Special thanks to Pink Elephant for extending this food review invitation.
Update: This business has ceased its operations.
Strategically located next to the cinema of Queensbay Mall, Pink Elephant Ice Cream is a desserts kiosk which specializes in stir-fried ice cream. Although not exactly the first brand to venture into this niche, Pink Elephant is one of the earliest brands to hit the mainstream market.
Taking advantage of the hot weather recently, Pink Elephant appeals to people of all walks of life. The concept of stir-fried ice cream was conceived in Thailand and has since seen much success in many places especially in Hong Kong.
The cornerstone of operating a stir-fried ice cream shop is the iced griddle, which needs to provide refrigeration as low as -30oC. In contrast, typical home freezers only operate around -18oC. Since Pink Elephant does not belong to an existing franchise, the chiller has to be reversed-engineered from scratch.
The preparation starts with flavored cream like vanilla, Thai tea and yam. As soon as cream is poured on the freezing surface, it starts to crystallize and solidify in a slushy manner. To prevent it from sticking to the surface, the cream needs to be stirred vigorously so that it freezes uniformly. Similar to how teppanyaki (鉄板焼) is prepared, the clanking noise of spatulas on the surface of griddle also helps to attract curious passers-by.
If the cream solidifies in uniform manner, it attains structured texture and can be curled into neat rolls. Vanilla Fried Ice Cream With D24 Durian (RM14.80) is by far the most popular delicacy here, owing to Malaysians’ perpetual love for durians. To ensure adequate supply of durian purée throughout the year, Pink Elephant keeps a large stock during each harvest season.
The ice cream rolls are arranged neatly in a paper cup. Next, toppings such as Oreo cookie, rainbow sprinkles and marshmallows are added. The ice cream pleasant creamy sensation on the lips. Packing a concentrated dose of durian goodness, it is almost like eating actual durians! If durian indeed has a special place in your heart, this dessert will undoubtedly serve you well.
The Green Tea Fried Ice Cream With Red Beans (RM9.90) takes advantage of the complementing flavors of red beans and green tea. The cream used contains some red bean fragments too, but more red beans are added as toppings later. Koala’s March, a popular brand of koala-shaped cookies, is also used to decorate this dessert.
As for drinks, Thai Milk Tea (ชาเย็น, RM5.90) is an obvious choice for a Thai-influenced desserts kiosk. For the supply of tea leaves, Pink Elephant partners with Cha Payom (ชาพะยอม), a popular chain of Thai tea stores in Thailand.
Thai Green Milk Tea (ชาเขียวเย็น, RM5.90) is also a decent choice for people who crave for the “grassy” aroma of green tea.
Frequent customers to Pink Elephant should take advantage of the free loyalty card, which provides a free ice cream when 8 stamps are collected.
Name: Pink Elephant
Address: 3F-39, Queensbay Mall, Persiaran Bayan Indah, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 014-221-4978
Business hours: 10:30am-10:30pm
Website: https://www.facebook.com/pinkelephanticecreammalaysia
Coordinates: 5.33252 N, 100.30675 E
Directions: Pink Elephant is located on Level 3 of Queensbay Mall, just across from Golden Screen Cinemas. Queensbay Mall has a multilevel parking garage and several outdoor parking spaces.
