Singapore – ice cream wafer
In Singapore, ice cream sellers are strategically positioned to take advantage of foot traffic – next to MRT (train) stations, outside temples and schools, on street corners, touristy spots like Chinatown, Clarke Quay and Orchard Road.
The mobile carts are usually run by weather-beaten, elderly ice cream uncles who rarely crack a smile. The ice cream comes in blocks that are sliced to order, thick-cut single portions served between two wafers or a slice of soft rainbow bread (multi-coloured, over-sized bread) – ice cream sandwiches. Some sellers sold ice cream cups and cones but the wafers were by far the most popular. Our first taste was bought from an ice cream stall next to Bugis MRT Station on Victoria Street, near our hotel. We shared a sweet corn ice cream in rainbow bread, but after we tried the ice cream wafers we never went back to bread.
For me, an ice cream wafer was a welcome remedy after walking around in the heat and humidity, my sweat-soaked t-shirt clinging to my back. A glimpse of an ice cream stall’s colourful umbrella was like the joyful first sighting of a palm tree rising from a desert oasis.
We tried several flavours during our stay: coffee, sweet corn, coconut, raspberry ripple, and of course, durian. If you’ve experienced this simple pleasure, what’s your favourite flavour?
An ice cream wafer in Singapore costs around SG$1 (approximately 85-90 Australian cents, depending on current exchange rate).
Singapore blog series
Jac and I were in Singapore for 8 nights in July 2014. Before this, the last time I visited Singapore was with my family when I was around 2 years old. We paid for this trip ourselves and our Singaporean friend Mandy was our local guide and makan kaki* .
- Ice cream wafer – this post
- Al Tasneem
- Forget chilli crab! Keng Eng Kee Seafood
- Chomp Chomp Food Centre
- High tea at the Raffles Hotel Singapore
- Tian Tian and Zhen Zhen, Maxwell Food Centre
- My Singapore durian fest
- Azmi Chapati
- Yet Con
- LEGOLAND Malaysia
- Dong Po Colonial Cafe
*A Malay phrase. ‘Makan’ means ‘eat’. ‘Kaki’s original meaning is ‘leg’ but in this context means ‘friend’ or ‘buddy’. ‘Makan kaki’ is your ‘eating buddy’.
The flavours may vary from cart to cart, depending on the ice cream brand (we ate Walls, Evergreen, Magnolia) but this is a typical example
Our very first taste – sweet corn ice cream rainbow bread. Keep it folded and eat it like a hotdog. The bread will get soggy, so eat quickly!
Raspberry ripple and durian wafers
At the park opposite Pearls Centre, Eu Tong Sen Street, near Outram Park MRT Station
Outside Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Chinatown
At Pagoda Street, Chinatown. There are cold drinks in the ice box, but we only had eyes for ice cream wafers. As pictured here, the ice cream uncles wear plastic gloves when handling the ice cream
Coffee wafer
Albert Mall, Bugis. I grabbed a durian ice cream wafer after a breakfast of wantan mee at Albert Centre food court
Because the ice cream is cut from a larger block, some people call this ‘potong’ ice cream, ‘potong’ being Malay for ‘cut’. Potong ice cream more commonly refers to ice cream which is served on a wooden stick popsicle-style 
I love sinking my teeth into a thick block of ice cream like this
Coconut ice cream wafer 
Durian wafer – again! My favourite flavour – what’s yours? Writing this post reminded me of the time I was in primary school in Malaysia in the mid-1980s. I’d spend my pocket money on a durian ice cream cone for twenty cents after school from the ice cream cart that regularly parked outside the school gates. I’d eat it as I walked, all the evidence gone by the time I arrived home, ready to tuck into the hot meal my grandma had waiting for me. Nothing tasted as good as my secret ice cream cone.
New blog design
I guess you’ve noticed the blog’s new look! I have left Servved and have a new web host now too. We (my web developer and I) are still ironing out some bugs and trying to get all the old comments back where they should be. It’s a work in progress made more challenging because this blog is 9+ years old – that’s a lot of posts, images and comments to migrate to new hosting.
I’ll leave you to discover the changes for yourself, but one cool feature I’d like to point out is the ‘Like’ icon (in the shape of a heart) that you can click if you’ve enjoyed a post but don’t wish to leave a comment.
If you have any major dramas e.g. something’s broken or not working, please let me know.