Roji Dessert

One thing about the diet these days is that it certainly makes me see desserts in a very different light. 

I'm the sort who prefers coffee over desserts because whilst I don't mind paying $8 for a latte. I won't pay $8 for ice cream or $15 for desserts that, to me, seem ridiculously high. 

I've since changed my mind. 

Not only am I welcome to (solid-feel) desserts these days, I'm also very welcome to new desserts and new places for desserts. 

Doesnt mean that I'll take everything and anything.

Just means that I'm less resistant to paying money for sweets, especially if I'm having those sweets on the weekend. 

Nevertheless I still raised the (usual) eyebrow when my friend told me about this place on Tanjong Pagar Road. 

But I'd gone for a week without sugar so decided to stop the skepticism and just go.

Roji Desserts sits in one of the shophouses along Tanjong Pagar Road together with the cafes, the pubs, the Korean BBQ places, and the bridal boutique stores.

It's a quiet, unassuming place- relatively empty when we first arrived- but filled up in less than an hour with even a queue outside.

I was honestly surprised. 

I (really) didn't think that people would take such an attraction to what was basically a mountain of snow ice (ice cream).

But by that time the very reason for the queue was on the table in front of me and it was impossible to deny just why.

I'd told my friend earlier that I'd be seriously balking if you asked me to pay $13 for ice cream. 

But this- right now in front of me- was no ordinary ice cream.

It wasn't because of the flavors- there weren't many- just matcha, milk and black sesame.

It was just the dessert itself. 

It looked like snow ice. 

It was snow ice. 

The same kind you see at popular dessert shops or Korean bingsu.

Except that their mountain came with two big candies shaped like two large, curious eyes. 

Friends familiar with the work of Studio Ghibli will recognize the look/

So cute!!! 

I, however, found myself more taken by the fact that this ice cream was no small sized scoop (as I'd initially thought it would be)

Not just that, it tasted excellent, and hardly melted throughout the forty-five minutes or so that we were there. 

Tonight we had chosen black sesame. 

And for the toppings we'd chosen cheese cubes and jellies. 

We deliberated a while about getting a waffle- and eventually got it- because it was carb day, this would replace our dinner, and it looked super cute anyway. 

It was indeed a very fun meal. 

But the fun of this place doesn't begin after the wide eyed snow mountain arrives at your table. 

It actually begins from the doorway. 

Roji Desserts has a very interesting order system here.

Instead of telling the counter what you want, you look at the menu on the wall, make your choice, take a small card, then, using specially designed wooden chops from the box in front of the wall, chop the flavor and toppings that you want.

I think you can have as many toppings as you want but some are premium- you'll have to add on a price. 

I'll be honest: It was very refreshing an experience sitting in the cozy, Zen-inspired cafe with whitewashed walls, minimalist decor and small,  neat furniture in colors of white and pale brown. 

Unlike many places that focus on colorful, eye-popping IG worthy decorations and millennial fun, Roji went the opposite direction, choosing instead to create a quiet, conversational, calming environment for coffee, tea, waffle, cake (I think they had cake) and ice cream.

I won't say that the place wasn't fun. 

It was.

But more than that, it was relaxing too.

I don't think I've ever made myself slow down to eat an ice cream. 

Here I have- taking small, calculated bites of the snow ice using their neat, adorable wooden spoons. 

Me and my friend experimented various ways to have the snow ice with the toppings.

First we tried putting a cheese cube on the spoon and scooping the snow ice. 

When the taste didnt work out we tried putting two cheese cubes on the spoon with a slightly bigger scoop of snow ice.

Eventually we settled on what I call the alternate way. 

One scoop of cheese cube, one scoop of snow ice, one scoop of cheese cube again, another scoop of snow ice.

The taste lingered, but didn't overwhelm. 

It's been a while since I went to Roji, but I'll be back there pretty soon again.

This time i won't be going for the matcha or the black sesame.

I've got my sights set on the milk- with a topping of strawberry sauce- and a topping of bright rainbow sprinkles. 

Because that's what I saw the other diners having on the day that I was there. 

And, like them, I think I want to try a clean-tasting, strawberry flavored snow ice made out of Hokkaido milk as well.