Uzumaki (Bugis Junction)

It was a hot day and what is better on a hot day then ice cream? Very little i believe and thats why i was tempted by Uzumaki's $3 for 3 scoops of ice cream promotion. There are a few things about the brand that puzzled me though. How did they know it was Japan's favorite ice cream? In what way was it special? Why is it a healthier choice? Searching for these answers led me their corporate website and lo and behold! I got absolutely no answer. Nothing to explain the claims nor benefits but hey, its an ice cream, lets talk about how it tastes.

Location: Bugis Junction B 1

Website: http://www.uzumakiicecream.com/

Price Range: $3 for 3 scoops ice cream(promotion)

Mint Chocolate, Double Chocolate and Red Bean Ice Cream

Notice how little 3 scoops amounted to?

Now, this is an extremely recent event in that it happened only hours ago. Why am i posting this? Is it because the ice cream is so good i needed to scream it out? Is it because the service was superb? Or was the value for money too powerful i had to do this right now? The answer to all that is a resounding: "NO!"

Service: Granted we are cheapskates and only wanted to order due to the promotion. And we had no idea the soft serve ice creams are the order of the day but honestly, the service staff needs improvement fast. We stood at the counter for about 5 minutes before we were served when there was absolutely no one else to serve. The staff were doing some other thing on the opposite counter which i have no idea of until i said: "Hello!? We'd like to order?" This was followed by a slow trickle of service to come to the counter and no smiles whatsoever. Upon ordering, it got worse when we realised how small the scoops of ice cream were. Feeling cheated because we thought a "promotion" meant paying a lower price for the same quantity of ice cream is obviously not their understanding.
Ice cream: The service above left a bad taste in our mouth and we wanted the ice cream to appease it. Sadly, apart from the mint which tasted like mint, the other flavors felt horribly diluted. The red bean was barely there and the chocolate....i could have sworn NTUC has something similar... when you leave it in the fridge till its expired that is.

Overall Score: 2/10

Last Word:
I felt that this was the most expensive $3 i've ever spent on an ice cream thanks to this experience. Maybe i just don't get it. Maybe the diluted flavors are the reason they claim its healthy. I don't know but if i ever try this again, i'm certainly not opting for this parody of an ice cream. That said, i will give the soft serve a try if only to see if it fails as horribly as this experience. IMHO, please give the $3 promotion a miss and pay the full price for a soft serve. I pray it'll leave you feeling better then i'm feeling now.

Ben And Jerry's (Chubby Hubby and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough)

Dropped by Ben and Jerry's at White Sands one day and decided to get myself 2 tubs of ice cream to last through the hot summer (that means forever btw, since Singapore is always in summer) thats about to set in.

Location: 1 Pasir Ris Central Street 3 #01-36 White Sands

Price Range: $25 for 2 tubs

Chubby Hubby and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Front

Inside Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Known and famous for mixing ingredients into their ice cream, Ben and Jerry's have since been famous for providing ice cream with a difference and full of indulgence. Pick any flavor from their stall and be greeted with an over the top, drop dead creamy and sinfully chocolatey experience. This time around, we played around with the Chocolate chip cookie dough affair which was a mixture of vanilla ice cream swirled with chocolate chips and soft cookie dough. This is immediately apparent when you dip your first scoop into the ice cream. Its not in-your-face sweet but rather mild since its vanilla. The cookie dough exists in soft and fluffy form in the ice cream but the one thing i had trouble with was the lack of huge chunks of chocolate in the ice cream. This is unlike other flavors i've had from them before. Its a decent flavor but not quite satisfying.

Inside Chubby Hubby

Now don't let the picture fool you. Of the 2 tubs of ice cream, this was definitely the better of the 2. Vanilla malt ice cream is a more robust version of vanilla ice cream and has a decidedly rough texture when eating, throw in some peanut butter and the taste jumps to a new level. (i love peanut butter btw) For me, if the ice cream was served as such, it would have already been a wonderfully tasty treat but throw in big chocolate fudge covered peanut butter pretzels and its an experience to be remembered. This takes wonderful to me but i'm a sucker for peanut butter so you were warned. The only downside to this is that the malt ice cream melts really fast and the huge pretzels really get in the way of scooping the ice cream out. Otherwise, this is my second favorite ice cream from Ben And Jerry's. (My first is the mint chocolate chip flavor i've yet to find in a tub.)

Score: 7/10

Last Word:
The ice cream is creamy, filled with surprises and never fails to tantalize your taste buds. What can i say? One of the better ice cream places out there. If only Singapore could have a place that makes great fresh ice cream. Now that would really turn heads.

Ice Cream Chef's

Ice cream. A necessary sin, especially in Singapore where it is perpetually warm. And a wonderful indulgence after a good meal. That said, Ice Cream Chefs is an oasis in the desert, with a twist and i urge you to read on to see what this place offers.

Address: 520 East Coast Road #01-06 (Ocean Park)

Contact: 64466355

Website: http://icecreamchefs.blogspot.com/

Look out for this sign

Keep your eyes peeled as you drive to catch this purple signboard. Its easy to miss and the location is totally ulu and unexpected. There is free parking but you gotta press the bell to get in.

That's the entire store right here.

Selection of Ice Cream

Menu

Additional Toppings!!

Notice any familiar faces?

The maestro at work

The location is difficult to find but price wise, 1 scoop goes for $3, 2 scoops for $4+ and 3 scoops for $5++. I can't remember the exact prices but thats about a general price guide you can follow. Very competitive pricing i might say, and the idea is still novel enough to warrant some attention.

Completed products 1

Completed products 2

Completed products 3

The ice cream used is of a pretty good quality. It is extremely easy to separate each taste from the next and durian taste is very very strong if you add it. It is also nicely smooth and taste as good as those served at other establishments like Anderson's or New Zealand ice cream. In other words, do try it!! Add in the fact that you can choose a large variety of toppings (oreos, fudge, marshmallows, M & Ms etc) and this is just a winner.

Overall score: 7.5/10

Last Word:

Good ice cream at a reasonable price with wonderful toppings and the option to try the entire process first hand. Apart from the secluded location, there is alot going for this place. Its definitely worth a visit just to mix the ice cream for yourself. Bring a date or friend along for added ambience *winks*.

AzaBu Soba (Hokkaido Ice Cream)

Ice cream, who doesn't love a good ice cream in the middle of a hot day to soothe the heat and calm our high strung nerves? This is exactly what i was hoping to achieve when i tried out this little ice cream outlet at Plaza Singapura on this hot and humid day.

Location: Plaza Singapura Basement 1 (main outlet @ Marina Square)

Price: 2 scoops cone ice cream @ $5.80

The Assortment of Flavors

Hard @ Work

Tiramisu and Green Mint with Chocolate

Different is how i would describe the experience i had. The green mint tasted very strong and strangely 'clean', meaning it tastes pretty much like toothpaste which hits the spot for me since its such a hot day. Tiramisu, on the other hand tasted like a mixture of fat free chocolate and coffee together which did not reconcile with my idea of how tiramisu should taste like. The cone was horrible and very bland, lacking in flavors or any taste whatsoever. These were my initial impressions along with my gf.
After i got home and did some research however, i realized the reason why the ice cream tasted so different is due to the focus on health instead of taste. That is why the ice cream tastes wierd, because of the minimal use of milk or cream in them. Azabu Soba is a health based tea house concept developed in Japan and currently spread throughout the Asian region. The main outlet at Marina Square is said to serve good and healthy food according to online reviews which i just might try out again one day.

Overall Score: 6/10 (Based on initial impressions of ice cream)

Last Word:
Health concept shops are all the rage these days since people are realizing that a huge variety of food outlets are serving junk food in order to cash in on the growing food industry. Though the ice cream does not cater to the majority in terms of taste, i still applaud their aim to bring a healthier dimension to the food industry. That is the only reason for me to dine at their main outlet one day. Hopefully, the food there is off a better standard then their ice cream.