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Being an Anglo-Chinese alumni, I first heard about Burnt Cones Gelato through their ACS (Anglo-Chinese School) anniversary promotion.
I had been to their Sunset Way outlet before, but as the smoked waffle is an outlet exclusive, I headed down to Burnt Cones Gelato at NEWest, which is a few bus stops away from Clementi MRT. My companion and I quickly boarded the bus, and that marked the start of our gelato and waffles adventure.
Upon arriving at NEWest, it was quite a journey to find the unit as it was tucked relatively inside. But soon enough, we stumbled upon the minimalistic signboard, and knew we had found the place.
The interior had nice contrasts, with black and wooden tones against white walls. When we arrived at around 11.45am, the store was empty, so we got to pick which table we wanted to sit at.
What I tried at Burnt Cones Gelato
First up, we went for the acclaimed Smoked Waffle (S$10) and decided to go with two gelato flavours, Ube and Earl Grey (S$9 for two scoops).
The waffle was brought out in a see-through cloche, where we could see the smoke encompassing our waffle. When we were ready, the server went ahead to lift up the cloche, revealing the waffle and allowing the smoke to escape. The smoke was from burning apple wood, which gives a nice sweetness and decent smokiness to the flavour. One is able to taste the smokiness in the waffle itself, but not from the gelato.
Ube, the purple gelato, is actually made with purple yam from the Philippines. The yam taste is not intense at all, and is generally sweet. The Ube goes really well with the waffle, and the sweetness is light. The taste is not cloying at all.
We also chose Earl Grey, which had a really strong bergamot taste, and a slight herbaceous aftertaste. There is a slight bitter flavour of the tea, but it helps to cut through the general creaminess of the gelato. This will definitely be a hit amongst earl grey fanatics.
There is maple syrup drizzled over the buttermilk waffle, which complements the waffle. The waffle itself is crispy and nicely charred, and the warmth of the waffle against the coldness of the gelato was a nice contrast.
The next item we ordered was the Waffle with Oven Fried Chicken (S$17). It came topped with a thick slice of butter, and smelled heavenly.
I have to be honest, at first I was slightly wary of the dish as I do not enjoy mixing savoury with sweet, like french fries and ice cream. However, my companion assured me that this would be a nice combination, and she was right.
The waffle is crispy and is slightly sweet due to the drizzled maple syrup. The chicken is well seasoned in buttermilk batter, but it could be a tad salty to some. However, it is balanced out by the waffle, thus one needs a bite of chicken with a bite of waffle to achieve an all-rounded bite. The savouriness of the chicken definitely complements the sweet buttermilk waffle.
Lastly, we got a Valrhona Brownie (S$6) with Stracciatella (S$5). The brownie was divine; it was made of dark chocolate, and was slightly dense. The bite was chewy and slightly sticky. We paired the brownie with a Stracciatella gelato, which is a Fior De Latte (milk gelato) with shavings of dark chocolate pieces within it.
The chocolate pieces within the Stracciatella gave a nice crunch, and added texture to the otherwise silky gelato. There was a perfect ratio of chocolate to gelato, which made every scoop enjoyable. The Stracciatella balances out the denseness of the chocolate brownie, and pairs well. This is definitely a good dessert to end any meal, and my companion and I were satisfied with our meal.
Being curious I asked if there will be any new flavours, and Burnt Cones Gelato will be releasing two new flavours, Peach Thyme sorbet and Speculoos gelato in July 2022. So do keep an eye out for that!
Final thoughts
Personally, I enjoyed the normal waffles a lot more than the smoked waffles, but as I sat there and more customers came in, I noticed a lot of them ordered the smoked waffles. Therefore, this could be just a matter of personal preference.
The Waffle with Oven Fried Chicken really blew me away, as to me this was a gelato place. Yet, the savoury dish stole the show. The brownie is also decadent, and I will definitely come back for this dish again.
Expected damage: S$5 – S$17 per pax
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