Heard about this new stall named Pao Niu 泡牛 which had recently sprouted up at 210 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh Food Centre — the stall serves up gelato and bubble tea; both of which not concepts unseen at food centres before but rarely seen being served together from a single stall at the hawker centre nonetheless.

Wouldn’t really recommend the Matcha gelato here for how inconsistent texture was — clumpy in certain parts and icy in others; did not really finish this one in the end. That being said, the Wintermelon Macchiato does serve as a refreshing respite from the heat — that subtly sweet and cooling tea that is all light-tasting yet refreshing; something that is difficult to go wrong in its own right, topped off with macchiato cream over the top that is rich and smooth in texture, but not too heavy a mouthfeel and provides a subtle milky sweetness to the tea which should pair rather well with the black tea.

It seems that gentrification of the Hawker centres had never gotten more real than ever before — the last few months saw stalls serving up Cheese Skirt Burgers and modern interpretations of Nanyang Kopi and espresso-based coffee being served up at hawker centres located closer to the heartlands. Would this be an interesting turn to the next chapter of local hawker culture? Or should we be really preserving that sort of vibe and cuisine served at hawker centres of the past? Only time will tell ...