Beisik.B: Your one stop to wholesome cakes & pastries for Christmas

Proving that sweet temptations aren't always guilty indulgences, Beisik.B is all about health-conscious home baking, free of refined sugar, thoughtfully filled with natural ingredients.

Whether you crave a cheesecake, chocolate cake, cinnamon roll or crunchy biscotti, Beisik.B is dedicated to making it fresh and delicious, with options for keto-friendly, gluten-free or dairy-free desserts too.

The final result is irresistible, banishing misconceptions that wholesome bakes might look or taste less tempting than regular ones. Expect rich, robust flavours and luscious, lovable textures, with fantastic fundamentals for vibrantly memorable treats.

 

Baked-to-order bakes are Beisik.B’s standout speciality - free not only of refined sugar but preservatives and artificial ingredients too. 

Beisik.B's cakes are specially made with kampung eggs and sweetened with cane sugar, organic molasses, or sometimes, fruit. If you have dietary restrictions, let Beisik.B know - vegan-friendly and lactose-free customisations are all possible. And on the other end of the spectrum, alcoholic cakes are available too.

The beauty of Beisik.B's Bombass Cloud Lime Cheesecake (RM88) is more than skin-deep. There's so much contemplation lavished on this cake, from top to bottom.

Embedded in the cream cheese filling are kefir grains, enhancing the cake's taste and texture while bringing probiotic benefits. A sprinkling of key lime zest lends a welcome tang to uplift the creaminess, crisply contrasted with a distinctive crust of oats and wheats, a nourishing substitute to the typical crust of biscuits or Graham crackers.

A cheesecake where you can enjoy a second slice without remorse? Count us in!

The Total Knock Out (RM88) lives up to its name for devotees of dark, dense, decadent chocolate.

This cake promises layered, nuanced textures, miraculously moist for not lifeless at all despite being completely flourless, perfect for gluten-free, keto-friendly diets. 

Crafted with premium 60% dark chocolate, the sumptuous centrepiece is salted dark chocolate ganache with a bittersweet allure, bolstered by freshly roasted almonds for nutty balance.

With cocoa powder sprinkled on top, we'd happily lick our forks while eating this cake.

Carb addicts, rejoice! Beisik.B's cinnamon rolls (RM30 for four rolls), are well worth the calories.

These are baked overnight and rested in the fridge, intensifying the flavour of the bread, brightened by a nectarous, natural caramelisation of molasses.

You might notice an intriguing tang to Beisik.B's cinnamon rolls. The secret? Kefir yogurt, its acidic tartness made mellow in the cream cheese glaze, buoyed by roasted pistachios and pumpkin seeds.

Buy a whole box - these cinnamon rolls are crafted to keep well, so they'll retain a tender fluffiness even after one or two days.

Beisik.B understands that snacking is essential in these stressful times - for mindful munchies, check out Beisik.B's biscotti, made with whole wheat flour instead of the usual all-purpose flour. 

More protein-packed, less processed, these biscotti have a real bite, with a delectable depth of flavour, courtesy of cane sugar and organic molasses (RM14 per jar; RM26 for two jars; RM50 for four).

There’s a biscotto with your name on it here - from time-honoured faves like Classic Almond or Double Chocolate to fruitier, exuberant flavours like Orange & Cranberries and Lemon & Pumpkin Seeds.

So with Christmas fast approaching, make sure your table is merrier with Beisik B's festive specials, spanning the Bailey's Dream cake to the Mr. Pecan pie!

The Not So Classic Fruit Cake (RM60 for half a loaf; RM115 for a full loaf weighing about 750 grams, suitable for eight to 10 servings) deserves a special shout-out, bursting with a bounty of fruits, nuts and spices.

You'll find (take a deep breath!): Black raisins, golden raisins, unsweetened dried cranberries, dried figs, unsweetened prunes, unsweetened dried apricots, freshly grated green apple, Valencia orange and lemon, crisped up with freshly roasted almond and walnuts, fragrantly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Time and care are poured into this cake. The dried fruits are rum-soaked for nearly a month, so their flavours are potently concentrated, their textures are plump and juicy when it’s time to bake, resulting in a complex, honest-to-goodness sweetness.

After baking, the cake is wrapped in a rose wine-dipped cheesecloth, furnishing it with more of a kick, letting its full-bodied aroma seep in. Then it’s left to age for a week to embolden the flavours even further. 

A fruit cake that takes a month to make - the result is an experience that we expect to remember for years.

There's more to explore from Beisik.B - brownies and blondies, homegrown pandan chiffon cakes and many other inventive varieties of flavours; check them out on the links below.

Beisik.B 
beisikb.cococart.co 
instagram.com/beisik.b

Pento's & Basil, Bukit Jalil

A five-minute walk from Pavilion Bukit Jalil, KL's latest pasta parlour promises creamy comfort at reassuring prices.

The lunch sets at Pento's & Basil cost just RM25 nett for a soup or starter, chilled juice, and a hearty choice of risotto with porcini, bolete and button mushrooms in chicken stock with Parmesan and peas; house-made russet potato gnocchi in gorgonzola cheese sauce with chives and lemon oil; or fettuccine alfredo with lusciously savoury duck bacon and a 63-degree omega egg. Satisfying stuff, rich in robust flavours and textures, lavishly loaded with produce.

Pento's & Basil

C-1-9, Aurora Place, Jalan Persiaran Jalil 1, Bandar Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 011-5693-0556

CCC At Kantata, The Zhongshan Building Annexe

A building enveloped in graffiti and disrepair harbours KL's latest hidden coffee bar.

Expect to find friendly, familiar faces, serving terrific Coffee, Chai and Chocolate (hot) at CCC At Kantata, an alfresco passageway pop-up in an annexe of Kampung Attap's Zhongshan Building. 

CCC offers a playful peek into an experimental space, Kantata, that's a refurbishment in progress, with offbeat plans for next year. Karaoke nights on Saturday, then disco-themed brunches on Sunday? The mirror balls inside are ready and waiting.

CCC At Kantata

The Zhongshan Building Annexe,  Jalan Tuba, Off Jalan Kampung Attap, Kuala Lumpur.

Open Mon-Fri, 930am-330pm; Sat-Sun & Public Holidays, 930am-530pm.

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Shoyu paella, shoyu tacos & shoyu cendol: How Shoyu Bros made a magical splash in our meals

If you've recently seen someone at a restaurant with a black bottle of shoyu, splashing it over everything from gnocchi to burgers to ice cream, that might have been us!

Shoyu Bros is our new obsession - this Malaysian-made, Japanese-inspired soy sauce is one of a kind, crafted with Canadian non-GMO soybeans, infused with wild garlic, imbued with a fragrance and flavour that evoke the woodiest mushrooms, with a gently sweet base that tempers its MSG-free savouriness.

It's no surprise that one of Shoyu Bros' two founders is a creative Malaysian chef whose specialities span togarashi-spiced stingray fin, yuzu-laced oyster omelette and fugu karaage with ponzu. That sense of layering recipes with delicate, distinctive dimensions is the soulful heart of Shoyu Bros, offering a magical twist on a conventional condiment. Order at shoyubros.com

Shoyu Bros is barely over a year old now, launched in November 2020 by Bryan Tan, who helms the kitchen at Damansara Perdana's Rare The Food Co, and Ley Vin Khoo, a business development manager.

They poured months of fine-tuning into their product, premised on Japanese shoyu, naturally brewed.

Typically, Japanese shoyu is brewed with roasted wheat, making it a little lighter and sweeter than its denser, saltier Chinese counterpart, which more often uses wheat flour. 

Naturally brewed soy sauce, fermented for many months, boasts more nuanced complexities and aromatics than one-note industrial sauces, which are quickly, chemically manufactured within days with hydrolised protein and corn syrup flavouring.

This is also first-draw soy sauce, extracted from the first brewing, delivering more depth, equivalent to extra-virgin in the world of olive oil.

Shoyu Bros adds a wildcard into the recipe - wild garlic - and ages the sauce for nine months under the sun. The result is artisanal alchemy; instead of tasting unmistakably garlicky, the sauce yields an elegant earthiness, sultry but soothing, potent but not pungent, its soft umami underlined by a sensuous smoothness, with a scent that's like a chef poured half a bottle of truffle oil into a bowl of shoyu ramen.

Shoyu Bros recommends that users enhance their food by drizzling it with the sauce after cooking or by dipping it. 

That makes the shoyu not only convenient but very versatile - you can easily use it as a condiment for everyday cooking in your kitchen. Whether you're preparing Asian stews or Western roasts, this shoyu is a pantry staple that can be incorporated into so many meals.

Since we're not much of cooks, we've taken it out with us instead, to see how it can work wonders in a wide range of recipes. It's a perfect match for Japanese fare, if your kushiyaki needs a kick or your sushi calls out for the tastiest soy sauce possible.

If you're eating wholesome, Shoyu Bros can rescue your lunch from blandness with a simple dash, adding allure to salad bowls and sushi burritos.

Chicken rice and char koay teow are staples in our weekly diet, so we had to see how Shoyu Bros works with local hawker classics. At the risk of bringing dishonour to our Hainanese ancestors, this shoyu makes poached chicken rice brighter and livelier while blending beautifully with the wok hei of char koay teow. 

Who needs Korean soy-garlic fried chicken when we can have Shoyu Bros fried chicken? We're also happy to dunk our chicken nuggets into this shoyu instead of Sweet Chilli or Cajun sauce.

Shoyu Barbecue Bros: Skip the sickly-sweet BBQ sauce and reach out for a bottle of Shoyu Bros instead to bring a gorgeous punch to grilled beef and mashed potatoes.

It might seem sacrilegious to a Spanish madre, but shoyu brings a mellow richness to squid ink paella, a marvellous marriage of Asian and European elements.

It's also impressive with Italian cuisine, elevating and energising a plate of gnocchi boscaiola with mixed mushrooms. We bet it'd be ideal for risotto ai funghi too.

Why stop there? The possibilities for Shoyu Bros seem endless, lending resonant dynamics to everything from burgers to tacos - the shoyu's seasoning makes for a tango on the taste buds with a vibrant salsa.

It isn't revolutionary to use shoyu for chilled desserts - shoyu kakigori and shoyu caramel ice cream already exist. So it's fun to experiment with Shoyu Bros on treats like cendol (it turns out that shoyu and Gula Melaka play well together) and McFlurries (the instant intensity of shoyu is a nice savoury touch on sweetly neutral-flavoured ice cream).

If you're looking to gift Shoyu Bros to a loved one, check out the captivating Chinese New Year Limited Edition labelling. And once you're done with each bottle, they're beautiful enough to repurpose at home.

Shoyu Bros

shoyubros.com

instagram.com/shoyubros

facebook.com/ShoyuBrosOfficial