Back in the good old days of enjoying ice cream in a cone or a cup, there were essentially three all-time classic flavours. No prizes for guessing as the flavours in question include chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. While we still get to enjoy these classics even today, the evolution of ice cream has seen a lot of new and interesting flavour inventions (e.g. teh tarik or more bizarre choices, such as salted egg butter crab).
Today, I’m here to share my recent discovery of a lesser-known local ice cream brand called Merry Ice Cream. But before I dive deeper into the subject, I wanted to touch upon the emergence of local ice cream brands in Malaysia.
The Rise Of Local Ice Cream Brands
Over the past few years, we have been blessed with a growing number of local ice cream brands, say the hugely-popular Inside Scoop. There are a few notable ones too, ranging from Piccoli Lotti to Fatbaby and The Ice Cream Bar. They have their own respective fanbase and unique selling points. For instance, what sets The Ice Cream Bar apart from most others is its premium ice cream infused with alcohol such as Baileys, Bacardi and Guinness.
Okay, Now For The Origins Of Merry Ice Cream
First things first, this homegrown brand originating from Penang wasn’t initially known as Merry Ice Cream. It was first named Ice Estate (to coincide with the popularity of nitrogen ice cream at the time) in 2016. But years later, it became Merry Me before it got rebranded again as Merry Ice Cream in 2020.
What To Expect From Merry Ice Cream
Be it ice cream or sorbet, quality matters for Merry Ice Cream. That means they are only made using fresh, natural and halal-certified ingredients with no added preservatives. Interestingly enough, Merry Ice Cream has a few locally-inspired ice cream flavours, namely their signature Gula Melaka and even Tau Fu Fah (tofu pudding). They also include other familiar and unique flavours ranging from Rich Chocolate to Nutty Berries, Iron Lady (tie guan yin) and Peppermint Mocha, just to name a few.
How I First Discovered Merry Ice Cream & Review
After long and hectic weekdays working around the clock, I often wind down during the weekends. One way I do so includes exploring new dessert places if possible. Having tried a few local ice cream brands around the Klang Valley areas, I remember I was in the PJ area at the time. It was a scorching hot afternoon and what could be better than cooling down with a nice cup of ice cream? Thinking of trying a possible new ice cream brand for a change, I did a quick Google search. This is how I found out about Merry Ice Cream located in Bandar Sri Damansara.
Well, unlike most ice cream parlours that I went to, Merry Ice Cream in Bandar Sri Damansara wasn’t what I expected in the first place, which would be plenty of customers dining in and such. Instead, the Bandar Sri Damansara outlet feels like an odd one out. Or to be exact, a hidden spot, where they were barely any customers inside the shop. I actually visited the outlet twice and both times (in the afternoon) were the same. The shop itself is nothing fancy and frankly, it hardly matters to me anyway.
What I care about the most is whether I end up liking or feeling disappointed with the taste of Merry Ice Cream. Thank god it was the former. My chosen ice cream flavours at the time? Double scoops of Strawberry Cheesecake and Tiramisu.
The former has rich strawberry goodness with the right balance of cheesecake and best of all–both combined flavours do not end up overpowering each other. Their Tiramisu fares better. The fact that they use premium Arabica and Robusta coffee beans, coupled with ladyfingers help elevate the robust caffeinated taste. It’s thick and creamy too and I have to say Merry Ice Cream produced the best tiramisu ice cream I’ve ever tried so far.
When I revisited Merry Ice Cream Bandar Sri Damansara for the second time, I settled for Pink Guava. And again, their ice cream doesn’t disappoint. It was refreshing and has a subtle sourish-sweet flavour that made their Pink Guava all the more palatable. It also helps that Pink Guava contains a combination of pink guava juice and puree.
Their overall services are worth mentioning as well, at least from my experience visiting the shop twice. The only biggest setback? The location (read: not a strategic one and public transport-friendly). Other than dine-in, you can choose to buy their ice cream in the form of a 450ml tub stored in the freezer.
Alternatively, if it’s too inconvenient to travel all the way to Bandar Sri Damansara, you can purchase them online right here.
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