Ugly Cones X Asylum The Coffee Library

New Coffee Library, Asylum, and Ugly Cones at Wisma Atria!

World's FIRST UMAMI cone! Featured here is the ultimate combo (promo price $10 now! original price is $12.50)! You get 2 scoops of japanese icream, with house-made mochi and japanese jelly! You can pick from Strawberry Cheesecake, Vanilla or Chocolate flavours for the ice cream! Between the two flavours, I prefer the strawberry cheesecake! Loved the very unique savoury umami cone too! Chewy jellies and mochis were such a good combi!

Check them out at the following location: B1-04 Wisma Atria, Singapore 238877

One of the new places that has popped up and received much attention during the last week seems to be Ugly Cones X Asylum The Coffee Library. Located at the basement level of Wisma Atria at Orchard, Ugly Cones X Asylum The Coffee Library takes over the former premises that was tenanted by the now-defunct SWIRLGO Omakase Gelato Lab. A concept by Asylum Coffeehouse which is situated at Jalan Besar which is known for their quirky F&B concepts such as HAUS217 as well as Absurdities; an interactive dining experience which takes over the operations of Asylum Coffeehouse in the evenings, Ugly Cones X Asylum The Coffee Library is yet another one of those slightly more abstract concepts; though still one that is more toned-down to better suit the masses considering its location. As one would have expected from the name, Ugly Cones X Asylum The Coffee Library houses two concepts — Ugly Cones which serves up ice-cream, as well as Asylum The Coffee Library that serves up coffee; specifically bottled cold brews. Both concepts are decked really differently, with Ugly Cones being just a boxed out area with a hole where orders are served out of; orders are to be placed through the self-service kiosk machine at the side. In contrast, Asylum The Coffee Library has a walk-in area that resembles that of an old-school library with wooden shelves filled with books, cold brew coffee bottles, and their roasted coffee beans that are sold in tin cans; one would be able to speak to their staff to make an order. It is noted that there is no dine-in space available at Ugly Cones X Asylum The Coffee Library; this essentially makes them a takeaway spot.

Ugly Cones is really unique in a way that it is a concept that strays away from being a typical ice-cream / gelato parlour set-up. One very obvious thing here would be the lack of a display chiller or any form of interaction between the staff and the patron; a very different approach to how ice-cream / gelato parlours are usually run. The ice-cream also does not really take centre stage too; the concept stays true to its namesake considering how the cones are pretty much its focus. Offering patrons ice-cream in the form of Combo sets, the mainstay in all the Combo sets is actually their Original Umami Cone. For Combo 1, patrons get to have one scoop of ice-cream to be paired with the Original Umami Cone — Ugly Cones only offers three different flavours of ice-cream, and there are only two add-ons being listed on the menu; both being chargeable add-ons for both Combo 1 and Combo 2. For those looking to try what Ugly Cones has to offer, the Full Combo would be the one to go for — comes with two scoops of ice-cream of the patron’s choice, as well as all add-ons included. For our order, we went with the Combo 1 — the Original Umami Cone with Mizuame Vanilla ice-cream, as well as the Japanese Jelly add-on. The menu actually does describe the elements which are being featured in their different flavours of ice-cream that are available at Ugly Cones — the Mizuame Vanilla ice-cream being a flavour which comprises of Hokkaido Milk, Madagascar Vanilla, and Mizuame; Mizuzame being a Japanese sweetener that is being made from starch.

True to its namesake, the cones are being served in a format where they were more like waffle bowls served in an oddly shaped gelato cup rather than the typical waffle cone offering that we are more accustomed to at most other ice-cream parlours — in fact, it would also be not too correct to call this a waffle bowl considering how the bottom of the cone is not actually flat; the folds made to the waffle to fit the gelato cup actually being rather prominent to say the least. One could definitely tell that they have added savoury elements to the cone here but we can’t quite put a finger to it — it does deliver on the “umami” aspect quite well as promised in its namesake however. The Original Umami Cone went quite well with the Mizuame Vanilla ice-cream that was milky, rich, smooth and creamy that came with a slight hint of vanilla aroma without being overly sweet despite the addition of a sweetener. The Japanese Jelly turns out to be bits of slippery grape jelly that provides a fruity sweetness that further gave the item a contrast of flavours and textures. We also tried the Gula Melaka Moon Brew — their bottled cold brew coffee brewed using a fast extraction process that is said to result in a more well-rounded flavour; the Gula Melaka variant being an outlet-exclusive to Asylum The Coffee Library at Wisma Atria. Overall, a rather interesting concept with equally intriguing offerings that remains to be seen if it will gel well with the shopping crowds of Orchard Road considering its rather “mysterious” and “secretive” ways of operations.