Manfred ThamCafé Review: Momolato
Sweat was pouring out of us as we circled Singapore Management University’s (SMU) campus to find its resident gelato parlour. The small establishment was a tad inconspicuous in a corner of SMU (next to Jollybean) but the chilled respite it provided was more than worth it.
Momolato was started a year ago by Sharon Tay, 35, due to her love for frozen treats. From an alcove in a wall, Sharon has managed to snag the top prize in the recent Gelato World Tour’s The Jury Challenge. Pit against 15 other regional competitors, Momolato’s entry, titled Good Ol’ Days, impressed the panel of judges and granted Sharon an opportunity to compete in the finals of Gelato World Tour in Italy come 2017.
The humble appearance of the shop belies the culinary ingenuity that happens in its kitchen, as we soon find out from Sharon.
The Unlikely Origin of Momolato
“I was in banking for the last 8 years. But then I thought if I’ve been working so hard, I might as well work hard for myself and try my best to create my own brand,” shares Sharon about her foray into F&B.
She popped over to Italy originally to study pastry making but whilst she was in the world’s “living art gallery”, she fell in love with gelato as “it’s a medium where you can express a lot of ideas”. Enrolling in Carpigiani University, Sharon learnt the art of creating her new love.
“When I came back, I experimented with flavours and I thought: “Hey, why not make something that also caters to the youth’s palate?” And from her epiphany, Sharon used the savings from her banking job to fund Momolato.
Beyond Conventional Flavours
Momolato, a shortened version of “more and more gelato”, offers a wide range of flavours and products. Sharon chose the location at SMU as it’s in the heart of arts establishments at Dhoby Gaut. Also, students escaping the heat are excellent guinea pigs for her many experimental flavours.
And there are many unconventional flavour combinations to satisfy any craving, all at $3 a scoop for students ($3.50 for others). One of her most popular flavours, Shiro, consists of creamy and salty white miso balanced by sweet butterscotch and nutty almond. Contrasting Shiro’s pale yellow complexion is the ashen grey of Bamboo Chocolate, a gelato made with charcoal and chocolate that has been a hit with customers since it was first churned.
Shiro is pleasantly malty and intensely creamy whilst Bamboo Chocolate has a surprisingly mild tang of chocolate that is thoroughly enjoyable (we don’t have much of a sweet tooth). Compared to other gelatos we’ve tasted, both have unparalleled smoothness to boot too.
The award-winning Good Ol’ Days (premium flavours cost $0.90 more per scoop) is a refreshing blend of coconut and Gula Melaka [Palm Sugar syrup], which is then topped with a ribbon of salted palm sugar caramel and pieces of caramelised tofu. With Good Ol’ Days, Sharon wanted to capture Singapore’s culinary history and add in an infrequently used ingredient, savoury tofu, to her creation. It sounds delightful but sadly, it was already sold out when we got to Momolato so we’ll take the judges’ words on it.
Other flavours Momolato offers that raise eyebrows include ingredients such as lavender sea salt and olive oil, to name a few.
Balancing Customers’ Satisfaction and Creativity
How does Sharon maintain a balance between customers’ satisfaction whilst staying true her unorthodox recipes
“I think it’s after a few iterations. After you create a recipe, it’s what’s ideal to you; but when you showcase it to others, they’ll say: ‘It’s too sweet.’ A more mature crowd will always think something is always too sweet while the younger crowd will always think it’s not sweet enough,” reveals Sharon.
Still, she always listens to her customers’ feedbacks so that within a few tweaks, her flavours can be as close as possible to perfection.
More and More Momolato:
Despite the name, Momolato does more than gelato and has their own line of sorbet popsicles and various sorbet flavours. The dark chocolate sorbet is particularly noteworthy for its friendliness towards the lactose intolerant (sorbet uses water instead of milk in its recipe). Despite the lack of dairy fat, it has a surprising and almost decadent richness. The natural fruit-flavoured sorbets are not to be missed either.
Momolato even offers catering and accepts request for some unique titbits. Sharon is still a pastry enthusiast after all and she has done gelato-filled macaroons for clients, on request. With the ever-growing range of unique flavours and a spreading variety of frozen treats (and pastries), the future looks great for Momolato.
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Information:
Address: 90 Stamford Road (Singapore Management University) #01-73
Contact Details: (+65) 9679 7268
Website: http://momolato.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/momolato
Instagram hashtag: #the_momolato
Opening Hours: 11am –9pm
Photos courtesy of Kilx Photography
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