Medicinal sweets “Herbal Jelly” | Enjoy refreshingly cool beauty food in Malaysia
Here is Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
It’s so hot and humid all year round and you can find a lot of cool and refreshing sweets.
But I know it’s the best if it’s good for your skin:)
Then how about taking Chinese medicinal sweets “Herbal Jelly“?
This is translated as “turtle jelly” in Japanese and the word has such a big impact that some may get shocked.
But let me introduce the place you can have this impacting desert, “Koong Woh Tong (恭和堂)“, this time!
*Some of the posts include affiliate links in the blog.
Overview
Review by Hearts
Overall
Taste
Value for the price
Customer service
Atmosphere
Advantage
◆Guilt-free
The jelly you can take Kampo(Chinese medicine) made with various natural medicines.
The taste is refreshing and light.
You can use and adjust the syrup however you like.
Please note the taste is bitter without the syrup.
Be careful not to put too much syrup!
◆Beauty food
The jelly you can take Kampo(Chinese medicine) made with various natural medicines.
The estimated beauty food points from basic herbal jelly ingredients are below.
Please note the accurate ingredients are not disclosed as their recipes are secret.
Be careful not to put too much syrup!
Turtle plastron：
Collagen(Supports smooth and firm skin)
Collagen is usually decomposed to amino acids in our body but there’s a research result*1 that some of them are absorbed as collagen peptides.
Various natural medicines：
Following are the natural medicines used for general herbal jelly.
・Tuckahoe (土茯苓)
・Chinese mesona (仙草)
・Amakusa (agar‐agar/天草)
・Liquorice root (甘草)
Locals eat this jelly to relieve the heat in the body, prevent summer fatigue, condition the skin, and support smooth and firm skin.
Please note the kampo (Chinese medicine) effectiveness is different depending on the people.
The points are rough estimations considered by the contains nutrition.
*1東京農工大学硬蛋白質利用研究施設編、コラーゲン 基礎から応用.インプレスR&D（2020）
◆Gluten-free friendly
Wheat is not used in general herbal jelly.
But please note this does not secure the store’s gluten-free if you are allergic to the wheat products.
◆Lactose-free friendly
Milk products are not used in general herbal jelly
But please note this does not secure the store’s lactose-free if you are allergic to the milk products.
◆Accessible
Koong Woh Tong(恭和堂) has over 20 outlets in Kuala Lumpur.
I used 2 places, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur and LaLaport Bukit Bintang.
Both are in the large shopping malls in Bukit Bintang and have good access from the close stations!
You can also enjoy the shopping too: )
KL is hot and humid! You can save your energy if you walk inside the buildings:)
The shop details are in “Shop info” below♪
◆Foreigner friendly
You can see English and Chinese on the menu.
The staff also speak English.
No other languages but there are pictures on the menu so you can point it out when you order.
◆Cashless available
Credit cards are available!
You can use JCB(Japanese card).
Especially LaLaport is a Japanese company and you might find it easier to use Japanese cards.
*FYI, you can see the review criteria on this blog from here:)
What is herbal jelly?
Herbal jelly, or “turtle jelly” in Japanese, is a medicinal dessert that is made with powdered turtle plastron “Guiling Gao” and Chinese natural medicines like Tuckahoe, Chinese mesona, Amakusa(agar‐agar), Liquorice root, etc.
The collagen included in the powdered turtle plastron is used for firming the jelly so the gelatin is not used.
That is why the herbal jellies are called “the chunk of collagen”: )
The jelly is rooted especially in Hong Kong or South China and people eat it when they are not feeling well or they want to condition their body heat and skin.
It is also said that the herbal jelly was made for the acne medicine of the kings in ancient times.
Seems like this is one of the Hong Kong beauties’ preferred skincare items :))
Features or strength of the shop
Koong Woh Tong(恭和堂) is a casual Chinese medicine cafe that originated in Malaysia.
The must-eat popular menu is of course herbal jelly!
They serve the jelly made by their secret recipe with over 20 types of the finest natural medicines.
You can try other Chinese medicine teas like “Wu Hua Cha (五花茶)”, “Ya Sei Mei (廿四味)”, or so and pick up the one following your condition.
The good point here is they don’t use preservatives and food colorings:)
The store is loved and expanded in Malaysia.
They have over 50 outlets domestically and 8 stores in Singapore.
According to the official site, they were awarded the “Malaysia Health & Wellness Brand Awards” and selected to the “Gourmet list” of Ctrip which is one of the world’s largest Chinese travel sites with 300 million users.
FYI, they are halal certified provider and their products are ok for vegetarians.
Muslims are the majority in the country but it seems they also care about some religions.
This is one of the unique points of Malaysia as they are multiracial nation.
FYI, there’s also “Koong Woh Tong(恭和堂)” lasting about 100 years in Hong Kong, but no relationship between the Malaysia one and the Hong Kong one.
Appearance and Inside of the shop
Here’s a picture of the shop in Pavilion.
The shop in LaLaport looks almost the same.
It’s not that big but they have some tables and seats inside.
The herbal jelly is piled up like this.
The chilled bottles of tea are also in the fridge.
You can see the description “ALCOHOL FREE”, “NON-FAT“, and “VEGETARIAN“.
There’s a following sticker on the table.
I believe it’s not for “vegan” as the turtle plastron is used.
But they say it’s ok for vegetarians: )
It might be digressing , but let me share some information as below: )
For Your Information
Pavilion is a huge shopping mall adjoining a hotel, supermarket, food court, etc.
I’m sure most of the people see it at least once when you go to Bukit Bintang.
Not only overseas luxury brands like CHANEL, HERMES, and LOUIS VUITTON, but also there are popular Malaysian brands or department store like Vincci, Jimmy Choo, Bonia, Parkson(百盛), and casual brands like H&M or ZARA.
About 550 stores in this mall!
They have various stores in one place and I felt like most of the well-known stores are here!
You can find Malaysian gifts in the supermarket “Mercato” : )
Not only Malay food but also there are Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Western or so in the food court!
The lineups are so varied and unique to the multiracial country Malaysia.
Even just browsing is also fun♪
The prices of the luxury brands are not that different from other countries but this is a good place when you want to go shopping in a cool and comfortable place or if you want to eat something at a clean place.
Otherwise, Suria KLCC is also recommended which is a huge shopping mall close to Twin Tower!
◆LaLaport Bukit Bintang City Centre
LaLaport is a casual shopping mall.
You can go to “Rotiboy” which has a coffee bun filled with juicy butter inside or “Coco Loca” where you can enjoy beverages using coconut♪
They are originated in Malaysia.
And the exchange rate of the “TM Money Exchange” in the LG1(Lower Ground)was a good deal!
We found the place coincidently when we were browsing around the better rate places in Bukit Bintang and that was the best at that time.
The rate of “We buy” was RM 30.30 for JPY 1,000 as of May 2024.
Most of the other places’ rates are below RM30.00 on the day.
The best rate before we found the place was RM30.20 so it was slightly better.
(Sorry I forgot to take the photos!)
I haven’t seen the store information that much so far so maybe not a lot of people have been there.
But this might be one of the good options if you have a chance to go to LaLaport!
(It took almost 20 minutes to walk from Pavilion.)
Menu
The menu is herbal jelly and some Chinese medicine teas: )
“Wu Hua Cha(五花茶)” and “Ya Sei Mei(廿四味)” are in the big golden pots.
Other teas are in plastic bottles or cans. (as of May, 2024)
Orders
We ordered herbal jelly(small size), Ya Sei Mei(廿四味), and Wu Hua Cha(五花茶) this time!
The bowls or syrup pots are Hong Kong antique style!
That was so pretty♡
Herbal Jelly
The jelly in the picture was small size.
The price was RM 13
I felt even the small size was big.
The rate has been changing recently due to the weak yen.
But as a rough calculation, the exchange rate to JPY is RM×30.
The look was almost coffee jelly but the taste was definitely Chinese medicine.
It’s a bitter taste without syrup.
Use the syrup if you like to take it as a dessert.
The syrup looked yellow and the smell was like butter somehow.
(I’m pretty sure butter is not used to this.)
The sweeteners are different depending on the stores but some are using honey.
From my impression, the texture was not that thick like syrup for coffee or honey.
But maybe the yellow is honey color?
It is cool and refreshing so good match with hot and humid KL.
There are descriptions “Detoxifies”, “Nourishes”, and “Beautiful skin”:))
That was a healthy taste♪
Ya Sei Mei(廿四味)
“廿四” means “24” and the tea is literally made from 24 types of Chinese medicines.
The price was RM 4 for a cup.
The color was dark and the taste was bitter.
Both taste and smell are strong Chinese medicine and similar to herbal jelly.
No added sugar.
There’s a description “Releives body heat and detoxifies”.
The teas in plastic bottles are RM 7.
I’m glad that they have non-sugar tea.
For me, the taste is ok and I repeated it so as not to be dehydrated.
But it might be too bitter or unique taste to drink in general as this is non-sugar.
Wu Hua Cha(五花茶)
The tea is made with five types of flowers.
The tablet sugar called “pian tanɡ” is used and that makes it easier to drink.
The price was RM 4 for a cup.
The color was light and the taste was bitter.
The smell was Chinese medicine and it was not that different with Ya Sei Mei(廿四味).
The taste was hard to explain but I would say it’s like a little sweet oolong tea.
There’s a description “Moisturizing and good for eyesight”.
If you prefer the one easy to drink, this tea is easier than Ya Sei Mei(廿四味):)
Store Info
◆Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
2 minutes by walk from “Bukit Bintang“ station(MRT/KL monorail)
◆LaLaport Bukit Bintang City Centre
Directly connected to “Hang Tuah” station(LRT/KL monorail)
Impression
I’m pretty sure it seems very mysterious or uncertain when you hear the herbal jelly is made by turtle plastron but this is such a delightful sweet!
The origin is around Hong Kong but I ate it in KL as I usually use there for transit and didn’t have enough time to eat.
You cannot see these medicinal sweets in Japan that much so they can be one of the best-try sweets in HK or KL♪
You can also enjoy Hong Kong vives even though you are in Malaysia:)
The price was about JPY 400 so I believe it’s cheaper than Hong Kong.
The customer service was good.
They speak to me in English.
I felt happy when I saw the staff were hugging and they seemed very friendly:)
Just one thing bothering me was how syrup was made.
I had no idea what was used in that sweetener.
I honestly want to use my personal coconut nectar or dates syrup! haha
Anyway, this is one of the tips to spend your time more comfortably in hot and humid KL and you can care for your skin with these beauty sweets at the same time♪
It’s going to be your lovely beauty trip option:))
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