KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — Once you have tasted the best gelato in your life, you never forget. In the case of Cielo Dolci’s Ong Kee Win, the taste and texture of the pistachio gelato he once sampled in Italy just stayed on his mind.

He tried to find something similar back here in Malaysia but the search was futile. That unforgettable taste of the pistachio gelato provided the inspiration for Ong to learn how to make gelato from the world famous Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna, Italy.

“I learned the basics of making gelato for three weeks under a gelato master. It involved the science and math behind gelato making,” said the self-professed lover of desserts and pastries. Prior to this, he was working in environmental science for five years.

At Every Sundae, you can custom make your own soft gelato dessert with sinfully-good toppings.

“At that time, I asked myself if I wanted to do this (environmental science) for the rest of my life. Then I decided that I wanted to chase my dreams,” he said.

In August 2011, Ong started Cielo Dolci at Paradigm Mall. Even from the beginning, he invested in quality Italian-made industrial gelato making machines. Every single flavour from Cielo Dolci is made from natural ingredients with no preservatives or colouring.

“For example, my pistachio flavour is made from whole nuts and not pistachio paste. First I will roast the nuts to enhance the flavour then I add milk, sugar and cream. The pistachio nuts are blended and placed in a batch freezer,” he said. Because the gelato does not contain any additives or preservatives, Cielo Dolci’s gelato only lasts for two weeks when stored in the freezer.

All the pastries and desserts at Every Sundae are made in-house so you get the freshest toppings with your soft gelato.

In case you are wondering what differentiates gelato from ice-cream, gelato has more milk while ice-cream consists of more cream. Gelato also has less fat (yay!) and has less air churned into it during the freezing process.

When Cielo Dolci first opened in Paradigm Mall, it was known for having unique flavours such as the widely talked about Nasi Lemak gelato. The seasonal flavour gets mixed reactions from customers who have tried it. You either like it very much or can’t wrap around your head around it. The gelato is made with coconut cream and topped with chilli flakes, peanuts and anchovies.

So where does Ong get his inspiration for gelato flavours? (He has created 200 flavours so far!)

This customised combination at Every Sundae has everything you crave for in a dessert: cheesecake, cotton candy, waffles and meringue (left). When you visit Every Sundae, you are served with the freshest soft gelato (right).

“I do a lot of R&D. I make gelato from everything I eat. For example if I’m drinking coffee, I imagine what would it be like if I made it into a gelato. Food inspires me to come up with flavours,” he said. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be the types of foods he likes. Sometimes, he just creates a gelato flavour and if it works out, a new flavour is born.

In 2014, Ong had an idea to pair hot and cold food together. The experimental entrepreneur brainstormed ideas with a chef, coming up with savoury gelato to pair with food. That was how Whimsical — Gelateria & Caffe came about. “I wanted to do different things... that is why I came up with a new concept. I named it differently because it is easier marketing wise. I can open up different social media accounts for Cielo Dolci, Whimsical and Every Sundae. I didn’t want people to get confused,” said Ong.

Besides interesting hot and cold food pairings, you can also order Cielo Dolci’s popular gelato at Whimsical Gelateria & Caffe.

Ong began experimenting on savoury foods that can be turned into gelato. He came up with a salmon gelato for Whimsical’s Salmon Gelato & Rosti dish. The baked potato rosti in waffle shape is topped with a sunny side up, salmon gelato and served with dill cream. For first-timers, it may sound like an intimidating dish because the idea of salmon in the form of a cold gelato is unheard of.

But once you start tasting the salmon gelato together with the potato rosti, you will realise it is just like eating salmon except the texture is different and it is at a slightly colder temperature.

Rise and Shine is a breakfast platter — with a gelato twist!

The dish is Ong’s take on the traditional smoked salmon sandwich. He chose the potato rosti waffle for its crunchy texture. “Usually rosti is served with sour cream. Having smoked salmon gelato is a play on it because the salmon gelato is sweet and sourish while the rosti is savoury,” he said.

Another interesting gelato with hot food pairing you can find at Whimsical is the Rise and Shine which is essentially a breakfast platter. You have pancakes topped with beef bacon gelato, served with sausages, turkey ham, scrambled eggs with cherry tomatoes and patatas bravas (Spanish deep-fried potato cubes).

The Salmon Gelato & Rosti dish at Whimsical may be too adventurous for some but it is worth a try.

Ong wanted to create a breakfast platter with a twist using beef bacon gelato. Here you get the flavour of the beef bacon with the breakfast platter minus any of the chewiness often associated with the real ingredient.

If you are up for desserts that involve coffee, gelato and cotton candy, try the Cotton Candy Affogato at Whimsical. Cielo Dolci’s popular coconut gula Melaka gelato is topped with fluffy cotton candy and served with an espresso shot, which you pour all over the cloud of cotton candy.

“I chose the espresso because it is sour, bitter and sweet. The coconut gula Melaka gelato paired with the espresso gives a smoky nutty finish while the cotton candy adds sugar to the affogato. It is also fun to pour the espresso over the cotton candy and watch it dissolve into the gelato,” explained Ong.

Your Salmon Highness is a savoury waffle topped with smoked salmon, poached eggs in Hollandaise sauce, sun dried tomatoes and spinach.

For people who cannot imagine gelato with hot food, there are plenty of other non-gelato options at Whimsical. One of the most popular dishes at Whimsical is Your Salmon Highness which is smoked salmon topped with poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce. It is served with sun dried tomatoes, spinach and a savoury waffle.

This April, Cielo Dolci expanded to IOI City Mall in Putrajaya with the opening of a small kiosk that serves their signature flavours. Since the lease for the Paradigm Mall store expired, Ong decided to close the place. In May, Ong launched his latest concept, Every Sundae — by Cielo Dolci at Damansara Uptown where soft gelato is served with pastries and desserts. You have a choice of pre-selected combos or make your own creation from their choice of pastries, cakes and sauces.

Whimsical Gelateria & Caffe was started when Ong wanted to pair cold and hot food together.

The move to keep coming up with new concepts for serving gelato is because the brand has to evolve, said Ong. “We have to keep changing otherwise the competition will catch up,” he said.

He noted that there are not many artisanal gelato makers around but even if there is, the competition is a good thing.

“Having competition helps because it means there is awareness of artisanal ice-cream, whether it is gelato, soft gelato or soft serve. The awareness gets more people attracted to it,” said Ong.

When he first started serving gelato, customers would come up to him and ask him why his mango gelato tastes like mango. “People were so used to mango-flavoured ice-cream that when they taste gelato made from real mango, they get pleasantly surprised.”

Whimsical’s Cotton Candy Affogato combines the bittersweet taste of the coffee with the sweetness of the coconut gula Melaka gelato and cotton candy.

Every Sundae serves both gelato and soft gelato. The soft gelato is the one that goes with the pastries and other desserts as toppings. Traditionally, gelato is served on its own without any toppings. Soft gelato is different in terms of texture and it is churned on demand, making it the freshest gelato. It is also more airy than gelato. At Every Sundae, both combos and customisable versions are equally popular.

“The all-time favourite is chocolate, whether in Cielo Dolci, Whimsical or Every Sundae,” said Ong. He comes up with different types of chocolate, even Chocolate Chilli Padi! His salted caramel flavour is also a firm favourite along with mango passionfruit. To make things exciting, he rotates the flavours at all outlets, having certain flavours at a particular outlet and other flavours at the next. He also has seasonal flavours so customers don’t get bored.

“At Every Sundae, there are more teens and young adults while at Whimsical, the crowd is more sophisticated. You can see working professionals and families with spending power at Whimsical,” said Ong.

Every Sundae at Damansara Uptown was opened a few months ago.

This year, Cielo Dolci won third place at the Gelato World Tour in Singapore with their Vanilla of the East flavour. Ong created a gelato made of pandan, basil seeds for texture and salted gula Melaka. “I love pandan. When I was younger, I always requested pandan cakes for my birthday. I feel that pandan is like the vanilla of the East because it is such a popular flavour in the region. It is in so many Eastern dishes, from food to desserts,” said Ong.

Out of the 50 applicants, 16 gelato makers were shortlisted to compete in the Asia Pacific league of the Gelato World Tour competition which was held in Singapore from March 20 to 22. Famous gelato masters and chefs from all around the world judged the competition. The top three winners qualify for the world finals which will be held in 2017.

If you are curious to try Vanilla of the East, you can check it out at Whimsical Gelateria & Caffe while stocks lasts. And if you are wondering what Cielo Dolci actually means, it means heaven’s dessert in Italian.

Cielo Dolci F-K10, First Floor, IOI City Mall, IOI Resort City, 62502 Putrajaya, Sepang, Selangor. Tel: +603-89499268 Opening hours: 10am to 10pm

Whimsical — Gelateria & Caffe D2-G3-05, Solaris Dutamas No.1, Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: +603-64190966 Opening hours: 11am till midnight

Every Sundae — by Cielo Dolci No. 9, Jalan SS 21/37, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel: +603-77335683 Opening hours: 12pm to 11pm