320 Below Nitro Cream Cafe

You'd think that my trip to Strictly Pancakes would stop me from having sweet stuff for a period of time. I thought so too, but NOPE NOT HAPPENING.

The ice cream scene is becoming more and more popular these days. Ice cream cafes are popping out in all corners of Singapore and it's harder to decide on a place to have ice cream as compared to the past. Upper Thomson already has about 5 of them just along that stretch of road!

So what can an ice cream cafe do to enable them to stand out from the rest?

Serve liquid nitrogen ice cream.

Liquid nitrogen is -320°, hence the name Below 320 Nitro Cream Cafe. Believe it or not, the whole idea is not all that new. Using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream dates back to over a hundred years. It is however, a relatively fresh idea around here.

I remember watching some cooking show a long time ago where the chef prepared ice cream using liquid nitrogen. It was one of those things that I never thought I'd have the chance to try (just like Gordon Ramsay's creations, sigh). When my friend Sihan mentioned about this being available in Singapore, I knew I had to try it.

Love the ambience. All these little works of art from different people makes the place more welcoming. It's like leaving your mark before you leave. The colour palette of the cafe is an instant mood lifter — exactly what an ice cream cafe should be like!

My eyes went darting around the menu once I stepped into the shop. Seeing it now, I realised I missed out on some awesome sounding flavours. Peanut butter, milk chocolate, toffee... and um, garlic?! That's new. Ah, how I hate making decisions. Some flavours even allow you to choose from soya base, yoghurt or sorbet.

Thank goodness for the help I received from one of the lovely owners! She recommended some of their more popular flavours and eventually I went with Christmas Horlicks (Horlicks ice cream x honeycomb x oreo, $5.30), while Sihan got Green Tea ($4.50).

Then, we wait for our ice cream to be scooped "magically appear".

Did I just pay for a disappearing act? (Sadly, no)

Throwing the ingredients into the cauldron for a frozen creamy elixir. Yum!

For 5 bucks you get to witness your ice cream freshly made right in front of your eyes. Pretty worth the money if you ask me. No preservatives, artificial flavourings are used in the making of this dessert. What is used is lesser sugar! (insert healthier choice symbol here)

Watching the whole process made me feel like a little kid again. 

The ice cream was SO smooth and creamy! I'd give it two thumbs up :)

320 Below Nitro Cream Cafe recently opened in October, and it is definitely a place you should check out. I mean, they prepare their ice cream using liquid nitrogen. Need I say more?

320 Below Nitro Cream Cafe
33 Mackenzie Road
#01-01, Singapore

Food: 4.5/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Value for your money: 4.5/5
Accessibility: 4.5/5 (Little India MRT, exit A)

Krispy Kreme

If you love doughnuts and haven't heard of Krispy Kreme, your doughnut love life isn't as awesome as you think it is.

With a recipe that dates back to the 1930s, Krispy Kreme doughnuts are well known for their Original Glazed doughnuts (see: above) that are glazed to absolute perfection. Choose from three of their  freshly brewed signature coffee roasts for the ideal doughnut-and-coffee combination!

Would you be able to make a decision though?

And that's just to name a few.

Around October last year, we were hit with the news that Krispy Kreme would be coming onboard the island, opening a total of 15 outlets over the next four years. Got to know the news first on Twitter and figured that it was bogus because oh you know Twitter — murdering celebrities every now and then like it's nothing.

That was until I saw this on the Channel News Asia website.

In other words: There isn't a need to bring boxes of them back from other countries anymore!!!! Too good to be true :') Watch out, 'cause Krispy Kreme is about to dominate the doughnut scene in Singapore!

And now, we wait.

But not me because I have a box with me right now hehe.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna enjoy me some good ol' Krispy Kreme doughnuts over tea break.

Be jealous, readers.

Photo Credits: X X X

Strictly Pancakes

Confession: Before this, the only pancakes I had were from McDonalds :|

That is, if you exclude the ones I make. But obviously my creations fail in comparison to such places, so it doesn't count.

(You can look at their online menu here)

Without a doubt, Strictly Pancakes is one of the most popular places known for their fluffy pancakes. Offering both savoury and sweet ones, the restaurant serves all day breakfast, bearing a similar concept to Hatched. Pancakes are known to be breakfast foods after all.

My friends and I simply couldn't resist leaning towards the sweet side. (Plus they were cheaper harhar)

What-A-Spread! ($11)

"No other spread measures up to our medium stack of peanut butter pancakes layered with Nutella served complete with Kinder Bueno and a scoop of vanilla ice cream - WHAT A SPREAD!"

Hands down, the most sinful dish I have ever consumed.

Evidently, it lives up to it's name. I didn't know where to start. To be honest, I had no idea they were peanut butter pancakes until I read the full description just a few minutes ago. Couldn't make out the taste of peanut butter. Maybe it's because of this.

The famous Nutella which needs no introduction. Pancakes were goooooood nevertheless.

Here's a tip though: If you order a dish that includes ice cream, you may want to prioritise your ice cream first. Because when it melts, the pool of melted ice cream will just be there staring at you. It's quite sad, really. However, if you like melted ice cream then by all means go ahead and use the pancakes like a sponge to soak it up. Personally, I don't like overly soggy stuff so yeah.

Andddd just when I thought mine was sinful enough...

The Druggie ($11)

"Indulge in the ultimate chocolate fix with three chocolate pancakes served with chocolate ice cream sprinkled with chocolate flakes and sliced strawberries topped off with our own homemade chocolate sauce."

Hello chocolate lovers, this is what you should order.

Not a hardcore chocolate lover so the appearance of the dish was already intimidating for me. As for the taste of it? Very chocolatey. Yup, no surprise there.

Lemon Curd for the Nerds ($10)

"Tuck into three chocolate pancakes with deliciously tangy lemon custard and cream accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream and lemon zest."

Looks meh, but I had a bite of it and it just explodes in your mouth with lemony goodness. When I say explode, I mean explode.

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What I would recommend if you do opt for the sweet pancakes like we did: Get a dish or two and split it with your friends. Trust me, it's enough.

My friends and I couldn't finish what we had ordered because it was too sweet for us to handle. Like, sweet to the extent that we can't finish it sweet. For your better judgement, on the "how much of a sweet tooth do you have?" scale I'd fair somewhere below "I love macaroons", which are too sweet for my liking.

Heading back again for the savoury pancakes for sure! You can never get enough of pancakes.

With that, I end this post with something I've always wanted to say: I'M A STRICTLY PANCAKES VIRGIN NO MORE!

Strictly Pancakes
44A Prinsep Street
Singapore 188674
Tel: 6333 4202

Food: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 3.5/5
Value for your money: 3.5/5
Accessibility: 3/5 (Nearest MRT: Dhoby Ghaut MRT)

SP Open House 2013

It's that time of the year again!

Open houses are perfect if you want to find out more about what the courses have in stored for you. Didn't go for any polytechnic open houses after I graduated though. Believe it or not, I had absolutely no idea that the polys had this period of time where they'd all welcome potential students with open arms. Yes yes, I can feel your judgey little eyes reading this in disbelief.

Signed up to help out at the open house this year. Took up the roles of "bus guide" and "CASS tour guide" last year. For someone who has motion sickness and still has problems going around the school,  they were baaaad choices. So this year I became part of the sticker people clan.

My job? Simple. Label people.

Not like what you'd do while judging people though.

The schools on the hilltop offered tours and I just had to stick stickers according to which tours the visitors wanted to go to. Perfect job for lazy people like me hehe

After a while we started to notice how you can pretty much guess which tour the visitors wanted to go to even before they spoke. And in those moments of accurate guesses, I swear we felt this much closer to being Sherlock Holmes.

In the midst of all the hardcore sticker pasting, we managed to find some time to participate in a contest too!

Doesn't require much effort, so it's definitely worth a shot!

Sure hope we win. Well, with SP, it's so possible, right? ;)

2013

Happy new year to you, reader! May this year be filled with loads of good food for you.

My first meal of the year.

Because when you're out after midnight, it's only mandatory that you have supper. And of course, roti prata is one of the ideal supper foods.

So what did you have for your first meal of the year? ;)

Mei Heong Yuen Dessert

Today I'm sharing with you guys a place I like to drop by every now and then.

Quite often, teenagers like myself don't drop by places like Chinatown because it's labelled as "a place where the old people hang out" or a place for tourists. We'd most probably only head there during Chinese New Year to soak up the atmosphere, check out the decorations and all.

Whenever I tell my friends I'm going to Chinatown, they'd be like "why the hell are you going there?"

Here's one good reason why you should head to Chinatown:

Mei Heong Yuen Dessert

(Photo credit: X)

Less than 5 minutes walk away from Chinatown MRT (get out from exit A), the place offers both hot and cold traditional desserts at pocket friendly prices.

Carrot cake ($2.50)

 Chee cheong fun ($2)

Peanut paste ($3)

Yam paste ($3)

My favourite!!!

The whole place spans over three stalls, the service is fast and the friendly staff give it a plus point. In case you're wondering, there's no GST or service charge! :) Another plus point!

This is definitely one place you can drop by after school to de-stress with a couple of friends over something light.

Ordered take away for my family once, and my grandmother gave the food there a thumbs up! You know it's good when the grandmother gives it a thumbs up ;)

Mei Heong Yuen Dessert
63-67 Temple Street (Chinatown)
Tel: 6221 1156

Food: 4/5
Atmosphere: 3.5/5
Value for your money: 3.5/5
Accessibility: 4.5/5

BlackBall Taiwanese Dessert

So I was walking about Star Vista the other day with Shuhui and Vanessa trying to decide on a place to eat. Place literally spoils you with choices.

We were so indecisive we went to scan through the directory, where we stumbled upon "BlackBall Taiwanese Dessert"

Sounded interesting and rather new, and since the world was ending soon, why not?

"Jiu Fen" Taro Ball Crushed Ice ($4.50)

Settled on getting one because of our decision making issue. Girls.

Seemed like an Ice Kachang turned upside down (or inside out?) since the ingredients were on top of the ice instead of under it. There were so many elements I didn't know where to start.

Overall, the dessert was quite alright. Everything pretty much goes well with shaved ice. The taro/yam balls however, were extremely disappointing. Just by walking past the store, you could the smell of yam and it was so strong that it draws you in. So you wonder, damn, this place must smell really good yam or something. Sadly, this is a case of being conned by the scent. The texture of the yam balls were like the pearls, and the taste of the yam was barely there. Initially we didn't even know what it was.

You can get a few friends and try this out if you have reservations about a new dessert place. I can't exactly make a judgement based on one dish alone so do let me know what you think! :)

Also, if you're a foodie like myself, drop by The Star Vista and give such new places a chance! I'd say about 90% of the place is dedicated to satisfying your taste buds. The open concept of the mall is a fresh and different idea too!

Blackball Taiwanese Dessert

The Star Vista

#02-14/15

Tel: 6694 3070