Monday, February 20, 2012

Gardenia - The Bread Story


Bonjour, Passione Italiana and Somerset Cottage


A bagful of delish wholesomeness..

A couple of days ago whilst lunching at my friend Ezzah's house in Kelang, this makcik found herself in receipt of a carrier bag containing three loaves of Gardenia bread in unfamiliar but eye-catching packaging.

The bread was presented by Yasmin, one of Ezzah's guests, to the few present, to introduce Gardenia's new flavours. I find it commendable that she is doing her bit, on her own time, to promote her company's products.

Gardenia has been my bread of choice for the longest time, in fact, from the time the brand entered the market in the mid 1980s. I Came, I Saw, I Ate; and I have been consuming it ever since. That's brand loyalty for you.

I don't give a hoot who owns Gardenia, then and now. It could very well be a hairy alien from a far-flung asteroid in the Milky Way for all I care; as long as the brand gives me a good, nutritious loaf at a decent price each time, I'm happy. 

The simple truth is that Gardenia white bread makes superb sandwiches, and the Abus are passionate about their tuna/ chicken/ beef salami/ turkey ham/ cucumber & tomato/ egg mayo/ sardine/ peanut butter sandwiches.

We have the freedom to choose what brand we want. We don't have to justify why. Neither do we need to oblige anyone by changing our mind if we are happy enough with what we have.

Personally, Gardenia has been on our family table for decades and that's the way it will stay, unless something truly drastic or unthinkable happens (losing its 'halal' certification, for example..)

When I was a child growing up in Bukit Besi, Trengganu in the late 1950s and early 1960s, we got our bread from the turbaned Punjabi fellow we called Benggali Roti.

His loaves were placed in a wicker basket which he carried on his shoulder, and Benggali Roti covered the entire mining town on foot each day, going from house to house until the sun disappeared. 

Benggali Roti is today an extinct specie. He has been replaced  by the ubiquitous Indian breadman on motorcycle, whose hand-held airhorn's shrill 'pon! pon!' was music to any child's ear.

But I, as usual, digressed.

Realising that my newly-acquired loaves needed sharing, I contemplated dispensing them to neighbours. Then my daughter Awwa and sister Izah dropped by unannounced the day after(macam tau-tau aja ekk). Suffice to say each went home a loaf richer. 

Last I heard, Gardenia ratings went up a couple of notches in both households. In mine, Bonjour - le classique is fast becoming Adieu, with le kenyang ruling the roost. You did right, Gardenia. Well done! 

Bonjour has a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds (we ate it with garlic butter), Passione Italiana is packed with sun-dried tomatoes and olives (best eaten with olive oil) while dark Somerset Cottage is multi-grained (wonder of wonders, my sister's fat and fluffy Holland rabbits love multi-grained breads!)

Well, that's my Bread Story. Now you go get yours (the bread, I mean), come back and 'story' me. you won't regret buying them; memang sedap... :-))

23 comments:

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Puteri,
Oh yess...Bonjour has become Adieu in our household...oo la la.... now on Passione Italia... yummm....Mama made beef curry to go with it. Nak???? purrr....meow!

NanaDJ said...

Puteri, I must try them, hope they are sold at the supermarkets now!

rohaizahabas said...

this roti buat saya kenyang sampai petang...so boleh la kurang kan makan nasik...

Wan Sharif said...

alamak, we only buy gardenia from the mamak who sell breads on a motor bicycle that ply our taman every evening.. tak tanya lagi ni.. ada perasa baru ke tak?
kena try gak nie!

Anonymous said...

Kak Puteri
My son"s tuition teacher told him to leave gardinier n go for Massimo bread instead.I tasted both bread n both are yummy.

wawa

Ninotaziz said...

I love the Gardenia raisin bread. So we most probably try this out. Thanks, Kak Puteri!

Anonymous said...

Wawa,

Your Sons's tuition teacher must be Chinese ..huh?

Anonymous said...

wawa

tell your son's tuition teacher to do what she's paid to do.

or did she get free bread for promoting mossommo

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Cat - by now the beef curry must have tinggal serdak..lol

Nana - i think they are on the shelves now..

Ezza - yes, i had somefor breakfast today, very filling..

Wan - mesti ada punya, yohwang..

Wawa - pulak.. lol!

Ninot - me too.. and i like it spread with butter..

Anon 5.37 & Anon 8.10 - Betul tuh! :-))

remgold said...

gardenia i love u.
cos last time i bought shares linked to this company n made money.
so there.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

rem - ah! gardenia from a different perspective.. hehehe

Anonymous said...

Anon 5.37PM,
Son"s tuition teacher is Me Layu n asal dr Kpg Medan Sunway Pyrimid.She told my son that she read an article in Utusan M"sia about the useless Gardenia bread.

wawa

Kama At-Tarawis said...

wawa - kan like i said, sesiapa pun boleh lay claim barang ini bagus barang tu tak bagus. pokok pangkalnya kita yang menjadi pembeli dan kita boleh mendapat info dihujung jari tentang apa jua produk yg kita nak beli. the choice is ours.

to me gardenia sedikit mahal for the simple reason massimo price themselves lower by 80 sen sebab they are 'ginny come lately' to capture the existing market. itu marketing strategy dia. berapa lama dia boleh bertahan at that price, wallahu'alam. i was told itu hanya introductory price.

comparatively, roti is roti no matter how you look at it. dari segi nutrition content ada sedikit perbezaan (saya dah baca & buat research tapi malas nak panjang lebar kat sini). pilihan ditangan anda..

Kama At-Tarawis said...

PS: roti pun sekarang dah ada political agenda... sigh..

Anonymous said...

Betul tu Kak Puteri. Bread and butter dah jadi political issue. Baru semalam baca a website kononnya Massimo haram. Sebelum ni, mereka tuduh Gardenia haram. Ramli burgerpun dituduh ada DNA babi. This is trade rivalry. Lama kelamaan kita tidak boleh makan apa-apa. Sounds like Fomca of long ago where almost everything is bad for our health.

Jane-in-the box

Bread Lover said...

I wonder what did Wawa son's tuition read in Utusan. Yang saya tahu, PKR DAP supporter yang suruh kaum Cina boikot Gardenia. Lepas tu Gardenia ada advertorial yang mengatakan walaupun BERNAS mempunyai kilang tepung sendiri, mereka tidak direct Gardenia dari membeli tepung dari kilang tersebut. Lepas tu tak dengar cerita dari Gardenia sampai keluar roti best ini. Memang ala Europah. Check out recipes dalam www.bruschetta.gardenia.com.my

Anonymous said...

Kak.....membuatkan saya terus ke kedai runcit balik kerja semata mata nak rasa roti baru.

Terimakasih kerana membuatkan hidup saya senyum dan riang :)

Anonymous said...

Salam,

saya boikot massimo sbb depa yg start boikot Gardenia dulu atas sbb2 yg bagi saya rasis sungguh dan ultra kiasu...biar la mahal sket pon saya tetap beli Gardenia dan support Syed Mokhtar

Penang Mali

Anonymous said...

get more serving suggestion from this website....

http://www.bruschetta.gardenia.com.my/

ninotaziz said...

Sigh... le pain Gardenia Bonjour est très bien! Merci beaucoup Kak Puteri pour 'gazette le pain'!

Now I wonder, if I try the Iltalia bread, can I speak Italian?

ROYAL JESTER said...

Their Butterscotch bread pun so so yummy! I tried all the new ones excet the italia. Am sure sedap.Buat sandwich with chicken slices mmg soo yummy!

Kama At-Tarawis said...

RJ: because ofyour posting, i went and bought the butterscotch bread yesterday.. sedap..

Unknown said...

Been eating gardenia for ages now.i think it is the most decent bread in the market..tasty, nicely filling, slightly rustic in texture,and with quality ingredient.