Cham Dessert Cafe: Ipoh white coffee, cham & bandung-flavoured sweet treats
In the midst of the city of Puchong sits Cham Dessert Cafe, a calm and cosy cafe with brick walls and a neon sign. You might not notice this cafe unless you’re actively looking for it; the minimalist exterior blends in with the shops beside it.
Cham Dessert Cafe started off as a humble food truck that would make appearances at local events and bazaars, and they mainly sold bottled beverages like sirap bandung and Ipoh white coffee. Even back then, crowds would flock to their truck for a sip of some rich and comforting coffee.
In Jan 2023, Cham levelled up and opened its first physical store. Now, they sell more than just pre-packaged drinks. This cafe specialises in desserts infused with local flavours like Ipoh white coffee, cham, Hainan milk tea, sirap bandung, and Sarawakian gula apong. When I arrived on a weekday night, the shop was empty apart from a pair of friends in the corner. The atmosphere was relaxed, as a cafe should be.
What I tried at Cham Dessert Cafe
The first item that caught my eye was the Southeast Rose Cordial Cocktail Kakigori (RM13). In local terms, sirap bandung shaved ice. This dessert was piled high in a steel cocktail bowl, drenched in aromatic rose cordial, and topped with a fluffy rose-flavoured cream. They also added small cubes of toast at the sides and sprinkled the icy dessert with almond flakes and small pieces of dried rose. On the side, there was another small cup of bandung for you to pour over.
By the time I was done taking pictures and videos, the kakigori had already started melting and dripping down the sides of the bowl, so be quick!
Shaved iced desserts tend to have bald spots— by that I mean some areas of ice don’t get enough of the syrup that gives the treat its flavour. This kakigori, however, was perfectly balanced. Every mouthful was fragrant, filled with sweet rose cordial. The cream added a smooth creaminess to each bite without being too heavy or rich due to its airy texture.
To be honest, although visually appealing, the toast pieces didn’t do much. They just soaked up the melted ice and turned partially soggy. It wasn’t bad by any means, but the dessert could do without it.
With the side of bandung and cream on top, you might think that this would be too sweet, but it wasn’t. Even after most of the ice had melted, it still had the perfect amount of sweetness.
As I reached the bottom, I realised that the party didn’t stop there. Surprise! The base of the bowl was lined with tapioca balls. I’m not sure if it was because the dessert was so cold, or if the boba wasn’t prepared correctly, but they were extremely tough. If they had been soft and chewy, this little surprise would’ve elevated the dessert even more.
The Ipoh White Coffee Gridsticks (RM17) is one of the cafe’s specialties. According to Cham Dessert Cafe, they’re the first cafe in Malaysia to offer waffle sticks instead of regular waffles. This dish came with 5 pieces of the waffle sticks, Ipoh white coffee soft serve ice-cream, and fresh whipped cream.
Firstly, the waffle sticks were delicious— crunchy on the outside and soft on the sides, and they remained that way even after being out for a while. Picking these sticks up with your fingers is definitely a lot easier than sawing through a whole waffle with a knife. That being said, picking up the ice-cream with the waffle sticks was tricky, and I ended up scooping up the soft serve with a spoon.
The Ipoh white coffee soft serve was everything I could’ve asked for and more. The coffee flavour was strong, it had a good amount of sweetness, and it was rich and creamy. What shocked me the most was that it actually tasted like the beloved local drink when I was expecting it to taste like regular coffee ice-cream.
The whipped cream was similar to the one used in the kakigori: light, smooth, and a great touch to the sweet treat.
A warm cup of their Coffee Cham (RM5) was the perfect sign-off. Just like the rest of their desserts, this drink packed a punch. The cham was thick, smooth, and not too sweet— we all know that “not too sweet” is the highest form of compliment someone can give. You know a cafe really cares about local coffee when they offer 2 types of cham: coffee cham and tea cham. The former is made with 70% coffee and 30% tea, while the latter flips those percentages around. This means that curious non-coffee drinkers can still enjoy their tea cham.
Final thoughts
All in all, everything I tried was stellar. Cham Dessert Cafe has done a terrific job at reimagining local flavours by fusing Malaysia’s comfort drinks with Japanese and Western desserts. One thing that surprised me was the prices of their beverages. Other places tend to mark up their prices, but Cham’s drinks are priced relatively low compared to its cafe counterparts.
I should also add that I came here with 2 people who don’t really like desserts. After we finished those treats, the both of them placed individual orders for 2 other desserts. I think that’s enough to attest to how good this place is.
If I had to summarise my feelings in one sentence: I can’t wait to return to this cafe.
Expected damage: RM13 – RM20 per pax
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