Qbean @ Queensbay Mall, Penang: Soy Ice-Cream, Something New!

There's a new fast food/ fast drink/ fast ice-cream chain in town. I think it deserves mentioned here because I find the whole idea of the business so simple yet so 'why-I-didn't-think-of -it?'. All the food and drinks here revolved around one single main ingredient, soya bean.

Soya bean drinks and it's common alter ego, 'taufufah' is much loved among Malaysians (Read: TauFuFah & Soya Bean @ Funny Mountain, Jalan Theater, Ipoh, Perak: Natural And Cheap SK II?). Qbean went one step further by making ice-cream from soya beans. How? The workers there claimed that the ice-cream is made purely from soya beans itself and not just the flavoring only...but I had my doubt.

Anyway, I gave it a try...

Qbean menu. SOY ICE-CREAM RM2.50 (cone/ cup), SOY DRINKS plus toppings (pearl/ cincau/ chocolate qjelly/ yum qjelly/ custard qjelly) plus green tea/ chocolate/ bandung/ ginger/ almond (RM3.90/ RM4.90 for ice blended), taufufah (RM3.00/ RM3.80 plus ginger), pancakes and fresh fruits plus soya. BTW, don't the Qbean logo looks like a condom? Haha

Benefits of soy. Mostly are correct but I don't think it's low in sugar here because all the foods and drinks here are sweet (likely artificially enhanced, haha). High in protein? Maybe, but vegetables proteins are still classified as incomplete protein compared to animal proteins. Still, it's better than you indulge in other 'unproven' ice-cream/ drinks.

Nice ambient, comfortable and clean.

'Minimalist' interior decor. Not really practical because they're not enough places to sit and enjoy the food and drinks with friends.

What do you think of my RM2.50 soy ice-cream? Darn, they ought to have some standardization on how high the ice-cream should be or how many swirls to made. This is outright pathetic, sub-standard presentation of a product --> marketing, failed.

After 'licking' my soy ice-cream just twice...so little! Now for the more important part, tasting. The soy ice-cream tasted slightly strong but natural, sweet and dissolved in my mouth into soya bean drinks equivalent. Their texture is smooth but not as smooth as taufufah. IMHO, I do enjoy it as ice-cream but I'm not sure being soy ice-cream is any different compared to my regular McDonald ice-cream (besides paying double the price).

 Qbean

Queensbay Mall (Ground Floor - North Zone), just next to Subway

Opens daily from 10.30am - 10.30pm

Tips:
Hype. Eat McDonald ice-cream instead or better still, come to Ipoh for the best soya bean drinks and taufufah!



Tasty Or Not?
Rating: 6.5/10. Kudos for the genuine idea. The taste was okay but nothing special and a little expensive.