Sunday, June 17, 2007

The Sweet Stone Parad Ice: Belgian Chocolate in Hawker Centre

With Carnineviand, Dory and iwatch_ueat


We Singaporeans continue to be fascinated with the Ang Mohs. When I was young, I had the perception that Ang Mohs here were all very well to do CEOs and Expats in positions of influence. That was because my father worked in an Ang Moh Company and he had an Ang Moh Boss.

Nowadays we are seeing more and more Ang Mohs living in the heartlands. (And I don't mean locals dying their hair blonde) But we are still fascinated by them. So when you get an Ang Moh selling sausages in Chinatown, the media gets excited with the story. Somehow, we don't expect an expat to be mingling with the heartlanders.

Along comes Sebastian, a very smart Ang Moh who realizes the potential marketing power of an Ang Moh serving Ang Moh food in a Hawker Centre. Little surprise that just three months after their opening, there are so many newspaper clippings in front of their store that they can start selling Kachang Putih (Gone were the days Kachang Putih was sold in newspapers).

There are two qualities that make Singaporeans Singaporean. We are world reknown for our love for food and our love for getting a good bargain. So what do you get when you put an Ang Moh in a hawker centre, selling fondue made with genuine Belgian Chocolate at a price you cannot find anywhere else? A "Sure win" situation to say the least.

Of course, you can have all the marketing hype, but if your food is not good, people will stop coming. Our hatred of getting "Ketok" (swindled) supersedes our love of getting a bargain.

So what I am saying is that the food here is not only cheap, it is also quite good. The waffles here are very nice. They are not the usual thin waffles you get in the heartland bakeries. These waffles are made from dough rather then batter, so they come out with a bready texture. Certainly something you would expect to find in a proper cafe than a hawker centre.


Fondue Set $14.80 includes 2 bowls of ice cream (not shown)

The chocolate sauce is made from pure Belgian chocolate that Sebastian imports from home. His family actually runs the business of the same name and they have a few branches worldwide. Because the chocolate sauce is made from pure chocolate with no added milk or cream, they don't actually put a candle to heat up the sauce. Instead it is served in a warmed claypot. Our dessert specialist, iwatch_ueat said that this Fondue "Can-do lah", but she still prefers if it was bubbling, so that you can actually melt the marshmallows. I tend to agree.

However, you cannot discount the fact that this is a very good bowl of chocolate sauce, and that for $14.80, you are getting a big plate of fruits which includes strawberries, bananas, grapes, marshmallows and honeydew melon, two Belgian Waffles and two bowls of double scoop homemade ice cream. I think your Singaporean instincts are telling you to at least go and check it out, right? 4/5

Conclusion

This one of a kind, Ang Moh in the heartland type of stall serving quality Belgian chocolate fondue for cheap. Even if I say no good you would still go and see for yourself right?

The Sweet Stone Parad Ice
Golden Mile Food Centre

505 Beach Road #01-76
11.30am to 9.30pm

James 97389868

Sebastian 90078465

28 comments:

freakkler said...

haha, I was at Golden Mile Food Centre today after buying starch sprays! This stall queue was the longest at around 4pm.. even my parents were darn curious what was going on. I thought the waffle was too small aka "one bite" =)

Camemberu said...

LOL...will be longer queues after this post today! :D The waffles look like handheld Liege waffles sold as street food in Belgium. I saw a recipe that has beer in it! Wonder if theirs has too. :P

ieat said...

Hmmm, I did not ask him but I don't think so because they said they cater for the halal crowds too which is why they don't have the option of putting Bailey's in the chocolate. Have to BYO!

Foodnazi said...

I remember seeing another Ang-Mo-Operated-Hawker-Stall at Chomp chomp selling pizza a yr or 2 back. It was super crowded for a while but the queue died down after 3mths


I think it is more or less curious Singaporeans. It is good to have a variety of choices for food but I think I will give it a pass after hearing that there is no liquor in the fondue and the worst part - cold fondues. Call me a food facist but I prefer authentic food done in the authentic way.

ieat said...

The fondue is warm but not bubbling. The claypot and chocolate sauce is preheated.

liveyrdream said...

there was an article about them in yesterday's Life section... maybe that also partly explains the huge crowd.

But I would love to try someday since I love chocolates, fondue and waffles! :)

smart said...

my God the Q will get longer now with S.T n ieat's blog.I like the chocolate n the devil in me told me to finish it (actually I cannot take sweet stuff Doc's order)

James said...

Hahaha, i finish the whole bowl of chocolate dip together with the waffles. I just loveeee the chocolate. This sinful food better eat it once in a while if not u sure need to exercise alot. They even give u a royalty card to accumulate points to redemn a free gelato or waffles.

The Dictator said...

this stall is reported so many times... from magazines, newspapers to blah blah.. must try

George M said...

from your blog, I decided to make a trip to try this place. Brought my kids there too and tried their waffles and dip today...best waffles I have tasted in Singapore!! Just like those from the streets of Belgium.

mummum said...

i was there 2 months ago, before all these blogs about. I paid $2.50 for a small waffle and a small cup of really good, rich and pure chocolate dip! They gave quite a bit for that 1 small waffle I bought. It went to waste. I was so tempted to ta pau the left over chocolate, my husband said I am mad....Next time bring your own bread for the chocolate spread....!

indie said...

I think you are way too generous with your rating. I give it 2.5/5. I just came back from Italy and I can say that the gelato in this hawker centre is way too creamy. The waffle was too soft.

khim said...

hey indie,

tis place sells BELGIAN chocolate, not ITALY chocolate, ice cream or gelato..

how could u compare an orange wif an apple?

one man's meat is another man's poison.. since u dun like tis place, u can always stop visiting them..

n since u r so critical on food (The Sweet Stone Parad Ice n Lau Hong Ser Rojak), y not contribute where is good food rather than complaining n criticising?

smart said...

Dear Khim, I believe Indie taste is superior than most of us. Indie should be kind enough to introduce to us hawker stalls that is 3/5 and above.

khim said...

ya, smart.. i think indie has got a superior tastebud..

but i doubt indie'll even eat 3/5 food!!

i think must be at least 4.5/5 then indie will find it good..

ieat dun usually post blog less than 3.5 right?

i'm sure everyone is anticipating which kind of good food indie is gonna recommend, just like u n me rite? ;)

Anonymous said...

Hey, anyone watch Code Red on Ch8 last night? They went on the show!! The fondue indeed looks yummy!!

Anonymous said...

So is this place still worth the shot after all these hype?

LSH said...

The queue was still very long when we were there for the royal claypot fondue (family size) last sunday... my girls just could not stop wanting to go back there for their chocolate and waffles after we brought them there 2 weeks ago...

Damien said...

Found the waffles too sweet and hard.

Would prefer it if we were given a choice of either plain or sugar-filled waffles.

Chocolate dip was good albeit, I still prefer my waffles from Gelare.

Anonymous said...

marshmellow with chocolate fondue is a tad too sweet

MightyRoy said...

I've tried this several times. The waffle is really good, but the chocolate fondue isn't special. The fondue is warm molten dark chocolate, slightly bitter.

Anonymous said...

Saw another similar stall at Old Airport Road Food Centre yesterday lunch time when we went for lunch there.

ieat said...

Similar food or similar stall?

Anonymous said...

deco is the same look and selling the same stuff. however signboard not up when we last saw that. so not sure if they are the same people.

Anonymous said...

They had opened a new stall at old airport road food centre.

Anonymous said...

I was the sweet stone located at the old airport road food centre after dinner today. Since this outlet was open, on Sunday evenings, my kids will request for ice-cream and waffles.
I order 2 waffles plus 1 scoop of ice-cream and was given another free scoop as I redeemed for "welcome gift" as it will expirying in a week time. Half-way thru the ice-cream, my 5yo son spotted a metal piece on the plastic spoon. I thank god for the fact that my boy spotted the metal piece before plcaing the spoon in his mouth. I am very afraid to think what would have happened to him if he had swallow that metal piece. I quickly bring the cup of ice-cream to show to the staff at the sweet stone. But to my shock, not only he refused to apologise, he denied the metal piece is from his ice-cream and claimed that his scoops are all plastic. He boldly challenge me to report this incident. I defintely will on Monday morning and I can't wait...So take note if you are buying their ice-cream, check before you put the spoon in your mouth!

Anonymous said...

Why are people so vicious!! No worries Sweet Stone! We will always support you...

Just thought of writing this for them...

This is an unfortunate incident (not for Sweet Stone, but in general as a whole), why are people so vicious nowadays? Is it because of work pressure that they need an outlet to vent their frustrations?

This is a case of someone who went totally crazy by venting their anger at very minor things and then pick on things that are so small and then blowing it up, and worst still by maligning others for something that is not true. What is the motive? What is the objective?

There are many of us who can be the witness for this case. But I suppose that's not important now. As many of us know everyone has their side of the story and people will choose who and what story they like to know and hear.

But I am just pondering, what a world has it become?

Anyway, I have been with Sweet Stone since last year. Their service has been great from Golden Mile to Old Airport. The people there has always been friendly and very professional. No complains from me and our group of friends.

All I would say to the team, treat this as a lesson and grow stronger. Have confidence and you'll have our support.

F&B said...

Saw this comment so where really curious about the squeal of this episode and read in the comment to the poster a review by this customer and finally understand the whole issue.

sunflowergirl>
on The Sweet Stone Parad'Ice: metal piece found in ice-cream
Hey, so you are that lady who made lots of noise and created lots of din yesterday night? I am one of the lady sitting there watching the whole episode. Before what you wrote here, why don't you first talk about how much embarrassment you created in front of everyone when you were buying the stuff. And when you brought that cup back to them, I went with two other friends closer to see what was going on. When you claimed that your kid almost took in that metal thingy, your kid was quick enough to shake his head and actually almost denying what you were saying to them. And you actually as a mother - or as a matter of an adult stopped him and trying to convince your own kid to lie? We could all see that. There were quite a few witnesses present as well. After you left, we were all wondering what is wrong with this lady. And what does she want? True enough, you show up in this site and bitch about your own crazy behaviour. And we are all very certain you will do this. Well, people are doing business and you are just creating trouble. No worries...Sweet Stone! We are all supporting you. This is just one crazy lady.
My support goes to you guys in the F&B business...another scorned human being making noise to draw attention to herself.

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