One of the best simple pleasures of life is to come across a treat from one’s childhood.
That was how I felt when I came across these little icing biscuits in a shop in Johor, Malaysia.
When I was growing up, we would walk to the neighborhood provision shop to get them. They were displayed in big clear jars, with a few other different types of biscuits. You can buy, like, 20 cents worth of biscuits. The shopkeeper would scoop about a handful and wrapped them in a piece of newspaper.
(My aunt remembers that when she was a child, you could get quite a good-sized serving for just 10 cents.)
Certainly, the colorful icing was a big attraction for kids. And also the combination of the icing and the slightly creamy taste of the base was enjoyable. Often, we would unwrap the newspaper package and start eating as we were walking on our way home.
Time doesn’t stand still. Back to the present, when I bought some from the shop in Johor, they were wrapped in a more sophisticated manner, in a clear plastic sleeve and tied on top with a bright string. But the best thing was that, after so many years down the road, the taste was still the same. I kept popping them into my mouth and savored the cool, sweet effect as the icing melts – great fun.
I used to love them too!
Good to know that!
I haven’t seen these since I was ten years old, but I can still remember the crunch of eating them.
Thanks, Hilary, for sharing this memory.
It used to be my favourite biscuits. 🙂
Nice to know that you’re also a fan of these biscuits. 🙂
I loved those biscuits when I was young. So glad they still taste the same.
It’s great to know that these little biscuits are universally loved. Thanks for sharing.
Hello,
I remember those biscuits from my childhood as well back in Mauritius. I live in the UK, now and I can’t seem to find it anywhere. It’s a long shot but would you know where I could get that here or its recipe at all?
And BTW, thank you for sharing this.
Ibrahim
Hello Ibrahim. Thanks very much for sharing your memories. The biscuit is going through a kind of revival now, and can be found in some shops in Singapore and Malaysia. They are also known as gem biscuits and I found this link: https://www.facebook.com/icedgembiscuits . Hope it can be of some help.
I hope you’ll be able to find the icing biscuits, or bake them, and enjoy them. 🙂