Friday, November 11, 2011

Bing Bing Taiwanese Dessert House @ Straits Quay, Penang.

With the recent mushrooming of all these fancy kinds of desserts, we are finally getting a Taiwanese dessert in Straits Quay, Penang. Bing Bing Taiwanese Dessert mainly focuses on serving authentic Taiwanese dessert and their chewy, mouth-watering Taro Ball (yam and potato balls made from sweet potato starch) is a must-try item. With comparison to a similar style of dessert house in Bukit Mertajam -- Bikkuri Station, I find Bing Bing Dessert House much better as in the portion served was much bigger and the prices are very reasonable which makes a very good deal.  The drawback was the cafe starts their business quite late which I was told that its at 3pm. However, they are closing at 12am midnight, so its quite suitable for night owls to have their supper. My experience at the cafe was fun and memorable, I will definitely head back and try for some other flavors of dessert. Its not hard to located the cafe, you can find Bing Bing Taiwanese Dessert House after coming out from the door exactly opposite to Switch (Apple dealer) and walk straight, there are road signs everywhere to direct you. 

With the cozy and distinctive ambiance, its definitely a place suitable for friends gathering, afternoon tea, supper, after-meal dessert etc. There is an open-air corner for distinctively for smokers as well.

A medal will be given to us after we had placed our orders for no reasons. Unlike Bikkuri Station, a "beeper" will be given to us and it rings us up when the food is ready.

Customers are entitled to choose the flavor of the ice first, from plain ice, grass jelly ice, soya ice, sour plum ice and lychee ice. After the flavor of the ice has been chosen, you can choose the toppings where they come in a few combinations, customers can opt to replace any toppings they like but please do mention or request before you placed your order. Lastly, you can choose to add some creamer or honey. 

Soya flavored ice with Red beans + Grass Jelly + Taro Balls (Rm7.90). A very big portion, sharing is recommended for ladies unless you are a big fan of dessert. The Taro Balls were pretty much similar to the one I had in Snowflake and Bikkuri Station just that it comes in a smaller size which makes it suitable for ladies, as in you can finish it in a mouthful. The time we went for Bing Bing dessert house was almost 11pm and they were running out of grass jelly. However, their service was extraordinary that they were to cook us some new grass jelly instead of just telling us grass jelly was out of service. Everything comes in pros and cons, the cons of having freshly prepared grass jelly was the temperature. The hot grass jelly melted the ice in a glimpse of eye but I was told that the ice does not melt in a fast pace, provided they have the right ingredients at the right time. The soya flavored ice complemented the toppings well as the flavor was not too strong and it does not "steal" away the attention of other toppings. Highly recommended.

Sour Plum flavored ice with Barley + Red Beans + Grass Jelly (Rm7.90). From the votes I tallied from my gang of friends, most girls prefer sour plum ice due to the sweet and sour flavor. The sweet and sour taste complements well with the ingredients especially Barley and grass jelly which are rather tasteless. Truly refreshing.

Grass Jelly flavored ice with Taro Balls + Grass Jelly + Sea Coconut (Rm7.90). The flavor of the ice was not too strong as compared to sour plum flavored. The sea coconut was more to the sweet side since they were cooked and simmered  in sugar syrup but the crunchy texture does help to increase the overall flavor and texture of the whole dessert.

Aside from the flavored ice and toppings, creamer and honey (either one) will be given to add on and to increase the flavor. Creamer is definitely recommended as it increases the creaminess and smoothness to the dessert, making it richer. The fragrant aroma of the creamer will complements well with the flavored ice too. The creamer tasted more to evaporated milk (not sweet at all) as they are giving more options to their customers just in case they are health-conscious and prefer less-sweetened dessert.

Honey is suitable for those who adore sweeter desserts. It is okay to add honey if you are having soya/grass jelly/plain as your ice. It would be too sweet adding honey if you are having sour plum as your flavored ice. Anyway, it was based on my personal opinion since the level of sweetness varies depending on our own taste.

A glass of plain water will be served upon request. The bent spoon was obviously custom-made for their desserts. The spoon was much easier and suitable for digging into the desserts compared to the usual ones.


Ratings:
Price: 8.5/10 (1-3 expensive, 4-7 average, 8-10 cheap)
Taste: 8.5/10 (1-3 horrible, 4-7 average, 8-10 delicious)
Service: 8/10 (1-3 bad service, 4-7 average, 8-10 good service)
Parking: 8.5/10 (1-3 hard to find parking, 4-7 average, 8-10 easy to find parking)
Service Charge: No
Government Tax: No

Additional Information:
Address: 3G-1-2, Straits Quay, Seri Tanjung Pinang, Tanjung Tokong, 10470 Penang. (go through the door exactly opposite to Switch (first floor, Apple dealer) and walk straight, there are road signs everywhere to direct you.).
Business Hour: 3pm to 12am, Daily. (Temporary)
Contact Number: 604- 899 7293 (Give them a call if you are having problem in locating the dessert house)

2 comments:

  1. oh must try this if we happen to be at straits quay.

    but i'll sure to omit the taro balls while ordering. i just don't likey the starchy balls.

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  2. Hi annant, yea u should try this out....why not try the taro balls lol, they were VERY good indeed.

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