Sunday, 21 June 2009

Sweet Stone Liège waffle & chocolate fondue

J: We have been missing our Swiss fondue and belgium waffles ever since we came back from our Europe trip. If I were to list the top 3 desserts I tasted in Europe that has the "ooOOmpH" factor, they would definitely be Swiss fondue from 'Des Alpes' in Interlaken, authentic Belgian chocolate waffle from 'Laurenzino Wafels' in Brugge and homemade bread pudding with custard from 'North Sea Fish Restaurant' in London. They are absolutely divine and I literally felt heaven upon the 1st mouthful!



Swiss fondue from 'Des Alpes'- thick warm chocolate fondue with nougats and nuts in it! What's so special about their fruits plate is that they added dried apricots which was something refreshing when dipped into the sweet choc fondue! The most shiok way of eating chocolate fondue is to dip ur fruits or marshmellows and suck the choc 1st when u placed them into your mouth. It's really shiok when u feel the choc running down ur throat! We think that bananas and marshmellows are the best marriage to choc fondue!



Belgian chocolate waffle from 'Laurenzino Wafels'~ Some of u might ask what's so special about belgian waffles? They look almost the same as what we find in singapore. Well, the first difference is distinctive.Unlike the usual liquid waffle batter used in singapore, belgian waffles are baked from dough. That's why you get a crispy crust on the outside and a soft chewy texture inside.



In my opinion, the perfect marriage to waffle is chocolate! Dip the freshly baked waffle into e rich belgian
chocolate and suck the chocolate while biting into the chewy Liège waffle, the mixture of sweetness, crispyness and chewy after taste is simply awesome!


After reading through our all time favourite "ieatishoot" food blog, we finally found a place to satisfy both our cravings for chocolate fondue and belgian waffles at hawker price! Welcome to the Sweet Stone at Golden Mile Food Centre~


For just $14.80, you get a belgian choc fondue, 2 waffles, fruits platter and 2 scoops of ice cream! Well, I must say although the waffle falls short of my expectations, it is still one of my top 3 waffles in singapore. We specifically requested for our waffles to be freshly baked instead of warming the prebaked ones that they had because we had previously tried the belgian waffle at old airport rd which was kind of disappointing when they merely warmed the waffles.

The owner was extremely accomodating and baked 2 waffles for us. Oh yes, he also mentioned that they were not affiliated to the old airport branch and proudly assured that theirs are of higher quality! It was a misunderstanding on my part to think that they were the same! sorry!!


Unlike the one I had in Brugge, this waffle is more bready but still decently delectable for a Liège waffle. "Liège waffles originated from the city of Liège, in eastern Belgium. They are richer, denser, sweeter, and more chewy waffles. They feature chunks of pearl sugar, which caramelize on the outside of the waffle, when baked, giving you the crunch and the sweetness of the waffle."


The owner begged to differ that warming a prebaked waffle will compromise its quality! He had even sent his waffles for lab tests and it has been proven that his waffles can be frozen up to a month without much compromise to its taste! Someday, I'm going to buy one back and try it haha. It was also very nice of him to share some tips with us. To warm ur waffle, preheat ur oven to 150oC and warm it for 45sec before eating.


Surprisingly, their chocolate is really fantastic and I highly recommend everyone to give it a try! It brought me back to the times spent in Brugge when I first tasted it. Yes, according to the owner, the choc is imported from Belgium so that the quality is not compromised. Also, unlike the Swiss fondue that we had in Interlaken which was warmed with candle, they actually microwave the claypot and pour warm choc into it. The reason is simple. The chocolate will be burnt if u warm it over a candle. However, I still prefer my choc to be warmed using a candle so that it can be kept warm throughout the makan session (it was done this way in Switz n the choc was not burnt). We recommended to the owner to try adding nougats or nuts into his choc but i guess he wants to retain the flavor of his belgian choc n its understandable. However, u r free to bring ur own toppings! Also, they dont sell the choc alone and it can only be bought with purchase of their waffles. One complaint from us is that we feel that the chocolate given was not enough. We finished the choc even before we finished the fruits platter! Yes, thats how good it is, almost on the verge of licking the claypot dry lol. But, u can always pay for additional choc at $1.


Lastly, I would like to comment on their gelato. There wasnt a lot of variety and I was rather disappointed with their gelato, with the exception of speculoos flavor. They homemade their ice cream daily from natural ingredients with no preservatives added. I thought the rest of the flavors were rather ordinary just like the ones u can easily buy from ntuc / the ice cream man outside schools. Angeline didn't like the fizzy apple flavor because its a sorbet. Just an ordinary sorbet that tasted sour to me. Speculoos however, was certainly refreshing n uncommon. It has an initial sweet caramel taste and a biscuit after taste. We certainly love it together with our waffles dipped with choc!


All in all, this place is definitely worth a visit for its quality and the price that u pay. U can be sure we will be back for its waffles but prob not the fondue because u pay less for the warm choc dip rather than warming the claypot for the same belgian choc. The marshmellows, fruits and choc dips can be purchased separately with the waffles.


P/s: Imo, the fondue is not really worth the price. They have waffle sets like Set A(1 waffle + 1 choc dip = $2.50), Set B(2 waffles + 1 choc dip = $4.20) etc. I think to make ur money worth, instead of paying $14.80 for the royal fondue, order 2 set As ($5) and bring ur own fruits! The choc dips r exactly e same as e fondue except they r not served in e microwaved claypot but they r still warm. Btw they only serve 3 scoops of choc dips in the clay pot. So even if u purchase additional choc dip n buy fruits from e fruit stalls, the price is still less than $14.80 :) For tt price, u can get 6 Set As which is definitely more shiok to satisfy all the sweet tooth out there lol!


A & J's Rating: 4.5/5 for waffles, 4.5/5 for belgian choc, 4/5 for Speculoos gelato


Sweet Stone
Golden Mile Food Centre
#01-67 (Beach Road)
Open everyday from 10:30am to 9:30pm

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