Never expected myself to be crazy (ok, not that bad, haha) about Taiwanese desserts in Singapore as I thought they were just overpriced, mediocre stuffs that were probably not worth the sugar and calories, haha. However, since I tried my very first bowl of ai-yu jelly from Nine Fresh, a Singapore local chain for Taiwanese desserts, I’ve been hopelessly hooked onto it.
Nowadays on the weekends, I would almost always stop by their Ang Mo Kio Central outlet to pack desserts to go after my grocery shopping. I particularly like this outlet because they would always meet my standards of a ‘less sugar option’ (the ones from some other outlets were still too sweet for my liking) and the quality and quantity of ingredients/toppings are always consistent.
Also, how could I not be tempted when the prices of their desserts are within an affordable range of S$2.00-S$3.50 as compared to Blackball’s (S$5.90-S$6.50) which are doubled.
My all-time favourites and must-orders of Nine Fresh Signature and Royal Ai-yu Jelly.
The Nine Fresh Signature 九鲜招牌 (S$2.50) has bean curd and grass jelly as the bases and comes with toppings of red beans, green beans, pinto beans, peanuts and taro balls (QQ texture – love it!). You can pick either soft or crunchy peanuts – I think the latter is best as they give a nice textural crunch to the whole thing. Everything in this bowl is a perfect marriage of flavours and textures. The bean curd and grass jelly are also smooth and wobbly. Delicious.
I probably love the Royal Ai-Yu Jelly 皇室爱玉冻 (S$3.50) most. Toppings included red beans, green beans, barley, lotus nuts and taro balls, served with a separate milk capsule which you can pour in and mix. The ai-yu jelly is so smooth, it would just slide down the throat. Especially cooling to have this on a hot, humid day.
Here, you can also customise your own dessert. First, choose your base of bean curd, grass jelly or ai-yu jelly and then pick your favourite toppings from a range of >20 choices such as eight treasure beans, barley, taro balls, lychee pearl jelly and more.
Besides desserts, they also serve drinks (S$1.50 – S$2.80) like grass jelly drink, jasmine green tea, matcha latte and more.
Have you had your Nine Fresh yet?
Nine Fresh
Website: http://www.ninefresh.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NineFreshDesserts
Locations
Ang Mo Kio Central
Blk 703 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8
#01-2533 S(560703)
10.30am – 10.30pm daily
Century Square
2 Tampines Central 5
#01-38D S(529509)
11.00am – 10.00pm daily
Chinatown Point
133 New Bridge Road
#B2-43 S(059413)
11.00am – 10.00pm daily
Choa Chu Kang MRT Station
#01-10 S(689810)
Opening Q1 2017
Compass One
1 Sengkang Square
#B1-41 S(545078)
Mon-Fri: 11.00am – 10.00pm
Sat-Sun: 10.00am – 10.00pm
Hougang Mall
90 Hougang Ave 10
#B1-K11 S(538766)
10.30am – 10.00pm daily
Jurong Point
1 Jurong West Central 2
#B1-K3 S(648886)
10.00am – 10.00pm daily
Paya Lebar Square
60 Paya Lebar Road
#01-49 S(409051)
11.00am – 10.00pm daily
Queenstown
Blk 169 Stirling Road
#01-1149 S(140169)
Mon-Fri: 11.00am – 9.30pm daily
Sat-Sun/PH: 10.00am – 9.30pm daily
Seletar Mall
33 Sengkang West Avenue
#B1-K3 S(797653)
Mon-Fri: 11.00am – 10.00pm
Sat-Sun: 10.00am – 10.00pm
Sun Plaza (Sembawang MRT)
30 Sembawang Drive
#B1-36 S(757713)
10.00am – 10.00pm daily
Tiong Bahru Plaza
302 Tiong Bahru Road
#B1-K1 S(168732)
11.00am – 9.30pm daily
Toa Payoh Central (flagship outlet)
520 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #01-50 S(310520)
11.00am – 10.00pm daily
Woodlands MRT Station
30 Woodlands Ave 2
#01-12 S(738343)
11.00am – 10.00pm daily
Yew Tee Point
21 Choa Chu Kang North 6
#B1-42 S(689578)
10.30am – 10.00pm daily