[CLOSED] SWIRLGO Omakase Gelato Lab

Super fun and innovative omakase gelato lab where one can customise their unique blend of mix-in, toppings, and drizzle.

For those less adventurous, you can choose from their signature omakases. Best seller roasted goma ($7.90) was ultra rich and earthy with black sesame gelato and paste, and toppings of crunchy almond flakes and sunflower seeds. Good for the nutty purists but personally would have liked for a more refreshing pair. Passionfruit tart ($7.90) had half a slice of actual tart with vanilla ice cream, lemon curd, speculoos, and berry drizzle. Had a buttery and mild citrus finish.

Decided to craft my own with a blend of Nyonya Kueh Salat, Hazelnut, and Gula Melaka ice cream. Enjoyed the interesting textural contrast of chewy rice and crunchy nuts. Would be back when feeling a bit more adventurous to try their Lao Gan ma signature 🌶️😜

📍@swirlgosg, B1-04, @wismaatria, 435 Orchard Road, Singapore

Felt like someone had the brainchild of combining those build-your-own salad bars with ice cream, and boy oh boy was that such an innovative idea. There were a dizzying variety of bases, mix-ins, toppings, and drizzles to choose from; it felt like seeing your own child for the first time when they turned your wildest choices into an actual creation. I didn't want my first experience here to be soured by an incompatible pairing, so I decided to choose from their recommended list.

Muah Chee: Vanilla gelato base with crunchy peanut butter, ground peanut powder, and bits of muah chee. This combi was THE BOMB!! Really tasted like eating mush chee but colder and creamier. The components blended together so seamlessly and deliciously. Definitely going to return, multiple times, to sample their other recommend and perhaps try my hand at creating the next trendy flavour.

SWIRLGO had moved out of its previous premises of East Eight Concept Store at orchardgateway recently — they had move into a space of its very own at the basement of Wisma Atria. Best known for their soft-service ice-cream with mix-ins that are compressed into the ice-cream before being churned out via their proprietary machine, SWIRLGO had since been rebranded as SWIRLGO Omakase Gelato Lab with their move to Wisma Atria. The establishment now looks more like a cosmetics shop with earthy tones and mix-ins (i.e. toppings) placed in jars positioned on shelves hanging from the wall. While SwrlGo had previously carried a range of pre-determined combination of swirl base (i.e. soft-serve ice-cream), mix-ins and toppings for patrons to go for — their most notable combination being the Lao Gan Ma Chunky Swirl, SWIRLGO Omakase Gelato Lab had went the way of being an Omakase-style gelato parlour whereby the staff (named Gelato Artistes here) would be able to propose a combination of swirl base, mix-in, toppings and drizzle (i.e. sauce) upon asking a series of questions that they can determine the patron’s preferences from as part of the Omakase Gelato Lab experience. For those whom prefer a simpler experience, one can simply pick-and-choose from the variety of swirl base, mix-in, toppings and sauce which SWIRLGO Omakase Gelato Lab has in stock — this would be part of the Build-Your-Own menu where patrons are able to opt between the Single and the Combo. For Single, each patron would be entitled to 1 Swirl Base, 1 Mix-in, 1 Topping and 1 Drizzle for their gelato; the Combo comprises of 1 Swirl Base, 2 Mix-ins, 3 Toppings and 1 Drizzle. Patrons are able to opt for their patrons to come in either Cup or Cone options; the latter being at an extra charge of $1.

We had initially thought of a flavour combination that we felt could have worked well; that being said, due to the lack of availability of some of the swirl bases, mix-ins and toppings which we were only made aware of after ordering, we found ourselves ending up with quite a weird mix of swirl base, mix-in, topping and drizzle for our Build-Your-Own (Single) order. Our choice of the swirl base was the Black Sesame, whilst the mix-in which we had opted for was the Blue Pea Sticky Rice. The topping we went for was the Spicy Rice Cracker, while the drizzle we chose was the Coconut Drizzle. The overall combination was rather odd, considering we had only decided to go the route which we had went for the mix-in, toppings and drizzle since it was the Yam swirl base that we initially based the combination upon. While the Black Sesame swirl base was pretty decent in terms of its flavour where it carries quite an evident roasty note that is expected of items carrying a black sesame element without being too creamy, the texture of the soft-serve seems a little bit softer and closer than what we would wished for it to come with — not sure if this was due to Blue Pea Sticky Rice we had opted for. The Blue Pea Sticky Rice adds a soft, clumpy and chewy texture to the soft-serve. Meanwhile, the addition of Spicy Rice Cracker provides an element of crunch to the soft-serve; one that is pretty akin to that of Want Want Rice Crackers with a slightly saltish and spicy kick that should do fine even for those with lower tolerance to spiciness. Meanwhile, the Coconut Drizzle does seem to carry quite a mild note that seems to be largely overwhelmed by the stronger tasting elements that we had opted for.

It is without a doubt that the experience at SWIRLGO had always revolves around how the soft-serve is being prepared here — one may also argue that this somewhat reminds us of Camaca at KAP Mall where the ice-cream are packed in macaron-shaped casings where a machine extracts out the soft-serve eventually before it is being served to patrons. There is a high level of customisability for each soft-serve creation here; the wide variety of mix-ins and toppings available to choose from with the ability of their Gelato Artistes crafting a flavour that suits the preferences of the patron in the Omakase Gelato Lab menu makes SWIRLGO Omakase Gelato Lab a rather fun experience overall — this is aside from being able to watch their Gelato Artistes prepare the entire creation from scratch from adding the mix-ins and the toppings to the drizzling of the sauces. That being said, given the vast variety of choices of swirl bases, mix-ins, toppings and drizzles available here, the Build-Your-Own menu can be considered as pretty intimidating for some — there are simply too many things to consider to create that “ideal” flavour combination does make for a rather fussy affair that would confuse some; we would prefer if they had a list of suggested flavour combinations that one can go for like what they had offered previously whilst they were still in East Eight at orchardgateway to simplify the experience for those whom do not wish to make too many decisions despite the staff being helpful whilst at it. Aside from this, we weren’t too impressed with the consistency of the soft-serve to a certain degree — this may have been due to the mix-in that we had opted for, though the machine churning out the gelato is known to bump into technical issues at times. Prices of the soft-serve start from $6.90 for the Build-Your-Own (Single) to $12.90 for the Omakase Gelato Lab experience. For those whom like to have a high level of customisability with their food options, SWIRLGO Omakase Gelato Lab might be something that is worth checking out for the experience.

Was just window-shopping around Orchard Gateway whilst we noticed a standee advertisement on a Lao Gan Ma Chunky Swirl that is being served at a kiosk named SWIRLGO — the kiosk itself does seem to be a fairly new addition to East Eight Sneaker x Tea Concept store which itself is located on the ground floor of Orchard Gateway just right across the road from the Foot Locker store at Orchard Gateway @ Emerald. Occupying just a small kiosk area that is towards the right of the bubble tea counter within the store, SWIRLGO is a takeaway-only operation which serves up soft-serve ice-cream which they name as Swirls. At SWIRLGO, patrons can pick between the few Signature Specials that are available on the menu such as the Peanut Butter Choc Chunky Swirl or the Espresso Brownie Chunky Swirl which sees the swirl base, mix-in and toppings pre-selected, or patrons can choose to Build-Your-Swirl by first selecting their choice of gelato or froyo base (think flavours such as Vanilla Gelato, Chocolate Gelato, Salted Caramel Gelato or Honey Frozen Yogurt), and pick one (1) mix-in and one (1) topping to create their own unique Swirl to their desire. It is also interesting to see how the Swirl is being prepared here — the gelato / froyo comes in capsules named Swirl Pods, and the mix-ins opted will be mixed into the Swirl Pod containing the gelato / froyo before being churned out through the use of the SWIRLGO machine, only to be finished off with the placement of toppings by the staff before being served; the concept being fairly similar to that of CAMACA at KAP Mall where a dedicated machine is also used to dispense their gelato which are enclosed in a macaron-shaped capsule.

Being fairly intrigued by the Lao Gan Ma Chunky Swirl which was being advertised in the standee, the Lao Gan Ma Chunky Swirl comprises of Lao Gan Ma Chilli as well as chopped peanuts as mix-ins, while the topping would be the Senbei (i.e. Japanese Rice Cracker) that came on the top — the gelato base used here would be the Vanilla Gelato. As intimidating as it might sound, the Lao Gan Ma Chunky Swirl was probably that weird ice-cream flavour that one would not think about — that is only until when they had actually tried it out. There is just this something which is so appealing with its sweet-savoury notes — that rich, smooth and creamy vanilla gelato that carries an inherent sweetness meeting the savoury, smoky notes of Lao Gan Ma Chili that also comes with just a light tinge of spiciness that tickles the taste buds towards it finish; something which we would liken to having McDonald’s Vanilla soft-serve together with French Fries which some would call illegal, but is completely a guilty pleasure for others. That addition of chopped peanuts provided that bridge that both elements needed to gel together, lending a nuttiness that enhances both the vanilla gelato and the Lao Gan Ma Chili whilst giving a good crunch to the entire mix. Whilst we thought that the topping of the savoury Senbei was more for aesthetic reasons rather than for the flavoural aspect of the item, we would say that it did provide a crispy touch with a saltishness that well matched up for that sweet-savoury flavour combination that the Lao Gan Ma Chunky Swirl was intended to carry.

There is no doubt that most would think that the Lao Gan Ma Chunky Swirl is a highly adventurous item, and there is no denying how an item like that is likely to see very divided opinions for and against the combination. One thing is pretty clear for sure however; the Lao Gan Ma Chunky Swirl, love it or hate it, is an item that is created to make a statement — one that is conceived to create the commotion and attention for SWIRLGO. For us, we felt that the Lao Gan Ma Chunky Swirl definitely coined on those who are big on the combination of sweet and savoury notes with a hint of spiciness to top it off — we found ourselves being pretty receptive of the entire package, though we are fairly certain how this would likely not appeal to those seeking for something safe; more tested and proven. Given how the Lao Gan Ma Chunky Swirl is a limited time-only item, we would say that the Lao Gan Ma Chunky Swirl is something worth giving a shot at for those who are into experimenting something that is quite out-of-the-box. That doesn’t mean that the less adventurous folks are totally missing out however; we would reckon their other Signature Specials are probably flavours that would suit the masses where one can still experience for themselves how the SWIRLGO machine works as opposed to the conventional gelato parlours that either scoops or lathers the gelato manually for a change.