bing bian, millenia walk

delicious, simple taiwanese-style dessert at this small outpost in millenia walk. it’s shaved ice with toppings – full of the candied beans, starchy dumplings and syrups you’d expect, and not too expensive neither.

it’s a bit of a pick and mix system – you head up to the counter and select your dessert accoutrements, or pick from a pre-optimised set.

either way, those taiwanese know their way around a jelly or two, and their syrups straddle the chinese ideal of sweet-but-not-too-much. the starchy yam and sweet potato balls are chewy but not rubbery, the ice a snowy fall of flaky cold – it’s a good cheap asian dessert option in town.

冰变 Bing Bian – An Affair With Ice
#01-­105 Millenia Walk
9 Raffles Blvd
Singapore 039596
tel +65 6337 1391
$$: onward from six-ish a bowl

p.s. on a separate note, I’m in vietnam! I’ll be here till the end of December, so posts and photos will be intermittent (I can almost hear you asking “what’s different”) – but lots coming back when I am!

din tai fung, serangoon

decent noodles and dumplings at this taiwanese chain – I’ve done a post on this one before because I really rather like it, but here’s an update (including one of their best dishes). also – this is an effortless way to say hello(!) in the midst of post-holiday-induced melancholy, and fortuitously, a recommendation for an easy dinner out if you can’t bring yourself to cook tonight.

this is a good fallback restaurant (but not if you’re dining at a typical meal hour, as it’s always full) for decent food and low prices; and while I think the crystal jade empire (and more relevantly, its equivalent la mian xiao long bao outlets) serves better food when their kitchens exert themselves, this place shows a higher degree of consistency in production.

blackball singapore, katong

great, simple grass jelly desert at this taiwanese chain outpost in katong. I may not know a great deal about great chinese desserts, but I do know what i like – and that means lots of sugared beans, silky pudding, and not-too-sweet.

this place is pretty awesome. their specialty is smooth, silky grass jelly – a black, translucent jelly without much discernible taste, usually served in large cubes for dessert or thin slivers in syrup as a drink – as a bed for other toppings: starches such as taro balls, beans cooked in sugar, and various other accoutrements.