IF by some odd quirk of fate, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield - the American founders of the Ben & Jerry's premium ice cream brand headquartered in far-off Vermont - had a ranch home in Singapore, it might look a little like the building at Block 8 on Dempsey Road, where franchise owner T K Wong has created a little bit of rustic Americana.
Mr Wong, who brought the brand to Singapore less than two years ago, has since opened seven branches in town. In the latest outlet, he has added a culinary twist in CA California, a casual home-style cafe concept developed by him and intended to complement Ben & Jerry's.
It shares a 4,200-sq-ft space with the ice cream store and is uniquely decorated to resemble a ranch home, complete with high ceilings, wood panels recycled from the original building, antique brickwork, old-style wood shelving and, yes, even a living room area with a faux fireplace.
The place is still a work-in-progress, says Mr Wong, but of the 500 or so Ben & Jerry's stores around the world, it is definitely the biggest. 'The idea is to bring back home cooking,' says Mr Wong. I want to do simple, unpretentious, high-quality Californian food using seasonal ingredients, with very little oil, clean-tasting and based on freshness.
Mr Wong, who spent several years in Silicon Valley as a pioneer in the information technology industry, developed a liking for the laid-back Californian lifestyle and a taste for healthy Californian cuisine.
Partly because of the large size of the Dempsey Road space, he decided to combine it with his thriving ice cream business, which in a short space of time has become one of the most successful franchisees in the company's history.
CA California, which is meant to evoke the West Coast cafe culture, started operations yesterday and will roll out its culinary options in phases, starting with a simple soups, salads and sandwiches lunch menu before going on to brunch and dinner menus on weekends.
The pared-down lunch menu features dishes such as a hearty ranch mushroom soup ($6.50), California harvest salad ($7.50) and fisherman's wharf salmon ($8.90).
The open-kitchen concept also allows for diners to make individual requests. Mr Wong is also in the process of developing the Incoming Burger, his tribute to the popular In-N-Out Burger stores found in the western United States. Main courses will comprise items like roast chicken, baked fish and stews, basically whatever the chefs decide to cook on a particular day.
Meanwhile, Mr Wong's mother, who worked for many years as a live-in cook for expatriate families, has also got in on the act - the menu features her homemade American apple pie and lemon meringue pie ($3.50 each). It's what Mr Wong refers to as Welcome Home food. 'I want to recreate the kind of food which just feels good to eat,' says Mr Wong. 'I'm not necessarily a stickler for organic ingredients - it just has to be good, fresh ingredients.'
CA, he adds, is just a straight-ahead, get-on-with-it place. 'When we took this place, we knew that ice cream alone couldn't pay the rent so we came up with the idea of a ranch, with the kind of kitchen that aligns with the same brand values as Ben & Jerry's - wholesome and real.'
He adds: 'We want to engage our customers and be driven by the same philosophy - it's your kitchen as much as it is ours.'
CA California at Ben & Jerry's 8B Dempsey Road Tel: 6473-3231
