STRETCH by unifive

There was a point of time that everyone seems to be raving about this particular gelato parlour situated around Changi Road that serves up some really ooey, gooey and sticky gelato named Stretch by Unifive. We had initially thought wanted to drop by the establishment during the initial days when they had first opened their doors for business; that being said, we found ourselves heading to another alternative spot after arriving Stretch by Unifive considering how crowded the establishment was back then, and that they had also ran out of ice-cream by the time we had arrived the place. For those whom are unaware, Stretch by Unifive is located at the stretch of Changi Road that is relatively near to Masjid Kassim, and occupies a single-storey shophouse unit that houses just themselves. Dividing the entire shop unit into three different sections, Stretch by Unifive has their gelato counter on the right side as one walks into the shop from the entrance; the ordering counter being straight up from the entrance and the entrance to the dine-in area being at the left side — the dine-in section is further segregated into two sections with one being a brighter-lit area with cushioned seating by the aisle, while a cosier dine-in area featuring yellowish lighting and wooden furniture and fittings that caters to larger groups is situated on the other side. Whilst the highlight of Stretch by Unifive revolves around their supposedly stretchy gelato, Stretch by Unifive also does serve up quite a number of other items for those looking for something apart from gelato; this includes all day breakfast items such as a line-up of croissant sandwiches, as well as waffles, cronut and donuts to go along with the ice-cream. Beverages available at Stretch by Unifive includes espresso-based specialty coffee, drinking chocolate, matcha and Lacin sparkling soda — just to name a few.

Don’t get us wrong; the Pure Sicilian Pistachio Gelato would probably be a rather good item to go for if judged on the scale of a normal gelato — sure; it doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel, though we did like how the gelato itself carried sufficient nuttiness that brought out the flavour that it was intended to be. That being said, much of the hype about Stretch by Unifive was much on the fact that their ice-creams are sticky and stretchy to the point that they are supposedly mochi-like; this seems to have been missing during our experience there, which made it rather sorely disappointing. In fact, we weren’t even expecting the gelato to be sticky from how the server was scooping the ice-cream behind the counter — rather than scooping the ice-cream into a ball or twirling around to ensure that it does not stick to the scoop, the ice-cream was scraped bit by bit using the scooper and lined up to stack on top of one another. We would have been fine about the texture of the gelato if Stretch by Unifive was just another ice-cream parlour; that being said, with almost the entire focus just being placed on the sticky, Turkish ice-cream esque texture as its main selling point, it was needless to say that the discrepancy in the consistency and quality of the ice-cream is just pretty disappointing. Whilst the Iced Americano was pretty decent, we also could not help but to notice the general cleanliness of the dine-in furniture here — the use of fabric cushioned seating was also a rather odd call; despite being an establishment that had recently opened their doors, the seats do seemed incredibly aged, having absorbed all the drips of ice-cream that patrons have seemingly left behind. It is tough for us to say this considering we had always been about supporting small businesses; Stretch by Unifive does have a lot to look into if they intend to stay true to the hype it has had when they had just opened their doors.

Starting 17 July, handcrafted stretchy ice cream would be available all day, every day at STRETCH by unifive (subject to availability). I have never tried Turkish ice cream so I can’t make the comparison but STRETCH’s wasn’t all that dense or chewy. Generally, a slightly tacky consistency that wasn’t unpleasant at all (a little like gooey mochi?). Flavour-wise I really enjoyed the premium Reese’s Peanut Butter (Single SGD 4.90, Double SGD 8.90, Premium +SGD 1) which didn’t taste artificial at all, the nuttiness was fairly distinct and pronounced (though it unfortunately melted pretty quickly). The chunks of peanut butter cups added some fun textures and a nice chocolatey touch. Similarly, the Cookies Cream had a generous amount of cookie bits embedded in the scoop. In all, a great place to chill if you are in the area~

As I was enjoying my dinner over at Lim Hokkien Fried Mee, I saw this new shop with lots of banquets outside. Initially I thought it is some new gym place, but it is actually an ice cream shop!

Why do they called it Stretch? Well their ice cream explained the reason, as they are much a mochi-like ice cream that become very stretchy as you dig them.

You could see the them pulling the ice cream in action. I would say this is definitely a very interesting ice cream, as it really taste very different from the usual kind; and the texture is different as well.

Also what make this ice cream shop special is that they open 24/7 for now! Yes, so you could enjoy their ice cream anytime of the day. However, they may temporary closed from time to time if they run out of ice cream.

So if you happen to be around Kembangan, this is a great spot to chill with seats behind the counter.