NTU students know full well that the food options in school are aplenty. With food courts, fast food chains, and hall canteens, most of our meals are easily covered. But before this year, there were hardly any good dessert places here for when we need an icy treat, especially after a long day in Singapore’s blazing hot weather.
Enter Negative 21 Degrees. Set up by a first-year(!) NTU student and tucked cosily in the Crescent-Pioneer Hall (Crespion) canteen, the stall specialises in rolled ice cream cups with a variety of flavours and toppings. Their stall opening at the beginning of the semester was met with overwhelming support, with wait times lasting over an hour during the lunch crowd.
In partnership with Her Campus’ platonic blind friendship date event, Negative 21 Degrees is offering the first 10 sign-ups a 1-for-1 voucher with a unique code to spend with their dates! In addition, all other sign-ups will receive a free mini vanilla cup with a minimum spend of $8. Check out our Instagram page @hcnanyangtech to find out more!
I sat down for a chat with founder Justin and social media manager Nicole to find out more about this up-and-coming dessert hotspot.
Who’s behind Negative 21 Degrees?
The founder, Justin, is a Year 1 Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) student. Coming into university, he knew that his aim was not just to study, but to start up a business and earn some money.
“I felt that university is one of the better starting points for a business, since it gets quite competitive when you go outside [into the working world],” Justin explains. “I actually didn’t know where to start at first, but I knew I wanted to start something.”
He quickly realised that while NTU had plenty of food options, there were barely any places for dessert. The aspiring entrepreneur was able to identify this niche, and founded Negative 21 Degrees.
Together with his longtime National Service buddy Liang Hao and fellow Year 1 Communication Studies student Nicole, he started sourcing equipment and ingredients. All of their ice cream is expertly rolled with fresh cream on an ice plate, and although they have a fridge and freezer, they never keep any of the cream overnight.
A lesser-known fact about the store is that all of their ice cream flavours are customisable. While they do offer a selection of popular flavours such as Oreo, Nutella, and Milo, they can also whip up a unique flavour ice cream for you on the spot! All you have to do is bring your own ingredients, such as fresh strawberries, cocoa powder, or even your favourite biscuits and they’ll mix it with cream to produce your desired concoction for only 50 cents extra.
“I want to make every cup special to the customer,” Justin says. The possibilities are endless. Once, they even made truffle chip-flavoured rolled ice cream!
That being said, running a business in university hasn’t been easy. In order to maintain both his GPA and Negative 21 Degrees, Justin’s social life has been set to the side for now. Trying to meet up with his friends takes up a lot of time, and he’s unfortunately had to prioritise his business and studies first.
After all, the success of Negative 21 Degrees is the fruit of Justin’s labour. “He comes down every day to make the ice cream himself, even though he has other people to help [him],” Nicole says.
They also faced the struggle (and blessing) of managing large crowds, especially in the first few days when queues snaked around the block. It was difficult for two people to manage over forty orders in under an hour! To solve this problem, they started pre-making popular flavours and placing the cups in the freezer, so that customers don’t have to wait so long for a sweet treat. In addition, they came up with a pre-order form linked on their Instagram page, allowing customers to pre-order their dessert while having lunch in the Crespion canteen.
Justin says that their best-selling flavour so far is Oreo, because it’s a universally-loved flavour. He also recommends that people try their banana flavour, which is special because people usually eat bananas as an ice cream topping, rather than as a flavour in itself. Read on for our reviews of both!
How does it taste?
The short answer is that all of their ice cream is good. Really good. I traipsed down to the Crespion canteen on a humid Monday afternoon to try out their rolled ice cream for ourselves.
Flavour: Oreo
Size: Mini
Dressing: Whipped cream
Toppings: Chocolate chips and mini marshmallows
Biscuit: Pocky
Price: $2.90
Soft and fairly sweet with bits of crushed Oreo cookies, this is perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth. The ice cream rolls were rolled up neatly, and the mini cup was just the right size for a post-meal dessert so you’re not too full. Texture-wise, the ice cream was sticky and smooth, melting relatively quickly in the simmering humidity of the Crespion canteen.
I was given a generous amount of toppings that was the figurative cherry on top for the aesthetics of the rolled ice cream, making for a great Instagram story. This mini cup has great value for money at just shy of $3 for an overflowing cup.
Flavour: Banana (premium: +$0.50)
Size: Mini
Dressing: Hershey’s chocolate sauce
Toppings: Rainbow sprinkles and cornflakes
Biscuit: Love letter
Price: $3.40
I was pleasantly surprised at how the banana flavour truly tasted like homemade banana soft serve — the kind made with real frozen bananas. There was no hint of the artificial and cloying sweetness you might typically find in banana-flavoured products. Paired with the chocolate sauce, rainbow sprinkles and cornflakes, this combination tasted just like a banana split.
Again, they were generous with both the toppings and the ice cream, handing us a cup filled to the brim, with ice cream melting over the edge. This is a premium flavour, making it a little more pricey than the others — but it was definitely worth the extra 50 cents.
On 19 February, Negative 21 Degrees announced the launch of two brand new flavours — Matcha and Lotus Biscuit. These highly trendy flavours were chosen after much experimentation, and they definitely won’t disappoint. The taste of the matcha really shines through the creamy ice cream, while the Lotus flavour (my personal favourite!) is sprinkled with crunchy Lotus biscuits and maintains the sweet taste of the classic snack we all know and love.
If you’re looking for a sweet cup of deliciousness to cool you down on these above 30°C days, Negative 21 Degrees is the place for you. Plan your visit before or after the lunch crowd to avoid the long queues, or pre-order through the form on their Instagram page.
Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with the friendly owners! Be sure to follow their Instagram @negative21degrees for more information about their menu, along with daily updates on the crowds.