STI: 28 October, 2007 - Coast to coast

Oct 28, 2007

FOODIE CONFIDENTIAL

Coast to coast

Chef Alessandro Di Prisco, who hails from the southern coast of Italy, now lives and works in Singapore's East Coast

By Huang Lijie 

 

HE WAS forced into the kitchen as a young boy but Alessandro Di Prisco, chef-owner of Al Forno (East Coast), has no regrets.

 

'My mother loved to cook so I was often made to help out with the cutting, peeling and washing of ingredients,' says Mr Di Prisco, 34.

 

Growing up in Cava de Tirreni, a small town in southern Italy along the Amalfi Coast where food is a way of life and two-hour meals the norm, also nurtured his love for cooking.

 

At 14, he became an apprentice in a restaurant in his hometown that specialised in wedding catering, and went on to cook in hotels and restaurants along the Amalfi Coast for seven years.

 

In 1995, he was offered the job of chef at Al Forno (East Coast) by one of its previous owners, who is also from the Amalfi Coast, and he seized the opportunity to travel out of Italy.

 

When the previous owners of the restaurant decided to part ways in 1997, he took over the restaurant.

 

He and his Singaporean wife have a daughter aged five, and a son aged two. The permanent resident, who lives in Katong, does not see himself leaving Singapore - or his neighbourhood - anytime soon.

 

'My restaurant has been doing well. Plus, I love the sea and working and living in the East Coast allows me to visit the beach every few days.'

 

What dish are you most famous for?

 

Spaghetti frutti di mare or seafood spaghetti, which comes with crayfish, mussels, squid and clams. It's a common dish along the Amalfi Coast because seafood is fresh and abundant there. The freshness of the seafood goes well with a hearty tomato sauce.

 

What is your comfort food?

 

Pasta. I must have it at least once a day or I won't feel right. It's food I grew up eating but I never get sick of it because there are so many ways to prepare it, with different sauces, toppings and types of pasta to choose from. Even a simple aglio olio - pasta in garlic, olive oil and chilli - is satisfying.

 

What is the secret to good pasta?

 

A good tomato sauce is what makes a pasta dish memorable, but there is no real secret to preparing a good tomato sauce. It's not about what goes into the sauce, and I can tell you that I use canned, whole peeled tomatoes, olive oil, fresh basil, salt and garlic in mine. What is important is that the ingredients are of the right proportion and cooked for the right duration, which varies according to the quality of the produce available.

 

What is your favourite Italian dish?

 

Eggplant parmigiana, or fried breaded eggplant that is baked with mozzarella cheese in a tomato sauce. I love eggplant. I've been eating it since I was a kid and my mother has a great recipe for it. However, I don't have it as often as I'd like to these days because it's a time-consuming dish to prepare.

 

What food do you like besides Italian cuisine?

 

I go through phases. Right now, it's Thai food. I especially like tom yum soup. While I do suffer because the dish is so spicy, its hot and sour flavours are very satisfying. I don't go to a particular restaurant or stall as I like to eat around. I also like Indian food such as prawn masala and roti prata.

 

Where do you go for supper?

 

I've been frequenting Sin Hoi Eating House in Katong, which is close to where I live, for some 10 years now. It sells good Chinese stir-fried dishes such as chilli kangkong, fried rice and barbecued prawns. I usually visit it with my staff after a long day at work.

 

What is your fondest memory of food?

 

Making pasta by hand with my mother and younger sister when I was about eight. It wasn't so much the food as the atmosphere. It was cold but sunny outside and the TV would be playing in the background while we were gathered around the kitchen table kneading the dough and shaping the pasta that would be served for lunch. Thinking about it always makes me feel warm inside.

 

lijie@sph.com.sg

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Crepe House

Crepe House
1 Jurong West Central 2,
02-K3 Jurong Point Shopping Centre
Open: 10am to 10pm daily
Rating: ***

CREPES are thin and light pancakes in theory. But in fact, many of them get soggy and leaden fast from their fillings, even as you are racing against time to eat them.

I once ordered what I believed would be a light breakfast of crepes at a bakery. Two and a half pancakes later, I felt as if I had eaten a horse and almost went into a food coma.

So the sweet and savoury crepes at the Crepe House stand in Jurong Point Shopping Centre are a surprise.

The skins are as thin as popiah skins but tastier: They are eggy, moist and deliciously soft.

The fillings have a base of mayo, fresh cream or custard but taste light. You feel you can wolf down a few of these rolls without getting comatose.

And I did just that the other night, when I went to the stand with two friends and we had dinner on the spot - straight out of paper cones. (For the record, we didn't get any food on our clothes but I did get some on my face and fingers.)

I began by taking bites of my friends' ham and cheese sandwich ($5.80) and tuna and egg sandwich ($5.80).

Both were good meaty, creamy mixes of textures and tastes. But my bratwurst sandwich ($6.50) was even better. The sausage was succulent and satisfying with sweet mayo, crisp lettuce and silky crepe.

I also had the lion's share of dessert. We asked for one crepe with strawberries, strawberry sauce and fresh cream ($4.80), one with sweet bean paste and fresh cream ($4.80) and one with Japanese chestnut paste and chocolate ice cream ($5.50) - and I ate most of them.

I have always been partial to the lovely, layered chocolate chestnut parfait ($9.80++) from Sun With Moon Japanese Dining & Cafe. The crepe with chestnut puree felt a little like that parfait to me except it was cheaper. Perfect.

Crepe House is a Japanese chain brought in by businessman Mave Yeo. The master franchisee in Singapore plans to set up 10 to 15 shops.

The crepes are made here by his staff, he says, but the batter is from Japan.

So are ingredients including fresh cream, custard, sweet bean paste and chestnut paste.

They have been flown all this way so you need not go too far for a few good crepes.

(Published in Straits Times, October 28, 2007)

Reif + James

80 Mohamed Sultan Road
#01-03 The Pier at Robertson Quay
Tel: 6238 8817
Opening hours: 11.30am to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm (Tue to Friday); 10am to 3pm, 6pm to 10om (Sat, Sun and public holidays)

Watching calories while eating out? The good news is that at Reif + James, you have plenty of options

A light appetiser could be the consomme of watercress with pan-fried garoupa ($16, dinner only). The clear, delicately scented soup was the perfect foil for the firm and meaty texture of the fish.

Another healthy choice was the grilled baby octopus (right) with lychee and lamb's lettuce in homemade chilli jam ($18, lunch; $22, dinner). The lemongrass, chilli and garlic in the olive oil-based dressing cut the tender, rich flesh perfectly.

For the mains, the fresh crab claw pasta with pinenuts and chilli padi in white wine sauce ($19, lunch; $26, dinner) is highly recommended. Here, the sweet, juicy taste of the crab is supported and enhanced by the other ingredients.

Another superb creation is the marinated oven-baked Chilean seabass with soba noodles in lemongrass broth ($32, lunch; $38, dinner). The texture of the fish is silky smooth, and I loved the miso marinade.

Unfortunately, though the desserts were truly luscious, they were also quite sinful. After the healthy appetiser and main, you could indulge with the duo of cr�me brulee - kaffir lime and Bailey's ($15, lunch and dinner). Otherwise, the chef can be persuaded to whip up a sorbet with mixed fruits.

(Published in Straits Times, Oct 31, 2007)

STI: Get set for more mushrooms

Nov 1, 2007

Get set for more mushrooms

Mushroom Park now offers five set meals, up from three, with different fungi combinations to whet your appetite

By Wong Ah Yoke 

 

SLIGHTLY more than a year after Mushroom Park opened last July, this Taiwanese mushroom hotpot restaurant in Serangoon Garden has expanded its offerings.

 

The concept is largely the same. You order from a choice of set meals, which include some mushroom starters, a selection of more mushrooms, vegetables and meat for the hotpot, and a dessert.

 

But where there used to be only three sets to choose from, you now get five, with prices ranging from $26.80 to $46.80 per person. Each comes with a different combination of mushroom varieties, and some also include a meat or fish.

 

The fish, offered in the tilapia fillet set meal ($36.80), is new. The other new set is the vegetarian set meal ($36.80).

 

If you are dining in groups of two or more, I would suggest you order a different set each. That way, you get a bigger selection of mushrooms and a mix of meat, fish and vegetables for a more varied and balanced meal.

 

In my case, I shared a dynasty set meal ($46.80) - which comes with both pork and striploin - and the tilapia fillet set meal with my companion.

 

The meal started with a little snack of shredded mushroom, which looked and tasted just like pork floss.

 

But the better starter was the xing bao mushroom sashimi that came next. The mushrooms were chunky and had a firm, crunchy texture. Served chilled with a soya sauce dip spiked heavily with wasabi, it tasted great with a cool, clean flavour that was totally grease-free.

 

Next came the steaming pot of mushroom soup that was put over the stove at the table. We were given a scoop of it to taste first to savour the pure essence of mushroom before the other ingredients were put in.

 

Those would be the raw mushrooms. The dynasty set had six varieties such as the brown-coloured pine mushroom, the white sponge-like monkey head mushroom and the firm and fleshy long net stinkhorn.

 

For the tilapia set, we got the chicken leg mushroom, another crunchy variety, as well as the long net stinkhorn.

 

Besides these, there were the 'today's specials', varieties which were in the latest shipments from Taiwan and China. For my dinner, for example, I had some interesting-looking pink mushrooms which were soft and spongy.

 

All the mushrooms were added to the pot and left to cook for seven minutes - to make sure that they were properly cooked. The waitress even left a running timer on the table to ensure that we did not jump the gun.

 

Once the buzzer went, it was time to feast. We added vegetables such as xiao bai cai and Tientsin cabbage to cook according to how soft we wanted them. The thinly sliced meat and fish cooked very quickly, however - half a minute at the most - so those went into the pot only when we wanted to eat them.

 

We had a choice of rice or steamed bun with the meal, and the restaurant had a new mushroom treasure rice which was cooked with mushroom stock and had bits of the fungus as well as corn and carrot mixed with the rice grains. Like the rest of the meal, it tasted clean and very healthy.

 

We felt full at the end of the meal but not heavy. That was because we got lots of vegetables to bulk up on fibre and little oil to weigh us down.

 

Even the desserts were very light.

 

There was a choice of green tea jelly and strawberry milk pudding. I prefer the former whose clean taste completed the healthy theme of the meal.

 

The milk pudding, however, needed to be richer to be satisfying. A healthy milk pudding was really neither here nor there.

 

MUSHROOM PARK RESTAURANT

87 Serangoon Garden Way

Tel: 6281-7600

Open: 11.30am to 2pm, 5.50 to 10pm

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Ice Cream Chefs

Look beyond Ice Cream Chefs' fancy mix-n-match concept, and you'll find some well-made ice cream.
Amy Yeong
amyyeong@sph.com.sg
Aug 02, 2007
AsiaOne

A new ice cream parlour has opened in East Coast Road, and while some of its recipes could do with a bit more refining, it is probably the only place in town where you can create almost any flavour of ice cream imaginable.

Sounds far-fetched? That's what I thought when I first received the press release of Ice Cream Chefs. This 2-month-old outfit is the brainchild of two good friends who love the cold dessert so much that they taught themselves how to make ice cream, all in the name of 'bringing their ice cream dreams to reality'.

All the ice cream flavours in Ice Cream Chefs are made in-house, and we are not talking about just plain ol' vanilla and chocolate.

The day I dropped in, they were making a fresh batch of cinnamon apple ice cream, with apples sourced from nowhere else but France - home of fine produce and every gourmand's dream destination. Of course, they do have the 'regular' flavours as well, but I believe that the allure for most of its patrons lies in the fact that you mix-and-match your ice cream with a whole lot of other goodies.

One thing unique to Ice Cream Chefs is its 'ice-plate'. This freezing cold sheet of metal allows the 'Ice Cream Chef' to mix and match any combination of ice cream flavours, munchies, and condiments into a unique treat.

Naturally, some flavour combinations are already firm favourites with the ice cream parlour's regular customers, such as the 'Durian Surprise' - a combination of 40 per cent chocolate ice cream, 60 per cent durian ice cream and Loackers waffles, along with a generous helping of chocolate sauce. The combination sounds weird, but it was surprisingly palatable (maybe that is where its name came from). The dark, rich taste of the chocolate ice cream blended very well with the strong taste of the durian ice cream, while the crushed Loackers gave the resulting concoction a satisfying crunch. Durian lovers will get a kick out of this, and even non-durian lovers (like yours truly) may find it enjoyable.

While the "mix-n-match" concept of Ice Cream Chefs may draw in the kids, there are diners who will be more interested in the quality of its home-made ice cream. Those who love fruit flavours are in for a treat - the several different flavours that I tried here were all extremely well done, thanks to the owners' insistence on using quality ingredients. The durian ice cream is made from D24 durians, while its mango ice cream uses only a particular variety of mango to attain its flavour and sweetness.

The watermelon sherbet was extremely refreshing and did not stint on taste - this is as close as you will get to having watermelon in ice cream form.

That said, some of its base flavours will benefit from tweaking. This is not as easy as it sounds, as the owners have to take into consideration factors such as the texture and density of the ice cream both before and after it goes through the mashing-up process on the ice plate. While the vanilla ice cream is not very impressive on its own (despite the generous amount of vanilla bean used), it makes a great base for the different ice cream creations.

One flavour which left a positive impression on me was the green tea. Now, green tea ice cream should taste like green tea - most preferably macha green tea, which is thick, bitter and smooth. Ice Cream Chefs' green tea ice cream scored high on taste, being bitter and strong enough, but it could do with a tad more creaminess in texture. Nevertheless, the folks here are on the right track, and I am looking forward to seeing (or rather, tasting) how their different ice cream flavours will improve over time.

Ice Cream Chefs
520 East Coast Road
#01-06 (Ocean Park Condominium)
Tel: 64466355
Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 12pm to 10pm; Fri-Sat 12pm to 11pm

Kulfi Bar

Kulfi is most commonly served garnished with ground cardamom, saffron, or pistachio nuts.
Cool Chef
Wed, Jul 18, 2007
First posted in CoolChef

With so many ice cream parlours and specialty shops opening all over Singapore, much attention has been drawn to these new hippy places for gourmet ice cold delights. There are arty farty flavours like avocado and mint, New World tastes like basil and tomato and local flavours like chendol or pumpkin with sweet potato and ginger.

American, Danish, Italian and Japanese brands of gourmet ice creams have been making the waves along with local born establishments like Estivo at Greenwood and Island Creamery at Serene Center, along Bukit Timah Road. However one special place my wife and I discovered over the weekend was no where near any malls, or expatriate high-end living areas.

Right in the heart of Little India, along Upper Dickson Road is Khulfi Bar, a cafe specializing in north Indian ice creams, chaats and tea blends. It isn't really a full bar or cafe as the owners also sell handicrafts and ornaments from India. New Age Indian music creates a relaxing feel and like true blue thrifty Indians, they switch on the air conditioners only when a customer walks in.

Kulfi, or Indian ice cream, is a frozen Indian dessert made with boiled milk that has been reduced through simmering to a rich creamy thickness with slight caramelized and malt notes, something like frozen full cream evaporated milk. Sweetened with sugar and slightly thickened with cornstarch, the Kulfi is frozen in cone-shaped containers. It is not aerated, unlike commercial ice cream, and does not contain eggs either. Flavours are far more exotic than your regular Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry, with spices like cardamom and saffron, fruits like avocado or mango, and nuts like almonds and pistachios.

There is a strong Persian influence in terms of flavouring and condiments pairing up with Kulfi. This ice dessert is served in many ways, but is most commonly served garnished with ground cardamom, saffron, or pistachio nuts. Kulfi can also be served with Faloodeh or vermicelli noodles, jellies and basil seeds.

As we just had a vegetarian dinner, I thought we might as well continue with a vegetarian dessert. We took on two of their specialties - one being the Chocolate Kulfi with Faloodeh and the other a Mango and Lychee Kulfi.

Chocolate has a natural affinity for spices, especially sweet spices like cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, cloves etc. The Chocolate Kulfi had a top note of cardamon and was complimented by small cubes of jelly, rose syrup, basil seeds and pistachio nuts. If I wasn't mistaken, there was also a hint of rose water on my palate; otherwise it could have been interference from the sweet incense that perfumed the cafe.

I loved the Mango Lychee Kulfi better as I liked the sweet rich mango puree that synergised very well with the creamy malty taste of the kulfi. The lychees were perked up by the ice cream and mango puree and the floral aromas of the fruit harmonised well into the combination. A generous topping of toasted almonds sealed in the pleasure of this lovely dessert.

To balance out the sweetness of the ice creams, we ordered two of their special teas: a Honey, Lime and Ginger Tea (a fresh calamansi lime and ginger infusion) and an unsweetened Mint Tea that tasted not only of fresh mint leaves but also had notes of eucalyptus oil which creates the "cooling" effect on the palate as the tea trickles down your throat. Both teas were served in traditional brass mugs crafted with Indian artistry.

The little cafe also serves simple chaats or literally the Indians's version of Tapas - small bites such as samosas, pakoras and puris. There are also simple sandwiches and wraps with Indian flavours and condiments of course!

Kulfi Bar
15 Upper Dickson Road
(S) 207475
Tel : 6294 2334
Opening Hours 11am -10pm

Ice cream heaven

Ice cream lovers are spoilt for choice these days.
Jaime Ee
Sat, May 19, 2007
The Business Times

IT used to be that if you wanted an ice cream cone in Singapore, about the only choice you had was a drumstick or a cornetto.

Long gone are the days when Magnolia and Walls dominated our freezer shelves. First, fancy ice creams from overseas like Haagen Dazs, Baskin Robbins, Swensen's and Ben & Jerry's started to edge their way into the palates of more sophisticated ice cream eaters. Then, Italian-style gelato started muscling in. Currently, the ice cream scene has seen a wave of homegrown ice cream parlours like Island Creamery and the Daily Scoop carving out a strong niche for themselves among Singaporeans with a penchant for localised flavours like chendol, chempedak, teh tarik or bandung.

Of late, some new and newish players have entered the frozen arena - notably, they are not enterprising Singaporeans churning out 30 different flavours by hand each day, but interesting concept ice creams imported from Japan and Korea. At the same time, upmarket F&B operators better known for their upscale restaurants are also creating their own line of ice creams.

Here, we take a close up look at some of them:

RAFFLES CREAMERY
Raffles Hotel
Tel: 6337-1886

WALKING through the Raffles Hotel shopping arcade - from say, Ah Teng's Bakery all the way to Seah Street Deli - can be a sweltering experience especially on a typical hot Singapore afternoon. Now, though, you'll find a cool oasis just outside the Deli - a little pavilion that used to serve drinks and snacks has since been turned into Raffles Creamery, the hotel's version of an ice cream parlour.

While it's technically an outdoor cafe area where you can enjoy a range of healthy juices and smoothies along with a simple meal of sandwiches, salads, soups or pasta, the real showpiece of this creamery is the extensive range of ice creams developed by the hotel's chefs.

'We wish to inject a lively addition to Raffles Hotel's repertoire of dining experiences with the creation of Raffles Creamery,' says general manager Robert Logan. 'Together with the culinary panache of our chefs, we present a multitude of 30 ice cream and sherbet flavours including non-dairy ones to reflect the greater lifestyle consciousness of our patrons.'

Prices start at $4.80 for a single scoop ($8 for two), and an extra $1 for one or two toppings. Flavours include macadamia nut caramel, hazelnut frappucino, Snickers bar, rocky road, green tea, kalamansi frozen yoghurt and low fat/sugar coconut cream and fresh banana. If you're lactose intolerant, there's a range of dairy-free sherbets like pink guava and soursop, and it will be introducing ice creams made from soya milk like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.

The ice creams are good quality, natural-tasting stuff that aren't too rich or cloying. Rocky road is nice and chewy with marshmallows and great with crushed oreo cookies; the mango and apricot flavours are refreshingly fruity. If you're indecisive, ask for the Cold Marble Teppanyaki where you can custom-blend different flavours and toppings like granola, M&Ms, cookies, chocolate and butterscotch sauces, and fresh fruit. The result is a mish-mash but kids will have fun with it.

Aiming at capturing students from surrounding universities, corporate execs and shoppers, the Creamery is a friendly and accessible ice cream parlour - the pricing isn't much more expensive than other brands around and who knows, Raffles ice cream might be the next buzz word for brand-conscious sweet-toothed consumers.

HOKKAIDO ICE CREAM
Available at: Azabu Sabu,
6 Raffles Boulevard, #02-170/171,
Marina Square. Tel: 6338-1244.
Branches at The Central
and Takashimaya Food Mall
www.azabusabo.com

AZABU SABO, a chain of tea-and-dessert cafes that started off in the Azabu district of Tokyo in 1979, is using Singapore as a test market for its Hokkaido ice cream, and it should come as no surprise that the locals are fully appreciative and lapping it up.

Since it was first introduced here about 13 months ago, the ice cream - served in traditional hand-scooped form rather than the machine-dispensed, soft ice cream style commonly found in Japan - has enjoyed a rapidly growing fan base. Another interesting difference is that the ice cream is sculpted by the server into a tall, vaguely pyramid-like shape when served in a cone.

According to Ellis Cheng, a director of the company that owns Azabu Sabo, Singapore was chosen because of its tropical climate - which makes it prime ice-cream territory with year-round appeal. There are now three outlets here, served by a central kitchen that produces the ice cream using Hokkaido milk and other base ingredients from Japan - even the three-sided cones are imported.

Several more are slated to open in the coming months, says Mr Cheng, and the eventual target is something around 20 outlets. While the Singapore business is wholly owned by the parent company, there are also franchise operations in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Other potential markets include Indonesia, Thailand and China.

In keeping with Azabu Sabo's philosophy of low sugar and low fat in its food, and also keeping it all-natural and preservative-free, its ice cream is neither too rich nor too sweet - it is smooth, semi-soft (which makes it easier to shape) and suitably creamy. Generally, its taste is consistent with a high-quality specialty product. There are some 20 flavours available at the moment, including traditional favourites like green tea and black sesame - this being Singapore, durian flavour is also available.

Mr Cheng says there are plans to introduce new Japanese flavours such as tofu, sake, wasabi and sakura. The manufacturing process is overseen by an ice cream specialist from Japan. Meanwhile, the ice cream is priced at $3.50 (cup) and $4 (cone) per scoop. On a busy day, the company's main branch at Marina Square will sell around 1,500 scoops, says Mr Cheng. It's also not unusual to see queues at its recently-opened counter at The Central, which faces the Singapore River.

'The market for ice cream in Singapore is already substantial, and it's only going to get bigger,' he adds.

--By Geoffrey Eu

PREFERE ICE CREAM CAFE
Novena Square 2, #03-04

THE concept of soft ice-cream in Singapore tends to be equated more with the swirls of icy confection pumped from special machines at McDonalds, but the Japanese/Korean version of it is starting to make its presence known here.

Prefere (which is French for 'favourite') is a popular brand of soft-serve ice cream in Korea, and brought into Singapore for the first time by IT professional Quak Wan Ling and her cousins. After a friend who tasted it in Seoul told her cousins about it, 'one of our family members went to check it out in Korea and felt that it was an interesting concept to bring to Singapore,' she says.

Like another similar Japanese ice cream chain Uzumaki, there is no mucking about churning ice cream flavours from scratch and scooping them up from individual containers in a freezer display. Instead, just one simple machine developed in UK (but modified by the Korean ice cream maker) called a one-shot dispenser, is used. Individual prepacked servings of ice cream are popped into this machine on one end, and with one push, the ice cream emerges in a swirl into a cup or cone.

There's literally no muss and no fuss, which was why Ms Quak and her relatives pooled together a little more than $100,000 to open a tiny cafe that sells the ice cream by the scoop or in specially concocted desserts like affogato, in which the vanilla ice cream is drowned in espresso and served to you at one of the three tables in the cafe.

The ice cream is all pre-made in Korea and flown in direct and ready to be pumped out, says Ms Quak. Flavours include melon, chocolate vanilla, yoghurt blueberry, grape and cherry. Priced at $3.50 a scoop, the ice cream is very smooth, creamy and dense - the choc-vanilla, in particular, has that lovely sticky, chewy mouth feel that's really satisfying.

Ms Quak says that sales are encouraging, although the shop's visibility is somewhat hampered by its location in the confusing configuration of the Korean-themed mall. She's looking for other locations to set up stand alone kiosks and currently has a temporary one at West Mall.

She reckons that there is always a market for ice cream regardless of the competition. 'Ice cream is an impulse buy, so if you are in a good location, it should be ok.' She's also trying to differentiate her product by creating different kinds of desserts using the ice creams as a base. The set-up isn't slick or visually inviting - there are no tantalising displays of colourful ice creams - but once you get a taste of its smooth, chewy creaminess, chances are you might be hooked. Only problem is that there's no takeaway option, but it seems they're looking into that.

UZUMAKI
Outlets at Bugis Junction, Lot 1,
Harbourfront and Cathay Cine-Leisure

IF Uzumaki has its way, the traditional look of the ice cream vendor is about to undergo a major makeover. This new Japanese ice cream chain is nothing more than a tiny green kiosk with no ice cream on display - only a menu and a display case of plastic ice cream cones. In fact, you might even mistake it for some photo developing shop, just don't bring your memory card because the less than friendly male staff are not likely to be amused.

Uzumaki is the brainchild of 24-year-old former flight attendant Jacquelyn Ng, who was inspired by the ice creams she tasted in Japan and the quirky technology behind them. Fascinated by the unique dispensing machine used in Japan that pumps out soft-serve ice cream, she joined forces with manufacturers there and developed her own line of ice cream flavours under the Uzumaki label.

The unique selling point of Uzumaki is its bubble tea ice cream - a follow-up of the near extinct bubble tea that raged through Singapore not too long ago. Made with Ceylon tea, milk and the ubiquitous sago balls, it's the best-selling flavour of the moment. There's no scooping involved. You choose your flavour and the guy takes a little tub of ice cream, forces it through a machine and you have your soft swirl ice cream in a cup or cone.

Priced at $3.50 to $4 a scoop without toppings (50 cents for a dollop of chewy pearls), it's not cheap. The serving is small compared to say, Prefere.

While we didn't try the bubble tea flavour, the $4 Sakura cherry ice cream with chocolate chips did not impress with its grainy, airy texture and ho-hum flavour. The toppings - chewy pearls made of seaweed and coated with caramel - look pretty sad in their tiny plastic containers that look like they've been there for some time. But if you're not into toppings, then check out other flavours like wasabi, black sesame and green tea.

Meanwhile, the response to Uzumaki has been so good that it now has four kiosks and the plans are to open more of them - proof that plonk and pump ice cream is here to stay.

CANELE
11 Unity St #01-09. Tel: 6738 8145
#B1-25 Paragon Shopping Centre
Tel: 6733-8893

CANELE may already have built up a reputation for its designer-quality pastries and chocolates, but it's also quietly been churning out its own line of specialty ice creams for the past year and it's been a popular choice among its regular customers.

Pastry chef Pang Kok Keong uses a traditional French ice cream making recipe that includes 'pasteurising and maturing the mixture for 24 hours before churning'. While it sounds like a complicated process, the result is clean-tasting, milky rather than creamy ice cream that emphasises the delicate flavours of its ingredients. Sold in one-litre tubs priced from $12.50 to $14.50, flavours range from the exotic - L'Amour is a rose petal ice cream with raspberry jelly, while Nougatine is a praline ice cream with crunchy hazelnut candy bits - to the intense, like 66 per cent dark chocolate ice cream.

Canele's ice cream is not the rich, unctuously creamy mixtures that you might expect. The chocolate ice cream is intensely flavoured yet isn't at all rich - more like a cross between sherbet and ice cream. It may not be as rich as aficionados may like, but if you just want clean chocolate flavour, this is it. The L'Amour is yummy, though, with its fragrant bandung like flavour, while the Nougatine is richer with its caramelly flavour and crunchy bits.