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 7 - Eunos MRT Station

Remember the first post I told you guys about me wanting to travel around Singapore (sadly, not the world) to locate the most accessible ice cream parlours and bring their address right up to you guys? Well, that has officially started today!

To prove that I am a man of my words, and that I am definitely not reluctant to pick up my lazy buttocks to the furthest point of Singapore, I went down to Eunos.

You must be wondering, there must be nothing there, NOTHING AT ALL (which is what most of the people in the West/North/South would be thinking). But you are WRONG.

There is actually a special place that you would be interested to visit,

picture taken from icecreamchefs.com

Ice Cream Chefs - Ocean Park Building
520 East Coast Road #01-06
Singapore 458965
Tel: 6446 6355
Mondays to Thursday: 1 - 10pm
Fridays to Sundays & Eve of PH: 1 - 11pm

Located along main East Coast Road, Ice Cream Chef is renowned for their brilliant idea for allowing your very own exquisite-ly flavored ice cream. You can make your very own creation of ice cream by selecting your choice of flavor and size, followed by your choice of mix-ins. The ice cream chefs at the creamery would then smash and mash your choice of ingredients together on the ice cold marble slab to create the tantalizing monster dessert that you would be enjoying thereafter!

Your very own ice cream, would also come with free Hershey's chocolate syrup!

The very interesting and amazing fact about Ice Cream Chefs is that they make their own ice cream flavors, and they range from several standard flavors to the more interesting local delights.

Some interesting flavors you might want to keep a lookout for are,

Berries Kiwi Fuz
(fusion of berries with kiwi bits, signature sherbet)

Creme Brulee
(caramelized sweet vanilla ice cream)

Durian Decadence
(so-called to convert Durian Haters to Durian Lovers, talk about Hate-crime control)

Kaya Lotee
(pandan kaya ice cream layered with bread crumbs, VERY interesting)

Passion Kiwi Fuz
(fusion of passion fruit with kiwi bits, another signature sherbet)

Their wide variety of mix-ins also include, Gummy Bears, Tim Tams, Hershey Chips, Mars, Famous Amos, and even Kinder Bueno! (now you get to enjoy ice cream while bueno-ing, isn't that nice?) Click here for the entire listing of flavors and mix-ins.

So anyway, I got down to Eunos MRT Station and hopped onto bus 13, but still got lost along the way somehow and ended up cabbing. According to the website for Ice Cream Chefs, Ocean Park Building is located beside St Patrick's School. However, if it's your first time visiting the area, do note that if you are alighting at St Patrick's, Ice Cream Chefs is located behind St Patrick's, and that Ocean Park Building is not really a mall as I initially thought, but instead a block stretch of shophouses. If you google the place, you would find that it's really near to Kembangan MRT Station as well (where you could take bus 13 too), but Eunos MRT Station would be nearer. On my way back however, I discovered that there was a much more clear cut route to get to the area, which is by bus 40 (to and fro Bedok MRT Station) where it alights right in front of Ocean Park. So you may choose this alternative route to get to the place, especially if it's your first time there. (:


Although their location is quite a frustration for the non-locals, it is still however a very smart idea to open their ice cream parlour near to an area with several schools within the vicinity, such as CHIJ Tanjong Katong, St Patrick's School, and Victoria Junior College. Students tend to hang out over here after school, to study, or to chill out with friends.

After finally having found the outlet, I got down to grab my own cup of ice cream before I started to melt from all that walking around. The thing about Ice Cream Chefs is that because they produce fresh tubs of ice cream daily, they tend to have limited flavors as a result (perhaps to prevent having too much leftover ice cream that might not taste good when less fresh). Unfortunately for me, I wasn't able to get to try out the Kaya Lotee flavor which I honestly thought was very interesting. And much to my disappointment, there weren't any of the ice cream flavors which I mentioned above for sale today.


Instead, I got sampled the Honey Green Tea (green tea ice cream with a touch of honey) that was available today, but honestly speaking it tasted just like any other Macha/Green Tea ice cream with the exception that it was much sweeter than usual, and less of the powdery after-taste. As the other available flavors weren't very tempting, I got down to selecting my own concoction of ice cream with two flavors, Mrs Granny Smith (Green apple sherbet) and Orange & Lychees (fusion of orange with lychee bits).


My choice of mix-in was, (it's not hard to guess) Kinder Bueno. hehe.


Here's the lady mashing my ice cream concoction on the frozen marble slab, the traditional way of making ice cream much smoother and evenly textured. I had a double scoop, which consists of two flavors, and at $4.80 Ice Cream Chefs serve a generously large portion of ice cream. I almost thought I wouldn't be able to finish it all.


Here's the verdict of my ice cream:
Mrs Granny Smith Bueno-ing ft. Orange Lychees Mash-up
I like how everything goes together, very fruity, yet not so sickening after having too much. The issue with having sorbet sometimes is that it gets too sour to finish with, but with the green apple sherbet, it isn't the case as the sourness is too strong, and the creamy finish balances everything nicely. The Orange Lychees has a superbly refreshing taste and tantalizes you taste buds, with the occasional lychee bits bring up the funk. The choice of kinder bueno was good, since the chocolate itself has a creamy rich hazelnut taste, it doesn't taste weird for me but instead makes everything go well together.

Best of all, because the ice cream is mashed up on the marble slab, it gives it the extra smooth and rich texture, and goes to show that they really do have good ice cream. Really worth it at below five bucks (not to mention the generous portions).


Looking around, I noted that the ice cream parlour has a really cute touch of pink to it's atmosphere. Everything from the signboard, to name card, to walls are pink. Even the marker they use for labeling their ice cream cups are pink. I'm not a fan of pink, but it's kind of adorable, in a certain way.


And you would also notice that the walls are adorned with photographs of regulars/customers, giving a very cosy touch, making you feel welcomed and at home in the store while enjoying your ice cream. Needless to say, I had an enjoyable time while I was here today. (:

Sad to say, Ice Cream Chefs has only one outlet to date, so if you are really interested to try out their awesome ice cream, Eunos/Kembangan/Bedok would be the three nearest MRT station where it's most accessible to.

For more information, go on to:

Ice Cream Chefs Blogspot

Do take note that they have special Free mix-in promotions on Tuesdays and on your Birthdays, but only applicable for the first mix-in. (: