Vanda — chrysanthemum goji + poached pear walnut on botanical cones ($12.80)!
Vanda gelato (Holland Village): chrysanthemum + goji berries gelato and poached pear + walnut sorbet on signature botanical waffle cones. $4.90 + $4.90 + $3 cones.
Dessert at Vanda gelato. Chrysanthemum goji + poached pear walnut on botanical cones, $12.80 total ($4.90 + $4.90 + $1.50 each upgrade). 😋👍🏼
What was in hand:
- Left cone: a pale yellow scoop of chrysanthemum + goji berries gelato, the floral-honey colour
- Right cone: an off-white scoop of poached pear + walnut sorbet, the pear-cream tone
- Two Vanda waffle cones: the signature botanical waffle cone (slightly darker on the right, slightly lighter on the left, the dual-tone shows two cone variants)
- Vanda branded wrappers: orange-purple-green floral pattern, the brand identity
- Vanda silver tasting spoons: branded with the company name
Vanda is the homegrown artisanal gelato brand named after the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid (Singapore’s national flower). Founded by a Singaporean pastry chef. Pitch: gelato flavours rooted in Southeast Asian botanicals + traditional Chinese dessert ingredients, not just imported Italian Stracciatella + Pistachio. Outlets at Holland Village and Tiong Bahru.
The flavour roster at Vanda leans heavily on the East Asian dessert vocabulary:
- Chrysanthemum + goji: based on the classic Chinese chrysanthemum tea (菊花茶) with goji berries, the traditional “cooling” herbal drink. Translating this into gelato format is the cafe’s signature move
- Poached pear + walnut: based on the Chinese tonic dessert “snow pear soup” (雪梨汤), where pears are slow-poached with rock sugar, walnut, almond and dried longan
- Rest of the menu: ondeh ondeh (gula melaka + pandan + coconut), gula melaka, kaya toast, Thai milk tea, white peach + Earl Grey, etc.
The botanical waffle cone is Vanda’s signature carrier:
- Made in-house with botanical extracts: rose, butterfly pea, pandan colour variants
- Slightly fragrant: you taste a hint of the botanical aroma in the cone itself, not just neutral waffle sweetness
- The waffle pattern shows the dual-tone: each cone has multiple colour gradients
Chrysanthemum + goji as gelato: the chrysanthemum tea flavour translates surprisingly well, the floral-honey notes carrying through, the goji adding a slight tartness. Reads as “Chinese herbal tea you can eat with a spoon” without being aggressively medicinal.
Poached pear + walnut: more intuitive as gelato (pear-and-nut combinations work in Western gelato too), but here the pear is poached longer and softer, the walnut roasted darker, giving a more East-Asian-traditional taste than your typical pear sorbet.
At $12.80 for two single scoops on the upgraded botanical cones, this is mid-tier artisanal gelato pricing. Standard cones at Vanda run $5.90 a single scoop; the botanical cone upgrade adds $1.50.
Overall: 4.2 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Lovely Vanda gelato run. The chrysanthemum-goji’s floral-honey notes were the standout, the botanical cone was a clever touch. Would re-order with different flavours.
