Opened by the folks behind Department of Caffeine and Two Degrees North Coffee Co., The Populus Coffee & Food Co. opened its doors to public late last year, and it has been our favourite cafe in Singapore since.

You see, The Populus Coffee & Food Co. is everything a good cafe should be – a neat decor with plants and natural sunlight, comprehensive food menu with wholesome meals and homemade desserts, and a brilliant cuppa.

With the rise of demands for cafes in Singapore, more and more are sprouting out across the island, but sadly, everyone is just cutting corners and compromising on the quality – whatever they are. Thank God The Populus Coffee & Food Co. is nothing like that at all, and they always strive to bring the best experience to cafe-goers.

Upon stepping in the The Populus Coffee & Food Co., any coffee lover would be enchanted by the centralised set-up. The coffee bar, with the sleek coffee machine, is a sexy one that will not go unnoticed. Watch the baristas in action, have a chat with them and they will be happy to share their knowledge about third wave coffee with you; smells are free, too!

The coffee beans are roasted exclusively by Two Degrees North Coffee Co, with 3 blends and 4 single origins at the moment.

You cannot leave The Populus Coffee & Food Co. without having a cup, that’s for sure. We’ve had several cups since its soft launch days, and never once were we disappointed.

The menu was painstakingly put together with the good thoughts of feeding their patrons healthily and well. Your best bet will be the Grains Bowl (S$18) that features quinoa, beautiful grilled vegetables and roast chicken. Honest earthy flavours so healthy and fulfilling, this is what we’d like to think of health food.

Then, there is the Lemon & White Chocolate Sundae that stole our hearts. This is one unexpected creation, and what might look like just a sundae is actually way more than that.

The Lemon & White Chocolate Sundae (S$14) is a mind-blowing bowl of homemade Tahitian vanilla ice cream with fresh lemon jelly, rosewater meringue, white chocolate crumb, popping candy, cornflakes and citron mascarpone. The end result is a sophisticated bowl of well-balanced citrusy and milky flavours that left us longing for more.

The Populus Coffee & Food Co.
146 Neil Road
Tel: +65 6635 8420
Mon & Wed: 9am – 7 pm
Thu & Fri: 9am – 10.30pm
Sat: 9.30am – 10.30pm
Sun: 9.30am – 7pm
Nearest Station: Outram

Read: We spoke to several cafe owners to get a gist on how much it costs to open a new cafe in Singapore – from rental, to interior design, labour cost, and kitchen equipment.

I meant to blog about U.d.d.e.r.s Ice Cream during October as I was enjoying my ice cream every day (excuse: sorching hot weather), but obviously I didn’t. What I really wanted to tell you was this: no matter what you are doing, please remember to have your ice cream.

Udders ice cream is a local homegrown ice cream shop in Singapore that is famous for their ‘adult’ ice cream. If you like liqueur in your ice cream, you will like Udders ice cream.

I have a good imagination: I’ll bring a book to the ice cream cafe, buy myself a scoop of ice cream, sit by the side and press my nose to the glass and stare outside. Then, I’ll imagine that there’s snowflakes falling from the sky while I enjoy my ice cream, but there’s really just the depressing rain. Still, I think it’s very nice to have ice cream during rainy days. Don’t you agree with me? Ice cream is really an all-season kind of thing.

Anyway, see the gorgeous waffle up there? Haato used to be my favorite ice cream place for waffles, but I currently believe that Udders has one of the best waffles in Singapore.

A word of caution though, only order it with a scoop of ice cream. If you prefer to have the waffle on it’s own, Udders do not serve it with the usual butter and syrup.

I probably sampled almost all the ice cream flavors on the few occasions I was there, and there were hits and misses of course. One of my favorites at Udders is definitely the Snickers Mars Honeycomb Vanilla. It has huge chunks of Snickers Mars bars within the silky smooth vanilla ice cream. The Mao Shan Wang Durian ice cream is another popular choice at Udders ice cream, but I won’t touch that for anything. Wineberries is a new flavor, which has Port and cranberries as the main ingredient – and I personally think that the use of dessert wine in ice cream is brilliant.

When I was in Kuala Lumpur, I noticed that there’s a lack of local homemade ice cream parlors there. Sure, they have well known ice cream brands like Haagen Dazs, New Zealand Natural & Baskin-Robbins, but it’s just different compared to the local ice cream shops if you get what I mean? We are so lucky to have all the ice cream places like Udders ice cream, Island Creamery, The Daily Scoop, and Tom’s Palette in Singapore.

Udders ice cream currently has five locations in Singapore: Novena Goldhill, West Mall, Lorong Kilat, Siglap and Serangoon Gardens. For those who stay near any of the Udders branches, it’s time to have an ice cream party!

If ice cream is not your thing, read my list of dessert places in Singapore.

Singapore Food Restaurant Review
U.d.d.e.r.s Ice Cream
17 Lorong Kilat #01-08
Kilat Court Singapore
Tel: +65 6466 1055

Udders Siglap
87 Upper East Coast Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6448 8732

Udders Novena
155 Thomson Road
Goldhill Shopping Centre Singapore
Tel: +65 6254 6629

Udders Serangon Gardens
#01-11 MyVillage

Udders West Mall
1 Bukit Batok Central Link #02-10
West Mall Singapore
Tel: +65 6862 2192