Tale As Old As The Ais - Georgetown, Penang

The citizen might not easily spot on this little store whereas it's apparently a favourite pit stop for the backpackers who are in their journey to explore or wander in the heart of Georgetown. Little did you know that there's a tale - difficult to believe over its little yet warming story created continuously along the operation of The Ais, a homemade ice cream store run by Oong's family.

Admittedly, I just can't help but being hooked at Tale As Old As Time where it's apparently, part of a little contribution to the title of this post. But, The Ais truly deserves for such a unique title, simply because this entry is more to spreading awareness instead of purely my humble review on the homemade ice cream.

The life-long mission in the core of The Ais, Make Children Smile blessings project. This is to help the helpless land and children in Isan, northeastern region of Thailand, bordering Laos and Cambodia. The Ais operates beyond than selling ice cream, not to mention, they invest their time to prepare it wholeheartedly to bring hope to the children, based on their resources.

I bet many of you, deep down understanding that a great production is simply an assembly of passion/huge interest, relentless of failure and re-attempt plus discovering and not to forget, long term of perseverance.

Partnering with The Ais, you can also make a so called win-win contribution to help the unfortunates too. Simply a scoop of ice cream, not a big deal to you right? Better yet, there are up to 16 unique flavours of ice cream available, I'm confident that your satisfaction and surprise guaranteed!
PS: Buy 2 Free 1 scoops is happening from time to time, make sure you follow The Ais Facebook Page to get the real-time updates from them.

Here's some of my recommendations for you in order to create good deeds for the sake of your tummy and most importantly, the children's happiness.

Double & Waffle (RM 15.90)

Two scoops up of your choice among 16 flavours of ice cream and freshly made waffle.

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Ice cream flavour: Banana + Green Tea

Simply a wonderful tea break choice for me! The big highlight, certainly, goes to the homemade ice cream. Frankly, it is the purest flavour I've ever tasted in Penang (Despite being a big fans of New Zealand Natural Ice Cream). 

Trivia

• Banana flavoured ice cream contains a faint taste of lemon as the latter one is added to avoid oxidization happens in banana flavoured ice cream.
• Green Tea flavoured ice cream is at the right level of bitterness which is to my own liking (No additonal sugar added though)
• Waffle itself is smaller in serving as compared to that of others. Moderately crispy outside and fluffy. We don't get to the starchy taste, simply just the fragrance of leavened batter. 

Nutella Guinness (Single Scoop / RM 8.90)

A scoop portion is relatively larger at The Ais (which excites us the most)

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We love this alcohol-based where it unleashes at the back of throat, giving us sort of refreshing tasting experience.

Trivia

Promising to be a natural and fresh ice cream store, no stabilizer is added during the preparation of the ice cream. That's simply explains on its melting starts so much quick (shortly after it is served and we start to take photo). In other words, this also means that you are safe from plant, bacteria and animal-by products in consuming it.

Water Kefir (RM 8.90）

Available in Roselle, Coconut, Pineapple, Lemon, Passion Fruit and Nutmeg

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Not our go-to sipping choices despite it has a number of healthy benefits. Carrying a tiny bits of burnt and sour vinegar at times.

More about the ice cream

• Grab your favourite unique flavour such as Horlicks, Cinnamon Plum, Butterly Pea, Charcoal Cheese
• Vegan ice cream are coconut, mango, avocado and Gula Melaka
• Time-consuming in the preparation - from cooking the custard, chill overnight, churn till smooth and freeze till harden. All these prepared at the premise, and only serve customer 2 days after. 

Save the location for your driving convenience now!

Summary: (Scaling Point: 0 - Lowest; 5 - Highest)
Price: 3.5/5 (Compatible with franchise ice cream outlet, even, more valued)
Taste: 3 + 0.5 / 5 (Another 0.5 denoted by "homemade" - no chemical fertiliser/ artificial colour/ MSG)
Cleanliness: 4/5 (One of the few cafes which is clean and in neat arrangement)
Dining Ambience: 3 + 0.5 / 5 (Air-conditioned indoor seating +  interior mural paintings by Oong's children)
Vehicle Parking: 2.5/5 (Street parking, might be tricky during peak lunch hour)
Business Hour:  2pm - 10pm (Closed on Mondays)
Address: 473, Lebuh Chulia, Georgetown, Penang. 

Contact: +605 261 0427 (Jonathan Oong)
Facebook Page: The Ais (click me)
Possible for return visit? YES

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Deepest gratitude to Mr Jon and his family for extending the invitation and hosting us

芒果和NUTELLA的混调口味,行得通吗？MANGOTELLA SERIES BY CAFFEBENE MALAYSIA

你懂的，自从Piko太郎把【笔，凤梨还有苹果】给成功结合并输入你脑袋后，基本上这世界没有什么结合体是办不到的了。Caffebene Malaysia 也来搭上列车，最近推出了芒果及NUTELLA (巧克力榛果酱）热带口味的韩式刨冰（BINGSU），名为 MANGOTELLA 。不管你是单爱吃芒果的还是NUTELLA铁粉又或者是以上两个都超爱的食客，这限时优惠系列把它给配上刨冰，势必要你一起抵挡酷热天气！

The sky is the limit. Ever since the evolution combo of 'Pen Pineapple Apple Pen', it is expected to reveal more and more fantastic brand new things. So you think you like to eat mango a lot? Or you are one of the NUTELLA fever fans? Or even you are the food lover who can accept the combination of the two food as mention? Caffebene Malaysia hears you guys! This time round, they launch a brand new seasonal series, namely MANGOTELLA. Now you have a concrete reason to go for a tropical taste of Bingsu with your bffs especially during this summer time, ain't it?


不要以为这优惠系列只限于雪隆区，因为你可在Caffebene 全马任何一间分行均可享有！MANGOTELLA概括了四种选择，分别为招牌超大碗刨冰（酸乳芒果口味，芒果及nutella口味），SMOOTHIE 混调冰沙 还有 让你享有口感的WAFFLE！价格在于RM 11.90 和 RM 29.90 之间。
（享吃秘诀：记得把刨冰搅拌均匀以享有最佳口味，就像韩式石锅拌饭一样搅法）

Now made available in Caffebene Malaysia outlets nationwide, there are four selections up to grab under MANGOTELLA, including the signature bingsu (available in Mango Yogurt Bingsu and Mangotella Bingsu), smoothie and also the all-time favourite, waffle! Price range between RM 11.90 and RM 29.90.
Tips: Mix up thoroughly to get the best taste experience of bingsu, do it exactly like how you mix Bibimbap!

Mango Yogurt Bingsu (RM 29.90)

一大碗的刨冰配上芒果切块和酸乳意式雪糕，让你拥有饱足的冰冰口感。

也别忘了那芒果口味甜酱，微酸带点甜之余，杏仁片还同时允许脆口感加入进呢！（光是那分量很大方的杏仁片已经把我给迷醉了！）

You could easily have a satisfyingly mouthful of each spoon, all thanks to the combo of shaved ice with mango cubes and yogurt gelato. The dressings of sweet mango syrup balance the sourness in overall. What excites me the most is the generous amount of almond slices that shimmer on top of the bingsu! The mild and crunchiness from it definitely unleash the fantastic flavour in your molar.

Mangotella Bingsu (RM 29.90)

这被称为是“梦幻组合”包含了芒果以及全城最爱的NUTELLA 巧克力酱口味呢！同样是那么大份，芒果切块依然在，不同的是这里有NUTELLA口味的意式雪糕加上NUTELLA坚果巧克力酱，芒果本身的酸味再配上坚果巧克力口味，必定俘获不少很多女性食客的少女心吧！对了，这口味的刨冰打底的是混合坚果还有曲奇饼碎。个人比较喜欢纯芒果口味的刨冰，或许我不是NUTELLA的铁粉，所以这碗留给我的印象是坚果巧克力味有些盖过芒果原本载有的香味。

Carrying the title of 'Dreamy combination', fans of mango and Nutella, this is dedicated to you guys! As compared to the first one, Nutella gelato is served instead and still, mango cubes are topped on the bingsu. Better yet, it is dressed by Nutella flavoured syrup this time. I bet the ladies would easily fall for them as the wonderful chocolate flavour triggers along with the fragrance of mango. Layering cookies crumbles and mixed nuts as the base, apparently, gives you the kick of little crunchiness as well. Personally, I prefer Mango Yogurt Bingsu. Nutella chocolate sauce and the gelato somehow outstand a little bit more than mango, I might not provide the absolute thoughts over it since I don't really go after Nutella.

Mangotella Waffle (RM 11.90)

不如来点可以咀嚼的，好吗？这窝夫虽然分量是小些，但你看看那堆满在上的配料，这个角度看下去，真的不易发现主角的踪影。除了有必备的芒果切块，杏仁片以及酸乳意式雪糕外，一小杯浓郁的NUTELLA坚果巧克力酱是也是卖点!  你真的忍心错过不点一个吗？口味类似于Mangtella Bingsu，只不过口感当然不一样了。也许是因为那浓郁的NUTELLA酱吧，它有点盖过了比利时窝夫本身带有的蛋香味。不过也因人而异啦，或许你真的会爱上它也说不定。

Another kind of sweet treat to choose from. Despite its small serving size but look at the toppings that is prepared abundantly, they almost cover the Belgium waffle in whole! The highlight goes to the small cup filled with creamy and rich Nutella sauce, other than the complimentary toppings include mangoes chunks, almond slices as well as yogurt gelato. Just my two cents, Nutella sauce is covering a little bit over the frangrance of waffle itself, hence, it taste fair to me in overall.

Mangotella Smoothie (RM 11.90)

喜欢边逛街边喝手中握着冰饮的你，现在有多一项选择了。含有芒果NUTELLA芳香位的冰沙，真的是热天的避暑品之一呢！

You now have another new choice as your companion as you stroll in the mall. With the mild sweet and essential fragrance from both mangoes and Nutella, it is apparently one of the best remedies in this summer season!

个人觉得刨冰可以细幼些，口感会更绝佳。

I'd think a much better taste experience could be achieved if fine shaved ice is prepared.

Make sure you pay a visit to Gurney Paragon outlet if you live in northern region.

Summary: (Scaling Point: 0 - Lowest; 5 - Highest)

Price: 2/5 (Above average)
Taste: 3/5 (Mainly contributed by Mango Yogurt Bingsu)
Dining Ambience: 3/5 (Conventional dessert outlets, Korean inspired interior design)
Vehicle Parking: 3/5 (Multi-storey parking lots in the Gurney Paragon and street parking)
Facebook Page: Caffebene Malaysia

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Thanks to Mr Silven Tan for hosting us and Miss Miriam Goh for the arrangement.

Humble Review: Tiffz Coffee Gallery @ Simpang Kuala, Alor Setar, Kedah

Needless to say much about it, Tiffz Coffee Gallery is already a well-known place by the people here for brunch to supper in Alor Setar. It was my first time visiting after I'd been viewing all those Instagram-worthy food of this cafe for quite some time.

 A friendly reminder to those who have yet to visit, Tiffz Coffee Gallery is located at the first floor of the three storey commercial building, exactly above Bank Rakyat branch. If you use GPS to reach the destination, kindly spot it on the first floor despite you are informed by GPS that you have reached the destination.

I kid you not, this is the way to reach the entrance of Tiffz Coffee Gallery.

It looks familiar to me back to Sixth Form time where I had to get into the tuition class with first walk up the stairs.

The entrance of Tiffz Coffee Gallery

The interior of the cafe is more to minimalism, as you could observe from the photo on the furniture as well as the cement floor. No fancy one added, everything goes simple.

We were lucky to reach the cafe at around 6.10p.m., a little bit earlier than dinner hour.

The tables were all occupied by people shortly after this snapshot had been taken.

Barista corner as well as the cashier.

Tiffz Coffee Gallery runs self-service payment, hence no service charge included in the bills.

Menu was passed to us upon our seating.

There were two different kind of menu including a booklet and a laminated one which is all about one of the signatures of the cafe, waffle.

 The booklet menu
I would like to share the snapshots of the menu if you are keen to know what is served in the cafe.
All food are served Halal.

'Black' here means black-coloured pasta.

This is another specialty found in this cafe.

As you could see, black pasta costs RM 1 more than white.

The naming of the food is quite interesting, somehow it draws the patrons' curiosity especially the ladies to try out those that is interesting to them, The price stated alone is considered standard but to be frank, the serving portion is not equivalent to the price of the food, just my two cents.

Super Fruit (RM 8/cup ; RM 13/pot)

We had one pot of Super Fruit as our drinks.

It is a fruit tea that infused with hibiscus, elderberry, blackcurrant,

 raisin, natural flowers, ligonberry and blueberry.

It contains a light scent of the mixture of the berries and flowers, what hit my taste buds and thoughts most would be the taste of raisin and blackcurrant.

I'm not a tea lover so my description might just based on my own tasting. Quite refreshing and suitable to pair with our food which to balance our taste buds.

Elsa (RM 12)

You ought to have at least one waffle when you have your food here, no doubt, waffle is the top signature of Tiffz Coffee Gallery.

Elsa is top with a scoop of coffee-flavoured ice cream and a piece of pretzel-look cookie at the center, each loop of waffle is dressed with fresh cream and a thin strawberry slices. it is also sprinkled with a small amount of icing sugar in whole.

No more ' Let It Go' from the movie, Frozen.

But I would highly recommend this to 'let it go' into your mouth!

The waffle alone is so much awesome that it is crispy at outside yet soft texture inside, it is already tasted nice if you eat it alone.

To have a mouthful heaven, have an appropriate cut of waffle together with a small paste of ice cream, simply superb!

BBQ Chicken Cheese Baked Rice ( RM 13)

Topped with sliced mushroom, broccoli and crabsticks with a generous surface of baked cheese,

the rice is buttered a little and chicken meat is seasoned with BBQ flavour.

It does not stand out as others and rather, it's quite disappointing to me.

The strong flavour of cheese that should have was absent which it has already pull down the taste in overall. Thus, this caused the rice at the bottom carried only an extremely thin fragrance of cheese.

Anyway, you may consider to have this if you are not strong flavor like me.

Say Cheese (RM 13 black)

It is served with a 63 degree celsius of poached egg,

dried bonito flakes (commonly seen on Takoyaki), chicken strips and home recipe cheese sauce.

We suppose that the black pasta is black bean pasta.

It turn our fairly average as we all agreed that the mild taste pepper had actually triggered a lot on taste buds, perhaps it is to associate with the poached egg.

Friendly reminder here, it is most advised to managed to eat it when it is still warm, it is to avoid the stinky smell of the egg yolk.

Maleficient (RM 12)

Our last order which is also another must-eat signature waffle in the house.

This waffle tower is a combination of two flavours of ice cream that sandwhiched in between black-coloured waffle,

Some Koko crunch and the choco flakes were shimmered at the bottom.

To be true, the naming of the food is very interesting and worth for a short discussion.

For example this, I suppose it is named after the movie 'Maleficient' where Angelina Jolie is dreessed in blank.

And so you know ice cream would melt which caused the bottom of the waffle unstable , our waffle tower collapsed before we ate it.

A little highlight goes to the tea cup as well as pasta plates as they were all tile designed, quite Japanese-dining inspired which is to my own liking.

It's also not hard to see that they are a range of Japanese cuisine inspired food served in Tiffz Coffee Gallery plus the minimalism concept in the dining place. A little drawback would be a little bit smaller portion. You could ask for recommendations from the waiters and waitresses as they are ready to assist all the time.

You are welcomed to save the location for your convenience.


Summary: ( 0-lowest ; 5-highest)
Price: 3/5
Taste: 3/5 ( Mainly contributed by the waffle in our orders )
Dining Ambience: 2.5/5
Vehicle Parking: 2.5/5
Business Hour: 2.00pm to 12am ( Closed on Mondays )
Facebook Page:Tiffz Coffee Gallery
Instagram: Tiffz Coffee Gallery