Cendol

I had lived in Melaka for 18 years and savour almost all the well guarded delicacies of the state. One particular stall I had not patronize previously and much talked about among the locals and outsiders is the mamak (Indian-Muslim) cendol stall at Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho - Bukit Cina.

It took some convincing for me to jump into my car for a drive to Bukit Cina to taste the specialty of the cendol served at this particular stall set amidst ancient old Chinese graveyard which forms the largest Chinese burial ground outside mainland China.

The fact that the stall is set under some shady trees, provide the right “bawah pokok”(under the tree) ambience to the cendol stall which have now expanded into providing noodles such as mee rebus, mee goreng, mee rojak, rojak etc. The sight of the traditional ice shaving machines added the nostalgic feeling of good old taste of food.

When the cendol arrived on my table, I could smell the aroma while stirring the cendol blended with “gula Melaka” and red beans, provides just the right taste to enjoy a bowl of cendol on a hot sunny afternoon. The first spoon confirmed that the freshly made cendol was excellent unlike those “frozen food” cendol we see in the supermarkets.

Why not make it a point to taste the cendol on your next visit to Melaka and if you require accommodation, there are many hotels which you can book direct from here.

What is cendol?

Cendol is a local dessert of green noodle like made of rice flour flavored with pandan (screwpine leaves) juice and served with shaved ice, thick palm syrup (Gula Melaka) and santan (coconut milk).

Some hawkers do serve cendol with red beans and “pulut” (glutinous rice) which gives the dessert an extra touch to the different tastebuds (of course with a little extra $).

Location:

If you are coming from Jalan Munshi Abdullah, turn left at the roundabout at Bukit Cina and the stall is about 200 metres from the roundabout.

If you are coming from the south i.e. Semabok, Banda Hilir and Ayer Leleh, head straight along Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho towards the Bukit Cina roundabout. Once you pass the Chinese association building on your left, about 200 metres onward, the stall would be on your right.