Happy Chinese New Year!
I didn’t celebrate it today because I’m not Chinese, but I did have a Chinese New Year dinner with my Singaporean teammates last Friday.
We booked at a reservation at JB Ah Meng, which is famous for their white pepper crab. We have been to JB Ah Meng before, though it was at another location. Their food hasn’t changed, so if you want to have a detailed review of that, please check out this post.
We ordered most of the same food – white pepper crabs, salted egg yolk prawn balls – but this time around we also ordered the Chinese New Year prosperity salad (yu sheng) so that we could do the prosperity toss (lo hei).
While eating, Carly mentioned her favourite ice cream place, Birds of Paradise, so Nic decided that we should have dessert there afterwards. So we drove/Ubered over there. The pictures below are ones I took of another time when I was there.
The shop can be easily overlooked because it is hidden behind the overpass stairs. I didn’t even notice it from across the road where I always walk by.
There is always a queue at this place. You know this is a good sign that the ice cream is good because there are plenty of other ice cream shops along the same road but none of them has this many customers.
What makes this shop different from the others is that it’s called a Botanical Gelato – they make their ice cream with fresh herbs.
Their mint cacao, for example, which is my favourite, does not taste like other mint ice creams. Instead, the mint is very fresh, and tastes kind of like the fresh mint in a mojito. So the taste is very refreshing, kind of like sorbet, but with the consistency of gelato. It therefore doesn’t feel very sinful.
Aside from the gelato, they also make their thyme cones fresh on the spot, and its delicious baking smell permeates the air and probably causes a lot of people to join the queue. The cone goes very well with the ice cream, so I highly recommend getting it instead of the cup.
There are a few flavours, but I haven’t really tried all of them, though you could always taste a few before deciding to buy a scoop.
That night I decided to order Strawberry Basil, which I chose over the more famous White Chrysanthemum, because it’s sweeter.
I like it, but I prefer the mint cacao, still, so much so that I decided to order a pint for takeaway.
If you’re in the area, do drop by! It’s an unusual taste that you’d definitely want to try.
Birds Of Paradise Gelato Boutique
63 East Coast Road #01-05 (Opposite Katong I12 and Roxy Square) Singapore 428776
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