haato: Lovely Japanese Gelato!

I’m quite a sucker for Japanese ice cream. Mainly because it’s (1) Japanese and (2) got more familiarly Asian flavours. And that’s on top of the fact that Japanese ice cream seem to taste smoother, lighter and of course the illusion that all Japanese stuff equates healthier choice (even without moderation).

So I was whiling away my time before the Jackie Cheung concert (my review and photos) at the newly opened Kallang Leisure Park when I chanced upon haato in the basement, just beside the supermarket.

Curiosity and skepticism got the better of me and I decided the take a closer look. The flavours available are predictably Japanese, like matcha, black sesame, milk tea just to name a few. However the flavour that caught my eye was the sweet potato and honey chestnut. I was given a generous sample to try and decided to get a cup.

What I liked about this flavour was that it wasn’t too sweet and it was possible to taste chunks of the Japanese sweet potato with traces of its purple skin and yellow flesh throughout the cup. The honey blended very well to add the extra punch of natural sweetness and the chestnuts added its rich body to the texture and aroma. The combined result was a really well-balanced palate which doesn’t leave a heavy feeling.

5 Stadium Walk, #B1-01/02
Kallang Leisure Park
Singapore 397693
Email: enquiry@haato.com.sg | feedback@haato.com.sg
Website: http://www.haato.com.sg

Ministry Of Food Finally Got It Right!

If you do remember, I had ravaged MOF for their lousy food and lack of variety in an earlier review. Somehow and for some reason, somebody did give a damn (I am assuming this) about that bad review, or maybe the management was really not proud of what they had to offer at the Marina Square branch. And since they couldn’t “re-brand” their stupidest name in the world, they probably thought it would be the best move to concentrate on selling their good stuff. Which is probably the only best thing that came out of MOF, by the way.

Simply said, the Girlfriend and I loved that just-you-and-me moment with the Macha Sundae (seen in picture). For S$6, you get soft-serve ice-cream with a scoop of their very good green tea red bean ice-cream and a whole lot of other toppings like green tea sauce, cereal, jelly, azuki red bean, peaches, waffle, watermelon wedges and cherry. We thought it was a very good deal if compared to places like Ben & Jerry’s or Häagen-Dazs.

On another occasion, I tried the item with their green tea ice-cream, rice dumplings and red bean paste (which they claim to use red beans imported from Japan). The rich flavour from the green tea ice-cream was really pleasant and the rice dumplings were chewy with just the right texture. The red bean paste was unfortunately still a little too sweet to my liking. But overall, it was an enjoyable takeaway dessert.

The menu has also been bumped up, which only means more choices and that’s a good thing. Do give the items recommended in the menu a try, you may just be pleasantly surprised too.