Green tea is arguably the healthiest drink on earth with many health benefits associated with its consumption. Its high antioxidant content has been said to delay the aging process and even deter certain forms of illness. Other than that, it has been associated with increasing metabolism and losing weight.
Health benefits aside, green tea has also been making heat waves in the Malaysian food culture. With a little Japanese inspiration, many forms of green tea flavoured desserts have been created and popularized. So here is a list of 10 best green tea flavoured desserts that deserves the limelight! (The restaurants are listed in no particular order. Some of the establishments below are not halal.)
The brainchild of a Japanese national, Hero Matcha Kyoto is a specialty Japanese Green Tea Shop which imports high quality tea from Japan. The tea products of Marukyu Koyamaen from Kyoto is used here. This brand has been producing fine tea for over 300 years and has won the first prize at the Japanese National Tea Competition 20 times! The menu here is simple, consisting of ice-cream and Matcha drinks only. The ingredients used to produce its menu items are simple, letting the high quality Matcha powder taste shine, which is perfectly complemented with a strong milky taste.
A waffle specialty shop which differs from its peer, Madam Waffle currently offers 8 different flavour of Belgian Liege Waffles and with more innovative flavours to come! Of course, one of its best flavour is the Matcha Waffle. Matcha powder and paste used here are also imported from Kyoto, which is famed in Japan for producing high quality Matcha powder. The Madame Signature is a glorious dish consisting of a green tea waffle, Matcha gelato, strawberries, and whipped cream with azuki beans. The combination goes down well together, and the waffle has the perfect crisp-on-the-outside and dense-in-the-inside texture with the right level of sweetness to curb bitterness from the Matcha flavour.
There’s something about lava cake that makes it such a pleasurable item to be eaten. The first spoon into the lava cake which reveals a stream of molten filling oozing out is such an exciting experience! Forget about chocolate lava cake, that’s too mainstream, we’re talking about green tea lava cake! Yes, that’s right! A whole piece of green tea flavoured caked with more green tea flavoured lava in the molten centre. This cake is accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream, green tea syrup and green tea white chocolate sticks. Strictly for the green-tea-obsessed only.
The name says it all. This is a Green Tea Specialty Shop that probably needs no introduction. Nana's Green Tea has been immensely famed for its green tea drinks and parfait. The towering green tea parfait comes with multiple layers. Start at the top with a pile of whipped cream and green tea syrup, a scoop of green tea ice cream and red bean paste. Each parfait also comes with a topping of your choice, such as glutinous balls and Matcha cake. The second level consists of cornflakes and vanilla soft serve, which is a perfect combination together. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the glass, green tea syrup and jelly.
Franco, previously known as Miam Miam, is a contemporary French-Japanese restaurant. As such, do expect quite a number of green tea items on its menu. The Matcha Souffle is the perfect marriage of the French and Japanese. This lightly-baked French dessert is light and airy on the exterior while warm and soft in the interior. The Matcha taste brings about a unique flavouring to it. For drinks, the Iced Matcha Latte with Matcha Softee is one of the best seller. The Latte has bold green tea flavours while the Matcha Softee is smooth and mildly sweet, making this a guilt-free dessert-drink!
How about a Korean twist? The Patbingsu is a Korean shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings that has invaded Malaysia. The Bingsu series in Café Bene comes with quite a number of flavours. Its Green Tea Bingsu comes in a massive pile of green tea flavoured shaved ice. At the very top, a large pyramid of whipped cream hides the Green Tea Gelato from sight. The Green Tea Gelato is the main highlight of this dish as it is creamy, smooth and rich with green tea and milk flavours. The green tea flavoured shaved ice is not very sweet, hence, the pairing with red bean paste and also a variety of nuts for a bite.
Although Manmaru is a heaven for udon-lovers, and it's also a heaven for Green Tea Latte lovers. Initially, the Green Tea Latte was only made available when the Tea Time Menu was served. However, due to popular demand, Manmaru Udon now serves the Green Tea Latte throughout the day! This Latte comes in a decent portion with extreme low prices – below RM10! It’s topped with a mountain of whipped cream, and layered with milk and Matcha. The combination of the Matcha, milk and sugar level is just right, making it a very pleasurable drink.
This is a newbie to the green tea food and beverages industry. The set lunches are particularly to recommend as it comes with either a drink or Matcha Softee. The Green Tea drink is rich in flavours, definitely one beyond expectations when it’s a complimentary drink from a lunch set. Meanwhile, the Matcha Softee is served in a generous bowl that is good to share. The green tea flavour has a mildly bitter trace as the softee is not very sweet. Its texture is soft and smooth, though this is not a very milky nor creamy version.
As light as air, these delightable puffs from Kee’s are great as a snack! The puffs are made fresh daily to ensure its perfect texture and top notch quality. Meanwhile, its cream filling comes in various flavours, all of which are made using natural ingredients, custard and fresh cream. The green tea puff is light and refreshing, made with a blend of Matcha powder. The Match taste is mild so that the mildly-sweet custard cream filling isn’t being overpowered by its bitterness.
This cute little Japanese café has just opened doors in the new Glass City, Sri Petaling. They serve simple yet healthy food and desserts, with a dash of Western influence. For drinks, warm-up your tummy with the hot Jasmine Green Tea or Green Tea Latte. For desserts, the chef makes its Matcha Cake in-house. The light chiffon Matcha is layered with cream and bits of red beans. The texture is soft and refreshing, making it a light dessert which can almost be passed off as healthy!
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Discover more hottest green tea drinks and desserts
Hunt for the top ice cream
1. Hero Matcha Kyoto @ Tokyo Street, Pavillion
4. Nana's Green Tea @ Mid Valley
8. Hoji & Matcha @ Sri Petaling
10. Minamotonoya @ Sri Petaling
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