The best ice cream shops in Singapore

Named after the Italian country code, +39 Gelato Bar tackles downright offbeat flavours like mashed potato and guacamole as well as timeless choices such as pistachio, raspberry and chocolate amaretto (from $5.50/small coppa) on its ever-changing menu.

Fresh batches are churned daily on an IdeaTre machine that doubles as a display case. And if you're looking for a boozier experience, chef-owner Jacopo Quaglia will be happy to suggest a suitable liquor (from $6/shot) to turn your gelato into an alcoholic float.

Founded by Gyo Kimura in 1979, this dessert shop and teahouse originated in Tokyo. Ice cream flavours in their display freezers range from vanilla options like milk and dark chocolate and well, vanilla.

But the creamy Hokkaido milk that the brand prides itself on using is more likely to be enjoyed in scoops of green tea, black sesame, lychee and sweet potato flavours. Have it heaped and smoothed out on a cup, or order a mix of flavours peaked on a sturdy wafer cone.

In a town where newfangled flavour combinations have become de rigueur, Creamier is proof that simple ice cream on crisp dough can still
 emerge tops.

Holding their own against
 the café’s limited edition scoops
 made fresh every day, the waffles
 offer the perfect contrast
 of outer crispiness and
 inner
 gooeyness that don't turn soggy even as the natural-
ingredient ice creams 
starts to melt on top of it.
 We recommend the waffles with the 
rose-tinted raspberry love,
 Thai iced tea, Earl Grey 
and salted gula Melaka.

Check into this café for artisanal ice cream, toast, waffles and a shot of caffeine. Dessert Project churns up to 18 different ice cream flavours every week, so your lickers are always in for a surprise.

Our favourites so far include Thai Earl Grey and tiramisu ($3.80/single) and premium scoops ($4.50/single) of white truffle and moscato. These can be stacked atop 3-inch-thick toasts ($13.90-$14.90) with fruits and whipped cream, waffles ($5.90), or be used to sweeten a brew like a reverse affogato ($5.50): milk served with espresso ice cream.

Tucked in a HDB block flanking the Yishun Neighbourhood Park, the ice creams here are made in-house, which explains crazy creations like Tiger Beer with salted almonds, Mr Potato Head – salted caramel, vanilla ice cream and chocolate-coated potato chips – and orh nee (Teochew yam paste).

Have it by the scoop ($3/classic, $4/premium), or topped on waffles ($4.50/golden waffle, $6/charcoal with salted caramel sauce).

Those in their 20s will attest that this is the best and coolest scoops they grew up with. Stanley Kwok's the pioneer of condensing the flavours of Asian desserts and drinks like kopi-o, teh tarik, pulut hitam and chendol into icy cold spheres.

And big kids who occasionally crave an ice cream cake can also look to this 11-year-old parlour's freezers stocked with Baked Alaskas, mudpies, and cookies and cream birthday cakes to go.

Bjorn Shen, maker of the chicken skin ice cream sundae, is up to more flavour shenanigans again. This time, he’s got a whole popsicle brand acting as his playground, and a distribution network that includes MEATliquor, Common Man Coffee Roasters and Naiise.

These irreverent sticks are dessert-in-ones, with creations like pretzel- and marshmallow-studded Sneekers, Mango Sticky Rice, and Strawberry Pockie.

From the same people who brought us Creamier comes this marble- and copper-clad dessert bar at Chip Bee Garden. 

Ice cream flavours popular at Creamier, like Earl Grey lavender and sea salt gula melaka ($6.90 each), ooze out of soft-serve machines here. And a bar counter displays toppings like lavender konnyaku, espresso marshmallows ($1.50 each) and caramel pearls ($1.90), along with sauces like fruit coulis and gula melaka to customise waffles with.