Pompette @ Beauty World Centre, Singapore

A deliciously merry time...

The longer I am on this earth, the more I appreciate the charm and spirit of little local malls where there are no cookie cutter shops and lots of little hidden gems in terms of food.

 
So, I was perplexed when I chanced upon some kind of Youtube or Instagram short, some time back, sharing about a yummy local place for soft serve ice cream in Beauty World Centre. I had been to that mall many times, but had never seen this place (and I love a good soft serve).

In the end, it wasn't too hard to find (on the main Ground level, concourse area) walk past the popular bakery (I-Bread), and turn into the first hallway/ walkway past the also yummy Thai boat noodles place (Victory Boat Noodles) and you will find Pompette hidden close by. 

(Basically, on the ground level, pretend like you're looking for the washroom, and you'll find it on the way)

 

 

What's better than 1 llama? 2 llamas!...

It is brightly lit and cheerfully decorated, a welcome sight in the lovely, but otherwise, a bit run down shopping center with many friendly llamas welcoming you in. When I was there, they looked a bit short staffed but service was friendly and quick.

On their menu, they have a small but interesting selection of freshly made soft serves ice creams, that you can opt to have in either a bowl or served on a cone. There is also a selection of optional toppings that you can add on for $1 to $1.50 more per serving. They rotate their flavours often, and I believe their most popular flavour is the Hojicha, but it was not available when I got there. So, I went for my other favourite flavour: Black sesame. 

They proclaim to use only the best fresh ingredients (with their main base ingredient being Meiji milk) and use a very light, balanced hand in terms of the sugar input - I really enjoyed it. The texture was light in a pleasant way, very smooth and the fragrance of the black sesame really came through, without any grainy texture at all and most importantly, without being too sweet.

My serving of black sesame soft serve...

I paid a little over $6 for it, which is a little on the pricey side but look, it was yummy - I have absolutely no complaints and enjoyed every bite. For a lower barrier of entry price, they have their Original flavor which is priced around $3 and other flavors ranging around $5.

I left feeling really curious about their other flavours (matcha, yuzu, matcha, mocha latte) - will have to head back soon to try them.

So, it's: Cute little owner run shop, friendly service, selling a range of (rotating flavors) freshly made, smooth and fragrant soft serve BUT location is a little hidden (still, not THAT hard to find), and price is more on the high side for some of the flavours (but worth it, in my opinion)....

Summary Information:
Pompette @ Beauty World Centre, Singapore
Website: CLICK HERE

Opening Hours:
Closed Mon
Tues to Fri 12pm-9pm
Sat-Sun 11am-9pm

Phone: +65 9877 0270

Address: 144, Upper Bukit Timah Road, Unit, 

#01-11B Beauty World Centre, 588177
Map: CLICK HERE

NO PORK SERVED

OTHER REVIEWS:
- 8 Days

Roberta's Pizza @ Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

From Brooklyn to the (Marina) Bay...

I'd never been to the original Roberta's Pizza restaurant in Brooklyn, but I had heard the lore: it's supposed to be one of Beyonce's favourite pizza places, and has been awarded a Michelin (USA) Bib Gourmand.

So, initially when they opened in Singapore back in 2022, with all that and being it's first branch outside of the USA, the lines to get in were a little off-putting. There wasn't too much of a way around it at the time, for the peak hours, and weekends, as they did not take reservations (and still do not). 

I waited a bit for the newness to die down before I headed over to try it, and have been eating there on and off ever since. They have really perfected their process, taking almost no time at all to prepare pizzas, so, wait times have become almost negligible (unless you are unlucky enough to go there at a rare, super peak time where patrons sit around and chat or hang out for very long).

I'm still a little sore that with the last tweak of their menu, they removed their decadent, flavor bomb of an oxtail stew (R.I.P.), but still keep returning for their:
- Meatballs (SGD 16++): large beef and pork meatballs, so tender and juicy, served with a piquant amatriciana sauce and topped with sharp, flavourful parmigiano
- House bread (SGD 9++): Served with Cultured butter, or Honey brown butter. It's just bread, but it's really not "just bread". Instead, it is a combination of quality ingredients, formed with years of honed skill, that has no right being this darn delicious. It's moist and flavorful inside, with the perfect balance of chewiness, encased in a light, crispy and smokey crust.

My favourite house bread....

As for their pizzas, they have a limited range, but all that we have tried so far are delicious. The crust is exactly what I like - moist but with enough crispiness and chewiness, with some smokiness from the wood fire oven. Our favourites for now are:
- MILLENNIUM FALCON Pizza (SGD 30++): tomato base, topped with parmigiano, pork sausage, basil, garlic, red onion, chili, black pepper & breadcrumbs, and
- BEE STING Pizza (SGD 30++): tomato base, with mozzarella, basil, spicy calabrese salami, chili & honey.

 
The sad thing though is that while they have a (small) selection of mocktails, cocktails, beer and wine, they have no desserts. So, if you insist, you can only choose something liquid to end the night with.

Oops..

So, it's: Relatively affordable (considering its location in MBS) with delicious pizza and to die for house bread, in a cool, casual setting, BUT no desserts :(....

Summary Information:
Roberta's @ Marina Bay Sands (MBS), Singapore
Website: CLICK HERE

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri 11.30am-11pm
Sat & Sun 11am-11pm
Last order 10.30pm

Phone: -

2 Bayfront Ave, B1-45, Singapore 018972
(Near the theatre)
Map: CLICK HERE

NOT HALAL

OTHER REVIEWS:
- Daniel Food Diary
- Shaun Chng

Shadows

Feeling melodramatic...

How strange, how life and time flies by.
Am I having fun?
Or am I just another human struggling to survive?

In a tumultuous world,
It feels ungrateful to complain.
But troubles and stress seem to keep adding, and never wain.

More gets lost to time, memories fade.
Were they happy? Were they sad?
Only an ache remains.

SG So Lit

---------------------------------------------------------
When you walk through the night,
You got to let your light shine, burn bright.
Hold on strongly to hope, to happiness.
Try your best not to give in to the darkness.
---------------------------------------------------------

I'm not one for crowds so I usually avoid festivals and carnivals, but we wanted to try something different, so headed out to check out this year's Light The Night festival.

Despite it having started on a rainy evening, there was a pretty big crowd walking around once the rain stopped.

Colourful durian building from afar....

 

We didn't go to the night market as we had already had dinner and didn't feel like shopping, so we just walked around checking out the beautifully lit and dynamic light projections on the various museums and galleries in the area.

 

Ever changing...

 

There was even an interesting interactive projection happening at the National Gallery, where participants could "compete" with each others via several stomp pads placed opposite it, on the Padang area.

Hello Mr Raffles.. 'Sup

 

 

What I found particularly cool was that the museums and galleries were having sort of an "open house" till late - the public could just walk in and check out all the exhibits. There were really a LOT of people in the National Gallery though so I didn't walk around in there.

I did enjoy walking around in the Asian Civilization Museum, which was far less crowded and I had never been to before.

 

Very creative way to display plates from the Tang wreckage...

We ended the night with a "picnic", chilling on the lawn near the Victoria Theatre, which was a nice spot to see the changing display loop on the building façade.

I'm sad that I'm not around this coming Friday/weekend to go check it out again (it's on till next Sunday) but will definitely look out for this event next year. :)


Details:
Starting: Fri 19 Jan 2018 till Sunday 28 Jan 2018
What's going on?:
- Extended hours at galleries and museums in the Art/ Civic District
- Special installations and exhibitions
- Music and artistic performances
- Art Skins on Monuments, Chromascope Interactive Facade and Colourscape Tunnel
- Art X Social Night market

Most of the above is happening on Friday to Sunday only. You can find more details at the official website:
https://www.lighttonight.sg/

Goodbye, Friend.

When did we meet?
I cannot remember exactly. It certainly was many years ago, through some common blogging friends.

You always characterized yourself as eccentric, introverted, and adverse to crowds but beneath that self professed allergy to humans, you were one of the most kind, authentic people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Your laughter, unbridled and straight from the heart, could warm up the coldest room. Your words, wise and honest but without malice, were always shared with no hidden agenda.

My regret? We never got to catch up as often as I would have liked. We are both workaholics, and certainly the physical distance did not help. Then came more work, family, and for me, my little monster. Life just gets in the way, doesn't it? And cruelly, it also takes everything  away with no warning.

I'm still stunned.
When I saw the news on FB, my only thought was, "It has to be a mistake"... but when I saw the news article, and the photo of your car, I was filled with a darkness and dread I cannot explain.

I'm still angry.
Why you? Why? It's not fair. You are the last person who deserved this.

I don't pray. I have never been the Godly, pious type... but I do hope you have found peace, and that heaven is a place where you have access to library filled with amazing books, a cosy nook all to yourself, with an amazing view, a record player, an endless selection of your favourite music and all the most delicious foods available 24/7.

RIP Gregory. You will be so very, very dearly missed.


Goodbye for now, Till I see you again,
J