Sunday, November 4, 2007

Weekend's Business Dining: Andersen's Ice Cream Cafe




It is a recipe that has been passed down through these generations and established itself in Australia, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. The Danish ice-cream powerhouse relies on its fried and tested recipes, which predicate quality and freshness and it is no wonder why Andersen's Ice Cream is a hit with Asians. Time-honoured recipe aside, Andersen's Ice Cream is also diet and health friendly. It contains 16% fat content and has no artificial flavouring and colouring.

To guarantee absolute freshness, ingredients and premixes used to make the ice-cream are imported from Denmark and Australia and processed locally. It usually takes the ice-cream one week to reach the outlets as opposed to the three weeks to one month needed for the import of ice-cream made overseas.

The cafe itself, flanked by retail outlets and bistros and its premises blending seamlessly into the main shopping passageway, entices the passer-by with its prominent refrigerated glass displays of the famed Danish ice-cream in different presentations. Its decor is minimalist, featuring light colours and the layout, homely - chairs, tables and couches arranged according to a living room format.

Its signature creation, the Banana Split, is an inventive departure from the conventional Banana Split. Instead of just a banana split with ice-cream in the centre, Andersen's Banana Split has the two halves of the banana stuffed into a crispy Andersen's waffle cone - baked on the spot with a cone machine - accompanied by two scoops of macadamia nut and chocolate ice-cream (filled with crunchy Belgian chocolate chunks) and a pleasing spiral of whipped cream.

The look of the Banana Split is further enriched with a generous sprinkling of almond dices and a small chocolate chop shaped in the profile of Andersen's logo - a Danish man wearing a tall hat. The presentation is completed with drizzles of crispy chocolate dressing.

The second Andersen fare worthy of mention is the Hot Waffle. The five waffles used in this dessert are unconventional in design, shaped like hearts rather than squares. The waffles are patterned in such a way that it resembles the petals of a flower. The rum and raisin ice cream topped with a strawberry sits seductively in the centre of the waffle arrangement.

The Hot Waffle is one for those who appreciate alcoholic beverage. The rum and raisins - which are soaked in rum as well - of the ice-cream orb is tangy and sweet in equal measure, giving the ice-cream a unique and powerful taste not felt in other ice-cream blends.

Alternative in concept, hip in presentation and rich in flavour, Andersen's Ice Cream is the cream of the ice-cream crop.

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