Van Leeuwen Ice Cream is opening its first overseas outlet in Singapore.
The ice cream chain has its beginnings in New York, and makes French ice cream using ingredients from small businesses sourced all over the world.
The brand says they do not use artificial stabilisers, thickeners or emulsifiers, which are typically used to enhance ice cream texture and mouthfeel.
Among the familiar flavours they have are Sicilian Pistachio, Earl Grey Tea, Strawberry and Chocolate.
They also have special flavours such as Honeycomb, Marionberry Cheesecake and Praline Butter Cake.
Ahead of its opening on Aug. 4, we headed down to the store for a media preview, and here's what we had:
Three scoops with two toppings (S$16)
Photo by Lee Wei Lin
First off, we opted for scoops of Strawberry, Chocolate and Earl Grey Tea, and topped it off with rainbow sprinkles and salted caramel sauce.
The classics did not fail us.
Our favourite was the Strawberry, which was creamy and did not have the medicine-ish taste to it as some fruit-based ice creams do.
The Earl Grey Tea was just the right amount of sweetness, with a pleasantly bitter aftertaste.
Three scoops in a cone (S$14)
Photo by Lee Wei Lin
We loved the Strawberry this much that we got another scoop of it, this time together with Vanilla Bean and Sicilian Pistachio.
The vanilla wasn't that memorable, but the pistachio was surprisingly nuttier than we'd have thought.
It had a unique texture that made it feels like we were eating pistachio paste instead of ice cream.
Those who are looking for creamy, sweet ice creams might not be huge fans of Van Leeuwen's take on it.
What else is on the menu
Photo by Khine Zin Htet
The ice cream store also has milkshakes, root beer floats, sundaes and ice cream pints.
There are also pint-exclusive flavours, like Buttermilk Berry Cornbread.
Photo by Lee Wei Lin
Vegans will be happy to know that the menu also consists of vegan ice cream and vegan-friendly toppings.
Grand opening
Photo by Khine Zin Htet
The store will be open to the public at 12pm on Aug. 4, and will be giving away tote bags to the first 100 customers.
All customers will also get a token to play their gachapon machine to stand a chance to win merchandise or more ice cream scoops, while stocks last.
Van Leeuwen Singapore
Address: Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road #01-19 Singapore 238896
Opening hours:
Sunday - Tuesday: 12pm to 11pm
Wednesday - Saturday: 12pm to 1am
Top photos by Khine Zin Htet and Lee Wei Lin