One of the many reasons I love living in South East Asia is that I like my breakfasts salty. I have never been one to embrace sweet cereals and pastries. If I must have bread, I want demi-sel butter and a large slab of cheese with it. I’ll choose nasi lemak or bacon and eggs over a breakfast muffin in a heart beat.
When our Mother Hen at Happy Go KL invited me to come taste-test some new granolas, I’ll admit I agreed for the natter and not the nosh. Truth be told, I was not a granola fan in any way.
My past experience with granola fell into three categories:
- Sickly sweet.
- Akin to chewing on dry cardboard-like bits, twigs and other garden variety detritus.
- So stale that the first two categories become irrelevant. This last point applies to expat life where granola is imported and stale by the time one scrounges enough pennies for a pack.
I felt I was doing a service to our readers by coming along and offering some balance to my granola-loving colleague whom I feared would wax lyrical at the site of a few nut clusters.
We arrived at Amazin’ Graze‘s shop in Sentul. It’s small, serene and sleek with a huge window allowing you to peak at the magic granola-making in the kitchen. Most of their sales are online but if you are in the neighbourhood, it is well worth popping in to say hello, pick up some goodies and maybe sit down for a beautiful cup of coffee at 3 Little Birds next door.
Still…pretty doesn’t guarantee tasty. I listened to one of the partners explain how they came to be united by their desire to make something unique, delicious, and natural. I was bracing myself for category two in really good packaging.
Amazin’ Graze’s granola flavours
We slid onto our seats to start savouring our samples. The first jar was labelled Hazelnut Blackforest granola. I took a pinch, tensing my muscles slightly as my kids do when I force feed them ratatouille, and took the plunge.
Imagine my surprise when I heard angels sing. I thought I must be dreaming. I took another bite. Nope, angels still singing. Must be a fluke. They can’t all be this good. I tasted seven more flavours – from Banana Bread to salted Gula Melaka. Each and every one was delicious. The uniqueness of the flavours combined with the incredible freshness puts this granola into an entire new league.
Our hosts were wonderful. In addition to the granola, the company has created small snack packs and dehydrated fruits. The fruits depend on what’s in season. We tasted kiwi, purple dragon fruit and apple. Of the snack packs and fruits, only two struck me as flavours I’d encountered before; everything else tasted original and carefully crafted. I am someone who will slice the seams of my Lays potato crisp bag to lick every last salted speck. Yet, now I find myself longing for another handful of their rosemary pepita crisp instead.
The good news is that those cute bags may have words like “cake” and “gula melaka” in them but the ingredients are balanced and healthier replacements, like organic molasses are used for white sugar. Nuts are roasted in the house and no artificial nasties are used. We were also impressed by their commitment to employing disadvantaged women from the local community.
We couldn’t leave empty-handed. I also wanted to run a few flavours by my stringent test tasters aged 5 and 7. Kids and adults alike gave Amazin’ Graze two spoons up!
Since my bag ran out, I’ve started having fantasies of filling a big white claw foot tub with granola and yogurt and eating my way out. I’ve realised that everything I thought I knew about myself was wrong – that I too, am going to worship at the altar of granola.
Don’t take my word for it! We are delighted to share a discount voucher with our readers:
We were hosted for a granola tasting by Amazin’ Graze. Opinions in the post are our own and honest, as always.
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