Opened by the famed Ah Seng Durian beside their Alexandra outlet in Bukit Merah Lane, the Durian Lab Café specialises in durian desserts of all kinds. Whether you’re after durian-infused tarts and cakes, Swiss rolls and cruffins, or even sago, this café has it all (most of it courtesy of a partnership with the also-famed Keong Saik Bakery). While the extensive menu made it difficult to choose just one dessert, I of course settled with the humble waffle, opting to order two and top them with Mao Shan Wang and Dark Chocolate ice cream.
The Waffle: My friend had an odd gripe (which I didn’t share) about the regular waffle being infused with some sort of artificial flavouring, but we both agreed that it had a wonderfully light texture with optimal crispiness (although this may have been because I requested it be baked longer). 4/5
The Ice Cream: Since this is a durian-themed café, we had high expectations for the Mao Shan Wang ice cream — but even though it’s apparently gone through a ton of R&D and is made from pure durian flesh, I found it pretty underwhelming compared to The Daily Scoop and Beans & Cream’s offerings (the latter of which is my personal pick for best Mao Shan Wang ice cream in Singapore). 3/5
The Premium Dark Chocolate ice cream fared much better for me. It was chocolatey with a distinct roasted cocoa taste, without being overly sweet. However, like with the MSW ice cream, I’ve definitely had better dark chocolate ice cream at places like Creamier and The Daily Scoop. The chocolatiness wasn’t quite strong enough for me personally, and there was too little Ovaltine crush (a complimentary topping) for me to taste much of it. In general, I would say the waffles here are nicer than the ice cream. 3.5/5
The Coffee: In terms of their java game, Durian Lab serves up an excellent Cappuccino. There’s little surprise there, given that they get their beans from Common Man, which is second only to Tiong Hoe when it comes to great coffee roasters here. 4/5
There’s probably lots more to be said about this specialist café’s other durian-flavoured dishes, but I’ve yet to sample those. Hopefully I’ll pay Durian Lab another visit in the foreseeable future.
Address: 119 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-22, Singapore 151119
Phone: 9159 6160
