When ice cream rolls…
Pix by Ranjith Perera
The thick ice-cream roll, melts as we speak. It’s creaminess, not failing to satisfy. They call it the Funky Monkey. The finely chopped bananas bring about that depth of freshness and the flavours only intensify as we dig in to the bowl, making it indeed a funky dish. Despite it being a dessert, the rolled ice- cream was a wholesome meal. For Rs. 500 a bowl, it seems value for money.
We sat down for a chat with Sharfaz Nuhman at his cosy Café Shaze. The concept of rolled ice-cream is one of the first of its kind in Colombo and is being served at ‘Jam’, a subsidiary of Café Shaze, he tells us.
Located conveniently, just next to ‘Calorie counter’ down Thimbirigasyaya road, Café Shaze is no newcomer to the industry, “It’s been around for the past three years,” he says. However, the curiosity to try out new things, made Sharfaz step into the world of ice-cream.
The idea first hit him, whilst touring Thailand, he recalls. “Back there it is called the Thai rolled ice cream, he explains. What makes ‘Jam’, stand out however, is that the ice cream is made right before the customer’s eyes, whereas most Thai stores use pre-made ice-cream.
‘Jam’ became an instant hit, immediately after it took to social media, gathering hundreds of invites. Its signature dishes include the ‘funky monkey’ and the ‘fruity blast’. The rest of the menu is up to you to customize.
“We cater to all age groups and all taste buds. So if a person who wants something sugarless, but wants sweetening from the fruits without sugar, or whether he wants diet biscuits, soya etc, we can provide,” Sharfaz explains. Although currently off the menu, ‘Jam’ hopes to bring back waffles and an ice cream crepe back on.
“I’ve been working as an IT guy for almost 20-years now but I picked up this (idea for a) restaurant because of my business travels,” he tells us. It was in Europe that Sharfaz first got the idea to open up a coffee shop. Sooner café Shaze started. It was opened on December 2, 2013.
The speciality at Shaze is that everything is made in house. “I don’t buy anything from outside. The bread, we bake and roast here and all the other things which go into it, are specially checked and made here,” he says.
Despite being in the hospitality industry only for the last three years, Café Shaze has won several awards, which include, the best food and safety achievers award, from the Colombo Municipal council for 2016 and 2014 Barista championship (second place). They also ranked number 12 from 495 restaurants on trip advisor.
The crowd gathers near the live mixing booth. The preparation is an intricate task. We watch as the maker with his foot on the pedal controlling the temperature on the frozen plate, spreads the milk out evenly. He adds a spoon of nutella. The smooth chocolate is soon to blend with the milk. He waits till it reaches perfect consistency, before carefully rolling the ice cream. The process is very similar to that of making kottu. The milk and chocolate are mixed with two spatulas. It is however, a little more complicated than your average kottu. For if not spread out evenly and the temperature not controlled properly, the mix breaks apart and has to be made from scratch.
As we conclude, Sharfaz tells us theirnext step is to expand ‘Jam’ in another three months either in Colombo or the outskirts. Furthermore he also looks to expand Shaze to Dubai and Australia.
Sharfaz