Best ice cream shops for under $5 a scoop

The only cure to the sweltering heat and choking humidity in Singapore is a huge scoop of ice cream in a crispy waffle cone.

There’s no way that anyone can hate or stay away from ice cream for long, especially not when you live in Singapore where the weather regularly soars above 35 deg C. Have it topped with rainbow sprinkles, nuts or fudge and presented in a crispy waffle cone — what’s there not to love? 

If you’re on the hunt for a dessert place that doesn’t overcharge you for a scoop, consider one of these craft ice cream shops that charge less than $5 a scoop. 

Birds of Paradise Gelato Boutique

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Address: 

• 63 East Coast Road #01-05, Singapore 428776
• 78 Airport Blvd #01-214/215/216, Jewel Changi Airport, Singapore 819666

Contact: 9678 6092
Price per scoop: From $4.70

Hop on the flavour train to Birds of Paradise for some unique botanical and herbal ice cream flavours that include strawberry basil, white chrysanthemum, lemongrass ginger, spiced pear and more.

Yes, you may have a little frown right now because they don’t sound like they go together, but we’re here to assure you that they really do and would perhaps be the most fragrant ice cream you would ever taste. 

Creamier

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Address: Multiple outlets islandwide
Contact: 6250 1476
Price per scoop: From $3.80

Does the name ring a bell? This is the ice cream shop that caused a slight panic amongst local ice cream enthusiasts last year when they closed their doors for 3 months to facilitate a move from one part of Toa Payoh Lorong 1 to another.

Slightly dramatic, but if you’ve ever tasted their sea salt gula melaka, roasted pistachio or earl grey lavender ice cream, you will understand why. Rich, creamy and extremely affordable, choose to have it in a cup, waffle cone or on their signature golden waffles, which are made upon order. 

Daily Scoop

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Address: Multiple outlets islandwide
Contact: 6463 3365
Price per scoop: From $3.80

With over 20 delicious ice cream flavours that include simply chocolate, mao shan wang (durian), kookie monster, surprising coconut and cha earl grey available at any time, you’ll be spoiled for choice at Daily Scoop.

They even carry a selection of unique alcoholic ice cream like lychee martini and Baileys chocolate chips for adults. 

Apart from ice cream, Daily Scoop also has waffles on their menu. Freshly baked upon order, their fluffy waffles ($7.80 with a single scoop) have a nice crust and, in my humble opinion, the perfect vessel for ice cream. 

Pro-tip: On a diet or feeling peckish? Daily Scoop is one of the only ice cream shops on this list who serve junior scoops ($2.70) to adults (without judgement). 

FATCAT Ice Cream Bar

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Address: 416 Bedok North Avenue 2 #01-25, Singapore 460416
Contact: 6241 0830 or 8828 8230
Price per scoop: From $4.50

FATCAT’s ice cream menu offers 18 flavours that include smoked oolong, butter beer (specially for Potterheads), matcha sea salt, black sesame and more. If you’re a fan of salted egg yolk, be sure to try their signature charcoal waffle ($6.50) during your visit.

Served piping hot, this Instagram-worthy dessert comes with a scoop of ice cream, salted egg yolk sauce, salted caramel sauce and sprinkled with dried lavender flowers.

They may call themselves an ice cream bar, but we think that FATCAT is more of a dessert bar because you can find a wide selection of cakes, tarts, brownies, coffee and even bubble tea on their menu. 

Lickers

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Address: Block 124, Hougang Avenue 1 #01-1446, Singapore 530124
Contact: hello@lickers.com.sg
Price per scoop: From $3.50

Serving scoops till 2am from Tuesdays to Sundays, Lickers is the place to visit if you’re looking for a mid-night dessert run.

Tucked away in a little corner of Hougang, they are best known for their unique ice cream flavours like Mandarin blackberry, Milo mallow, oolong lavender and raspberry passionfruit. 

And if you’ve a craving for something really sweet, then give Lickers’ bright blue Cookie Monster ice cream a try. Initially created for kids, this flavour mixes classic vanilla ice cream with generous chunks of oreos, M&M’s, chocolate chip cookies and cookie dough — the perfect treat for any sugar monster. 

Merely Ice Cream

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Address: 91 Bencoolen Street #01-13, Singapore 189652, 1 Tampines Walk B1-52, Singapore 528523
Contact: 6238 0890
Price per scoop: From $4.20

Hand-made from scratch with quality ingredients, Merely prides itself in making ice cream without preservatives or additives.

With over 20 flavours, you get to pick and choose from favourites like valrhona chocolate, salted butterscotch, and earl grey to alcoholic ones like Baileys, chocolate stout and nutty beer.

With an outlet a stone’s throw away from the main Orchard Road stretch, Merely’s is a great escape when the shopping crowd gets unbearable and you just want to enjoy an ice cream cone in peace. 

Sweet Cheeks

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Address: 37 Tai Thong Crescent, Singapore 347862
Contact: 9731 5077
Price per scoop: From $3.70

Constantly dreaming up new and exciting flavours, prepare yourself for a burst of flavour and colours when visiting Sweet Cheeks. Made fresh daily, they have over 20 flavours available on their menu with certain seasonal flavours on rotation. 

But if all those flavours don’t excite you, keep a look out for their limited edition flavours that only appear for a short period of time. The current limited edition flavour available is chocolate Guinness with caramel swirls and pretzels that was created to celebrate Father’s Day.

Tom’s Palette

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Address: 51 Middle Road #01-01, Singapore 188959
Contact: 6977 9749
Price per scoop: From $4

If you can dream of an ice cream flavour, you can bet your last dollar that Tom’s Palette would’ve created it.

Apart from all-time favourite flavours like hazelnut, honey lavender and chocolate sorbet, they also serve adventurous ones like soya bean dough fritter, salted egg yolk, mango sticky rice and nasi lemak. 

A strong believer in producing honest ice cream, Tom’s Palette makes all their ice cream without preservatives, stabilisers, premixers or artificial flavourings.

And if you need another reason to visit on weekdays from 3pm to 5pm, you can enjoy a free scoop of ice cream with every waffle ordered. 

This article was first published in SingSaver.com.sg.