub, however, with much of the construction ongoing at the central area, it would be impossible to find us an ice cream parlour. However, please keep your hopes up as just a few bus stops away down at Clementi Road, is another unique ice cream parlour.

picture taken from TDS.com

The Daily Scoop - Sunset Way
41 Sunset Way #01-04
Clementi Arcade
Singapore 597071
Tel: 6463 3365
Mondays to Thursdays: 11am - 9pm
Fridays & Saturdays: 11am - 10pm
Sundays: 2pm - 9pm

Just along Clementi Road, a handful of bus stops away from the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, you would find a small stretch of shophouses along a residential area called Sunset Way.

Back in 2004, their very first outlet was set-up in Clementi Arcade, and popularly known for their unique hand-churning methods of preparing their fresh daily made ice cream, to ensure deliciously rich ice cream products.

In the past six years, the owners of TDS have definitely been very busy creating new flavors to attract more customers, and hence to date they have conjured a wide variety of up to 40 flavors! But of course, not every flavor is always available (and they would definitely try their best to keep up with the local demands of certain flavors).

Some seemingly weird, but definitely interesting flavors that you might want to keep a lookout for will be,

Pur-Pearl Rice
(Coconut ice cream with generous swirls of glutinous (pearl) rice, sounds absolutely brilliant for the Burbur Hitam fans!)

Wasabi Mango
(Spicy, sour, mango with wasabi, I wonder if it really hits the spot and bring you tears of joy.)

Utterly Avocado
(blend of avocado and gula meleka, very interesting!)

Lychee Martini
(Lychee juice + Vodka, nicely alcoholic, now you've got me anticipating! hahaha)

Chili Choc
(Chili and Dark Chocolate ice cream, hmmmms.)

Lime & Black Pepper
(First there's tangy lime, and then there would be spicy pepper. Yes, pepper!)

So as you can see, they have very interesting flavors, most of which I would say, are not for the ones who cardiac arrest easily. Anyway, we went down expecting a roller coaster ride in our mouths, with our taste buds knocked into confusion with the exploding clash of spiciness, sourness, and sweetness. Click here for the entire list of funky flavors!

Honestly I think sometimes I can be pretty unlucky, as sometimes I tend to get to an ice cream parlour and not get to taste out the flavors which I have been anticipating to try out for, nevertheless, THM and I got down to our own double scoop, Simply Chocolate + Green Tea & Red Beans.


Simply Chocolate
(just chocolate. and the color is so strong, that you will know that it is really simply chocolate.)

Green Tea & Red Beans
(sweet red beans folded into bitter-sweet green tea ice cream)

I liked the fact that they chilled their ice cream bowls so that by the time you reach you seats, your ice cream would still be nicely chilled and not already slightly melting. It's a small outlet, so it may get pretty packed sometimes, but during the afternoon while we were there it was still pretty alright.


The Cold Storage at Clementi Arcade is also made to cater to the residences around the area, so you would be able to find cooking ingredients that are harder to find in your regular supermarkets. THM shopped a little and I found several baking needs that can often be hard to find. You can get the Betty Crocker Chocolate Frosting here, Organic Cereals, Bakingmate Icing and Frosting, and even Chestnut Puree! (Alright, let's not digress, back to the main topic!)


As there weren't many choices today, (having a sore throat as least I die from cough-induced cardiac arrest, I decided to skip the Chempedek Jackfruit flavor.) so we decided on our favorite combination of green tea with chocolate (personal favorite concoction). I like TDS's green tea ice cream cause it's not powdery and overly domineering in the green tea taste, and the red beans even out the slightly bitter after-taste. Simply Chocolate was really good, strong chocolate. But I found it a little too sweet and hence we had quite a bit of leftover when we were leaving.



For more information, go on to:

The Daily Scoops

Sunset Way is fairly easy to get to, simply hop onto buses 52/154/184 from the bus stop opposite Clementi central, and go in the direction of Ngee Ann Polytechnic/SIM. For the ones staying in the North, there is also the alternative way of taking bus 61 from Bukit Batok Bus Interchange. Either way should take you roughly about 10-15mins in total.

Getting to TDS is the tricky bit, after alighting you should find yourself in front of an aquarium store (fish hobbyists would know that the place is famed for their in-house bred pedigree Guppies and Goldfish). Walk along the road heading into the Sunset Way residential area, you would have to walk quite a bit in, after the stretch of shophouses simply walk along the road until you see a Cold Storage, or until you can visibly see the sign that says Clementi Arcade.

Of course, some of you lazy asses out there might find that the place can be quite inaccessible, as I suppose the location was decided so as to attract the rich ang mohs around the area. So of course, I managed to find a much more accessible ice cream parlour, which happens to be at Sunset Way as well!

Gelato Art @ Sunset
Clementi St 12
Blk 105 #01-16
Singapore 120105
Tel: 9734 6243
Sundays, Wednesdays to Thursdays: 2pm -9pm
Fridays & Saturdays: 2pm - 11pm
Closed on Mondays & Tuesdays

From the same bus-stop you alight to get to TDS, walk along the road heading inwards as well, simply walk pass the aquarium store, a few vet clinics and a Hainanese chicken rice store you would be able to get to Gelato.

What sets Gelato apart from the other ice cream parlours is that, gelato itself is a much more healthier form of ice cream, whereby it has a lower fat and sugar content as compared to regular ice cream, making it a healthier choice and no doubt a less sinful choice.

They have a wide range of flavors from fruitty flavors, to regular vanilla/chocolate flavors, to liquor gelato as well. They also specialize in Belgian Waffles (yum!). Some of the flavors you might be interested to try out are:

Russian Orange
(Orange + Vodka)

XO Cranberry
(Cranberry that has been soaked in full drunkardness of XO)

Guinness Gold
(Stout)

KahLua Fizz
(Coffee Liquor)

Yuzu
(Pomeleo sorbet)

Pink Grapefruit

Rocher
(Yes! Ferrero Rocher!)


Opened by Madam Rose Quek and her husband (they are a really cute elderly couple!), who attended gelato-making classes, this is a nice cosy spot to hang out with friends.


We did a little camwhoring here while waiting. Guess what did we order? Belgian waffle with double scoop! :D


We had Rocher + Strawberry Cheesecake. Rocher is really nice and strong in it's hazelnut taste, but less chocolaty in flavor as compared to the real Ferrero Rocher. The Strawberry Cheesecake is really nice, you can taste the mild and light sourness of the cheese, but unlike the more popular B&J's Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream, this one has no cheesecake crusts in the ice cream to hype up your tastebuds. However, it does still pack a punch of the cheesecake flavor, and on top of that, you never feel sinful eating the ice cream since it's gelato!

Sad to say, Gelato Art @ Sunset does not have their own website to date, so it would be hard for you to find out more about the place, however, for more information you may drop them an email at:

joingelato@hotmail.com

Their current promotion features a free topping for all ice cream, from chocolate sauce to nuts and to dried fruits! While stocks last though, so get your aunty spirit and head on down! (: