That was the experience of Soon Kim Ling, the founder of Helado Desserts and Café, who brought the unforgettable ice cream she tasted whilst on holiday in New Zealand, to Malaysia for family and friends to share.
“After trying the Limonata Cheesecake flavour I was so amazed by its unique flavour, it was like nothing I have had before,” she told FMT, explaining that ironically, the name “Helado” is actually Spanish for ice cream. But that’s the only thing Spanish about the café.
Helado is in essence all about the ice cream flavours of New Zealand’s award-winning brand Much Moore, an Auckland-based company that has been churning out the most sumptuous flavours for over three decades.
There are currently 19 lip-smacking flavours to choose from with the top picks being Limonata Cheesecake, Salted Caramel Seduction, Maple Fudge and Walnut, and a yogurt option called Boysenberry Ambrosia.
Soon explained that New Zealand has gained quite a reputation for its version of ice creams that have a distinctively creamy and dense consistency.
One New Zealand favourite that Soon was eager to introduce to Malaysians was the bubblegum-flavoured Goody Gumdrops that is packed with chewy gum drop lollies.
Another that will make the kids go wild with delight is Hokey Pokey, a vanilla ice cream chock full of crunchy honeycomb toffee bits that burst with flavour in your mouth – what’s there not to like?
If you’re trying Helado ice creams for the very first time, you cannot go wrong with Limonata Cheesecake. After all, it is the very flavour that convinced Soon to bring the ice cream to Malaysia.
This cheesecake-flavoured ice cream contains heavenly swirls of lemon ripple and morsels of vanilla cake within. Incidentally but unsurprisingly, this is an award-winning flavour for the Much Moore brand.
If you wish to enjoy Helado ice cream at home with family or friends, why not buy a tub? Available in one-litre and two-litre options, expect to find some tantalising flavours here that are not offered as scoops.
If your sweet tooth must be satisfied in other ways besides ice cream, try any one of their homemade pastries. These too can be paired with their ice cream if you wish.
The warm, soft buttermilk waffles – original and dark chocolate chip – are quite the treat. Oh, and here’s a tip – the Boysenberry Ripple goes swimmingly well with the dark chocolate chip waffle.
If you happen to be there around tea-time, their scones and croissants are a must-try you won’t regret.
The scones are served warm with a scoop of ice cream capped with a cone drizzled with chocolate syrup and a sprinkling of nuts – now that’s a rather untraditional way to enjoy tea and scones.
The chilled and hot desserts are not the only unique feature of this café. Helado has also introduced a “pay it forward” initiative called ‘Suspended’.
Soon explained to FMT that this initiative was adapted from the suspended coffee act that started in Naples, Italy, where customers could pay in advance for a cup of coffee that could later be redeemed by someone who was unable to afford it.
“We took that idea and have introduced it here by allowing our customers to pay for anything in the store in advance and that will be collected to be given to a charity,” she said.
If you’d like to give this premium New Zealand ice cream a try, head on over to Helado in Desa Park City or visit them on Instagram to place an order.
Helado Desserts and Café
G218B, 1 Utama Shopping Centre
No 1, Lebuh Bandar Utama, Bandar Utama
47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Business Hours:
10.00am–10.00pm daily