You can’t go wrong with ice-cream and waffles. Holy Cow Creamery offers charcoal waffles and handmade ice cream that comes in a range of flavours. Its headliner, Mao Shan Wang flavoured ice-cream, is handmade with actual durian flesh and drizzled with sweet caramel sauce. Also worth a try is their decadent Lava Cakes, which come in matcha, chocolate and peanut butter flavours.

Holy Cow Creamery is located at Block 292 Yishun Street 22, #01-291, Singapore 760292, website

Don’t let its name fool you. The Ugly Cake Shop is known for making cupcakes with zero artificial colouring, but it scores just as high on aesthetics as the next patisserie. Taking a more natural approach, the shop prides itself on its healthy cakes, free of artificial colouring, gum paste, and marzipan, which many other shops use to make their cakes pretty. And the icing on top? 20 percent of their proceeds goes to feeding undernourished children in Timor-Leste.

The Ugly Cake Shop is located at 535 Kallang Bahru, #01-06 GB Point, Singapore 339351, tel. 8228 8300, website

Step inside this vibrant halal-certified patisserie in the heart of Tampines to quench your thirst with a milkshake and personalised ice cream cones. Feast your eyes and stomach on their too-pretty-to-eat desserts like the Rose Buttercream Cake and ice cream that comes in eighteen delectable flavours like Unicorn Pop and Caramel Biscotti. Local favourites like the Horlicks churros waffles and their over-the-top milkshakes are also sure to satisfy.

Three’s A Crowd Cafe is located at Block 802 Tampines Ave 4 #01-11 Singapore 520802, tel. 6702 0700, website

Vegan sugar fiends, this one’s for you. Halal-certified Route Sixty Six serves vegan-friendly waffles, ice cream and desserts. Definitely try their crowd favourite, the Red Velvet Waffle, which is crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Pair it with their complementary dark chocolate sauce for extra creamy richness. The cafe also offers lunch and dinner menus, so you can enjoy heartier mains on top of your sweet treats.

Route Sixty Six is located at Block 412 Bedok North Ave 2, Singapore 460412, tel. 9752 0054, website

Nestled in the neighbourhood of Bishan is Denzy Gelato, an unassuming award-winning gelato cafe. As “Singapore’s Best Gelato” at the 2019 Singapore Gelato Championship, the cafe offers an array of flavours, including the saffron-flavoured Persian Prince, and the award-winning Pear, Ginger, and Ginger Flower. For a midday pick-me-up, go for the affogato, where you can pick from the range of flavours offered and dunk it in a warm shot of espresso.

Denzy Gelato is located at 506 Bishan Street 11, #01-404, Singapore 570506, website

Despite the patissieres’ experience at Tiong Bahru Bakery and five-star hotel kitchens, Kura’s beautifully plated desserts come at wallet-friendly prices. Crowd favourites include the Instagram-worthy Earl Grey Tart and Apple Almond Tart, which hold a balanced blend of flavours. If you’re craving a fruitier dessert, go for the Apple Almond Tart or indulge in the classic Black Forest.

Kura is located at 46 Kim Yam Rd, #01-07 The Herencia, Singapore 239351, website

Local patisserie Ollella is best known for their Indonesian-style kueh and dainty eclairs. So if you love traditional desserts with a modern artisanal twist, this is the cafe for you. In this quaint and homely cafe, you can enjoy sweets ranging from Lapis Sagu and gula melaka-drenched Kueh Lopis to raspberry pistachio eclairs. In true Ollella style, it also offers traditional mains like Soto Ayam for a comforting lunch option for rainy days.

Ollella is located at 454 Race Course Rd, Singapore 218697, tel. 6917 7273, website

If your Achilles heels is ice cream on a buttery croissant, then swing by Dopa Dopa Creamery for its ice cream croissant sandwiches. Put a rest to the cone or cup debate, and try having creamy gelato in a flaky, buttery croissant sandwich. Dopa Dopa uses only natural ingredients and keeps each flavour in their individual pozzetti, a traditional Italian way to preserve the freshness of ice-cream by preventing cross-contamination.

Dopa Dopa Creamery is located at 29 South Bridge Rd, #01-01, Singapore 058665, tel. 6535 3539, website

Lee’s Confectionery may sound like your cosy neighbourhood patisserie, but it is in fact helmed by a patissiere with experience working in Paris. Its made-to-order plated desserts hits all the right notes from taste to presentation, and come at affordable prices to boot. Its kaya is made with earl grey leaves, which enhances the flavour with a smoky citrusy aftertaste, so give the earl grey-infused kaya Puff a go. Its other headliner is the meticulously plated Jiāo, a fluffy  banana sponge cake filled with banana compote and mascarpone, perched on an oatmeal crust and coated with white chocolate.

Lee’s Confectionary is located at 343 Jurong East Street 31, #01-59, Singapore 600343, website

Tiong Bahru might be the spot for hipster cafes but, there’s always a new gem to discover. Just a quick bus ride from Tiong Bahru Station is Voyage Patisserie, a date night-worthy cafe that opened in August 2019. The founder/chef also did a two-year stint in France and offers quintessential French pastries using Asian ingredients,  such as Le Pain Perdu, which features a contrast of brûléed French toast and house-made salted Hokkaido milk ice-cream. For a lighter fare, go for their tarts, such as the Bassenay Black Cherry Tart, which uses French cherries to top off the layers of whipped cream and sponge cake. 

Voyage Patisserie is located at 249 Outram Road, Singapore 169048, tel. 6223 2490, website

Text: Joyce Chua

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