Denzy Gelato is a name that has started to become more recognisable in the local dining scene in recent years; having first established in 2019, the brand’s very first location was at Blk 506 Bishan Street 11 — the establishment was also named “Singapore’s Best Gelato” at the Singapore Gelato Championship held on that year as well. Denzy Gelato has since expanded their operations with a second (and also smaller) outlet located at the foot of Blk 509 Bedok North Street 3; it’s gelato also being served at selected outlets of Huggs Coffee which has also been seeing a phase of expansion in recent times. The news of Denzy Gelato shuttering their original location at Bishan was something that we had not quite expected — that being said, the folks at Denzy Gelato were also pretty quick in settling at a new location.
Serving as a replacement to their former location at Blk 506 Bishan Street 11, Denzy Gelato had opened its doors at Blk 684 Hougang Avenue 8. It is pretty interesting to see how Denzy Gelato had decided to go the same direction as their former Bishan location in terms of decor rather than that of the Bedok one; one could find what seems to be the same furniture that was used at their Bishan location at their new Hougang outlet; the entire decor theme following close to the same industrial theme that was adopted in Bishan with the use of concrete-sequence walls and floors alongside some fittings with wooden accents. Walking into their Hougang outlet, one would be able to glance through their well-stocked display chiller to look at the gelato flavours available for the day — patrons do have an option to pair their gelato with waffles or brownie. For beverages, Denzy Gelato serves up various espresso-based beverages that one would typically find in a cafe serving up specialty coffee; they also do serve up some unique concoctions such as the Sea Salt Gula Jawa Latte and the Strawberry, Thyme and Jasmine Tea, as well as caffeine-free beverages like Hot / Iced Chocolate and a small selection of coolers.
Skimming through the variety of gelato flavours that are available for the day in their display fridge, we found ourselves settling for the Orange Chocolate gelato and also opting for their Brownie to go along. The Orange Chocolate gelato comes with the quality of what one would expect out of creation that is being served up at Denzy Gelato; smooth and creamy, the gelato came with a milk base whilst coming with bits of orange, nibs of chocolate, as well as a cake element within. We were actually impressed with how none of the elements included in the gelato came frozen — this would be quite typical of flavours that come with cake elements considering how gelato is typically stored in a display chiller where the temperature set to store the gelato would be optimal for some flavours, but not all. With the elements within the gelato not being served frozen, one would be able to enjoy the multitude of textures that goes on in the Orange Chocolate gelato as intended. The milk base of the Orange Chocolate gelato felt like a blank canvas for the other elements shine — the folks at Denzy Gelato had mentioned that they had used the entire orange with skin for the Orange Chocolate Gelato and it shows; there was an evident zestiness which we found to be pretty refreshing in parts where there were nibs of it around. Meanwhile, the parts where there are bits of chocolate helps to add that chocolate-y sweetness to the gelato; all that whilst being well-balanced against the milk base of the gelato and also was not overly sweet. The inclusion of a cake element makes it as though we were having an Orange Chocolate Loaf Cake in certain parts; the cake being fluffy and moist without being frozen or tasting stale.
Whilst the brownie itself was a little less fudge-y than what we would have liked our brownies to be being a little cake-like, it is understandable why it was being served up in this manner — likely to avoid the brownie to feel especially jelat when had with gelato. That being said, it is still sufficiently rich; moist and soft without being overly dense. We also liked how the chocolate used in the brownie seems like one of a better grade — this definitely did not leave our throats all scratchy and itchy from being “heaty”; in fact, one of the brownies which we found to be pretty easy to have overall.
Despite being one of the newer entrants to the F&B scene as compared to other more established or indie names that have been in operations for longer, Denzy Gelato has managed to make themselves fairly known in a short span of time — being awarded Singapore’s Best Gelato at the Singapore Gelato Championship in 2019 certainly helped them establish their brand name early on in the days. Their cooperation with Huggs Coffee of serving up their gelato in selected Huggs Coffee outlets have also allowed them to have a further reach than what some of the more indie establishments have gone to over the years, making the Denzy Gelato brand even more recognisable since then. Denzy Gelato had also built up a reputation over the years; their gelato may have had been more experimental in the past featuring some really quirky flavours that makes use of herbs and spices — whilst they had since toned down on this over the years, they have been consistently churning out gelato with good textures and flavours that are interesting and tastes good without being too outlandish. The closure of their Bishan outlet may have been an end to the a space that they had grown up in; the opening of the Hougang outlet does seem to provide new opportunities in a neighbourhood that had not quite seen the opening of a proper cafe since the cafe boom days where cafes were sprouting up all over HDB estates. For those who live around the estate whom have yet to give Denzy Gelato a go; now you know where to head to!
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