Ticco swiss roll review

Ticco is a foreign cafe brand that specializes in swiss rolls and coffee made from real Saudi Arabia beans. With their new branches opening, they’ve been making the rounds on social media. That’s why — we’ve bought a Ticco Golden Roll, to see if it’s truly — worth the hype. Cue intro

Okay, I lied. Ticco is Malaysian. This isn’t a real food review.

Though I have no proof, the misleading is 100% on purpose. Firstly, they call themselves “Ticco international” on social media. Second, they have that 1989 emblem on their bags to make you think it’s a old foreign brand. The heavy amounts of extremely clean marketing, too, gives it a foreign vibe. You usually only see that kind of marketing with multinational brands that can afford to pour that much into marketing, and with western sensibilities that demands sleekness.

Though, that facade falls apart to anyone whose Google search went beyond their social accounts. You quickly realize the marketing is more specifically what I call “Malaysian upperclass western” - made for and by Wealthy Malaysians who grew up speaking English as their native language, and along with it, English media and sensibilities.

The fact that we did buy the cake is saying a lot. Whether I like it or not, my background is wealthier than most people in the country, and their marketing strategy works to some extent on my friends and family. The fact that I’m writing in an English blog where I have no Malaysian friends visiting is also saying a lot.

In addition, it’s a youthful company heavily targeting viral social media fame. While the youthful marketing is not unlike, say, Zus Coffee, this feels much more cynical. Zus is a proudly domestic Starbucks, its main selling point is getting to chill in a cafe with aircon without the exorbitant pricing. Ticco, on the other hand, is trying to have its cake and eat it too - with targeted social media marketing and a fancy foreign facade, with local operating costs and foreign prices.

“Can we finally talk about the swiss roll?” Sure thing, hypothetical viewer. It’s barely a roll, but more like cream wrapped in cake. The cake itself feels like a fuller and eggier of already eggy Taiwanese style castella (古早味蛋糕)? The cream has a really nice custard taste. It doesn’t feel too heavy given the quantity, but it’s not so light that it feels cheap and unsatisfying. It’s sooooooo worth the price.

Okay look, I’m obviously not part of the target demographic. I cannot really praise a swiss roll in good faith when it costs RM28. Like you can get fuckton of swiss rolls with that money and be much happier. To give due credit, I do agree that Ticco’s swiss roll is an interesting take on something extremely common, but it’s not unique enough to justify the cost, which you can tell mostly went into the marketing. All I can think is, this is targeted towards people who have enough disposable income to be willing to spend quadruple on coffee to go to a Starbucks just for… vibes.