Tom's Palette (政府大厦)

At Tom's Palette, you'll be greeted by a range of innovative flavors, some of which I'll never have imagined seeing in Singapore. Balsamic vanilla? Oolong tea? Rosemary and apple? And even... Pineapple Tart?Not only do Tom's Palette's flavors hit the spot, I really like the smooth and dense texture of their ice-cream too. Actually a hybrid between ice-cream and gelato actually (with a lower fat content like the latter!), the proof of of its softer consistency can be observed from how it can be spaded into a tightly packed cup.

The friendly scoopers here encourage you to sample different flavors so that you'll like what you order and be happy with your purchase. What a rare, kind gesture! Looking at how much I fancied every single flavor I tried, I think this gesture is, rather, meant for one to find the flavors that one likes the most (:

Prices here are reasonable too. A small, medium and large cup go for $2.80, $3.70 and $4.70 respectively, and one can choose to have up to two flavors. The scoopers pack in the ice-cream very tightly too! Look at the pictures below and you'll get what I mean. It's like they're trying to give you as much ice-cream as they can fit into the cup!

The small cup here outsizes serving sizes at many ice-cream joints, and considering the price a single scoop is going at at those places, you'll paying only half the price for your ice-cream at Tom's Palette. (And the ice-creams here beat them in the taste department too.)

On my first visit to Tom's Palette, I had Lychee Rose and Chocolate. Honestly I'm not a fan of most plain chocolate ice-creams (i.e. that come without mix-ins), but the version here was the best I've ever tried. It was deep and dark, with just the right amount of air mixed in for the perfect thickness and density (unlike this one, meh).

Lychee Rose was a light and refreshing break to the rich chocolate. Really reminds me of lychee tea, except that this has faint but invigorating floral hints. The perfect cool-down for the blazing hot weather!

I have been on the search for a good Pulut Hitam, but I have yet to find one that really hits the spot. Not having tried The Black Swirl- inspired by Pulut Hitam- which was flavor of the month of May, I knew that I had to head back to give it a try before before the month ended. However, I spotted this at the shop yesterday so I guess it might still be available randomly.

And yup, it was like Pulut Hitam- only in reverse! Featuring black glutinous rice bits in coconut-based ice-cream, The Black Swirl is much lighter than the thick and filling dessert it was inspired by. An interesting twist on tradition! Try this if you like coconut.

At Tom's Palette, cheesecake ice-cream is given a twist by the addition of the ever-popular combination, salt and caramel. There's also blueberry cheesecake ice-cream! This is obviously a very well-liked flavor, for it was the tub that was most empty. Plain cheesecake ice-cream can get boring after a while, but the dreamy salt and caramel blend really livened up the creamy base.

Granny's Favorite was beckoning to me but I'm glad I chose my favorite flavor, pistachio, anyway. Awesomly aromatic and nutty, the version I had was made from Iranian pistachios instead of Italian ones. I was given a sample of the original version of the pistachio ice-cream for a taste test, and I must say that the new and improved version is much more fragrant!
Vanilla ice-cream fans must try the version here- it's very fragrant and leaves a trail of bliss melting down your throat. If only all apple pies and brownies were served with this...

I'm sure those who have never visited Tom's Palette must have heard of matcha and Earl Grey ice-creams, but never Ed's Tea! Well, I don't know who Ed is, but Ed's Tea is essentially teh tarik, brewed to the perfect intensity. Those who like teh tarik should go for this!

Chocolate sorbet is the new flavor for the month of June, and has replaced the chocolate ice-cream for now. Plain chocolate ice-creams have never made it to my list of favorites (even the great chocolate ice-cream here at Tom's!) because I feel that the taste of the chocolate ain't intense enough due to the presence of milk and cream. That's why my first encounter with the dark and pure chocolate sorbet here was a dream-come-true experience!

Even without the cream, the chocolate sorbet's lusciously smooth as there are already cocoa fats present in the dark chocolate. This is potent stuff, made even more dangerously addictive because it ain't heavy like its cousin.

Upon sharing with Chronos and Eunice how much I liked the chocolate sorbet, I found out that there were many folks who shared the sentiments as me. So, they will be alternating chocolate ice-cream and sorbet, check their calendar to see which one they're having!