Photo Credit: Momolato facebook

Momolato is a gelato and sorbet popsicle shop.

Everything is HANDMADE and HOMEMADE. That means, durian flesh from mao shan wang gelato is plucked by hand. Azuki bean popsicle comes from home-cooked azuki red bean soup, which is reduced to a paste, and then frozen. Even greek yogurt used in some popsicles is homemade.

Everything is FRESH. Fresh milk, fresh fruits, no puree. Avocado from avocado gula melaka gelato and pistachio from pistachio gelato are Australian produce; yuzu from yuzu milk gelato is imported from Kochi prefecture in Japan.

Everything is HONEST. No artificial coloring or preservatives; all natural, fresh, and premium ingredients. Fresh milk, not those powered milk or milk that you can keep forever on shelves. Fresh coconut milk in coconut popsicle with chocolate swirls and desiccated coconut shavings.

Everything is HEALTHY. Well, ok, healthier than ice cream. Gelato has lower fat than ice cream. Sometimes butter or margarine is used to fluff up gelato, but for Momolato, they don’t use; they say no to trans-fat.

Everything is QUIRKY and FUN. Come on, peanut butter wasabi gelato, miso butterscotch gelato and Kimelon popsicle (watermelon sorbet with kiwi slice). New flavors weekly. So adventurous! I like!

Sharon Tay, who was an investment banker for 8 years, gave up her cushy job (5-figure monthly salary with at least 6 months’ bonus) and studied the art of making gelato at Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna, Italy. A brave move, and the amount of hard work that goes into making gelato by hand – it’s insane. (Fun fact: both Sharon and I volunteered at Action for AIDS, but never met till now.)

Gelato, in general, is less creamy and less rich than ice cream, and it is true in Momolato’s case. But I tasted 9 flavors of gelato and found a range of tastes that appeal to different people. Mao shan wang was a winner for durian-lovers. If you like food bitter, earl grey was bitter, and so was citrusy yuzu milk from yuzu rind. Miso butterscotch was first salty, then sweet, best for mavericks. My favorites were lavender salt, which recalled to me spa-like relaxation; and pistachio, an aromatic nutty aftertaste. Skip these (maybe): ferrero, avocado gula melaka, and madagascar vanilla for the flavors didn’t come on strongly.

I prefer the popsicles to the gelato: more fun and altogether tastier. The antioxidant popsicles from sour fruits–passionfruit sorbet swirled in homemade Greek yogurt, raspberry and Greek yogurt, blueberry and yogurt–were suitable for healthy people. The passionfruit was too sharp for me, but the blueberry and raspberry were delicious and refreshing with homemade Greek yogurt balancing the sourness. The yogurt, by the way, tasted like a less sweet, cleaner version of Solero ice cream.

If I were forced at gunpoint to name a favorite popsicle, I’d be shot. How do I choose from a quenching kimelon (watermelon sorbet with kiwi slice), a traditional azuki bean (I don’t even like red bean and I like this!), a tropical fresh coconut swirled with chocolate and covered with desiccated coconut shavings (I don’t like coconut too, but this is awesome), and a refreshing sour plum sorbet? Ok, I pick the coconut, because the shavings gave it an added texture, and the chocolate complemented the coconut perfectly.

Gelato: Single scoop $3.90/ $3.70 (students); double $6.20/ $5.80 (students)
Popsicle: $3.60/ $3.20 (students) 
Very decent pricing considering the effort and the premium ingredients. Sincerest and most honest gelato and sorbet popsicles EVER.

Momolato Singapore

90 Stamford Rd, Singapore Management University, School of Economics & Social Sciences #01-73, Singapore 178903
T: 9679 7268
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M-F: 11am-9.30pm, Sat: 11am-6pm

Written by A. Nathanael Ho.

ps: Thanks, Sharon, for delivering such joy to us.