Tom's Palette

I think this place has perfected ice cream flavours. I sampled many flavours and the staff was always pushing me to find the flavour I really liked. I eventually settled on a small salted caramel and tiramisu. 

I love how you can combine 2 flavours for a small cup and the prices are wallet and student friendly. The salted caramel was the best I've ever tried with the rich creaminess of the ice cream, smooth caramel and district sea salt flavour. My tiramisu had clear alcoholic notes and had a slightly acidic espresso taste. Idler that the cake fingers in the ice cream could be improved slightly but hey, I'm impressed already that they attempted to incorporate the cake bit inside the ice cream!

Of all the small samples I tried, I remember loving the dark chocolate sorbet(for chocolate lovers), hazelnut latte and some macademia one. I wasn't such a fan of their flavour of the month though. Pretty sad I missed the pumpkin flavour in jan! Cannot wait to return!

The cafe has cute tables too with a customized tabletop of their reviews and fans drawings.

Can't believe it took me so long to write a review on my favourite ice-cream joint.

I keep going back for their rum-and-raisin...have not found anything as good as theirs.

Also, their bubble ice-cream (not sure of exact name), tastes like koi bubble tea, complete with the chewy bits.

For the chocoholics, chocolate sorbet/stout is worth a try. Check their website first, chocolate sorbet is sometimes not available that day. If I'm not wrong there is usually a chocolate week marked on their calendar each month.

Last year's anniversary flavours were really good...esp the white wine and red wine sorbet. my mum liked the mango sticky rice.

Christmas flavours were slightly too weird for my palate but then again there's no place like Tom's Palette that serves a huge array of quirky flavours.

I've never ordered a small cup or medium cup, it's that good. Worth the whole 5 bucks.

Tom's Palette has some pretty unique ice cream flavours, like Melt And Sizzle, which contains poping candy, or Wasabi Lime, which is cool yet fiery. 

It's obvious that the people behind Tom's Palette like playing and inventing... They hold ice cream making workshops, and you get the sense they love what they're doing.

Tom's Palette makes their ice cream in-house, and they create a new flavour every month.

For full review and pictures please visit knockonfood!

Love the chocolate malt base of Granny's Favourite! Would prefer it if the cookie dough in this flavour is better. Chocolate Sorbet was very good as a sample, but I'm not sure if I could handle that much pure chocolate to actually order it, chocolate indulgents please try that though! There's also some interesting flavours that turned out weird, like Pumpkin, so do try before ordering, their friendly staff will gladly oblige.

Upon my arrival at Shaw Towers on Beach Road, it took us quite a bit of effort before we located the parlour. Tucked away hidden at a corner with a few other small eateries, it was a hidden gem indeed. 

For full pictures including interior decorations, please visit us here.

Spoilt for choice at the ordering counter, we deliberated and took our time in deciding. Despite so, we felt no pressure from the young and very friendly staffs who were more than willing to explain the flavours to us in greater details allowing us to firm up our decision. I was definitely impressed with the attentive staffs and what struck me most was when one of the serving ladies said 'Don't need to feel 不客气!' (don't need to feel shy about trying the flavours) cos after sampling some 4-5 flavours, they were pushing us to try more (in a good manner) till we were satisfied with our choices. This was in fact the first time I experienced such good service and when we were done, we had been offered a total of 11 flavours to taste! What reinforced my conviction that their ice cream was good was when we spotted one of their servers sampling their ice cream herself!

There was not a single point in time where we felt compelled to make our orders. That being said, the shop was pretty empty with only 2 customers then, but nonetheless their service was surely commendable. Personally, I felt that if one's staffs were relentless in promoting their products, i.e. through food sampling in this instance, that spelled their confidence in the quality of products.

We eventually settled for 4 flavours (1st 4 below), whereby mine was a large (S$5/-) while my lady had a medium serving (S$4/-). You could have the small portion at S$3.20/-which also allowed the flexibility of a combination of 2 flavours, like what we had. All prices were nett, inclusive of GST and service charge.  

Salty Yuzu - citrus and tart fruit ice cream

(+) Tasted like a mixture of lemon and mandarin orange or calamansi, very zesty.

(+) A very refreshing burst of tingy-ness upon first taste.

(-) Was hoping for a slight salty aftertaste, but sadly the sea salt was rather insignificant to taste.

(-) Being labelled an ice cream, I was expecting rich cream tastes, but it tasted more like sorbet, though it went well by my books.Verdict: 7.5/10

Melt and Sizzle 

(+) Interesting combination of berries, choco pop chunks that sizzle in your mouth!

(+) A very nostalgic taste which brought back childhood memories of those sizzle candies.

(+) Ice cream was very rich in taste and flavours, not overly sweet.

(+) Complemented by the natural sweetness of the berries.

(+) Similar in taste to Ben and Jerry's 'Cherry Garcia', but with the sizzling pops. Verdict: 7.5/10

Rudolph - Cream cheese, toffee, chestnut and cranberries

(+) Another interesting flavour and combination of flavours.

(+) Generous amount of cranberries in the serving.

(+) Very rich and thick cream cheese aftertaste. A love or hate relationship in my opinion.

(-) Personally, sweetened cream cheese with cranberries just did not go well with me.

(-) Not a huge fan of rich cheese flavours, so judgment could be other end for some.

(-) Could not really taste much of the chestnut nor toffee, in fact wouldn't know it existed till we double-checked the contents with the server.

Verdict: 6.5/10

Granny's Favourite - melted choc and cookie dough

(+) Tasted like a combination of 'Horlicks' and 'Milo' served as ice-cream.

(+) Unique rich creamy taste, tasted like shortcake.

Verdict: 7.5/10

Chocolate Sorbet 

(+) The lack of milk in this sorbet made the cocoa very rich and outstanding.

(+) Bitter initial taste with a subtle sweet aftertaste that was not too heavy on the palette.

(+) Varied taste to a usual milk chocolate ice-cream, with focus on the cocoa for this sorbet.

(+) Would return to enjoy this treat more than just food sampling.

Verdict: 8.5/10

Salted Egg Yolk

(+) One of its kind flavour and certainly the first I had ever tasted.

(+) Tasted almost the same as the egg yolks in mooncakes, served as an ice-cream.

Well, that being said, I almost never eat salted egg yolks in mooncakes and avoid it at all costs due to personal preferences, but for people who swear by them, this is definitely a 'Must-Try'.

Verdict: N/A

Savoury Crunch - potato crisps, praline

(+) Definitely a 'savoury' treat for those who enjoy rich, thick creamy indulgence.

(-) Despite tasting the flavours of potato crisps, it was soft and soggy.

Verdict: 6.5/10

Green Tea 

(+) Taste of authentic matcha and not green tea flavouring used by common ice cream.

(+) Rich and creamy enough to satisfy the lady's tastebuds.

(-) However, we felt that a greater concentration or dose of matcha would be ideal.

Verdict: 7.0/10

Vanilla Creme Anglaise

(+) Fine pieces of vanilla pod which gave a beaded texture to the velvety vanilla ice cream.

(+) Enjoyed the varied mouthfeel in this rich, creamy and fragrant treat.

(+) If you enjoy plain vanilla, you will almost certainly enjoy this.

Verdict: 7.5/10

Apple Pie

(+) Strong coat of cinnamon, very fragrant and palatable indeed.

(+) Soft chunks of apple flavoured crunch bits helped define the flavours.

(-) Expected to taste soft chunks of apple fruit and not crunch bits.

(-) Being a cynic towards apple cinnamon desserts, I felt that the cinnamon was overpowering and caused to a certain extent masked the sweetness of apple.

Verdict: 6.5/10

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

(-) Sounded rather unique, but taste wise failed to deliver, was not bad, but not good either.

Verdict: 6.5/10

What was particularly commendable was that when the servers scoop the ice-cream, they all made sure that masks were worn to cover their mouths. A simple gesture as such reassured customers of the high level of hygiene in the handling of their products. 

Another attentive aspect which Tom's Palette touched upon was the free flow service of warm/cold mineral water at the back corner of the shop which was also offered at Daily Scoop. It was overlooked but while I was making payment, the server highlighted to our attention with a smile. 

The one key unique characteristic which set Tom's Palette apart was the ingenious decorations within the shop. It was simple yet it defined the shop's character. With customers' scribbles and drawings, they were mapped onto the tables, which made every table distinctly different on its own and one of its kind. 

There was a little chalkboard at the outside of the stall together with the various accolades received which indicated that Tom's Palette would be hosting a 'Ice Cream Making Workshop' scheduled on 8 Jan 2012 from 11am-1pm priced at S$60/pax. Interested gourmet enthusiasts might wish to give them a call at (+65) 6296 5239 to check on availability.

Overall, it was a very pleasant experience, largely influenced by the excellent customer service and unique flavours offered. Despite some misses with the flavours, there were definitely some hits which would make me return. The very fact that it was a local homemade ice cream parlour is already itself worthy of a visit. 

Full reviews and photos: http://foodiefc.blogspot.com/2011/09/toms-palette-shaw-towers.html

Heard about how good Tom’s Palette ice cream is since a few years back. At last, I get to try it for myself. Tom’s Palette is a traditional home-made ice cream shop. It seems that the owners have been churning out new innovative flavours regularly and the ice cream are made the traditional way, from scratch (using eggs, cream, milk, sugar).

Oh they have extended their shop, check out the newly renovated shop now. There’s much more sitting space available.

Even have ice-cream making workshop!

You can try as many flavours as you like before deciding on the ones which you would like to order. I spotted Salted Egg York ice cream! This is unique and very innovative, have never tried something like that before. Hence, I asked to sample this flavour too! It really tasted like salted egg york, just that this time its the ice cream version! Something to unique to sample which I do not think you can find else where for now.

In the end, I decided to order these flavours.

I ordered a medium cup with 2 flavours in it, Chocolate and Granny’s Favourite ice cream.

Chocolate ice cream had a strong chocolate / cocoa taste. It was thick and dark (bitter) too.  Not the diluted version of chocolate ice cream which you can find anywhere!

Granny’s Favourite ice cream had cookie dough in it which provided it with a variety of taste. It taste abit like milo ice cream too.

Surprisingly Tom’s Palette ice cream are quite affordable compare to other ice cream outlets. Moreover the ice creams are thick and are made of the real stuff. I will certainty be back to try more flavours. Am totally convinced that it is quite value for money. In fact, I think its on par with Ben & Jerry or even better!

Full reviews and photos: http://foodiefc.blogspot.com/2011/09/toms-palette-shaw-towers.html

Imagine having good and cheap ice-cream in bugis.

That must be TOM'S PALETTE!

Smacked right in Shaw Leisure Gallery, it is slightly hidden away from the hustle and bustle. Nevertheless, TOM'S is always packed with youngsters from all over the place.

Check it out!

WE ORDERED:

Granny's favourite + Rum&Raisin (medium), 4:

the medium cup that comes with 2 flavours costs only 4dollars. The Large costs 5dollars. The small is just too small. Granny's favourite is MALTED CHOC + COOKIE DOUGH. wow! Love the bits of solidified holicks powder here and there:)

Rum&Raisin is a favourite to all alcoholic ice-cream lovers. Every raisin oozed out rum, making me high.

My boyfriend and I must have been here so many times but each time we went, we always ordered granny's favourite. It's like a must to get this! That cookie dough thingie inside tasted a little like solidified Horlicks. Kinda like the state you will find the milo powder on your milo dinosaur in. That gooey mess is fragrant, crunchy and yummy!

We love Nuts n such too, that pecan bits inside gave extra crunch. Rum and raisin is good too, but the udders' one is more shiok with more alcohol content. But at least they have full rounded raisins here which is good enough for us, especially since we can get a 10% discount with our student card.

Always a good way to end a meal after having Thai food at Ah Loy (:

For full writeup and pics please go to www.thenewadventuresofoldelis.blogspot.com. 

It was tough waking up early the morning after Beerfest, but boy am I glad I made it for the ice cream making class at Tom's Palette.

Located at Shaw Leisure Gallery, Tom’s Palette is a non descript shop space hiding a delightful Willy Wonka’s factory within. I knew they had been around for a while (since 2005) and won many accolades, but it was my first time there.

There were 8 of us in the ice cream making class. The class started with the instructor giving us a demonstration on making green tea ice cream, followed by our own hands-on effort to make chocolate ice cream. I was quite surprised by how easy it was – mix up the egg yolk, milk, cream and sugar to create the custard, infuse the custard with the flavoring you want, chuck it in the freezer for a bit, churn it by hand and return it to freezer for a bit more and voila – your very own traditional homemade ice cream!

While waiting for our custards to freeze, we were treated to an ice cream buffet. It was surreal – so many flavours to try, so limited stomach space! There were some incredible flavors at Tom’s – I especially loved the chocolate stout, salted egg yolk and onion, popping candy (melt ‘n’ sizzle) and salty yuzu flavors. I was stuffed but I couldn’t resist asking for one last scoop of Granny’s Favourite, packed with cookie dough goodness. Perfect hangover food haha.

The private class lasted from 11am till 1.30pm, when they opened the doors to the public. Wow, I never knew that there are so many people craving ice cream so early in the afternoon. Brisk business indeed.

I highly recommend the ice cream making class at Tom’s Palette, worth the $60!

K was perfectly cool with ice creams but I, on the other hand, had to exercise self-restraint when faced with a mind-boggling selection of flavors. Every one of them looked delicious but I couldn't possibly sample them all. So what I did each time was sample three and then choose two that most took my fancy.

So far, I'd tried four flavors and found salted egg yolk the most unique. Both black sesame and hazelnut were intensely flavored while chocolate sorbet appealed to the chocoholic side of me being so chocolatey and bittersweet.

The medium cup ($3.70) was just nice for sharing and besides the myriad of interesting flavors, the homemade ice cream was creamy and smooth.

Service was friendly and I certainly appreciated the patience while I sampled and settled on the flavors. It's a nice touch the ice cream parlour provided seating, all the more conducive to savoring the luscious treats, since walking or standing really took the fun out of eating.