OUR city isn’t short of cold, shaved ice treats on a sunny day, ranging from Japanese kakigori to bingsu, in addition to our very local ais kacang. There is a great restaurant in SS2 that is worth visiting if you want to sate your sweet cravings. The prominent dessert spot called Aftermeal is known for its creative fusion of kakigori desserts. If you enjoy desserts made from shaved ice, this is the place to go.
Aftermeal’s owner, Pei said: “I began my R&D with tea-based shave ice. After trying more than ten different kinds of tea, my team and I finally opted for a premium type of oolong tea called Iron Lady Tea (Tie-Guan-Yin). After more than 100 trials-and-errors, the Iron Lady Milk Tea Kakigori that we offer today has evolved into our top seller. It garnered such positive reaction that all of our friends and family supported it, and urged us to build up our [physical] store.”
Pei, who has a background in engineering and information technology, claimed he lacked a mechanism to guarantee good service or constant food quality. It took him quite a while to get familiar with the food & beverage industry. For instance, Pei – a major fan of tea – was unaware that tea was a product that was highly influenced by seasons.
“Food raw materials does not follow our common sense rationale, unlike engineering and IT. Our dessert quality has changed drastically as a result of this. There are times when our customers leave the store happy, and there are other situations when it is so bad that we literally have customers berating our co-workers.” According to Pei, they began a thorough quality check on their desserts on a regular basis since then. Aftermeal’s employees are continually seeking consumer’s feedback to guarantee that everything is in order.
When asked what sets Aftermeal apart from other dessert places, he responded that they only provide shaved ice, cake, and beverages. “We do not intend to provide main courses and therefore will devote all of our time and work to making desserts only. Not just any desserts, but desserts that make people happy. “Hence their tagline: “Happiness, you deserve it”. During the pandemic, Aftermeal struggled. Pei pointed out that shaved ice and cakes do not travel well via delivery services.
“We had a great deal of trouble during the pandemic. Every month, we were literally losing money, and at one point, we even thought about giving up completely. [But] we persisted, and the rest, as they say, is history. I’m very glad we didn’t give up and were able to keep the business going, and Aftermeal is currently doing quite well.” There are three primary specialty desserts at Aftermeal. One is a quality combination of Iron Lady Tea and milk called the Iron Lady Milk Tea Kakigori. The toppings include brown sugar pearls, almond flakes, jelly and red beans.
Next is the bright green Royal Matcha Kakigori, which comes with brown sugar jelly pearls and matcha ice cream under it, and is generously dusted with matcha powder. Additional toppings include bowls of chewy pearls, sweet potato, and taro balls covered in brown sugar sauce. You may eat it alongside your shaved ice or on its own. It is all up to you. The next popular dessert on their menu is called the Royal Calamansi Yokan Kakigori. It is served with longan, chewy white pearls, and popping pearls made from the passion fruit and calamansi. If you enjoy sweet and sour meals, you should try this treat made of shaved ice.
Despite their three primary best-sellers and signature items, we discovered something we think all chocolate lovers should try. Their Dark Milo Kakigori is to die for. Chocolate ice cream is accompanied by Milo nuggets hidden inside the shaved ice. A malty chocolate sauce is provided on the side of this dish of chocolaty delight. This is indeed a fantastic treat for fans of Milo. Aftermeal Desserts also provides delicious burned cheesecakes in three different flavours. Classic burnt cheesecake, Matcha cheesecake and Iron Lady burnt cheesecake. All three cakes are flavourful, rich and creamy to the extreme.
We tried the calamansi winter melon, super iron lady milk tea, and wild honey milk tea from their menu of beverages. Their classic winter melon tea has a strong flavour and is not overly sweet and of course the clear pearl added a lovely surprise. But the wild honey milk tea is without a doubt my favourite. The combination of milk and honey just combines so nicely that it is not surprising that people keep coming back for more.
Aftermeal Desserts is a great place to go after dinner. The options might seem simple, but Aftermeal has contributed their own touch their menu, therefore you must taste it to understand it. It is undoubtedly one of the top dessert spots to visit if you desire shaved ice. Pei emphasised his intention to develop enough outlets to cover key areas in Malaysia so that Aftermeal would be able to bring happiness to as many people as possible.
Aftermeal Desserts
Address: 33, Jalan SS 2/64, SS 2, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Operating Hours: 2pm-11pm (including public holidays)
