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Molek FMBringing International Quality To Malaysia, ‘Churn’ Is Guaranteed To Be Your Favourite Dessert Spot
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What’s the only food in the world that could satisfy us no matter what we’re feeling? Ice cream.
It’s there when you’re upset after a long day of work, and it’s there when there’s cause for celebration.
“Just as ice cream was always there for me, I was always there for it as well,” says Lee Chung Kean, Dessert Consultant, Confectioner, and founder of Churn.
Churn is not only the most up and coming new ice cream store on the block, but it also tells the story of bringing flavours and quality from international levels to Malaysia.
JUICE had a chat with Kean and Wendy, his girlfriend and business partner, and they told us all about how there’s no better comfort food than ice cream. Let’s dig in:
Lactose intolerant folks, you might want to load up on your lactase pills, because Churn is worth every scoop.
Kean started out his sweet journey through the story that many of us can relate to – buying ice cream at the end of the school day from the uncle riding a motorcycle, packed with the sweetest treat any school boy would spend his allowance on for relief on a hot, sunny day.
Of course, his Advanced Diploma in Culinary Arts didn’t hurt either.
“When I got into University, that love [for ice cream] turned into curiosity when hearing stories from my friends that studied abroad. Could my beloved ice cream taste any better than it already is? Is that even possible in my lifetime?”
But most importantly, he asked himself, “Why was I only able to experience these flavours, textures, and complexities after taking a plane to foreign lands? Why couldn’t I have these luxuries in my homeland?”
Inspiration struck and Kean started analysing the limited quality in the dessert back home.
During his University days, he would often hear comments from his peers about the ice cream they had in Australia, UK, Europe, and any other Western countries.
“Walao, the ice cream from here compared to there ah, memang cannot fight! Like comparing Maggi Mee and Carbonara.”
These comparisons and praises made him think, could the quality actually be that different? How big could the gap be for such a simple dessert?
He laments on about the influx of different types of desserts that came to Malaysia in the 2010s; shaved ice, soy based desserts, tea based desserts. And he came to one conclusion:
“The core dessert that was missing in the dessert influx of Malaysia was ice cream.”
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Churn began from an industrial sized ice cream machine in Kean’s home, where he practiced the craft of tweaking flavours and using his family and friends as guinea pigs.
Their Pistachio flavour alone took 30 batches to perfect the recipe. Imagine being this guy’s friend before the business took off, unlimited ice cream!
But it was all worth it. Through many experiments and finding the right source, Pistachio is now their best selling menu item, and it doesn’t contain any artificial flavours or preservatives.
“Therefore, we can guarantee that each and every flavour that we ‘Churn’ out is made specifically for the flavour lover. We make nut lovers go nuts for our nut flavours!”
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As of today, Churn has developed many more rich and creamy flavours, such as Earl Grey Tea, Cendol, Roasted Hazelnut, and many more to go back for seconds!
They also serve the option of having your scoops on a freshly made sourdough waffle and some kombucha to complete your sweet treat.
They’re accessibly located in Damansara Uptown, but I suggest calling ahead to make reservations because the queue could easily circle around the block.
Stay tuned to see if they plan to open another outlet soon, and check out their Instagram page for more updates!
But in the meantime, head on down and grab a scoop for that void inside you that only Churn’s ice cream can fill.
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