Nescafé Ais

Nescafé ais is the mamak stall's signature iced coffee, the coffee counterpart to teh tarik. The mamak stall standardised this instant-coffee-plus-condensed-milk preparation, dissolved strong, sweetened with condensed and evaporated milk, often pulled (tarik) for froth, and poured over ice. Nescafé ais and kopi ais are signature drinks on every mamak menu, part of the teh-kopi-milo holy trinity of mamak beverages, and inseparable from mamak-stall culture.

Strong, sweet, cold and creamy, with the roasted-instant coffee flavour up front, the condensed milk giving a rounded sweetness, a thick frothy head from the pulling. Drunk through the ice, it is intense, sweet and restorative.

Instant coffee is dissolved in a little hot water to a strong concentrate, then condensed milk and evaporated milk are stirred in for sweetness and body. The mixture is pulled, poured back and forth between two mugs at height to aerate it and build a frothy head (the tarik technique), then poured over a tall glass of ice. The pulling is what gives nescafé ais its signature foam and smooth mouthfeel; an unpulled version is thinner.