Smoff (SMU)

Have only known about the existence of the new Smoff via social media recently. For those whom have not heard off the name before, Smoff is a relatively new F&B tenant which had moved into a kiosk at Singapore Management University recently — while other F&B tenants that had recently opened at Singapore Management University have taken up shop spaces either within the basement level with direct access to both Bencoolen MRT Station along the Downtown Line and Bras Basah MRT Station along the Circle Line (such as the likes of Kuro Kare) or the area around the open field (like Flourish Bakehouse), the stall that Smoff is located at is one that is situated near to the junction between Stamford Road and Bencoolen Street. Other F&B tenants situated around the area where Smoff is around includes that of Khoon Coffeehouse Express, The Tea Party Express and Kunyah Cafe. Smoff’s concept is one that is rather simple — the establishment has its focus wrapped around Japanese Taiyaki and soft-serve; patrons can either have one or the other or both combined, with the menu consisting of Smoffle (Japanese Taiyaki + Soft Serve), Soft Serve, Sweet Moffle (i.e. Japanese Taiyaki with sweet fillings) and Savoury Moffle (i.e. Japanese Taiyaki with savoury fillings). Beverages available at Smoff includes a small selection of cold brew teas such as a Lemongrass Tea and Peach Tea, just to name a few.

Smoff actually does allow patrons to try out their creations in a few ways — that being said, the best way to give their offerings a go would likely be through ordering the Smoffle. The Smoffle is an item where the Japanese Taiyaki actually comes served together with the soft-serve, enabling patrons to try both of Smoff’s core offerings in one single item. Patrons would first pick the flavour which they would like their Japanese Taiyaki to come filled with, and then pick the flavours of the soft-serve which they would like to go along with the Japanese Taiyaki. Smoffle actually offers quite a variety of fillings for their Taiyaki as well as their soft-serve flavours — for the former, one can look forward to fillings like Nutella, Red Bean, Ovaltine and Lemon Custard, while the latter includes flavours like Pandan, Ube, Cotton Candy and Acai. There are also a few toppings which patrons can opt to go for which includes Biscoff crumbles and chocolate pearls — just to name a few; it is well noted that the toppings at Smoff are unlimited for each order; this also means that one can simply opt for all of the toppings to go with the Smoffle / Soft-Serve at no additional costs.

For our order of the Smoffle, we went for the Taro filling for the Taiyaki, and the Pandan Ube soft-serve to go along with the Taiyaki; our toppings being the chocolate pearls. The presentation of the Smoffle does seem to be pretty playful — the Japanese Taiyaki being placed atop the soft-serve in a paper cup that is almost akin to the “fish” gobbling up the soft-serve. Going for the Taiyaki first, it is interesting that Smoff does call them the Mochi Waffles; that being said, we are not sure where the Mochi part of the Mochi Waffles actually is — there wasn’t a detectable stretchiness or chewiness within the Mochi Waffles. That aside however, the Mochi Waffle is actually fairly crisp and carried a light hint of buttermilk which we found to be pretty alluring. Our option of going for the Taro filling for the Mochi Waffle was a pretty sound one as well; the Taro filling here seems to emphasise a lot on the earthiness of the taro with the dense paste also consisting of some soft chunks of yam as well. When it came to the Pandan Ube soft-serve that we went for, the Pandan Ube soft-serve is actually a dual flavour swirl which consists of half Pandan and half Ube; we felt that the Ube soft-serve carried a stronger flavour as compared to the Pandan soft-serve and thus felt overshadowed by the Ube soft-serve. That being said, the Ube soft-serve does carry that earthy and sweet note of more commercially-made yam-flavoured ice-cream with an adequate level of sweetness which was particularly commonplace in the past — a flavour which resonates to us. Given its price tag at $5.90, this does sound like a fairly reasonable offering; think of it as a waffle and ice-cream creation suitable for an individual diner to say the least.