Holy Shoot It's Halal?! (Sweet Edition)

[Muslim Owned] Hot Chocolate is one of those drinks that I feel many would underestimate in how brilliant it can get.

And honestly, you can’t really blame them cause it’s not hard to imagine what goes into a cup of the non-caffeinated classic. Even the famed cup of French hot chocolate is nothing more than milk/cream and chocolate. In other words, the glass ceiling is pretty low.

However, when you venture beyond the conventional and waddle in the waters of experimentation, you can get some unexpected but darn amazing results.

That was the case with this Hot Mango Chocolate ($5) from Alto Café, a Muslim-friendly café nested in a condominium located in Bayshore. 🥭🍫 Every sip was a blend of velvety smooth hot chocolate and a punch of tropical-sweet mango flavour.

And the best bit happened at the last sip; this was the very first hot chocolate where that still tasted smooth. There was none of the grainy texture that traditionally comes with the final few sips of chocolate drinks. I personally never minded it, but I gotta say — I never knew how refreshing it was until I had this!

I still think about this, and it takes the title of the second best cup of hot chocolate that I’ve had. It’s bested only by the Hot Chilli Chocolate I had at a coffee shop in Edinburgh, Scotland during a vacation some years ago. 🤤 (9.5/10)

Nasty Cookies new store is decked out with their brand’s tiffany blue that engulfs from the walls and furnishings down to the receipt! It was beautiful and an experience in and of itself.

Their cookies were pretty delicious I’ll say - thicc, chunky. They also make it obvious as to which flavour is which, from the facade alone. If I were to never reveal the flavours I got here, it’d still be easy to guess them.

That said, these were the flavours I got:
• S’Mores
• Chocolate
• Matcha

I think the one feedback I could make, and have heard among other friends actually – is that the cookies were missing an oomph factor. 😲 I do think it boils down to how robust the flavours are, as I don’t recall getting that. Still, they’re not bad or anything!

Also took the chance to ask about it; they do use halal-certified ingredients in their cookies, which means you and your Muslim friends can enjoy this together. And food enjoyed in a group always feels nicer, right? ☺️

[MUIS Halal Certified] Had this sometime ago, but I thought it’s worth dedicating one post to it! When TP Tea opened, it seemed like they knew they would drown in the Singapore mainstream food scene if they didn’t have an edge.

Hence, they went above and beyond to make themselves stand out in two ways - by getting the MUIS Halal Certification AND by having bubble tea softserves (with boba) on their menu. They have since cemented themselves as one of the go-tos by the halal abangs and kakaks for bubble tea. Where other types of people are concerned, they also appear to have successfully bagged the foodie crowd who are on the hunt for the newest grubs. 🙋‍♂️🧕

The Pearl Milk Tea Softserve ($4.60) is unmistakably black milk tea in taste and finds itself in the middle of creamy and icy, texture-wise. If I do remember correctly, the bobas did harden after awhile as it succumbs to the frigid temperature of the softserve. Personally though, I didn’t find it disruptive to the experience. 😋

But well, aside from the occasional brainfreeze this also gave me, this was certainly a new, yet still familiar, way to enjoy the classic Taiwanese treat. I don’t mind going back for it again! (7.4/10)

The days of the 2018 Geylang Bazaar Ramadan may be gone, but I’m still going to share about Markozar’s Nutella Falls ($6.50) martabak manis because they actually have a permanent outlet in Teck Whye’s Rasa-Rasa coffee shop! The items are priced the same as when they were at the Geylang Ramadan Bazaar, which I found to be a nice surprise, given the slew of stalls there that ramped up the usual cost of their items to the point of being blatantly overpriced (by no means their fault though, they did need to make enough to cover the prohibitively high rental costs).

Anyway, I’m not ashamed to admit that this was the one thing that I kept coming back for. This open-faced apam balik (aka terang bulan) is the epitome of decadence – griddle pancake topped with shredded cheddar cheese, peanut bits, condensed milk and Nutella drizzles.

Pretty standard toppings, but what separates Markozar’s from the rest that I’ve tried was how satisfying and addictive each bite was. It manages to be a mouthful, but possessed the amount of softness that was enough to allow it to disintegrate easily in the mouth. This was hardly the case with three other renditions I’ve tried, all of which had a texture that was of a disconcerting, chunky amalgamation of rubber and cold fudge.

This is certainly your go-to if you’re feeling in the mood to indulge in something sweet. For those who lament about their diet being ruined after swallowing 0.0000008g of air however, it’s obviously best to avoid this. 🌚 (7.5/10)

[Halal] The Ondeh-Ondeh Cake from Coffee Bean is a surprising find. I’ve always low-key had a fondness for Coffee Bean’s selection of cakes, as all of them are embedded with a unique, yet endearing sweetness which has the silent power of a multi-generational appeal. I had opted for no gula melaka syrup that usually comes with this, lest its quality gets lost in it being too sweet. 🤧

Let’s keep it real here – their Ondeh-Ondeh cake doesn’t have a speck of complexity to it. But to make up for that, it possesses an element of authenticity instead. For one, you’ll find that it hits the mark in terms of replication/adaption of taste.

But that begs the question — how come something this straightforward yields a score higher than some others in my catalogue of reviews? 🧐 Because if we think about it in a slightly deeper sense - something that presents itself this simple has probably gone through plenty of refining before it can ever make it to display fridges. In other words, this was one of the prime examples of ‘less is more’. And in turn, it’s something that I want more of. (7.5/10)

[Halal] The ganache filling of the Red Velvet Molten Lava cake didn’t flow, the taste was sweet, but disappointingly one-dimensional. This is nowhere close to being worth the money. The only things that kept this dessert afloat were its presentation and that it was at least palatable. That’s all I’ll say about this folks! 🤧 (4.5/10)

[Muslim-Owned, Halal Ingredients] Got around to trying Moosh’s softserve the other day with a friend! They’re best known for their Ondeh-Ondeh Softserve which sees a cup of softserve swirls lined with their neon green sauce, but I decided to go for their Apple Crumble instead. 🍎

If there’s one thing good about their softserve, it’s that you’ll find that you’re getting a portion actually proportionate to its price – not too little, but not too much either. A regular-sized version of this set me back by $4.50; $2 more had I opted for an upsize.

Yet, I’d say that its taste doesn’t quite seem to strike the right note for me. Its texture was unmistakably dense and it embodied a fair bit of chunkiness (the kind that would make you want to actually bite the ice-cream). Flavour-wise, it had this peculiar kiss of tang which I found slightly off-putting for something that presents itself as an unassuming dessert. 🧐 And the other ingredients in this weren’t exactly unique or robust in flavour either.

Ultimately though, I wouldn’t classify this as bad at all; I think it just left more to be desired. (6.8/10)

[Halal | Tasting] An interesting adaption from the actual thing, which is commonly mistaken for Kueh Tutu. In spite of the lack of striking differences, the main difference between the both is that Putu Piring is filled with gula melaka and its concept originated from India, whereas Kueh Tutu is filled with peanut or coconut and has Chinese origins.

This has managed to stay true to its original form. It hit the mark on texture and the ingredients (i.e. coconut, gula melaka, Indian flour). This sufficed on its own actually – like it was good enough without the ice-cream. Not that the cold scoop was out of place, but it felt more supplementary than complementary. Everyone at the table collectively agreed on this! (7.4/10)

This dessert is held in high regard by many patrons who have dined in here before. It is also one of the first renditions, which spawned many more within the circle of local halal cafés.

I can see why fans of this item speak well of it. Delicate layers of pandan-bodied sponge cake alternates with those of smooth pandan buttercream, which is paired with gula melaka sauce and bits. Cynics may nitpick on some of its aesthetic and execution flaws, but I personally feel this still qualifies as above average, albeit just slightly.

Their buttercream wasn’t unctuous in texture at all, which was great – it’s, in fact, the thing that makes or breaks it for me. The gula melaka bits were the highlight here – crunchy, grainy, and they disintegrate onto one’s palate almost immediately. These couple of marginal differences are what separate Malayan Council’s rendition from others.

Ultimately, there’s one thing we all strongly agreed on – its pairing with the scoop of vanilla ice-cream. It felt so inherent, that it’s giving peanut butter and jelly a run for their money! (7.4/10)

[Halal, Tasting] Rayz Bistro's Golden Snitch ($18) doesn’t come cheap, but it’s understandable given the unique experience you’re getting with this. We were told beforehand that the pastry chef who made this is a graduate from one particular Australian culinary institution, which meant that there was a standard to be expected with this.

All you have to do is take the steaming caramel sauce in the cream jug and douse the chocolate dome (which is topped with an edible gold leaf btw). In a moment, you’ll watch it gloriously melt down and envelop the apple pie that has been taking cover inside it.

Completing the mess that inevitably ensue are a quenelle of vanilla ice-cream resting on a bed of warm crumble (butter, I believe?), interspersed with some fresh raspberries and blueberries. Everything was remarkable, until I had the ice-cream…which was smooth on the outside, but still icy on the inside. I was slightly disappointed, I’m not going to lie. 😣 Had that been nailed, this would’ve easily bagged half a notch more in rating! Yet, I’d say I still enjoyed this very much!

For those looking to spice up their Instagram game, this is one plated dessert you can rely on to do just that. Just be sure to choose a place with a good lighting - a natural outdoor one is most ideal. Not forgetting the fact that it’s a banger too; I feel like a fraction of my life is complete after having had this. (7.9/10)

[Halal | Tasting, Part II] I have to say - it's hard not to adore this cake based solely on looks. It's well-put together, it's admittedly adorable, but it's not gaudy at all. For those fond of unicorns, this may be the thing that turns their dreams into reality.

I should have gotten a picture of a cross-section too so that you can see the layers of rainbow sponge cake that is encapsulated within the unicorn which is made using a generous amount of the trusty, malleable fondant. It is actually quite a pretty sight! Gorgeous exterior, equally gorgeous interior - this thing is the antithesis of the saying "out of the frying pan into the fire". ✨

Yet, in spite of how it is predominantly fondant, I do have trouble appreciating this, and the cause of that can be attributed to one thing - the evidence of butter in its taste. It is unctuous, leaving a slightly unpleasant greasy sensation on the roof of my mouth with every bite. That's a no-go, but for me at least because I do understand there are some who are fans of that. 😅 There's also this sharp, artificial, fruity, if not lemony, taste to it. Not that it was unpleasant in any way though.

So if you want to surprise that friend of yours who professes to loving anything unicorn, surprise them with this and there's a good chance they'll be like the visible light that is shot into a triangular prism and then disperses a rainbow – they'll beam. 🌈 (7/10)

Throwing it back to Ramadhan when I had the halal rendition of the Butter Beer at the Celeb Fest event. Unfortunately, I don't have enough knowledge about Harry Potter to dilate on its background, so let's just cut to the chase here, shall we? 😗

To put it bluntly, this is the archetype of the word mediocre. It is literally cream cola with a mini cup of foam to top it. Either my taste buds were failing me that day, or it was just meh, but I really didn't taste any tinge of butter flavour in the drink or the foam. This concoction was a sad attempt at creating anything quirky or worth raving about.

They don't give you straws for this too, as you are supposed to sip it from the cup, so that you can get a foamy moustache. But somehow, the laws of chemistry brought only the cola to wherever I was sipping from, and not the foam. A spoon or a straw truly would've made things better. Sigh.

I paid $5 for one cup of this, but if you ask me, I'd give l $2 max for this. I mean, it's an okay drink, but in a ratio of gimmick to quality, the latter pales in comparison to the former. (5/10)