From a Yule log to roasting Japanese ‘mochi’ rolls like marshmallows, may your Christmas be a blessed feast!

Eat-drink

Santa is calling you... to come enjoy the Black Forest Crêpe Roll from KITA Coffee. – Picture courtesy of KITA Coffee

By Kenny Mah

Thursday, 07 Dec 2023 8:52 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 – Santa is calling you – especially if you are a lover of Yule Logs.

Every year, you know it’s Christmas when KITA Coffee rolls out their annual Christmas Roll (pun very much intended).

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Nestled in a discreet corner of Fahrenheit 88, the cosy café is home to Rain Lee, the Malaysia Barista Champion 2022, and her formidable repertoire of coffee.

From award-winning auction beans to her popular Very Dirty, a more intense version of the original Dirty made famous by Katsuyuki Tanaka of cult-favourite Bear Pond Espresso in Tokyo.

So while most people know KITA Coffee for their flat whites and filter brews, Lee’s meatless menu also offers a delectable range of fluffy and melt-in-your-mouth Japanese-style roll cakes filled with light fresh cream.

It has become a yearly tradition to introduce a new seasonal Yule log. This year Lee has eschewed her usual roll cakes and switched things up with a crêpe roll instead.

Decadent layers of dark chocolate crêpes. – Picture courtesy of KITA Coffee

Feel the winds of Weihnachten ("Christmas” in German) with KITA Coffee’s Black Forest Crêpe Roll. Decadent layers of dark chocolate crêpes filled with dark chocolate mousse cream, and subtly sweetened with a homemade jam of cherries and mixed berries.

Crunchy pretzels (again, very German) add a hint of salt, to balance the richness. Available as whole rolls as well as single portions, this Black Forest Crêpe Roll is one that will have you singing carols all season long.

‘Tis time to deck the halls with boughs of holly indeed. But the holiday season is also time to think of those less fortunate than us. Charity begins at home, after all.

With this in mind, Universal Bakehouse has launched their "Home for Christmas” Cookie Gift Box whereupon 10 per cent of their festive item profits will be donated to the kids at SHELTER – Home for Children.

A well-established community business located in a former laundry shop at Damansara Kim, Universal Bakehouse has been delighting regulars with their crusty sourdough loaves and crumbly buttery scones for years.

Festive cookies: Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cookies, Matcha Shortbread and Raspberry Thumbprints. – Picture courtesy of Universal Bakehouse

Now they hope to spread the ho-ho-holiday cheer to SHELTER’s at-risk children when customers purchase a festive box of their housemade cookies, including Matcha Shortbread, Raspberry Thumbprints, Chocolate Cranberry Almond Cookies and Gingerbread Men.

Universal Bakehouse’s Home for Christmas Cookie Gift Box includes Gingerbread Men. – Pictures courtesy of Universal Bakehouse

"Housemade” certainly seems appropriate as the gift set comes in a brown paper box shaped like a house – or is that shaped like a gingerbread house, to be specific? (Hansel and Gretel not included.)

What’s Christmas without a Christmas tree? Rather than the usual artificial conifer, how about a Christmas tree you can devour... albeit daintily?

Choux crafter Pǐn 品 has conjured up a Christmas Tree made from – what else? – their stellar choux pastries. With handmade decorations (such as fondant stars and snowflakes), mushroom shaped meringues and a light dusting of sugar grains to mimic snow, you’d be hunting for presents beneath this tree!

Christmas Tree (left) and Christmas Wreath (right) by Pǐn 品 made from choux pastries. – Pictures courtesy of Pǐn 品

Run by married couple Evelyn Chung and Bryan Lau, Pǐn 品 has also brought back their beautiful Christmas Wreath – a ring of choux pastries topped with spiced sable, salted butterscotch, fresh rosemary, fondant snowflakes, meringue, dried lemon slices and sugar sprinkles.

The choux cream fillings come in six Christmas flavours, including Earl Grey Lychee and Strawberry Cheesecake. – Picture courtesy of Pǐn 品

Each choux is a pleasure in itself, with a prominent craquelin or crackly sugar topping. The cream fillings come in six Christmas flavours: classics such as vanilla and chocolate, tea-based Earl Grey Lychee and Matcha, as well as trendy Biscoff and Strawberry Cheesecake.

Finally, for something entirely different – how about a sweet, Japanese influenced Christmas?

Celebrate Christmas with Mimi Daifuku’s reindeer and Santa shaped cookies... and their strawberry daifuku, of course. – Pictures courtesy of Mimi Daifuku

It’s a bit of East meets West when you celebrate Christmas with Mimi Daifuku’s Christmas Wonderful Gift Set. A quartet of precious titbits: a couple of their strawberry daifuku, and two cookies shaped like Rudolph the Reindeer and Santa Claus.

Founded by Ryan Chan and Adeline Lee, Mimi Daifuku is known for their elegant daifuku – a heavenly contrast of the mochi’s "QQ” texture with its savoury-sweet azuki filling, as well as the indispensable fresh strawberry topping.

Toast your own mochi rolls for a Japanese style Yuletide! – Pictures courtesy of Mimi Daifuku

Take the Japanese inspiration further by recreating your own campfire with their Christmas Mochi Roll Toasting Gift Set. Instead of roasting skewers of marshmallow over an open fire, try Japanese mochi rolls for a Japanese style Yuletide.

Be it a Black Forest Crêpe Roll or a Gingerbread Man, be it a Christmas Wreath made from cream-filled choux or a mochi roll to toast like marshmallows, may your Yuletide be a blessed feast!

KITA Coffee

D7, G Floor, Fahrenheit 88, Jalan Bukit Bintang, KL

Open daily (except Tue closed) 10:30am-8:30pm

Phone: 016-246 3071

IG: instagram.com/kitacoffeemy/

FB: facebook.com/kitacoffeemy/

Universal Bakehouse

21, Jalan SS 20/11, Damansara Kim, PJ

Open Mon-Fri 8.30am-3pm & Sat-Sun 8.30am-5pm

Web: universalbakehouse.my

Pǐn 品

IG: instagram.com/pinbyeve