BY SARAH HAFIZAH CHANDRA
Studying abroad for five years definitely helped to change Hamizan Zaidi’s perspective in life.
For the 26-year-old, a geological engineering graduate from University of British Columbia, Canada, his experience living and studying in a foreign country helped him see things from a different perspective.
He made a decision to change his profession from an engineer to an aspiring businessman, all the while making use of what he had studied.
The owner of Affogato Cafe, an Italian coffee-based dessert cafe, Hamizan uses the application of geology engineering when creating the mouth-watering ice-creams, cakes and pastries at his cafe.
“I have always been curious about the formation of the earth, rocks, minerals or other geological formation. The engineering aspect of geological engineering is how you apply the geological knowledge into the engineering field and I used the same principles when constructing the recipes and decoration toppings of my cakes and ice-creams,” he enthused.
Yummy ice-cream flavours of the week. 
Mouth-watering dark chocolate ice-cream with assorted toppings and a shot of hot espresso.
Hamizan spent months experimenting on different flavours to create a unique profile for his ice-creams. There were initially four flavours but the cafe now has a selection of over 20.
Some of the popular ones include Coconut Charcoal, Lavender Earl Grey, Red Velvet Cupcake and Lotus Biscoff.
“The ice-cream flavours change on a weekly basis and our customers are often eager to try new flavours or keeping an eye out for the availability of their favourite flavours. We keep our customers posted on our social media page.”
During his stay overseas, Hamizan would often travel to different parts of Canada and the United States for semester breaks. Las Vegas, Nevada in particular holds a special place in his heart as he managed to attend his idol, Britney Spears’ concert.
“I was willing to not go back to Malaysia and miss out on celebrating Aidilfitri with my family to see Britney. If it weren’t for Britney’s concert in Las Vegas, I would not have come across one of the restaurants that became the inspiration for my own cafe,” he explained.
The modern and chic decoration in the cafe creates a chill and cheerful ambience, which makes it a go-to place for hangout or tea breaks.
Many customers enjoy visiting the cafe in the afternoon to enjoy a delicious and refreshing affogato, regardless of the weather.
The union of ice-cream with a shot of freshly brewed espresso, which creates creamy coffee perfection, is something that resonates with coffee and ice-cream lovers.
The affogato can be enjoyed as a drink or dessert and the state of being in between the two makes it extraordinary.
“I know that there are many who share the same love for ice-cream and coffee as I do. I like creating and experimenting with different ice-cream flavours so that my affogato will be loved by everyone.”
As something that is somewhere between a drink and a dessert, the affogato is a different and indulgent way to enjoy an espresso.
The marble of flavours, temperatures and textures created by the pool of coffee swirled with creamy melting ice-cream is something that other desserts or drinks cannot replicate.
Besides being hands on with formulating and creating ice-cream flavours, Hamizan bakes a variety of cakes.
Some of the hot-selling cakes are Basque cheesecake, Lotus Biscoff cheesecake and naked Victorian sponge cake.
