7-Eleven's Flaming Choco ice cream in Malaysia: Should you try it?
I cannot remember trying any kind of chocolate ice cream that I did not like. It is my go-to on a good day, hot day, rainy day, and every day in between.
In fact I love chocolate and ice cream so much, I did some research on the history of chocolate a couple of years back to understand how it evolved into the delicacy we know and love today.
And while I could give you more chocolate facts, let's just get to what you're here for, which is 7-Eleven's new limited edition soft serve — the Flaming Choco.
While chocolate beans have been mixed with hundreds of other flavours, the odd combination of chilli and chocolate is not new.
It dates back to the ancient Aztecs, who combined cocoa beans and chillies to create a bitter and spicy chocolate drink named Xocolatl, which is still found throughout Central and South America today.
Since reading about this drink, I have been very intrigued with the idea of trying it, so when 7-Eleven Malaysia partnered with Lingham’s Chilli Sauce to introduce the Flaming Choco, I was all game.
It was, in fact, a combination of chocolate ice cream with chilli sauce, and perhaps the Aztecs were on to something.
Take note if you're hunting for this, though. While there is a 7-Eleven in almost every corner of the city, their soft serve can only be found in their special cafe-like outlets, the 7CAFé.
The moment of truth
With all that in mind, one scorching Sunday afternoon, I thought it would be a good time to head to a 7CAFé and try their intriguing soft serve.
As with most soft serve ice cream these days, you can choose the ice cream to be served in a cup or a cone — if you decide to get it in a cup, it will cost RM3.90, with a larger portion of the soft serve. I decided to go with the cone, which cost RM2.90.
Unlike the picture in the ad, the ice cream does not have fiery red swirls or any indication that there is chilli in it. From the outside, it really just looked like a typical plain chocolate soft serve in a biscuit cone.
Now, having tried InsideScoop’s Kicap ice cream a few weeks back, I thought I was prepared for this.
After taking my first bite, my initial impression was that it tasted like your average chocolate soft serve, similar to the ones you get at McDonald’s or Family Mart. It was smooth, creamy, light and chocolaty.
For a moment, I thought I had been given a plain chocolate soft serve by mistake... until a few seconds later when I was hit with the spicy pepper-like aftertaste. As it turns out, I was not mentally prepared.
This combination was stranger than I expected.
My brain and taste buds are used to the sweet, sometimes nutty or fruity versions of chocolate ice cream, but not this.
It felt as if you were eating a regular chocolate soft serve, and following it up with a bite of spicy chicken that burns the back of your throat, but without the chicken.
I took a few more bites, and it still felt like an odd combo for me, because I kept thinking chocolate ice cream should stop at sweet.
Having it with the cone helped balance the flavours out a little, but I don’t think I would have managed to finish it if I had taken the cup instead.
Don’t get me wrong; I love spicy food! And I love chocolate.
Still, the combination of the two didn’t make me glee with joy.
While I will keep these two flavours separate for now, I do recommend giving the Flaming Choco a try, because it definitely is a unique experience.
My advice, though, would be to have it on a colder day. And be mentally prepared for it.
Huda Hekmat is an educator, content writer, and Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. She is currently doing her masters in Educational Psychology. When she isn't teaching, writing, or trying to armbar her fellow gym mates, you can find her reading a thriller, watching a stand-up comedy, or on the hunt to find the best nasi lemak in KL.
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