Scoop in the Woods

Woodlands had always been the neighbourhood that would never find itself being mentioned when it comes to the local cafe scene — with Sueno entirely moving its operations into Sunshine Place in Choa Chu Kang and vacating their premises at their original location at 888 Plaza, the area hadn’t seen an indie establishment that serves up waffles and gelato / ice-cream even. Enter Scoop In The Woods; a new ice-cream parlour that had recently opened their doors at Blk 304 Woodlands Street 31 — this is the same block within what is now known as Fuchun Neighbourhood Centre (i.e. the neighbourhood centre across the road from Marsiling MRT Station) that also houses a S11 coffeeshop. Scoop In The Woods takes up a modestly-sized shop unit at the foot of the HDB block; itself being decked rather simply though there is some attempt placed in creating a lively vibe that might attract teens and children alike. The interior sees the use of dining furniture with white and wooden elements; all that against walls that are painted pastel pink and neon lighting that give the space a “fun”vibe if one subscribes to that line of thought. The flavours of ice-cream are prominently displayed in the display chiller at the counter tucked right towards the back of the store — patrons do get an option to enjoy their scoops of ice-cream as-is in a cup or with a cone; there are also options for one to opt for a waffle / croffle / brownie / lava cake if one so wishes to as well. Scoop In The Woods also does serve up an extensive line-up of beverages — this includes espresso-based specialty coffee brewed from a home-use espresso machine, drinking chocolate, a series of Iced Flavoured Americano, a category comprising of Refreshing Cold Drinks that also includes a variety of flavoured sodas, hot tea and canned drinks.

There was really more than one factor that got us terribly interested in Scoop In The Woods when we first learnt about its existence within the ‘hood — while its location is a factor by itself, we were attracted to their claim of serving up handcrafted ice-cream and the fact that they do offer a Pu Er Waffle on the menu; the last factor broth quite a rarity despite other establishments having also served tea-infused waffles before since the trend these days are veering towards that of mochi-infused / Nian Gao-infused waffles. Scoop In The Woods does offer a choice for patrons to go for either the single or double waffle here; the single being a singular square waffle while the double sees two squares being stacked atop one another — it is noted that the scoop of ice-cream served with the single waffle as a set comes as a “Kid Single Scoop” that is described by the staff as smaller-sized than the standard single scoop of ice-cream. Our choice of ice-cream to go along with our order of the Double Pu Er Waffle would be the Honey Lavender Oolong Ice-Cream. Digging into the Double Pu Er Waffle, it is noted that the waffle also comes accompanied with a drizzle of maple syrup around the side; the waffles here does come pretty fragrant with a crisp exterior and pretty plush interior — not too dense, and a little more cake-like if one may put it across in that manner. There is an evident note of sweetness within the batter though we do think it is fairly reasonable so; the waffle also carrying the aroma of the tea in the finishing notes subtly as well. When it came to the scoop of Honey Lavender Oolong ice-cream, the notes of honey and lavender were really evident — the smooth and creamy ice-cream starting off with the sweetness of honey before the floral aroma from the lavender kicks in; the flavour ends off with the bitter undertones of oolong tea that subtly lingers at the back of the tongue.

During our visit to Scoop In The Woods, we had also given their Yuzu Lemon Americano a try — this item can be found in the section dedicated to the Iced Flavoured Americano in their menu. Think of the Yuzu Lemon Americano as a twist to the usual Orange Americano which is yet another item that can be found on the Iced Flavoured Americano section of the menu here — the difference here being the orange juice replaced with the Yuzu marmalade typically found in Korean beverages. Considering how the Americano has a lighter body and flavour profile than a Long Black, the infusion of Yuzu marmalade into the Americano provides a better balance of coffee and citrusy flavour profiles in the beverage; all that with candied yuzu peels to chew on as well. We really do like how Scoop In The Woods does pay homage to the neighbourhood that it is situated in the namesake; the “In The Woods” part seemingly hinting at its location at Woodlands. Whilst Woodlands had seen a handful of ice-cream / gelato parlours come and go in the past couple of years, Scoop In The Woods does differ for being an establishment that does handcrafted ice-cream and does offer inventive variants of waffles aside from the usual mochi / Nian Gao / charcoal-infused ones. With its Single Scoop + Double Classic Waffle / Bake priced at $9.80 ($10.80 for the Double Pu Er Waffle), prices at Scoop In The Woods can be described as pretty reasonable as well. Considering the lack of indie cafes up here in this end of the North, Scoop In The Woods is a spot that would residents around the ‘hood will appreciate to have in the area especially for their slight twists on tea-based ice-creams and Pu Er-infused waffles!