As a form of respite, we turn to desserts, especially those of the cold, icy, and frozen variety.

Good news for fans of popular Cineleisure cafe The Assembly Ground — if you’ve yet to visit their ION Orchard outlet, now’s the best time to do so, because they’ve just unveiled a line-up of kakigori, or Japanese-style shaved ice, featuring five unique flavours.

So, yes, do not expect classics like matcha, red bean, or strawberries and cream.

I can definitely see myself going for the Thai Green Tea Apple Pie (S$17), which marries two universally-loved desserts — Thai green milk tea and cinnamon apple compote — topped with mascarpone and cookie crumbs.

Fans of nostalgic flavours will probably make a beeline for the Chocolate Banana (S$18), comprising chocolate milk, banana, mascarpone, chocolate malt flakes, and butterscotch sauce, crowned with a slice of brûléed banana.

Otherwise, the Tropical Earl Grey Tea (S$18) showcases invigorating flavours like pineapple, mango, and earl grey tea, that’ll make you feel like you’re on a fabulous beach vacay.

Kakigori is available from 12pm to 9pm daily, so you might as well make it a full meal with hearty mains like Shio Kombu Seafood Pasta (S$28), Mexican Pork Stew (S$30), and Steak & Eggs (S$32).

I’m so ready to beat the heat by digging into a bowl of kakigori at The Assembly Ground. What about you?

The Assembly Ground
Facebook | Instagram | Website
2 Orchard Turn, #B2-49 ION Orchard, Singapore 238801
10am–10pm (Mon to Fri), 10am–8pm (Sat), 10am–10pm (Sun)

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But, whenever I do decide to indulge in a scoop of ice cream or Korean bingsu, I always end up paying the consequences later on (if you know, you know). 

If you find yourself in a similar situation, you might wanna consider this new dessert spot. 

Located within D’Nova Hotel in Purvis Street, The Artisan Cafe offers kakigori AKA Japanese shaved ice, just seven minutes away from Bugis MRT. 

You might be wondering: “what’s the difference between kakigori and bingsu”? 

Well, unlike bingsu which uses milk as a base, kakigori is flavoured with syrup instead. Safe to say, kakigori sounds like a go-to icy treat, especially for those with dairy restrictions (score!).

This cafe offers a series of interesting and popular fruity and floral flavours from just S$6.90 (small) and S$12.90 (large). 

Think Blueberry Yoghurt, Raspberry Rose, and Mango Pomelo Pudding, and Charred Pineapple — all of which come loaded with a ton of fresh fruits and shaved ice.

FYI, the desserts are a little massive which makes it great to share with a friend or two.

For something more unique and local tasting, the Tea Muah Chee boasts an extra stretchy and mouth watering mochi with floral aftertaste.

What I’m most interested in trying is the Black Sesame Mochi which comprises a bittersweet, nutty sesame-flavoured ice topped with homemade soft, melt-in-your-mouth mochi. 

This would certainly help to curb your sugar cravings without being too jelak as a dessert. 

Alcohol lovers are in for a boozy treat because they have Guava Sake and Yuzu Sake that leaves a pleasantly clean, citrusy, and fresh taste. 

But, you can never go wrong with the rich and fragrant Matcha Azuki served with a generous amount of red beans and earthy matcha.

Besides desserts, they also serve affordable eats and small bites, including the likes of sandos, pasta, and donburi bowls. 

You can turn this into a full meal affair with the 5-course Kakigori Set (S$59 for standard, S$39 for vegetarian) which includes a house salad, appetiser, soup, main course, and kakigori — there’s your lunch or dinner plans sorted. 

Are you in the mood for a sweet and icy treat?

The Artisan Cafe 
Instagram 
14 Purvis St, Singapore 188593
10am–2.30pm, 5pm–10pm (Mon to Sat), Closed on Sun 

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The post Indulge in an icy treat at this kakigori cafe in Bugis serving Japanese shaved ice in flavours like black sesame, yuzu sake, matcha azuki & more appeared first on Confirm Good.

Unfortunately, cafes specialising in kakigori, are few and far between in Singapore.

But starting today (24 February) till 9 March 2023, you and I can indulge in all the kakigori we want at Sakanoue Cafe and its pop-up in Isetan Scotts Supermarket.

Unlike Korean bingsu, kakigori consists of shaved ice (not milk) flavoured with syrup, and finished with cream or espuma. It’s also structured like a parfait, offering different flavours and textures with every mouthful.

With two outlets in Japan, one in Yushima, and the other in Asakusa, and queues that can go beyond four hours (especially in the summer), it’s safe to say that Sakanoue Cafe is a reliable go-to for those craving something sweet, light, and icy.

As part of Isetan Singapore’s Sweets Fair, which features delightful snacks and sweet treats imported from Japan, Sakanoue will be trialling their signature kakigori for just two weeks — and who knows? They might even open a physical cafe (please do!) on our shores in the near future.

All kakigori is priced at S$13, with just three flavours in the current menu line-up.

Keep it classic with the Strawberry Ice Cake, which looks just like a strawberry shortcake. The combination of sweet and sour strawberry syrup, freeze-dried strawberries, and delightfully light fresh cream espuma was, to put it simply, divine.

The best part? It wasn’t too sweet or cloying — my colleague and I finished the entire thing without any difficulty.

If you can appreciate sake, look no further than the Sake Cream & Cherry Blossoms kakigori, which consists of cream infused with sake lees (a by-product of the sake brewing process), sakura-flavoured white bean paste, sakura leaf powder, and edible dried sakura as a garnish (it tasted like a salty sour plum with barely any sweetness).

This was certainly an acquired taste, with its unique yeasty (cheesy and bread-like, even) notes, but I actually enjoyed it, despite the sake cream having a curd-like texture, making it a lot less creamy and silky than its strawberry counterpart.

The most adorable of the lot is, of course, the Anko, Cream and Panda, which simply comprises sweet red bean paste, fluffy fresh cream, and strawberry and cherry-flavoured domyoji (sakura mochi). It may look too cute to eat, but don’t wait too long while taking photos, because kakigori tends to melt very quickly!

Once these three flavours sell out, you can look forward to the following:

• Blue Cheese Red Beans Paste: blue cheese cream and syrup, cheese chips, sweet red bean paste, raw honey from Yamanashi, rum-soaked raisins
• Pistachio Raspberries: fluffy pistachio cream made with high-quality Italian pistachio, raspberry syrup stewed in wine, raspberry pearl chocolate, crumble cookies
• Matcha: matcha espuma and syrup, sweet bean paste

Exciting, right?

An array of decadent desserts and kakigori await at Isetan Scotts (for a limited time only), so what are you waiting for? Head down ASAP before they sell out!

Sakanoue Cafe
Instagram
???? Basement 1, Isetan Scotts Supermarket, 350 Orchard Road Shaw House 238868
???? 24 Feb to 9 Mar 2023
???? 10am–9pm (Daily)

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Photos by Christabel Tan

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