The 5 Best Homemade Ice Cream in Singapore

Written by Sarah Ong | June 26, 2024

Image: Merly Ice Cream

Our Singaporeans love ice cream. If not, why a myriad of ice cream parlours, both local and international brands, are out there. And when hipsters keep hunting for best homegrown ice creams in town, there must be a reason. Yes, those local shops invite ice cream lovers to celebrate all the classic, exotic and creative flavours at very reasonable prices.

Most of the Singaporean ice cream shops are away from the city centre. Fortunately, we still have Tom’s Palette and Merely Ice Cream in town to easily have an ice cream fix. When you have ample time or wish to try something new, make your way to Udders at Upper Thomson or The Daily Scoop at Chip Bee Garden or Creamier at Toa Payoh. They are all worth a try. Yes, because they are the best handcrafted ice cream in Singapore.

Visiting those sweet lands, you may get confused by so many options. Don’t worry! The friendly staff at those shops can read your mind. They will offer you free, unlimited tasting to help you choose the flavours that please your taste buds.

1. Udders

Image: Udders

Address

246D Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 574370

Phone

+65 6452 0803

Opening hours

Sun to Thu: 12:00 - 01:00
Fri, Sat & eve of PH: 12:00 - 02:00

An ice cream parlour for adults. This is how Udders is typically characterized by Singaporeans. Who wouldn’t agree with that when the shop’s best sellers are mostly mixed with liqueurs such as rum, bourbon, cognac, and whiskey? Truly, a delight in the taste buds of drinkers who also happen to have a sweet tooth. But don’t get this wrong, Udders is still a family-friendly ice cream shop with their other must-try selections like the classic Snickers Mars Honeycomb Vanilla, Hazel’s Nuts, and the famous Mao Shan Wang Durian for the connoisseurs.

Highlights:

Dazzling selection of liqueur ice creams: With approximately 10 delicious liqueur flavours, Udders makes alcohol fans fall in love from head to toe. Any doubt? Let the Rum Rum Raisin, Tira-miss-u or Bailey’s & Bourbon tell you how wonderful the experience is.
Late-night ice cream destinations: Having a late-night craving for dessert? Udders is your choice. Its five outlets are all open till midnight at weekend. But what if one wants to have late-night ice cream no matter what day it is? Visit Udders at Upper Thomson. The team is there to serve you every day from 12:00 to 01:00 or 02:00.
Voting for the potential flavours: You may doodle or write on the parlour’s large chalkboard, if that’s what you mean by having fun. You’re even allowed to write down your own flavour suggestions to Udders team. Do it! And let people vote for your creative ideas.
Fun workshop with ice cream buffet: If you want to know the secrets of ice cream making and experience something new, the Udders team offers a workshop that comes with a sumptuous all-you-can-eat buffet. The instructor is even fun to work with so you’ll have a great time.

WELL-LOVED FLAVOURS

Mao Shan Wang Durian: This flavour smells pungent yet sweet with durian as the predominant ingredient. Adventurous tasters are encouraged to have their hands on this one.
Snickers Mars Honeycomb Vanilla: The name itself screams perfection. Served with chunks of Mars and Snickers and is supposed to hit you with vanilla scent and balanced sweetness of honey from every bite.
Bailey’s & Bourbon:A premium ice cream flavour that is bound to satisfy your cravings for Bailey’s Irish cream and Bourbon.

MENU: At Udders, you can pick amongst liqueur, Asian-inspired, and cosmopolitan flavours. Liqueurs are the best sellers in this shop, which is good news for those who love mixing alcoholic drinks with sweets. Overall, Udders has a comprehensive menu with the addition of waffles, coffee, tea, and chocolate drinks to the list.

MUST TRIES

Chocolatey Kit Kat
Strawberry Fields
Hazel’s Nuts
Mari Kita
Rum Rum Raisin
Butterscotch Whiskey
Tira-Miss-U

PRICES

Classic single/double: S$3.50/S$5.80
Premium single/double: S$4.20/S$7.10
Connoisseur single/double: S$5.40/S$8.90

ALL LOCATIONS
On Upper Thomson Road
Address: 246D Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 574370
Tell: (65) 6452 0803
Opening hours:

Sun to Thu: 12:00 – 01:00
Fri, Sat & eve of PH: 12:00 – 02:00

@ Siglap
Address: 87 Upper East Coast Road, S455223
Tel: (65) 6448 8732
Opening hours:

Sunday to Thursday: 12:00 – 23:00
Friday to Saturday: 12:00 – 01:00

@ Novena
Address: 155 Thomson Road, S307608
Tel: (65) 6254 6629
Opening hours:

Sunday to Thursday: 12:00 – 23:00
Friday to Saturday: 12:00 – 01:00

@ Bukit Timah
Address: 17 Lorong Kilat, #01-08 Kilat Court, S598139
Tel: (65) 6466 1055
Opening hours:

Sunday to Thursday: 12:00 – 23:00
Friday to Saturday: 12:00 – 00:00

@ Timbre+
Address: 73A Ayer Rajah Crescent #01-22, S139957
Tel: +65 6252 8871
Opening hours:

Monday to Thursday: 12:00 to 22:30
Friday to Saturday: 12:00 to 23:00

@ Toa Payoh
Address: 430 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, OrangeTee Building #01-01A, S319402
Tel: +65 6252 6311
Opening hours: Daily 11:00 – 22:30

2. The Daily Scoop at Chip Bee Gardens

Image: The Daily Scoop

Address

43 Jalan Merah Saga
#01-78 Chip Bee Gardens
Singapore 278115

Phone

+65 6475 3128

Opening hours

Mon to Thu 11:00 – 22:00
Fri & Sat 11:00 – 22:30
Sun 14:00 – 22:00

If you are craving for some really delicious, home-made ice-cream, The Daily Scoop is your place. Tucked around the vibrant, cosmopolitan Holland Village, their luscious ice-creams are hand-churned to create wonderful flavours from succulent fruits and finest ingredients. The ice-creams are made fresh daily and at times you might be lucky enough to see a delectable batch whipped right in front of you.

Highlights:

Delightfully great waffles: While unique, exciting ice-cream flavours are the biggest crowd pullers, the place is also famous for its fragrant waffles that are warm and crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Pressed freshly for that extra crunch, the waffles here are so exceptional that you can have them on their own.
Amazingly good brownies to go with ice cream: Besides the waffles, that are served by many local ice-cream shops, what gives this place an edge are the warm, crumbly brownies topped by cool scoops of flavoursome ice-creams. Sounds divine? Yes, it is.
Great dessert options in the vicinity: Chip Bee Gardens have some really amazing dining options, making The Daily Scoop a natural choice for people who want to enjoy the mouth-watering, refreshing frozen desserts after their scrumptious meals.
Sensitivity to customer’s needs: Whether it is the tank of free-flowing iced water, friendly staff helping you find the right flavor with unlimited sampling or high chairs to accommodate babies, The Daily Scoop take care of the smallest details and focus not only on serving an assortment of unique flavours but also on making the customers feel special.

MENU: There are 40 amazing varieties of ice-creams ranging from regular chocolate, vanilla and fruity sorbets to more creative Mao Shan Wang Durian and Cha Earl Grey. What’s more, you can also ask them to blend your favourite flavour into a rich milkshake that is just as delicious as the ice-creams are.

WELL-LOVED FLAVOURS

Salted Mister Brown: This ice-cream is a dreamy blend of sweet and savoury flavours. Concocted from brown sugar, sea salt and crunchy brownie chunks, the salty caramel in this creation perfectly complements the sweet freshness, making it an all-time favourite.
Lychee Martini: An amazing fruity flavor that has fresh lychee juice mixed with vodka. This refreshing ice-cream is one of the most popular choice in this ice-cream café.
Surprising Coconut: An incredibly smooth delight that has real chunks of tender coconut flesh. A creative blend of fresh coconut water and flavourful ice-cream, it tastes a little piquant at first but soon tantalize the taste buds and leave you crave for the next refreshing mouthful.

OTHER MUST TRIES

Simply Chocolate
Mao Shan Wang Durian
Cha Earl Grey
Cherry Brandy
Kookie Monster
Nutty Macadamia
Maple Crisp
Strawberry Shortcake

ATMOSPHERE: The place has a simple seating arrangement with minimal décor. When it becomes too crowded, people often go outside and sit on the picnic benches along Jalan Merah Saga to enjoy their scoops along with the beautiful view out there.

PRICES

Single Scoop: S$3.50
Double Scoop: S$5.00
Waffles: S$5.00

3. Tom’s Palette

Image: Tom’s Palette

Address

100 Beach Road
#01-25 Shaw Towers
Singapore 189702

Phone

+65 6296 5239

Opening hours

Mon to Thu 12:00 – 21:30
Fri to Sat 12:00 – 22:00
Sun 13:00 – 19:00 (Closed on the last Sunday of the month)

A treasure trove of some of the most amazing and exciting flavours, Tom’s Palette is a local ice-cream parlour serving fresh, delectable, homemade ice-creams since 2005. This gem is tucked among a throng of restaurants in the Shaw Towers building on Beach Road, Singapore and is run by an enthusiastic husband – wife team.

Highlights:

Unique, exotic flavours with interesting ingredients: If you like your ice cream in exotic and whacky flavours, this is your place to go adventurous. They use all kinds of interesting ingredients to create crazy, scrumptious flavours that simply rock. Besides the regular flavours, innovative and off-beat creations such as mango sticky rice, green tea, durian, salted egg, tropical cocktail and Luo Han capture the true creative spirit of Tom’s Palette.
New flavour every month: This parlour unveil one new flavour of ice cream every month. Innovation? It is the name of the game here.
More than one flavor in your cup: When you order ice cream from Tom’s Palette, regardless of the cup size, you can combine two flavours in one cup. By this way you will never get bored of eating only one flavour in one go.
Learn the trade secrets: Fascinated by all these flavours and want to learn few tips and tricks? They conduct weekly ice-cream making lessons.

MENU: Tom’s Palettes has an amazing array of more than 90 flavours of ice-cream. With ice-cream as the mainstays, this parlour also serves freshly baked waffles along with a delicious range of sorbets made from chocolate, red wine and white wine.

WELL-LOVED FLAVOURS

Salted caramel cheesecake: A delightfully smooth-textures ice-cream with a light cheesecake flavour.
Salted Egg Yolk: This unique flavor is sought out by many. It has just the right mix of savoury and sweet flavours in every spoonful. It sounds weird but the taste grows on you.
Granny’s Favourite: This ice cream will take you back to your childhood treats. The delectable chocolate and malt ice cream has large chunks of eggless cookie dough. It is mouth wateringly luscious.

OTHER MUST TRIES

Melt & Sizzle
Honey & Cinnamon
Apple Pie
Rum & Raisin
Sea Salt Caramel
Triple Coconut

ATMOSPHERE: This spacious place is always bustling with energy. Exciting range of ice-creams brings out the child in you and this excitement is simply visible in the friendly staff, ice cream-lovers and usual patrons – making Tom’s Palette a cheerful place to indulge your sweet tooth.

LOCATION: It is conveniently located within a five minutes’ walk from City Hall or Bugis.

PRICES

Small: S$3.40
Medium: S$4.20
Large: S$5.20

4. Creamier

Image: Creamier

Address

128 Toa Payoh Lorong 1. #01-835,
Singapore 310128

Phone

+65 6250 1476

Opening hours

Tue to Thu 12:00 – 22:00
Fri to Sat 12:00 – 23:00
Sun 12:00 – 22:00

info@creamier.com.sg

Nestled amongst an array of residential buildings along Toa Payoh HBD is Creamier, a casual coffee and ice cream shop. Creamier is distinctly known for its premium sorbets, waffles, and ice cream flavours. The team develops and uses its own recipes to bring delightful surprises to your palate, making the café as good as ever before.

Highlights:

Waffles, waffles, waffles: Their waffles are so good that if you had to choose (which is better) between your mom’s pancakes and Creamier’s waffles, you would probably choose the latter. The waffles, and by that most customers do mean the Belgian waffle with ice cream, are crispy on the outside while soft and chewy on the inside.
Quiet location: Creamier is located at a peaceful neighbourhood compared to its rivals. Its quietness drifts your thoughts away from the hustle and bustle of the city and perhaps, lets you reminisce your childhood memories about dessert places.

MENU: Creamier has a wholesome menu for kids, waffle lovers, coffee and tea drinkers, and adventurous foodies. Creamier also offers customised ice cream cakes which is available pre-order.

WELL-LOVED FLAVOURS

Sea-salt Gula Melaka: The sea-salt ingredient is harvested freshly from England so expect saltiness in the flavour but the sweetness and fragrance of pure palm sugar will surprise you.
Roasted Pistachio: Smooth and creamy, this selection is loaded with roasted pistachio nuts from Italy. It is most commonly paired with waffles.
Richest Dark Chocolate Ferrero: Mixed with roasted hazelnuts, alcohol, and dark chocolate, this ice cream flavour might appeal to the taste of chocolatiers and simple chocolate lovers.

OTHER MUST TRIES

Earl Grey Lavender
Summer Strawberries
Tahitian Vanilla
Black Forest
White Peach Chardonnay

PRICES

Waffle: S$6 + S$2.50 for one scoop of ice cream
Single/Double ice cream: S$3/S$5 + S$0.80 per scoop of premium flavour
Coffee: S$3.50 to S$6.50 + S$1 per extra shot
Tea: S$4.50

ATMOSPHERE: Creamier’s interior looks lovely with the hanged art works. Being a small coffee and ice cream shop, Creamier could hardly accommodate customers during its peak hours; lunch and dinner time. Customers have to settle for alfresco dining whenever the café gets jam-packed.

5. Merely Ice Cream

Image: Merely Ice Cream

Address

91 Bencoolen Street
Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652

Phone

+65 6238 0890

Opening hours

Mon to Sat 12:00 – 23:00

Serving fresh, natural and handcrafted ice-cream, there is nothing that can be called ‘merely’ about this ice-cream hang-out. The home-made ice-creams are made from natural ingredients such as fresh fruits, nuts, and herbs, and are free from any chemical additives or artificial flavours. And the flavours are so delectable and wholesome in their own right that ice-creams here are served without any artificial sauces or additional toppings.

Highlights:

Central location: While many local ice cream parlours are settled down in the neighbourhood, Merely Ice Cream is conveniently located in Sunshine Plaza, a shopping mall in the central area of the city, making this very accessible to visit and enjoy awesome ice-creams. It is also a popular hang-out destination for the art students from nearby NAFA & Lasalle institutes.
Ever changing flavours: The makers love to experiment and come up with unique, exciting flavours all the time. Check their Facebook page and you will find the flavours changing almost daily. You will be greeted with amazing, new flavours every time you visit this place.
French custard style ice-creams: Ice-creams are created using egg yolks as a natural emulsifier. Though it makes the ice-creams melt faster than usual but that only means no stabilizers are added. People just love the natural way these cool delights are churned with thick, smooth creaminess without any icy texture.

MENU: Merely Ice-cream parlour serves a cool array of natural, fresh ice-cream flavours. While ice-creams are primarily what attract the sweet delight lovers here, it is also famous for its warm, crispy waffles and crunchy cones that simply adds to the delightful experience.

WELL-LOVED FLAVOURS

Salted Butterscotch: This ice-cream is a perfect blend of rich brown butter, brown sugar, sea salt, balsamic vinegar and graham pie crust. The result is an incredibly sweet-savoury ice-cream where sea salt dreamily balances the sweet taste and the nutty flavour of the brown butter. The crunch of digestive biscuits complements this lusciously smooth ice-cream that simply melts in the mouth.
Red Velvet Cake: It has a base of creamy, sour-sweet cheese that is loaded with ice cream with freshly baked red velvet cake chunks mixed into it. Red Velvet Cake upside down? It is exactly that. This creative concoction brings a refreshing tangy touch to the sweetness of ice-cream. With every mouthful bursting with amazing flavours, it is without a doubt one of the most popular creation at Merely.
Gula Pandan: This rich, creamy delight is made up of palm sugar and coconut milk. Each spoonful reveals hearty chunks of pandan cake and makes it one of the sough-after flavour.

OTHER MUST TRIES

Coconut
Madagascar Vanilla
Rum & Raisin
Bailey’s Coffee
Oreo Milk
Horlicks Panda
Breakfast Cereal

ATMOSPHERE: Merely Ice-cream is a small but really cute place with simple interiors, minimal décor and friendly staff. The wooden furniture adds a rustic feel to the atmosphere and with some amazing cartoons sketched on their walls, it comes across as a very artsy, colourful sort of place to chill-out. Customers draw interesting sketches and doodles that are used as table décor. You will mostly find the place buzzing with young, energetic crowd looking forward to enjoy awesome ice-creams.

LOCATION: It is located in Sunshine Plaza opposite Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) campus.

PRICES